Sacramento news stories on Newser

Suspected Teen Rape Victim Jailed

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:33:24 CDT

A 17-year-old suspected rape victim is being held in a California juvenile detention facility to ensure that she'll show up to testify against her attacker. She failed to turn up at a preliminary hearing for her suspected assailant, forcing prosecutors to refile the case. “The last thing we ever want...

Physician Assistant Wins Harassment Award ... of $168M

John Johnson — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:48:05 CST

A former physician assistant in the cardiac unit of a Sacramento hospital apparently made a very convincing case that the surgeons there were a bunch of jerks and leches: A jury awarded her $168 million in damages for workplace harassment, believed to a record amount in the US for any...

Flier Tasered at Calif. Airport

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:21:53 CST

Here's a new one in the ongoing battles between airline passengers and security. Now a flier has been been zapped with a Taser— three times —for becoming "unruly" during a security screening in California. New Hampshire flier Edwin Barton, 26, walked into the Sacramento Airport off his Southwest plane when...

Prison Shrink Accused of Faking Rape

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:26:52 CST

A Sacramento prison psychologist faked her own rape in the hope her husband would move them to a safer neighborhood, authorities say. Laurie Ann Martinez even allegedly cut her lip with a pin, had a friend punch her with boxing gloves, and peed her pants to make the attack seem...

UC Davis Chancellor: I Can't Quit, the School Needs Me

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:21:09 CST

Despite the fact that students and faculty alike are calling for her resignation, University of California-Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi still says she won’t step down after Friday’s pepper spray incident . "I really feel confident at this point the university needs me," Katehi said today on Good Morning America . "There are...

UC Davis Students Get Pepper Sprayed

John Johnson — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:08:36 CST

The latest Occupy-related images to generate buzz come from UC Davis. As police moved in to dismantle the students' camp yesterday, one officer methodically doused a group of sitting protesters with pepper spray, reports CBS Sacramento . Police then arrested 10 protesters, notes the Sacramento Bee . Critics are calling it an...

Burning Propane Tanker Threatens 5K Homes

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:32:30 CDT

Firefighters took a bold step today to drain a burning propane tanker and prevent the rail car from blowing up as thousands of people were forced from their homes for a second day in the Sacramento suburb of Lincoln, California. Officials are trying to head off a potentially catastrophic failure...

Man Busted Trying to Break In to Prison

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:30:05 CDT

Most inmates are trying to get out of prison, but authorities say they caught a California parolee trying to sneak back in. Marvin Ussery was spotted late Wednesday night scaling the 7-foot tall, barbed wire-topped fence that encircles a large wooded area behind the California State Prison in Sacramento, a...

Politician: Make 'South California' 51st State

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:06:00 CDT

A Riverside County politician is so sick of the "left wing" state government "ripping off" his wealthy constituents that he wants "South California" to become the nation's 51st state. Local Republican Supervisor Jeff Stone envisions a new state of 13 counties to escape the "ungovernable" financial catastrophe threatening to destroy...