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Northbound I-880 partially closed by multi-vehicle crash

The two left lanes of northbound Interstate Highway 880 remain closed just north of High Street in Oakland Friday morning because of a multi-vehicle crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision, which occurred just after 10 a.m., may have involved as many as six or seven vehicles, according to the CHP.

An ambulance was called to the scene of the crash but information about injuries was not immediately available, the CHP said.

Drivers are encouraged to take alternate routes on Interstate Highways 238 and 580 until the lanes are reopened. Big rigs are permitted to use Highway 580 through Oakland until 12:30 p.m., according to the CHP.

_{Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:05:12 -0800}

Two charged with murder in fatal Newark crash

Two men are facing murder charges in a crash following a police pursuit in Newark that left two people dead.

Jabrie Watts and Deshon Collier have been charged with murder, burglary and possession of stolen property. They were arraigned on Thursday.

Police say the two men and a third suspect, Rajwaun Watkins, all aged 20, had stolen jewelry and a watch from a home and were fleeing police on Jan. 18 when their sedan hit a Honda. The Honda's driver, 69-year-old Robert Cheney, died at the scene.

Watkins was pronounced dead two days later.

Newark police say officers were chasing the men's car, but had ended the pursuit before the crash over concerns about public safety.

The murder charges against Watts and Collier are in connection with Cheney's death. The two are expected to appear in court again on Friday.

_{Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:40:01 -0800}

State Supreme Court upholds senate redistricting plan

The California Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state Senate maps drawn last year by an independent redistricting commission, dealing a blow to GOP attempts to block Democrats from gaining enough seats to pass taxes on their own.

The high court announced that the Senate maps drawn by the citizens commission should be used in the June primary and November general election, even though an initiative challenging the map is expected to qualify for the ballot.

Republicans are seeking an initiative to overturn the new boundaries and wanted the new maps tossed out until voters decide the issue. The court first had to find whether it even had the authority to act because the GOP initiative has yet to qualify.

The court found that the maps drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission were "clearly the most appropriate map to be used in the 2012 state Senate elections even if the proposed referendum qualifies for the ballot."

Republicans stand to lose seats to Democrats under the Senate maps because of the state's shifting demographics, giving them a better chance of reaching a critical two-thirds majority in the Senate. That would bring Democrats a step closer to being able to approve tax increases without Republican support in one house of the Legislature.

Orange County Republican activist Julie Vandermost filed the lawsuit in October. She and GOP interests contend the commission did not meet the constitutional criteria for drawing the maps in a transparent way and in trying to keep communities together, violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

Neither the California Republican Party nor the redistricting commission had an immediate response to Friday's ruling.

The Supreme Court justices had several options in considering the case: They could allow the temporary use of the redistricting commission's maps; use the state Senate districts that have been in place since 2001; devise an alternate plan; or create temporary Senate districts out of pairs of Assembly districts drawn by the commission.

The 40-member Senate has half the number of lawmakers as the Assembly, where any change in the balance of power is less certain under the newly drawn political boundaries.

_{Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:27:22 -0800}

News Source: MedleyStory More Local News Stories