San Francisco Bay Area Monday Morning News Roundup

Submitted by Reset News Feed on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 10:31am

Bikes Allowed on BART Trains During Commute Hours This Week

A weeklong test program allowing bicycles on all trains on BART will start today.

The pilot program is the second test expansion of bicycle access to BART this year.

In August, bicycles were allowed on all trains at all stations every Friday.

Currently, bikes are banned from all trains during commute hours, a policy that has been the subject of protest from bicycle commuters for years.

The pilot program, which will run March 18th through the 22nd, will still prohibit bikes in the front three cars of all trains during commute hours, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Bikes are prohibited from the first car at all times for safety reasons, officials said.

If the second pilot is deemed a success, BART staff will return to the board with a proposal for permanent changes to bike policy.

BART is also working to reconfigure cars to allow more space for bikes, strollers, luggage and wheelchairs.

Reconfigurations should be complete by June this year.

Efforts are also underway to expand bike parking and lockers.

Walnut Creek: Update: Lanes Reopened on I-680 After Fatal Multi-Vehicle Crash

A motorcyclist was killed and a vehicle burst into flame in a multi-car crash on northbound Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek Sunday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash, which occurred on 680 just south of Rudgear Road just after 5:45 p.m., involved four vehicles including a motorcycle, according to CHP Officer John Fransen.

Details of exactly what happened remain unclear, but one vehicle, a Nissan 350Z, burst into flames after the crash, Fransen said.

Witnesses told investigators that the motorcycle and another vehicle were driving recklessly before the crash, Fransen said.

The description of the second vehicle was unavailable and it is unclear whether it was one of those involved in the crash.

The motorcyclist was killed, but Fransen could not say whether other people were injured.

Northbound Interstate 680 was closed by the crash but reopened just before 8 p.m.

SF: Symphony Tour Canceled as Musicians Reject Cooling Off Period, Continue Strike

A scheduled East Coast tour was canceled Sunday after striking San Francisco Symphony musicians rejected a federal mediators proposal to resume playing concerts during a "cooling off" period, according to symphony officials.

The three-city East Coast tour, scheduled for March 20-23, had included performances at Carnegie Hall, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The symphony has already canceled four concerts in San Francisco since musicians announced the strike on Wednesday.

The musicians said recently that they were unhappy with a proposal by management that would include a pay freeze in the first year and 1 percent increases in the next two years.

Musicians say expensive instruments and the costs of living in the Bay Area hurt their ability to compete with other top orchestras.

Symphony officials said that their most recent proposal included a new minimum annual salary of $145,979 with annual increases of 1 percent and 2 percent.

The proposal also included a $74,000 maximum annual pension, 10 weeks paid vacation and full coverage health care plan options with no monthly premium contributions for most options.

Additional compensation would include radio payments, over-scale and seniority pay, which raises the current average pay to more than $165,000, symphony officials said.

"We have negotiated in good faith since September, have shared volumes of financial information, and we have offered many different proposals that we had hoped would lead to a new agreement by this time," said Brent Assink, the symphony's executive director.

The symphony's operating expenses have outpaced income for the past four years, and the orchestra has incurred an operating deficit, officials said.

Petaluma: Police Arrest Four In String of DUI Crashes, Incidents

Petaluma police said they responded to a string of alcohol-involved collisions Saturday night and Sunday morning and made four arrests.

The first crash occurred Saturday night around 6:15 p.m., when a pedestrian, 22-year-old Matthew Bushner, was struck by a vehicle at Petaluma Boulevard North and Washington Street, police said.

He sustained moderate injuries.

Police arrested Petaluma resident Timothy Kemp, 50, on suspicion of felony drunk driving and felony hit and run after he was found to a have a blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit.

In addition, Kemp, who has a prior drunk driving conviction, violated his probation, according to police.

He posted $30,000 bail and was released.

A second crash was reported at 10:23 p.m. at Windsor drive and West Haven Way at a roundabout, police said.

A 17-year-old male driver allegedly lost control of his vehicle and struck several street signs before coming to a stop, according to police.

He was arrested after he was allegedly found to have a blood alcohol level of .19 percent and released to his parents.

At 1:19 a.m., a motorist called to report a suspected drunk driver, police said.

Police pulled over Petaluma resident Felipe Bernal-Rubalcava, 19, and found he had a blood alcohol limit of .16 percent.

He was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail.

A final crash occurred at 4:19 a.m. on Ely Boulevard South at Sutter Street when a vehicle drive into the pedestrian corral, an area in the center of the road intended to provide a safe place for pedestrians to stop.

Police arrested Petaluma resident Brian Burdette, 19, after he was allegedly found to be under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs.

Vallejo: Elderly Man Found Shot Dead on Hichborn Street Property

An elderly man was found shot dead at a home on Hichborn Street Sunday evening, according to Vallejo police.

Police were called to the home at 408 Hichborn St. at 5:21 p.m. after shots were heard, according to Sgt. Kevin Coelho.

The victim was found on the property deceased with apparent gunshot wounds, Coelho said.

His identity is beind withheld, pending notification of next of kin.

Benicia: Man Arrested for Allegedly Having Sex with 16-Year-Old Step-Daughter

Police in Benicia have arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly having sex with his stepdaughter, police said.

At about 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning, officers responded to a report of a sexual assault at a home in the 700 block of Military East, according to Benicia police.

A woman told police she arrived home and found her husband sexually assaulting her 16-year-old daughter, police said.

The suspect, who was identified as Michael Joseph Wallace, fled before police arrived.

Officers located Wallace at a residence in the 200 block of Manhattan Street in Vallejo.

He was arrested without incident, police said.

Wallace was booked into Solano County Jail on 20 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and numerous other felonies.

Oakland: Police Clear Scene at Standoff This Morning, Several People Detained

Police in Oakland have cleared the scene after a 10-hour standoff with a possible homicide suspect earlier Sunday, an officer said.

Several people have been detained at a residence in the 1400 block of 25th Avenue and were being questioned by police in connection with a fatal shooting that took place early Sunday morning, Oakland police Officer J. Moore said.

At around 1:20 a.m., two shooting victims arrived at a local hospital, Moore said.

One of the victims was pronounced dead, and the second victim remains in serious condition, Moore said.

Police traced a potential suspect to the residence on 25th Avenue and established a perimeter, he said.

The scene was cleared at about 11:30 a.m., according to police.

It was not immediately clear if the shooting suspect was among those detained, Moore said.

Petaluma: 97-Year-Old Woman Struck and Injured in Crosswalk

A 97-year-old woman was hospitalized after being struck while crossing a street in Petaluma Sunday morning, police said.

Officers responded to numerous calls reporting that a pedestrian had been hit in a crosswalk at Ely Boulevard South and East Washington Street at about 9 a.m., according to Petaluma police.

The victim, who is visually impaired, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital, police said.

The driver of a Nissan SUV, a 62-year-old Petaluma woman, stopped at the scene and cooperated with police.

Investigators believe the sun might have played a part in obscuring the driver's vision while she made a legal left turn into the crosswalk, police said.