Gov. Jerry Brown said Wednesday he had struck a deal with supporters of a rival tax initiative to unite behind a new ballot measure that combines elements of both proposals to increase the state sales tax and raise income taxes on the wealthiest Californians.

San Francisco schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia said Wednesday he will retire at the end of the academic year after 37 years in public education.

Trustees of California's giant state retirement system finally acknowledged Wednesday that they can't expect the high returns on investment they had previously projected, a move that means taxpayers will bear hundreds of millions more in costs for public employee pensions.

Oakland moved to double the city's medical marijuana dispensaries Wednesday, but a federal crackdown on the industry has cast doubt on whether any new dispensaries will be opening anytime soon. With far fewer applicants than expected, and nearly half of the finalists losing the consent of their prospective landlords, the city approved four potential dispensary operators, only one of which also has an approved location.

Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen was hit in the head with a beanbag round during an Occupy Oakland protest last fall, his attorney told The Bay Citizen Wednesday. The shot fractured Olsen's skull.

A proposal to expand parking meter enforcement to Sundays has drawn the ire of local churches and other places of worship. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is exploring options to make up its two-year projected budget deficit of $53.2 million. Enforcing parking meters on Sundays, an initiative that would generate $2.8 million annually, has received support from several members of the agency’s board of directors.

...The University of California system has $8.9 billion in building projects under way at its 10 campuses and five medical centers, including about $2 billion at UCSF, which is near the top of the spending list. With less money to operate the new buildings once they're finished, universities are straining maintenance and energy budgets. At least one new UC campus building is sitting empty because the university can't afford to operate it.