California NEWS INDEX

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: first, Rex Hime, 64, of Loomis, has been appointed to the California State Fair and Exposition Board of Directors, where he has been a member since 1996. Hime has been president and chief executive officer at the California Business Properties Association since 1984.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today S.F. Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Yelp CEO and Co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman announced at the U.S. Conference...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments: First, David Gordon, 66, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Gordon has been county superintendent at the Sacramento County Office of Education since 2004.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Patton Sales Corporation, a steel service center and manufacturer based in Ontario, has expanded its business, the San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board announced today. Two years ago, Patton Sales Corp. was in danger of laying off employees.

LA MESA, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Legalize Ferrets announces new White House petition to help legalize ferrets in California. Over the past 25 years California ferret lovers have worked diligently to catch up to the rest of the 48 continental states to have our right for legal ferret ownership.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Assemblymember Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) introduced legislation to clarify the way write-in candidates qualify for the general election under California’s "Top Two" election system. Assembly Bill 141 reestablishes the 1 percent minimum vote requirement, allowing greater legitimacy for the write-in process.

IRVINE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Maple Conservatory of Dance announces the Summer 2013 Senior and Junior Ballet Intensives Program. Auditions are scheduled on Sunday, February 24, 2013 at the Conservatory's studio at 1824 Kaiser Avenue, Irvine, CA.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Infamous 'Street Artist' XVALA, famous for invading the residential trash of celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber and tech icons Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, has set his sights on Robert Downey Jr., Lindsay Lohan, and Taylor Swift for his latest exhibit 'The Tonight Show with Celebrity Chimp' at Lab Art Gallery in L.A., announces Cory Allen Contemporary Art.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Edwin Lowry, 61, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, where he has served since 2011. He served as a part-time hearing officer at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation in 2009. Lowry was deputy attorney general at the California Attorney General’s Office from 2005 to 2007 and from 1988 to 1995.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the death of Galt Police Department K9 Officer Kevin Tonn.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Gov. Brown issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 15th as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Text follows:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments for January 15: First, Randy Fisher, 48, of Elk Grove, has been appointed assistant chief of labor relations at the California Department of Human Resources.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Sue Burr, 59, of Rancho Murieta, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. Burr served as the executive director of the California State Board of Education and as education policy advisor to Governor Brown from 2011 to 2012. She served as the executive director of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association from 2006 to 2011 and was the Association’s governmental relations director from 2003 to 2006.

CULVER CITY, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- DAX LLC and its parent company, Sample Digital Holdings LLC, announce today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for 'a system and method for media content collaboration throughout the media production process,' as U.S. Patent No. 8,218,764.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Accurate Imaging Resources announced this week its launch of Accurate Films - screen protectors for cell phones, tablets, laptops, monitors, PCs, and LCD TVs. 'These new multipurpose and multifunctional screen protectors will work for Apple iPhones, Samsung Galaxy 3S phones, Apple iPads and more,' Michael Doyle, Director of Sales for Accurate Imaging, says.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- At a press conference on Thursday, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. proposed a balanced state budget for 2013-2014 that boosts investment in education, implements health care reform and keeps California on a long-term path to fiscal stability. This budget builds on the work of the last two years to eliminate the ongoing deficit.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that the State of California has taken legal action to end a federal court order that caps the state’s prison population and another that requires “intrusive supervision” of prison mental health care.

MILL VALLEY, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- ArteQuesta launches its Israeli Masters Collection, announces Rayah Levy and Jessica Jacobson, co-founders of ArteQuesta. This collection is the culmination of a decade of work to gather and preserve historically significant art works by Israeli Master Artists during Israel's emergence as the Jewish state.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued proclamations declaring special elections for the 32nd and 40th Senate Districts of the State of California on May 14, 2013. The primary for these special elections will be held on March 12, 2013.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Feda Almaliti, 35, of Fremont, has been appointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities as the Area Board V Representative, where she has served since 2012. Almaliti has been a self-employed full-time advocate for persons with disabilities since 2005.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-43) introduced legislation today that will allow Californians to park for free at broken or malfunctioning parking meters for the maximum time allowed by the meter. The bill, AB 61, would prohibit local governments, such as cities and counties, from enacting an ordinance that bans parking in a space controlled by a broken meter or broken kiosk for on-street parking.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Thirty U.S. youth leaders and five U.S. educators are set to return next Saturday, January 12, 2013, from a month-long immersion study and cultural exchange program in Bangladesh from World Savvy. The group studied how global climate change has impacted local communities in Bangladesh, and upon return to the U.S., the students will apply their new knowledge by launching climate change projects to improve their U.S. communities and the world.

IRVINE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Families from throughout Orange County can expect their kids to come home with dirty hands after a day at one of the Orange County Great Park's Children's Gardening Workshops. The free monthly workshop series at the Great Park’s Farm + Food Lab provides hands-on gardening activities for children ages 3-to-11. The year-round series of Children's Gardening Workshops is set to begin Sunday, January 13.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The California State Assembly on Thursday announced that Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) has been chosen to serve as vice-chairman of the Assembly’s Budget Committee. As one of the first acts in this new leadership role Gorell introduced legislation that will give California’s voters the ability to make an earlier decision on implementing the state’s “rainy day” surplus fund.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday announced the following appointments: First, Luis Dominicis, 59, of Downey, has been appointed to the California Dental Board, where he has served since 2008. Dominicis has been a dentist in private practice since 1993.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calumet Photographic is proud to host this exceptional exhibit that offers deeply personal work from photographers exploring new themes: 'Five Views' represents recent work by five emerging photographers in the gallery of Calumet's Hollywood store located at 1135 N. Highland Ave. The exhibit begins January 8 and runs through February 8, 2013.

MILL VALLEY, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- ArteQuesta co-founders Jessica Jacobson and Rayah Levy today announced the long-awaited launch of ArteQuesta.com, the company's intuitive new web portal featuring museum-quality artworks and collections.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- SecuGen Corporation is pleased to announce a demonstration of Android(TM) compatibility with SecuGen Hamster IV(TM) and Hamster Plus(TM) fingerprint readers. This demonstration will be shown in SecuGen's booth (#36175) at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 8 - 11, 2013.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) announced that he will be introducing legislation to protect California's Native American sacred sites. The state's legislative counsel is still working with Gatto to draft specific details, but it is anticipated that the legislation will include a process for public review of a proposed project if that project threatens a sacred site.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- On Wednesday, SF Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and San Francisco Department of Public Health to announce the draft Pedestrian Strategy is nearing completion. City officials, advocates and community groups reaffirmed their commitment to pedestrian safety during the holiday shopping season today at the Powell Street Promenade where existing pedestrian improvements have helped holiday shoppers stay safe on busy San Francisco sidewalks.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /Caliornia Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Alice Y. Hom, 45, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Council for the Humanities. Hom is the director of the Queer Justice Fund at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, where she was philanthropic advocacy manager from 2007 to 2010.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) last week was presented with the “Tech Champion” Award from TechNet, at TechNet’s Annual Policy Conference and Tech Academy. TechNet is the leading bipartisan political network whose members represent some of the world’s leading technology companies including Google, Cisco, Facebook, Intel, Oracle, Ebay and Microsoft. The award was given to Senator Padilla for authoring legislation that promotes California’s leadership in innovation and technology.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The San Diego Children's Choir (SDCC) today announced that it has been honored with a prestigious 2012 Top-Rated Award by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations. "We are excited to be named a Top-Rated 2012 Nonprofit," says Donna Icenhower, executive director.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Douglas Faigin, 66, of Marina del Rey, has been appointed to the California State University, Board of Trustees. Faigin has been president of City News Service Inc. since 1985.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that Dr. Jeffrey Beard has been appointed Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Beard, 65, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections from 2001 until his retirement in 2010, overseeing more than 51,000 inmates and 16,000 employees.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Neotrope, a marketing, PR, and information publishing company founded in 1983, today announced its annual Nonprofit PR Grant Program for 2013. Ten U.S. based charitable non-profits will receive in-kind grants totaling $50,000, including public relations, news dissemination and online marketing services, as part of the company's 30th anniversary.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The California Board of Accountancy (CBA) has announced the reappointment of Leslie J. LaManna, CPA, to the CBA, and the appointment of three new members: Jose A. Campos, CPA, of Glendale; Scott Harris, Esq., of Los Angeles; and Katrina Salazar, CPA, of Sacramento. Ms. LaManna, who has served on the CBA since her appointment in 2007, was elected as President of the CBA in November 2012. Her reappointment and the three new appointments were announced December 14, 2012 by Governor Jerry Brown.The CBA consists of eight public members and seven members who are Certified Public Accountants.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- After two years of work, California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has found a new partner in the fight for green transportation and domestically produced alternative energy. Building on an idea of Gatto’s, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it will fund preliminary research on the potential of using California’s roadways to generate green electricity.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Janet Falk, 66, of Oakland, has been appointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors. Falk was vice president of real estate development for Mercy Housing from 2002 to 2011 and executive director of the California Housing Finance Corporation from 1999 to 2002.

TORRANCE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California-based marketing and PR firm, Neotrope, today announced the formal launch of a dedicated web portal for the company's annual NonProfit PR Grants program at http://prgrants.com as part of its 30 year anniversary. The PR Grant program was originally launched in 2000 to help assist U.S. 501(c)3 worthy causes.

OXNARD, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) was today honored by the Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties as their 2012 Legislator of the Year. The Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties is a coalition of eleven local Chambers of Commerce throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff and issued the following statement in response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Michael Brown, 60, of Santa Barbara, has been appointed to the California Ocean Protection Council. Brown has been principal and partner at Brown and Wilmanns Environmental LLC since 2006 and was principal at Michael S. Brown and Associates from 1999 to 2006.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Thursday announced the following appointments: First, Daniel Dooley, 62, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2008. Dooley has served in multiple positions at the University of California, Office of the President since 2008, including vice president and senior advisor for agriculture and natural resources and senior vice president of external relations.

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- PCM of California, Inc. (PCM), an Associa company, announced today that it has acquired management duties of San Clemente's New Providence Community Association, effective December 1. The 225-home community is the sixth to be added to PCM's Orange County management portfolio in recent months. PCM now manages 6 associations in the city of San Clemente.

ALAMEDA, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Pacific Pinball Museum (PPM) welcomes the public to experience pinball with a European flair. Play a game on the newest addition to their exciting collection of more than 80 playable games: a 1967 Rally West Club. This game marks the one resident of their collection not produced in the United States.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Office of Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) announced today that he and Calif. Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, co-founders of the economic development effort "Gold Team California," will be hosting a 3-day conference on future civilian applications and job creation opportunities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Non-military application of this technology is the fastest growing manufacturing sector in the global aerospace industry and expected to grow by 700% between 2012 and 2018.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) will be presented with the Legislator of the Year Award tonight from the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (CRNG), a not-for-profit group that represents renewable natural-gas producers throughout the country. Renewable natural gas is an alternative, renewable energy, derived from the natural decomposition of waste from landfills and organic sources and is used to generate green electricity and clean transportation fuel.

CULVER CITY, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Sample Digital, the leading provider of production workflow and media asset management tools to the film and TV industry, has re-branded as DAX, LLC. Major film and TV companies actively using DAX, include such companies as Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, CBS, Showtime, and Lionsgate.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Kent Sasaki, 48, of Walnut Creek, has been appointed to the California Building Standards Commission. He has served in multiple positions at Wiss Janney Elstner Associates Inc. since 1989, including principal, board member and engineer.