Opinion

SAN FRANCISCO — About 1.5 million California seniors covered by Medicare-contracted HMOs got a legal boost Thursday from the state’s highest court, which ruled they can sue their health maintenance organizations for damages. -more-

OAKLAND — A man charged with smuggling two teenage girls from India into the country for a wealthy Berkeley landlord by posing as their father pleaded guilty as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, according to court documents. -more-

SACRAMENTO — All school districts should receive more school construction money more often, according to a report released Tuesday by the Legislative Analyst’s Office. -more-

Four of the seven Berkeley girls who ran a marathon in Rome last month to raise money to create a lounge at Oakland Children's Hospital in memory of a friend who died of cancer are at it again. -more-

Nine community organizations and 29 households saved about $500,000 when 1,500 local volunteers completed a flurry of building repairs last Saturday. -more-

OAKLAND — Dozens of state legislators, more than a million state workers – and even Gov. Gray Davis may be indirectly profiting from California’s power woes. Calpers, the state retirement and pension system, has more than a billion dollars invested in power generators. -more-