NPR People: Richard Gonzales

District Attorney Steve Cooley this week made good on a promise to get tough on pot shops in Los Angeles County. He charged one operator with 24 felonies and set his bail at more than $500,000. But medical marijuana advocates say Cooley and others are misinterpreting the law.

Apple wants to lower the cost of a single TV episode on iTunes from the current $1.99 to 99 cents. Consumers are beginning to ask why they're paying so much for cable, when they could just buy the few shows they actually watch a la carte via iTunes.

A California law requiring the state to use early release to thin its prison population is causing controversy and confusion. One released prisoner was arrested for attempted rape, and many county sheriffs let people go free — even though the law doesn't affect them.

Toyota's recall of more than 2 million vehicles involves mostly newer models, but the recall also affects some older cars and pickups, which may have changed hands more than once. Will Toyota be able to track down all those used cars? Turns out it's not as hard as it sounds.

A pot warehouse opens in Oakland, Calif., featuring 15,000 square feet of one-stop shopping space for those interested in growing medical marijuana. What some are calling the "Wal-Mart of Weed" opens just as a grassroots effort to legalize recreational marijuana in California is gaining ground.

A mentor who can relate to your background can be useful in helping you get ahead. But that is hard to come by for many entry- and midlevel employees who are minorities. Private minority-run coaching firms are now cropping up to fill the void.

Officials in Richmond, Calif., want to raise Chevron's taxes and are blocking refinery upgrades, pending environmental review. Chevron is California's largest greenhouse gas producer. While the company tries to improve its image, it's also hinting that it might be time to relocate.

In Richmond, Calif., where a teenage girl was gang-raped at her high school, residents continue to wrestle with the effects of the brutal attack. NPR's Richard Gonzales, a native of Richmond, returns to see the community's response firsthand.

In the early morning hours on Monday, a truck swerved off a new corner on the Oakland Bay Bridge and crashed through the barriers, plummeting down to land on Yerba Buena Island below. This new S-curve on the bridge was installed with repairs last Labor Day weekend, and has already been the site of at least 40 crashes or fender benders. The California Department of Transportation says speed is the problem, but it's just the latest setback as engineers and officials scramble to repair and update this crucial transportation link.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is overturning a city policy that says undocumented youth accused of felonies must be handed over to federal authorities. The new law requires an actual felony conviction before someone is handed over to federal immigration authorities.

Transportation crews in California are working to finish emergency repairs to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. They have been working to fix a span of the bridge after 5,000 pounds of steel crashed down onto westbound lanes earlier this week.

A cable snapped on the Bay Bridge's upper deck in San Francisco during Tuesday's rush-hour commute, prompting authorities to close the bridge for repairs and an inspection. It is the second time in recent weeks that the bridge has been shut because of structural defects.

The American Booksellers Association is asking the Justice Department to investigate what it calls the "predatory pricing" of best-selling books by retail giants Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon. Books that normally sell for around $25 are being offered for around $10 ten. The association says other booksellers can't compete with such low prices.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown says a major banking firm bilked the state's two biggest pension funds out of more than $200 million. Brown has filed a lawsuit against State Street Bank and Trust Company. The suit alleges the Boston-based firm overcharged the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System with fees and penalties for handling foreign currency trades.

The Obama administration's new hands-off policy on medical marijuana is getting a broad spectrum of responses in California, parts of which feel overrun by medicinal pot. Los Angeles' district attorney says he's cracking down on those operating illegally. Residents say pot stores are a nuisance.