California Briefly 5/8

Man says he found SoCal student dead, dumped body

LOS ANGELES (AP) " A sex offender has told the parents of San Diego State University student Donna Jou that he found their daughter dead of a drug overdose at his home, then dumped her body in the ocean.

John Steven Burgess met for two hours with Jou's parents at a downtown jail Thursday, a day after he pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 19-year-old woman's death.

Jou family attorney Gloria Allred says Burgess admitted giving Jou heroin and cocaine at his house in 2007. He said he found her dead the next morning, panicked, then dumped her body from his sailboat into the ocean. He then fled to Florida. Her body has not been recovered.

He faces five years in state prison when he's sentenced May 18.

Gay rights to air ads for marriage

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " The state's largest gay rights group announced plans Thursday to launch a new media and public relations campaign for same-sex marriage in California.

Equality California said it's buying air time for new television ads, hiring dozens of field organizers and reaching out to clergy to help change attitudes about same-sex couples.

The move comes on the heels of gay marriage victories in Iowa and throughout New England. The California Supreme Court also is considering whether to overturn a voter-approved ban on such unions in the state that passed last fall with 52 percent of the vote.

The high court has until June 3 to rule on the legality of Proposition 8, which changed the constitution to ban gay marriage.

Equality California says the renewed effort is not a formal push to put the issue on the 2010 ballot, but it's laying the groundwork for an eventual campaign.

UC raises fees by 9 percent, names new chancellors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to raise student fees by 9.3 percent, the latest move to offset state budget cuts to the 10-campus system.

The regents also approved the appointments of two new chancellors " Linda Katehi at UC Davis and Susan Desmond-Hellmann at UC San Francisco " but drew fire from a state lawmaker who called their compensation excessive.

The fee increase, approved by a 17-4 vote, is one of several measures aimed at cutting the university's $450 million budget shortfall. In recent months, UC has frozen administrator salaries, imposed hiring freezes, reduced faculty recruitment and cut freshman enrollment.

The increase in student fees, which have more than doubled over the past seven years, are expected to generate about $152 million, with about one-third set aside for financial aid.

Tuition for nonresident undergraduates will increase 10 percent to about $22,000.

Guilty plea in sea turtle guitar pick case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " A 54-year-old Sonoma County woman has pleaded guilty to charges of illegally importing guitar picks made from endangered sea turtle shells.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Qing Song pleaded guilty to one felony Wednesday. She was sentenced to 10 months of home confinement and a $2,000 fine.

Song admitted to importing picks of raw shells of the Hawksbill sea turtle from China and selling them in the United States. Some musicians covet the shells instead of plastic picks because they believe they produce a superior tone.