Bay Area Briefs

BERKELEY -- The University of California's endowment has lost $1 billion in value this year, a victim of the slumping U.S. economy.

The college system's treasurer told UC's governing board of regents Wednesday that the invested endowment used to fund scholarships, professorships, and other special programs fell 15 percent to $5.7 billion through the third quarter that ended Sept. 30.

That compares to a value of $6.7 billion at the end of 2007.

UC officials say if the downward trend continues, the system would have less money to spend on recruiting faculty and students. Interest from the endowment helps cover those expenses.

From 2003 through 2007, the endowment earned an average of 7.89 percent in interest.

Complaint filed over

Mormon aid to Prop. 8

SAN FRANCISCO -- A California gay rights activist filed a complaint Thursday accusing the Mormon church of failing to report the value of the work it did to support the state's new same-sex marriage ban.

Fred Karger, the founder of Californians Against Hate, submitted the complaint to the enforcement division of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the agency that regulates campaign activity.

Karger alleges that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ran out-of-state phone banks, produced commercials and provided other services that must be reported as contributions to the Proposition 8 campaign.

"Let's be transparent here. If they are going to play in the political process, they need to abide by the rules like everyone else," he said.

Karger also notified the attorneys general of California and Utah, where the Mormon church is headquartered.

Gang raids yield 18 arrests

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal, state and local authorities arrested 18 people during a Thursday morning gang raid in the San Francisco Bay area, including a man out on parole whom Attorney General Jerry Brown dubbed as a "shot caller."

Approximately 200 agents served more than 40 search and arrest warrants Thursday across Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Sacramento counties as part of a 10-month gang enforcement initiative called "Operation Trident."

Authorities said the crackdown involved the Deep-C or "Deep Central" gang, responsible last year for more than half of Richmond's 47 homicides -- the highest per-capita murder rate in California. The violence was mostly related to drug trafficking, robbery and prostitution.

The investigation began after two gang leaders attempted to kill a rival gang member in a drive-by shooting at a Richmond mall. They instead shot the rival's 17-year-old girlfriend in the neck, leaving her a quadriplegic.

Agents also seized cocaine and marijuana worth an estimated $100,000, guns and more than $17,000 in cash.

Study: Global warming

could be costly for state

SAN FRANCISCO -- California could suffer as much as $23 billion a year in property damage caused by wildfires, rising sea levels and extreme weather events if not enough is done to combat global warming, according to a report released Thursday.

The study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley seeks to quantify the possible long-term economic damage that climate change could cause in the state over the next century.

Global warming threatens about $2.5 trillion of California's $4 trillion in real estate assets, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure related to water, energy, transportation, agriculture, tourism and recreation, the report found.

The properties at risk include homes, buildings, roads, bridges, reservoirs, container ports, airports, power lines, farms, beaches and forests.

Depending on how much temperatures rise, the effects of climate change could cause $3.5 billion to $23 billion a year in annual damage to public and private property in California, according to the report, which projects the economic impact of different global warming scenarios. That estimate includes $300 million to $3.9 billion in annual damage to real estate assets.