Oakland

When it comes to making three-point shots, no girls' basketball player in Southern Section history has had a better season than senior Courtney Jaco of Los Angeles Windward High. She enters the Open Division state championship game Saturday in Sacramento against Oakland Bishop O'Dowd as the single-season Southern Section record-holder with 142 three-pointers, according to CalHiSports.com. She has 408 three-pointers in her career. "Practice makes perfect," Jaco said of her success.

PHOENIX - Yasiel Puig is ready to play in the major leagues. That was the opinion offered Tuesday by fellow Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, who finished second in American League rookie-of-the-year balloting last season while leading the Oakland Athletics to a division title. "To me and to anyone who's seen what he's done, he's ready," Cespedes said. Puig is batting .500 for the Dodgers in the Cactus League. The 22-year-old outfielder was four for four in the Dodgers' 7-1 victory over the A's, including a two-run home run in the first inning that cleared Cespedes' head in left field.

AT THE PLATE: Veteran utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr., who started the day with a .174 average, homered and doubled. Hairston said he was never concerned about his slow start. "Especially coming off hip surgery, I wanted to make sure I was healthy and ready for the season," Hairston said. ON THE MOUND: Chris Capuano started in place of Chad Billingsley, who was scratched with a bruised finger on his pitching hand. Capuano had his best performance of the spring, holding the Athletics to a run and five hits over 52/3 innings.

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has appointed Eric Casher, an experienced trial attorney who served on a fundraising panel for President Obama, to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign-finance and conflict-of-interest laws. Casher, a 34-year-old Berkeley resident, practices law at Meyers Nave in Oakland. The firm serves as the municipal attorney for more than 40 cities and special districts.   Casher, who received his law degree from UC Hastings, has represented public and private developers, design professionals, general contractors and government agencies, according to the firm's website.

Oakland 13, Angels 5 AT THE PLATE: Vernon Wells hit his second homer of the spring, a three-run shot to left-center field in the fifth inning against All-Star reliever Ryan Cook, and Mike Trout had a double, two singles, two runs and a stolen base. Trout's infield single in the fifth ended a string of seven consecutive strikeouts for the Angels, who fell to 1-8-2 in Cactus League play. ON THE MOUND: Jason Vargas, acquired from Seattle in December, looked sharp in his Angels spring debut, striking out one and walking one in two hitless innings.

OAKLAND - Burglaries have plagued just about every corner of this beleaguered city of late: Last year, Oakland averaged one break-in every 42 minutes - a 44% increase over 2011. So when Mayor Jean Quan recently included a workshop on lock-picking in the "Something for Everyone" section of her newsletter, it didn't go over well. "Of all the incredibly unbelievable things I've witnessed in my life, this tops the list," one resident wrote in a letter that asked Quan to cancel the class.

Oakland 7, Angels 5 AT THE PLATE: Non-roster second baseman Brendan Harris, trying to win a major league job for the first time in three years, tripled home one run and scored another for the Angels. Outfielder Kole Calhoun, who doubled once in 23 at-bats as a rookie last season, doubled home one run and scored another. ON THE MOUND: Right-hander Hiroyuki Kobayashi, in his first game with a U.S. team after 12 years in Japanese pro ball, gave up one run in two innings, walking two and striking out one. Barry Enright, ticketed for the triple-A Salt Lake rotation, was chased in the first inning, giving up three runs and making 34 pitches.

The commissioner's office has provided the Oakland Athletics with tentative guidelines for a potential move to San Jose, according to three people familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it. The existence of the guidelines does not necessarily mean the A's will move to San Jose soon, or at all. However, if the A's can satisfy the concerns of the league office, Commissioner Bud Selig could let club owners decide whether to approve the...

SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. magistrate judge on Thursday sided with federal prosecutors in dismissing a lawsuit by the city of Oakland that challenged as illegal federal attempts to shutter the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary. In filing the suit last October, Oakland became the first city to take on federal enforcement actions that have led to the closure of hundreds of dispensaries in recent years. Attorney Cedric Chao, representing Oakland, had argued that the city has broad interests in ensuring Harborside Health Center remains open, as its closure would compel many of the dispensary's 108,000 patients to turn to the illegal market, triggering a public health and safety crisis.

Oliveto restaurant in Oakland has been doing the whole animal thing practically since Animal chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo were in diapers. Headed up to the Bay Area next week? If you hurry up and reserve now, you can sit down to the 14th annual Whole Hog Menu at Oakland's Oliveto restaurant. From Feb. 19-23, the à la carte menu is full of porky goodness. Organized by parts of the pig, the menu is coded CA for cold antipasto, WA for warm antipasto, P for primi and S for secondi , to make ordering easier.