The Vallejo Police Department experienced a violent night Tuesday, after a doctor was shot inside a business and a 21-year-old was gunned down at a gathering just over two hours later.

Police first responded to the apparent homicide of Dr. Ira Eugene Polonsky just after 6 p.m.

Polonsky was discovered at a business located at 1812 Capitol St. with a gunshot wound.

Polonsky, 64, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

A couple hours later at 8:35 p.m. police were called to a gathering where they were told 15 gunshots were fired, one that fatally hit 21-year-old Michael Clint Banks.

The Vallejo Police Department is searching for a suspect who shot the man at a gathering near Mark and Janice streets.

When officers arrived on the scene, approximately 150 people, who were at the gathering, were fleeing in different directions. Officers then discovered Banks suffering from a gunshot wound.

Banks was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The Alameda County District Attorney's office filed court papers today formally announcing that it will seek the death penalty against a Newark man accused of shooting to death San Leandro police officer Nels "Dan" Niemi at point-blank range on July 25.

The filing in Alameda County Superior Court wasn't a surprise because prosecutors said last week that they'd decided to seek the death penalty against 23-year-old Irving Ramirez, who's a native of El Salvador.

Ramirez was arraigned at a brief hearing today that was attended by Niemi's parents and brother and four uniformed San Leandro police officers. Ramirez is scheduled to return to court Nov. 17 to enter a plea.

Niemi, 42, who is survived by his wife and two children, was shot to death after he responded to a report of a disturbance at 14659 Doolittle Drive in San Leandro about 11 p.m. July 25.

According to a police report, Ramirez, a native of El Salvador, apparently opened fire on the officer because he feared being arrested on illegal gun and drug charges.

The report says that Ramirez shot Niemi once with a 10 mm semi-automatic handgun, knocking the officer to the ground, then shot the officer six more times while he was on the ground.

At the end of a preliminary examination two weeks ago, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner ruled that there's enough evidence to bound Ramirez over to stand trial on the charges against him.

Ramirez is charged with murder as well as three special circumstances clauses: murdering a police officer during the performance of his duties, lying in wait and committing murder to avoid arrest.

Although when the special circumstances were filed in July they made Ramirez eligible for the death penalty, the district attorney's office had the option of seeking life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty.

A vigil and memorial services for 14-year-old Nayanci Gonzalez, who was shot outside her high school last Thursday, will begin today in Hayward, according to a San Leandro High School spokeswoman.

A vigil for Gonzalez will be held at 6:30 p.m. today at the Sorensen Brothers Mortuary. The mortuary will also be open for visitation today between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Friends of Gonzalez are invited to attend a funeral mass Thursday at 11 a.m. at St. Clements Catholic Church in Hayward.

Gonzalez was killed in a murder-suicide by 17-year-old Alejandro Fajardo of Oakland, according to the San Leandro Police Department.

She was walking from her home to San Leandro High School, where she was a sophomore, when Fajardo pulled up alongside her in a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro around 7:55 a.m., police said.

Sorensen Brothers Mortuary is located at 1140 B St., Hayward.

St. Clements Catholic Church is located at 738 Calhoun St., Hayward.

A state appeals court in San Francisco has ruled that a woman who boarded her horse at a Santa Rosa ranch is not legally responsible for injuries suffered by a 14-year-old friend of her son's who fell off a stack of hay bales.

The youth, David McDaniel Jr., was seriously injured when he fell off a pile of hay bales in a barn at the Rocking B Ranch in Santa Rosa in 2002, according to the ruling by the state Court of Appeal.

At the time, David was visiting a family across the street and was invited by the 8-year-old son of Linda Swarts to play in the barn with a group of children.

Swarts, who boarded her horse at the ranch, was grooming her horse at a hitching post outside the barn and was the only adult present at the accident.

David's family argued in a Sonoma County Superior Court lawsuit against Swarts that she was legally responsible because her son's invitation to David created a duty of care for her.

But a three-judge panel of the appeals court, in a ruling issued on Monday, said Swarts was not responsible because she did not issue the invitation personally and did not control the ranch.

The court said that creating a legal special relationship between a parent and an unrelated child outside the home "would impose an unwarranted burden" on families with children.

Judge John Munter, a San Francisco trial judge temporarily assigned to the appeals court, wrote, "Parents would be faced with the prospect of liability for failure to prevent harm to all children who happen to play with their own children in environments (i.e. playgrounds, parks, etc.) over which they have no control."

The appeals upheld a trial court ruling dismissing the case.

Criminal proceedings could be suspended against an 83-year-old man charged with killing a Daly City woman while allegedly driving the wrong way on U.S. Highway 101 in Sonoma County last week.

A preliminary exam by a psychiatrist indicated Cedric Beebe, of Oakmont, qualifies for exemption from further prosecution based on his mental competency.

Beebe appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court this morning but did not enter a plea to charges that include gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and DUI.

He will return to court Nov. 10 for a bail review and further proceedings regarding his mental competency. Criminal proceedings against him could be suspended at that time, Deputy District Attorney Robert LaForge said.

Judge Rene Chouteau raised Beebe's bail from $500,000 to no bail. He is being held in the Sonoma County Jail.

Jessica Wong, 21, a passenger in a 2003 Toyota Camry, was critically injured when the car swerved off the road and hit a tree to avoid a collision with Beebe's 2006 Toyota Corolla around 11:30 p.m. She died the next day at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Anne Buchanan, 27, of Berkeley, the driver of the Camry, suffered broken bones and lacerations. Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy Don Fletcher suffered minor injuries when he swerved his patrol car into the center divide to avoid a collision with Beebe's car, the CHP said.

A third driver avoided injury when he swerved to avoid a collision with Beebe's car.

The CHP said Beebe was cooperative after the incident but did not realize he had caused any crashes.

A two-alarm fire in a four-unit building in San Rafael this morning caused $30,000 in damage to the building and $10,000 to the building's contents, according to the San Rafael Fire Department.

The fire, reported at 3:19 a.m. at 147 Bahia Way, was under control by 3:45 a.m., reported the fire department.

The fire is under active investigation and no cause has yet been determined, according to a fire department official. There were no injuries.

Construction begins in San Leandro this week on a red light photo enforcement system designed to reduce the running of red lights and associated traffic accidents.

A system of cameras will be installed at five "high-risk'' intersections in San Leandro, said Jane McCrea, a public information officer for the city of San Leandro.

The enforcement system involves two cameras that will photograph the vehicle, its rear license plate, and the face of the driver when a motorist runs a red light, according to San Leandro city officials. The cameras will also record 12 seconds of video of the car as it enters the intersection.

The red light enforcement program, which is modeled after similar programs in Fremont and Union City, is designed to reduce traffic collisions and fatalities resulting from the running of red lights, McCrea explained.

"Our Police Department is well aware that red light running has been on the rise, based on reports they've seen,'' McCrea said.

The photo enforcement system is also expected to reduce the danger to police officers who might normally chase after motorists who run red lights, McCrea said.

Police officers will review the photos and video before issuing a citation, which will cost violators $351, city officials report.

The police officers will "take a lot of factors into consideration,'' before issuing a citation, such as whether or not the driver entered the intersection when the light was red or not, McCrea said. The review process is designed to "interject human analysis'' into the assessment of potential red light violations.

The construction of the photo enforcement system is expected to be completed by this December, and the system is expected to become operational by January 2006, McCrea said.

The state superintendent has singled out seven Bay Area public schools for national recognition, the state Department of Education announced today.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell nominated 35 California public schools, the maximum allowed for the state, for the 2006 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Program.

Alameda County's American Indian Public Charter, Amador Valley High and Foothill High schools, as well as Contra Costa County's California High, Iron Horse Middle, Stone Valley Middle and Middle College High schools were included in the superintendent's nominations.

Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education, the superintendent's office reported.

O'Connell congratulated the nominated schools and in a prepared statement said, "I am continually impressed by the hard work of the students, their parents, teachers, and schools to help these kids succeed."

At least one-third of the nominated schools must have a student body comprised of 40 percent or more disadvantaged young people, according to the superintendent's office.

Nominated schools receive an invitation from the Department of Education to apply for the program. Schools that meet academic and progress targets and other criteria will be named in September by the U.S. Secretary of Education and honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The winning schools are considered to be national models of excellence, according to the superintendent's office.

The agency is surveying hospital admissions and emergency room visits for evidence of influenza and checking medical equipment inventory to ensure the proper equipment and pharmaceuticals are on hand in the event of a pandemic.

It is conducting ongoing training of public health staff and county staff on their roles in a response to a pandemic.

The agency is also purchasing new equipment for the public health lab to increase its ability to screen for influenza and participate in the Laboratory Response Network to ensure quick processing of specimens.

The agency is continuing to train its partners and exercise plans to update and improve its response capabilities. ALPHA is planning a major exercise with its partners in May 2006.

Police are searching for a man who allegedly donned a gorilla face mask and stole sports collectibles from a business in Campbell Sunday morning.

The man allegedly stole collectibles from a commercial business around 9:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Hamilton Avenue, police Sgt. Richard Shipman said today.

Shipman declined to say what type of collectibles were stolen because police are still in the midst of an investigation.

The alleged masked thief did not brandish a weapon during the crime, Shipman said.

Police say a second theft occurred later that day in Campbell but investigators have yet to positively connect the man with the second crime.

The Bay Area is expected to be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain today, according to the National Weather Service.

Tonight is expected to be partly cloudy. Low temperatures are expected to drop to the 40s to lower 50s, with west winds of 5 to 10 mph.

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