Guy Houston

State Assembly candidate Joan Buchanan has unveiled an overhauled website as she moves into what's expected to be a hotly contested race in the 15th Assembly District.

The new site features a different layout and an easier way to join the campaign as a volunteer or donor, according to an e-mail Buchanan's campaign sent to supporters.

Certified results from the Contra Costa County's elections office make Abram Wilson the winner of the Republican primary in the California 15th Assembly District.

Wilson, the mayor of San Ramon, won by about 300 votes over Robert Rao, a small businessman from Livermore.  That gave Wilson about 30 percent of the vote and Rao 29.5 percent.

By fewer than 300 votes, San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson appears to have clinched the Republican nomination for California Assembly District 15.

Returns from all four counties in that district on the California Secretary of State's Web site show Wilson with 11,828 votes and 30.1 percent of the vote, to 11,586 and 29.5 percent for Robert Rao, a small businessman from Livermore.

Nurses on strike at eight Bay Area hospitals are wrapping up their ten-day action as their union makes plans to support two Democrats vying for open state seats in moderate Republican districts.

The California Nurses Association has had 4,000 of their 80,000 members picketing the Sutter Health medical facilities since March 21. This is CNA’s third strike against Sutter since November and it ends Sunday. The CNA is known for aggressive public actions like this and over the years it also has protested Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when he’s appeared at various women or health-related events, loudly promoting bills he has opposed such as single-payer health care.

This year the nurses union also is backing two Democrats vying for open seats which are being vacated by Republicans.