Here are the stories keeping reporters busy Thursday:

• Day 2: As a faculty strike goes to Day 2, some students are packing up, while other unionized workers refused to cross a picket line to continue a construction project on campus. See pictures and a video from the second day.

• Equal pay: One school district is looking at paying all of its coaches – from football to field hockey – at the same rate.

• No charges: He was charged with assaulting a bar patron, but now the attorney general has dropped the case. We'll tell you why.

• Badly beaten: A man slapped and punched his girlfriend in the face because her alarm clock went off, police say.

Look for these stories and more in Friday's Press Enterprise.

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Here are the stories popular with our online readers today:

• Compressed conversation: A new type of gas station may come to the area.

• 'Predator' or not? A man convicted of rape tries to convince a judge he doesn't deserve to be labeled a "sexually violent predator."

• In the kitchen: Check out the latest area restaurant inspections.