Countywide

Deputy Marshals to Be Hired: The county Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to hire six new deputies for the marshal’s office for duty in increasingly busy criminal courtrooms. The deputies will cost $303,695 a year, according to a report, which said more bailiffs are needed because of a new policy by Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks. In October, Hicks told his staff that they may plea-bargain only in open court and not in a judge’s chamber, requiring the added security.