Today’s top stories: Council raises, principal scandal undetected, Peterson denied

From a City Council pay raise vote to questions about how a principal’s sex charges went undetected, here’s a roundup of today’s top news from Modesto. The stories also include a fatal hit-and-run investigation and the latest setback in Scott Peterson’s bid for freedom.

Here are the key stories:

• Council raises: The Modesto City Council unanimously approved a 6.2% raise plan Tuesday, which would lift the mayor’s salary from $54,000 to $57,348 and council members’ pay from $30,000 to $31,860. Final approval is scheduled for a May 12 public hearing.

• Principal’s charges went unnoticed: Former Modesto principal Brian Chubon, 53, worked at Modesto City Schools for 13 months after being criminally charged with sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old Gustine student. Because Chubon was never arrested or fingerprinted, the district was not notified through the state Department of Justice system.

• Fatal hit-and-run: The Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office identified Sarah Poplasky, 44, of Modesto as the woman killed April 24 on Riverside Drive. The CHP is searching for a white sedan, possibly a Nissan, that struck Poplasky after she was first hit by a Ford pickup whose driver remained at the scene.

• Peterson appeal denied: A San Mateo County judge rejected Scott Peterson’s latest habeas corpus petition Monday, calling the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s nearly 700 pages of claims “procedurally barred, meritless, or both.” Peterson, 53, is serving life without parole for the 2002 murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.