By JOHN WILDERMUTH, San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - A publicity stunt for a new warfare-based video game sent environmentalists to arms when a mass of balloons carrying advertisements for the game cascaded into San Francisco Bay.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the top Democratic choice for governor next year. But Antonio Villaraigosa, the newly re-elected mayor of Los Angeles, is a surprisingly strong contender if the senator stays in Washington, according to a new poll.

With the state drowning in red ink and the Legislature facing a seemingly endless gridlock, political reformers and business officials want to call a state constitutional convention to redraw the way government works in California.

SAN FRANCISCO -- With same-sex marriage bans on the ballot in three high-profile states in November, presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama could find themselves stuck in a fight they'd rather avoid.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is one of the fastest-rising stars in the GOP universe, and her stature as national co-chair for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign was highlighted this week with her speech at the Republican National Convention on economic reform.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Californians may soon be able to use their computers to register to vote and they can thank the state Department of Motor Vehicles for the chance.

SAN FRANCISCO -- When Bruce Bastian of Utah stood up Saturday night at a San Francisco dinner and wrote a $1 million check for the campaign against Proposition 8, he made it clearer than ever that November's ballot fight over a ban on same-sex marriage won't be a California-only affair.

An initiative to take redistricting out of the hands of the California legislature will be on the November ballot, backed by a couple of strange political bedfellows.

A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in California isn't yet on the November ballot, but politicians, gay rights groups and religious organizations are preparing for a battle that will ripple across the state and could help decide who is elected president.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Across the Bay Area, more Republicans are being asked to face an electoral firing squad, marching into legislative contests where they have little or no chance of winning behind an increasingly tattered GOP banner.