News
News from around the world, the nation, and close to home.
From farms to you
By JIM DOWNING
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
On a 450-acre farm along Interstate 80 southwest of Davis, Calif., Rich Collins is planning a $5 million showcase for Yolo-area agriculture.
In Bridgeway Farms _ "a new-age Nut Tree," he says, referring to the well-known former highway attraction _ Collins envisions fruit and nut orchards, a cheese-making operation drawing from local goats and cows, and cold storage and warehousing for local small farmers.
GOP looks to new California Assembly leader
By E.J. SCHULTZ
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut deal after deal with the Democrats this year, Republicans in the California state Assembly watched with frustration.
California sentencing panel may get new life
By ANDY FURILLO
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Facing a double whammy of a population cap and a court decision that threatens to wipe out the state's sentencing law, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is considering a sentencing commission that would help decide who goes to prison and for how long.
"We are willing to engage in sentencing reform," Corrections Secretary James Tilton said in an interview with The Bee, adding that as part of the discussion, the Schwarzenegger administration is looking at establishing a sentencing commission.
Such panels take different forms but can allow states to manage prison populations by altering the approach to sentencing.
S.F. banning chemicals in products for tots
By JANE KAY
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Widely used chemicals with suspected links to cancer and developmental problems in humans are present in common baby products like the yellow rubber ducky, bath books and clear plastic bottles, a San Francisco Chronicle analysis confirmed.
Iraq war memorial sets tempers ablaze
By JASON B. JOHNSON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., voters may oppose the Iraq war, but the oak-studded hillside suburb of Lafayette has taken center stage among Bay Area war protests thanks to an emotional debate over a highly visible memorial to U.S.
California's top court rules on online libel
By BOB EGELKO
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
People who claim they were libeled on line can't sue the Internet service providers that carried the messages, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.
California budget shortfall has stink of reality
By DANIEL WEINTRAUB
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Working from cramped quarters on the upper floors of a plain concrete-clad office building catty-corner from the state Capitol, California's nonpartisan legislative analyst is all but unknown to state residents.
Giving up on Palestine
By MARK MACKINNON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Fatem Toubasi can't identify the specific moment she gave up on Palestine. It was a slow, heartbreaking process.
It started maybe a decade ago, when she first noticed the West Bank's relaxed and cosmopolitan atmosphere becoming more and more conservative.
Civilian workers in Iraq suffering combat trauma
By ANNA BADKHEN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
When Steven Thompson returned from Iraq to North Carolina, the war followed him home.
He scans pastures and chicken farms for roadside bombs. He shoots wary glances at the faces of shoppers and moviegoers, searching for potential suicide bombers.
PAC came out of nowhere to support war vets running for office
By GARY ROTSTEIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The political advertisement depicting a mannequin in U.S. military wear being shredded by small-arms fire began showing up in August against U.S. Sen.
