western news

SAN FRANCISCO - A high-profile California insurance company that is backing a controversial insurance measure on the June ballot has engaged in practices that may be illegal, including deceptive pricing and discrimination against consumers such as active members of the military and drivers of emergency vehicles, according to a state report obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.

In his latest effort to patch California's cash-strapped budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has resurrected an idea to convert overhead freeway displays into electronic advertising billboards.

TUCSON, Ariz. - A 44,000-year climate history recorded in a stalagmite in a wet cave in the Santa Rita Mountains lends credence to what scientists have long suspected: When the climate warms globally, the Southwest dries out.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The state's budget crisis came into stark focus in the halls of Sacramento State last week, where many students returning for spring semester were turned away from classes they had hoped to get into, or strained from hallways to hear lectures in classes that had enrolled way more students than there were seats.

As tens of thousands of Californians lose their jobs every month, the high-stakes race for governor is becoming a referendum on how to stem the unemployment tide and get people back into the labor market.

Anita Shapiro, who is 82 and lives alone, spoils the math.

Shapiro, who lives on Social Security of $1,134 a month, has more health issues than she can list. She has trouble dressing herself without the caregiver who visits her five days a week. She can't drive. She can't go to a store alone.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Call it the Wal-Mart of weed.

In a 15,000-square-foot warehouse just down the road from the Oakland Airport, an entrepreneur is opening a one-stop shop for medicinal-marijuana cultivation that's believed to be the largest in the state.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California ski resorts would have to publish reports on how many people are injured or killed on the slopes, increase safety measures and force minors and employees to wear helmets, under a new bill.

SEATTLE - Feel free to spit, but don't even try lighting up.

That's the latest message from the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, which has dropped a proposal to ban spitting in parks but still is considering a ban on smoking.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Republicans are far more likely to identify with Tea Party protesters and the claim by some that President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is ineligible to be president, according to a new poll.