Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of Twin Peaks failed to pack his carry-on bag wisely Wednesday morning and was confronted by Ontario airport police. Scheduled to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Sacramento, Donnelly was stopped at a security checkpoint, detained and cited for his illegal luggage. more ›

For methamphetamine user Robert Edward De Shields, one side effect of the drug is apparently the strong desire to sexually abuse animals. The Sacramento parolee was sentenced this week to 10 years in state prison for his appalling treatment of an 8-month-old chihuahua. more ›

If you can get out of work (or your jammies) NOW you may still have time to hit the road, or, better yet, catch a flight, up to the Sacramento area, where in a town called Orangevale, one medical marijuana dispensary is giving out free pot today. more ›

A California teen was arrested after authorities determined she had faked her own abduction last week. 17-year-old Christina Almanza was the subject of an Amber Alert after her family received text messages and voicemails saying she had been snatched and was being held captive in a basement [...] more ›

Medical marijuana patients and supporters will rally in Sacramento on Wednesday to address the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) crackdown in California. Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a coalition of advocacy and labor groups and the aforementioned supporters will descend on the federal building at noon to protest DOJ attacks on the Golden State's medical marijuana laws. more ›

Some lucky lady's date at McDonald's ended with her Prince Charming being arrested and charged with child endangerment, according to ABC 7. The gentleman in question, 18-year-old Christopher Johnson, had left his baby girl alone in an unlocked car far from his date at a McDonald's in Sacramento. more ›

California's most notorious housekeeper has broken her silence. Mildred Baena, the woman who inadvertently took down the Schwarzenegger household when it was revealed that Arnold was the father of her 13-year-old son Joseph, recently told her story to Hello! magazine. more ›

With the Sacramento Kings at "the brink of relocating" to the Honda Center in Anaheim, the Maloof family, team owners since 1999, announced Monday after months of negotiations, that plans to move to Orange County have been "at least temporarily abandoned" because of "opposition to the move by the NBA," notes the OC Register. more ›

Now that the Lakers and the Clippers are regularly selling out Staples Center, why not bring a third NBA team into the fold? Anaheim City Council voted to approve $75 million in bonds for improvements to Honda Center and its surroundings in an effort to convince the owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, to up and vamoose. But there will be no "Anaheim Royals of Los Angeles' Neighboring County Orange in Southern California." more ›

As soon as the new legislature is sworn in up in Sacramento next month, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to put everyone to work on resolving California's staggering budget deficit. more ›

On the 100th day of the fiscal year, the California legislature finally approved a budget after both houses suffered through overnight sessions lasting more than 20 hours. The Assembly approved the $87.5 billion spending plan before 6 a.m. and the Senate at 8:25 a.m. more ›

After a 93-day impasse, California lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reached an agreement last night on a budget, according to the Sacramento Bee. more ›

A hard landing that blew four tires and caused a fire left 15 passengers injured this afternoon when a JetBlue flight from Long Beach landed in Sacramento. The Airbus A320 landed shortly before 1 p.m. when the fire -- caused by the brakes, according to initial reports -- broke out. Crew members deployed the emergency slides to evacuate passengers, reported CBS News. more ›

At least six people have died in a crash involving a Greyhound Bus and and a Chevy Blazer on Highway 99 outside of Fresno, according to the LA Times. The bus, which originated in Los Angeles and was operating on the carrier's Route 6888, was carrying 47 people, and was driven by James Jewett, 57. Jewett was among those killed in the accident. more ›

Long Beach may join three Northern California cities by placing a marijuana tax proposal on the November ballot. The City Council today is expected to consider an item today that would schedule a public hearing in August, which is when the councilmembers would vote to place the tax measure on the ballot. more ›

The 800-mile Amgen Tour of California got its start yesterday, making it way from Nevada City to Sacramento. 24-year-old Mark Cavendish, who is a 10-time Tour de France stage winner and is known for his sprinting skills, took the win for the day for the HTC-Columbia team. The 104.2-mile leg took him 4 hours 4 minutes 6 seconds. more ›

Based on some statistics, Forbes this week released its list of cities in free fall. The magazine is not citing the city's current budget crisis, rather more regional problems. According to Forbes, the Los Angeles-Long Beach area has experienced... more ›

As UC Regents meet for a vote on increasing University of California tuition by 32%, Attorney General Jerrry Brown said today that a state panel has the authority to cut the pay of state Senators and Assemblymembers by 18 percent, which would cut pay from $116,208 to $95,291 in December 2010, according to the Sacramento Bee. At issue was if Senate salaries could be cut mid-term, which Brown said was within the law. But still undetermined is if benefits can be cut. more ›

Billions taken healthcare and education, a 32 percent hike under consideration in the University system, the list could go on. The big question is, after this year, what more is there to cut? more ›

On Tuesday, the State Assembly passed Senate Bill 679, meant to protect the state park system and ensure that lands used as state parks cannot be used for non-park purposes without providing substitute lands. "The least we can do is not dismantle the system," explained Traci Verardo-Torres with the California State Parks Foundation, a sponsor of the bill. more ›

As of yesterday, the State Senate had not moved on items except denying a budget package of three bills passed by the Assembly (before a bill can go to Schwarzenegger, it must pass both houses). That package would temporarily halt the use of IOUs in lieu of bill payments from the state. In regards to the threat of state parks, no action has been taken yet. The Democrats proposal goes like this: AB 180, the big budget revision bill (remember, the budget was already passed earlier this year), contains a one year cut of state parks (Schwarzenegger called for two years). Once that passes, effectively eliminating state parks, then another bill would be introduced to save state parks via a $15 annual fee on vehicle registrations. That's a risky move considering Schwarzenegger and Republicans vow to veto any taxes or fee increases. The Senate reconvened at 12:30 today and the Assembly will on Saturday. more ›

The gardening trend is, without a doubt (and pardon the pun) growing. more ›

Rural California is seceding from the urban coast? Well, if industrial pig farmers have anything to do with it, cities like Visalia, Tulare, and Fresno will soon be working to separate themselves from the heathen-vegan coast! The reason? It's all because we took their chicken coops away from them -- or, at least, because we fought against current agro-industrial standards for livestock health and welfare. more ›

It was a rough Valentine's night for California's lawmakers, as they worked until the wee hours trying to resolve our budget. But in the early morning hours today it became apparent that the budget was not going to get the one last Republican vote it needed, and it has stalled. more ›

After deferring a $150 million payment to Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors has voted to take California's controller, John Chiang, to court. The payment was withheld because of the ongoing budget crisis; the Board, however, calls the deferment unconstitutional and says the revenue the state owes the county is badly needed," abc7.com is reporting. Los Angeles is not the first, or only county in California to sue the state and the controller. San Bernardino County's Board of Supervisors also voted to sue when a $204 million payment needed for welfare and other programs was deferred this month. Other lawsuits are coming from San Diego, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Valley, too. more ›

Four of the seven state offices in Southern California will be closed some Fridays due to the furloughs. more ›

George Francis was born on June 6, 1896. That made him 112 and 204 days before he died of heart failure at a Sacramento nursing home on Saturday. Francis lived through various wars, the birth of the mass produced automobile, the moon landing and the election of the first Black President, who he voted for. He leaves behind his son, Anthony Francis, who is 81. Who is the oldest person in the world? UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles maintains a list of the world's oldest people and says that Maria de Jesus of Portugal is the oldest person. She's 115 and 109 days old. more ›

Budget, schmudget. According to the Daily News, despite our state's whopping "$42 billion budget hole" that is spawning "severe cuts to state programs and possibly layoffs" the folks hammering out the budget still get $173 a day "on top of their $116,208 annual salaries" for, you know, incidentals like parking and lunch and hotel laundry services. more ›

First, we have the Sacramento County Republican Party, who recently had to remove certain images from their site, like the one at left, because they were all offensive and stuff. more ›

Pastor Robert Jones of a Sacramento-area church visited a state environmental hearing last Wednesday about California's plan to cut global warming emissions. He asked the politicians to keep poorer communities in mind when drafting laws. more ›