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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats reached a deal Thursday that they say will help uninsured, lower-income Californians get discounts of up to 40 percent on name-brand drugs. The California Prescription Drug Initiative, announced earlier this week but formally approved Thursday, will give discounts of about 40 percent for name-brand drugs and 60 percent for generics to people who otherwise would have to pay full retail price. The enrollment fee will be $10 a year. The initiative will require prescription drug companies to offer discounts for medications or face possible sanctions. The Republican governor said the plan...

State officials announced Thursday that California has finally achieved its goal of reducing landfill waste by 50%, thanks to diligent recycling by residents and businesses. The milestone culminates a 16-year campaign by the state to persuade people to separate recyclables out of the trash. The state passed a landmark law in 1989 mandating that communities establish waste-management plans for residents and businesses that would ultimately divert at least 50% of all recyclable trash from landfills. California was supposed to reach the goal in 2000, but preliminary data released Thursday show that the goal wasn't reached until last year. A total...

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of California waiters, hairstylists, bellhops and other workers who rely on tips to boost their incomes could see their wages slashed under federal legislation the U.S. Senate could take up by Friday. The House already passed HR 5790, a far-reaching bill that would raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in nine years, reinstate tax cuts for teachers and those who pay college tuition and reduce estate taxes for the richest of Americans. But Democrats are blasting a provision in the GOP-written bill that would require that tips be counted as part of...

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger embarks from San Diego County on a campaign bus tour this morning, he will be greeted by good news in the form of a poll showing his re-election prospects brightening. A new statewide Field Poll shows that 45 percent of the likely voters in the Nov. 7 election would vote for the Republican incumbent and 37 percent for Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides. Three percent would vote for minor-party candidates and the remaining 15 percent were undecided. Although that does not represent a statistically significant change from May, when Schwarzenegger led Angelides 46 percent to 39...

LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants LAPD & LASO Might Be Knocking On Your Door Next! LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants Officers from the Los Angeles County Gun Task Force in CA have begun serving search warrants on residents in that county who are suspected of holding un-registered "Assault Rifles" including 50 BMG target rifles. If you or any of your friends have not complied with the provisions of AB-50 that require you to register any 50 BMG rifles you own, you may very well expect a knock on your door at any time. This...

Through an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” and through other actions of late, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put the GOP on notice that he's the governor of every Californian and not just fellow Republicans. “I will run as an Arnold Republican, which is I am there to govern and to serve the people of California, meaning Democrats and Republicans, even though there are some on the right wing that are not happy about that,” Schwarzenegger told host Tim Russert about his bid for re-election. Good for Arnold. It's exactly the right message, and it comes at exactly the right...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Yellow Ribbon America, a partner in the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program, will join the National Guard Association of California and the California state legislature in paying tribute to U.S. servicemembers during a Dec. 15 celebration in Newport Beach, Calif. Troops from both the active and reserve components will be on hand as part of "Operation Christmas for Our Troops II," a program aimed at gathering toys for the children of deployed California troops as well as DVDs and CDs for troops serving overseas. The bipartisan, statewide campaign kicked off in early December, and...

LOS ANGELES - Drums pounded, voices boomed and whistles shrieked as thousands of demonstrators marched in the shadows of downtown skyscrapers Saturday to protest America's involvement in Iraq, one of several California demonstrations on a day of protests across the country. The crowd, a mix of people ranging from mothers pushing baby strollers to spiky haired punk rockers, chanted for an end to the bloodshed and waved signs that said, "Who would Jesus have bombed?" and "War is not the answer." Police closed a downtown street to accommodate the protest, which they said drew an estimated 15,000 people. Protests across...

SAN FRANCISCO – An overwhelming majority of Californians approve of the unions Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been attacking while they disapprove of the job Schwarzenegger is doing, according to a new statewide poll. The poll released Thursday by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University is just the latest to show the governor has been losing support in recent months as he's pushed several ballot measures aimed at curbing the power of Democrats and public employee unions in state government. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings have fallen from 59 percent of Californians surveyed in January to 34 percent...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - More than twice as many Californians believe the state is on the wrong track as opposed to headed in the right direction, a new poll found. According to a Field Poll released Tuesday, 59 percent of Californians surveyed said the state is "seriously off on the wrong track," up from 51 percent in February. The percentage of people who believed the state was "generally going in the right direction" fell from 40 percent in February to 28 percent. Republicans were most optimistic with 46 percent believing the state was on the right track, while just 18...

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged Californians to conserve energy this summer while promoting his plan to create a state energy agency. He said he doesn't want a repeat of the power crisis of 2000-2001, which followed the state's foray into deregulated energy markets and led to rolling blackouts and soaring utility bills. "There is no doubt about it that California will face big energy challenges this summer and probably for years to come," said the governor, speaking at the office of the Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's power grid. "Conservation saves...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new study finds Californians are getting alarmingly fat, with more than half of all adults overweight. The study estimates that overweight and inactive Californians cost $21.7 billion a year in medical bills, injuries and lost productivity. The study blames a decade of overeating and sitting in front of the television. It finds that nearly 53 percent of Californians over 25 are overweight, and more than 17 percent are obese, or extremely overweight. The rates among Hispanics, blacks and adults with less than a high school education are even higher and exceed 60 percent. The study was...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - By a wide margin, Californians oppose granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, according to a poll released Friday. A Field Poll showed that 62 percent of state residents oppose granting the licenses, while 35 percent favor the idea. The poll also found that 49 percent support issuing a different kind of license to illegal immigrants, with 48 percent opposed. The survey found a large ethnic divide on the question. Three out of four white, non-Hispanics said they are opposed to issuing regular driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, while Hispanics favor the idea by a two-to-one margin. Of...

As a conservative Republican in Lafayette, Linda Ellman wouldn't even put a "Bush for President" sticker on her car for fear of what might happen. But when the president won re-election Tuesday, she was surprised to find she wasn't alone. "I go to a church where all four pastors are Democrats,'' Ellman said. "But when I called the church to find out the reaction to the election, I heard there had been a lot of high fives from closet Republicans.'' The Bay Area is the Promised Land for California Democrats, a region where liberal congresswomen like San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi...

SACRAMENTO - A larger proportion of California voters now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction than at any time since President Bush took office, according to a new statewide poll released Wednesday. Driven by worries over terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy, 58 percent of Californian believe the country is on the wrong track, according to a new Field Poll. That figure has gradually risen since December 2001 when 68 percent said the nation was headed in the right direction. Meanwhile, Bush continues to receive record low approval ratings in California with 54 percent saying...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Worried about air pollution and related health problems, most Californians want lawmakers to make protecting the environment a top priority, even if it hinders economic growth, according to a poll released Thursday. The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found wide support across racial, ethnic, regional and political lines for environmental protection programs to reduce air pollution, reduce auto emissions and develop alternative energy sources. "As our state becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, concerns about environmental issues are being seen across a broad spectrum of the population," Mark Baldassare, the San Francisco-based institute's...

Californians Pay Final Respects to President Ronald Reagan 9 minutes ago By JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Nancy Reagan touched her cheek to the flag-covered casket, then made way for Americans by the thousands to pay respects Monday to Ronald Reagan before a cross-country journey to a state funeral in Washington. A steady, near-silent stream of people — some saluting, some praying — circled through the rotunda of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where the body of the nation's 40th president will lie in repose through Tuesday before traveling to Washington. After Friday's state funeral, the...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces an uphill battle to win voter approval of the first phase of his fiscal recovery plan March 2. But if he is willing to place his personal and political credibility on the line, he can probably pull it off.</p>

The cost of being a Californian is going up in 2004 and few in the Golden State will be spared from the efforts to bolster the state and local budgets with higher fees and fines. Fishing will cost more. So will filing for divorce. And driving. Or flying. And drinking from bottles and cans. Planning to pitch a tent this summer? That'll cost you. But perhaps nobody will feel the immediate effect of the new calendar like BART's 315,000 daily patrons. BART's across-the-board 10 percent fare increase takes effect with daytime service on Jan. 1. The average price of a...

Californians Launch New Prop. 187 Measure 16 minutes ago By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES - Backers of a contentious 1994 initiative denying some social services to illegal immigrants have resurrected their effort and are gathering signatures to qualify a new measure for the November ballot. The "Save Our State Initiative" would bar undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses and most public services, including non-emergency health care. Police, teachers and other public employees would have to notify federal authorities in writing of immigration violations or face potential misdemeanor criminal charges. "We don't think it's right to give welfare...