Democrats turn to big guns and foot soldiers -- For more than a year, the vitriolic Democratic battle for governor has featured state Treasurer Phil Angelides, state Controller Steve Westly and opposing armies of high-priced consultants, pollsters, TV ad executives and political operatives. But with just days to go before Tuesday's primary election, the $70 million neck-and-neck struggle now depends on people as famous as Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and as unknown as volunteers like Jen Polenzani and Myrna Lim. Carla Marinucci, John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Democratic rivals in final push -- After trading barbs with rival Steve Westly for the past month, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides returned Saturday to assailing Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in an attempt to energize Latino and labor activists to contact voters. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee Renee Koury in the San Jose Mercury -- 6/4/06

Tsakopoulos cash carries controversy -- Gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides says it is because he is Greek American and shares similar Democratic values that developers Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis have spent $8.7 million to advertise on his behalf this year. But Democratic rival Steve Westly assigns more sinister motives to the contributions, suggesting the Tsakopoulos family seeks only one thing: influence over the state's highest office. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 6/4/06

Westly rolls up his sleeves, focuses on pollution -- Focusing his closing campaign push on environmental issues, Steve Westly on Saturday viewed photographs of infants and children wearing breathing masks due to urban pollution and vowed to fight as governor for environmental justice for communities. Peter Hecht in the Sacramento Bee -- 6/4/06

Fickle voters, angst and primary dynamics generate uncertainty -- California voters are a notoriously fickle lot, motivated more by immediate circumstances and the personalities of vote-seekers than by deep-seated ideological or partisan commitment. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 6/4/06

Dems set up Arnold in fall -- While the hard-fought Democratic race for governor heads to a squeaky-tight finish, the winner of Tuesday's election may have an even bumpier road ahead after passing that hurdle. The expensive and bruising campaign - with a flurry of attack ads unleashed by both candidates in the last few weeks - may put the winner of the primary at a disadvantage in trying to take down Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the fall. HARRISON SHEPPARD in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 6/4/06

Dueling Democrats Deliver Final Advertising Mix In Cliffhanger Gubernatorial Primary -- While Phil Angelides and Steve Westly, the two Democrats who would take on Arnold Schwarzenegger, frantically spend their time this weekend personally campaigning in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, their campaigns continue their megabucks duel on the airwaves, having adjusted their TV ad mixes for the closing weekend. At last we are seeing a real push behind positive advertising, although both continue their attack ads as well. Bill Bradley NWN weblog -- 6/4/06

Angelides, Westly in statistical dead heat -- Democratic gubernatorial candidates Phil Angelides and Steve Westly, for all their futile clashes, have won a dubious distinction: Never have so many voters been so uninterested in just a couple hopefuls trying to unseat a Republican governor in this Democrat-leaning state. Steve Geissinger in the Oakland Tribune -- 6/4/06

Voters are undecided, uninspired -- Ask Californians what is on their minds. They have no trouble answering: Immigration, traffic, gas prices, the war. Ask Californians whom they are going to vote for Tuesday. Mostly, they hem and haw. Mary Anne Ostrom in the Contra Costa Times -- 6/4/06

Westly, Angelides battle in tight race -- Measuring the time remaining until their Judgment Day no longer in days but in hours, the two men hoping to become the Democratic candidate for governor are engaged in a frenetic, cross-state game of survival this weekend. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post -- 6/4/06

As election draws near, dirt always rises to the top -- It's down-and-dirty time in the election campaign, as the various combatants get in one last eye gouge before Tuesday. The biggest talker this past week has been the spate of "robo calls" going out to Oaklanders from an unidentified source slamming mayoral candidate Ron Dellums. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Richard Pombo confident despite fiercer attacks from 'enviros' -- From the moment he wakes up in his small Capitol Hill apartment until his last roll call vote, Rep. Richard Pombo's daily life in Congress is a one-man battle against environmentalists. Zachary Coile in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Pete McCloskey says he's running to restore Republican values -- The Real Republican Values Express -- a boxy red, white and blue striped motor home -- pulls cautiously into the parking lot of Julia Morgan Elementary School. A Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District has come to town to thank a sixth-grade teacher for helping him win the endorsement of the California Teachers Association, which rarely supports GOP candidates. Greg Lucas in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

$3 million pumped into Assembly race -- The fiercely contested Democratic primary race for the open Assembly seat representing western San Francisco and a small slice of northern San Mateo County will end up as one of the costliest in the state, with nearly $3 million pumped into the battle so far. But on Saturday, the two rivals relied on the same campaign tools used by candidates with little money: They hit the pavement and rallied volunteers to get out the vote. Rachel Gordon in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Bilbray and Busby taking it to streets -- On Wednesday, either Brian Bilbray or Francine Busby will probably be packing their bags for Washington – as the newest member of Congress. To get there, Bilbray, a Republican congressman-turned-lobbyist, and Busby, a Democrat who sits on the Cardiff school board, have campaigned nonstop for months, scrambling to convince voters of the 50th Congressional District that they are the best person to replace former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after admitting to taking bribes. Dani Dodge in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06

Migration plays big role in election -- Election 2006 may go into the books in California as the Year of the Illegal Immigrant – at least in contests for Congress and the state Legislature. Immigration is hardly a new controversy in the Golden State, but it has rocketed to the top of voter agendas and, inevitably, to the front pages of campaign playbooks, including several here in San Diego County. Philip J. LaVelle in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06

Field Poll: Bush rating slips into 'uncharted waters' -- President Bush, whose approval rating in California has dropped four percentage points in just the past month, is edging ever closer to the all-time low performance rating for a president among the state's voters, a new Field Poll has found. Clea Benson in the Sacramento Bee -- 6/4/06

Election fatigue could make polls a lonely place -- What, another election? That seems to be the attitude of California voters with Tuesday's primary election just days away and public-opinion polls showing record numbers of them undecided or disengaged. John Marelius in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06

The 2006 primary: A complicated ballot but do the voters care? -- It was thought that getting re-elected governor would just fall into Arnold Schwarzenegger's lap like a ripe persimmon. Even after his disastrous 2005 special election, he seemed in recovery mode this spring, a more serious, policy-oriented governor with the good fortune of a huge budget surplus. In March, the Public Policy Institute of California survey found him leading his two Democratic rivals, State Treasurer Phil Angelides and State Controller Steve Westly, by margins of 12 and 8 percent, respectively. But the persimmon is still hanging; in May, the PPIC poll found that Schwarzenegger had lost his lead and is now running even with both Democrats. Tony Quinn in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06

The great state of voter fatigue -- Even in laid-back California, elections are usually important events that many times establish political trends for the nation. But on the last weekend of the 2006 primary election campaign, few people seem to care that they're supposed to vote Tuesday. Jim Boren in the Fresno Bee -- 6/4/06

Paper ballots will slow counting -- Counting votes in Alameda County Tuesday night will be slow. Agonizingly slow. About a dozen candidates for state and local offices watched wide-eyed as county officials demonstrated that process Saturday afternoon, perhaps understanding for the first time why they might not know if they won their race until Wednesday morning. Jill Tucker in the Oakland Tribune

Ethnic support won't be enough in Oakland race -- Conventional wisdom in the Oakland mayor's race says blacks will vote for former U.S. Rep. Ron Dellums and Latinos for City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. Christopher Heredia in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Cash, donations accelerate races -- With just days before voters go to the polls, the money is flying fast and furiously. In the race to become Oakland's next mayor, City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente has been the beneficiary of more than $107,000 in independent expenditures from a variety of groups and individuals, including the owner of the Golden State Warriors and a Fruitvale sign shop owner. Cecily Burt and Heather MacDonald in the Oakland Tribune -- 6/4/06

Meeting in L.A. to Discuss Views of Latinos and Blacks Draws Protesters -- Residents and political leaders fill a mosque for the first in a planned series of talks seeking unity as the Minuteman group rallies outside. Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

State's gambling industry yields astounding data -- Charlene Wear Simmons, assistant director of the state-run California Research Bureau, isn't a gambler. So she wasn't sure what to expect when Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked her last year to write a comprehensive report on the impact of gambling statewide. What she discovered opened her eyes. David Lazarus in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Investing in independence is good for all -- Assemblyman Roger Niello, a conservative Republican from the suburbs of Sacramento, is always skeptical when he hears advocates touting studies that show a dollar spent here is going to save the taxpayers a bundle over there. More often than not, he says, such claims turn out to be exaggerated. Daniel Weintraub in the Sacramento Bee -- 6/4/06

The prelate and the politician -- Always complex, always wide, the divide in perceptions of the most powerful religious leader in Southern California grows as Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony throws the weight of his pulpit behind a revolution aimed at creating a path toward citizenship for the nation's more than 11 million illegal immigrants. Tom Kisken in the Ventura Star -- 6/4/06

The cost of illegal immigration -- Schools bear the bulk of the estimated $57 million a year spent to provide public services to undocumented immigrants in Sonoma County. BLEYS W. ROSE in the Santa Rosa Press -- 6/4/06

Lewis remaining in public eye despite investigation -- Rep. Jerry Lewis and his ties to a lobbying giant in the nation's capital are the focus of a federal investigation, but he isn't keeping a low profile. Guy McCarthy in the San Bernardino Sun -- 6/4/06

More School Funds Sought -- Teachers union officials, students and parents say proposed $36 million is not enough, but want a role in how to spend it at L.A. Unified campuses. Jack Leonard in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

Money man's big task: Make Stanford richer -- John Powers has a big job: to make Stanford University richer than it already is. The 53-year-old investment research executive takes over later this month as chief executive officer of the Stanford Management Co., becoming the person responsible for pushing the university's massive $12.2 billion endowment even higher into the financial stratosphere. Carrie Sturrock in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Physician Shortage Looms, Risking a Crisis, as Demand for Care Explodes -- An aging America needs more doctors, but supply isn't keeping up. Experts fear worsening quality and dangerously long waits for appointments. Lisa Girion in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

Borders Fall for These Doctors -- Physicians, primarily radiologists, are getting swift diagnostic aid from distant time zones. The trend is likely to grow, but it has its critics. Arin Gencer in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

Sharp Rise in Syphilis Cases Worries Health Officials -- Los Angeles County saw a 40% jump in new infections last year, with Latinas and black women affected disproportionately. Juliet Chung in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

AIDS AT 25 -- On June 5, 1981, Dr. Michael Gottlieb, a young immunologist at the UCLA School of Medicine, reported five cases of a rare pneumonia among gay men in Los Angeles. Each had a profoundly depressed immune system. Two were already dead. Sabin Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

AIDS virus digs in where life is hardest -- The AIDS epidemic once cast a deep shadow over the Castro district, the epicenter of gay life in San Francisco -- populating the streets with gaunt, blemished faces and young men leaning on canes. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 6/4/06

Some independent pharmacists fear Part D will cause them to close or sell their business -- No one said adding prescription drug coverage to the federal government's health insurance program for seniors would be easy. But the headaches created by the biggest change ever made to Medicare are proving unexpectedly taxing for pharmacists. Keith Darcé in the San Diego Union-Trib DAVE DOWNEY in the North County Times -- 6/4/06

Airport board poised to pick Miramar as Lindbergh Field replacement -- From the air traffic control tower at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Lt. Col. Rick A. Pagel gazes south as a pair of F-18s head into the base. As is often the case at the Marine installation, there are two distinct weather systems this particular morning in May: good visibility on the east by Interstate 15; a heavy marine layer to the west. Jeff Ristine in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06

Running on Empty -- Rising prices can force independent gas stations to sell fuel at a loss -- or lose business. Consumer advocates fear California's unbranded dealers could be wiped out, weakening competition. Elizabeth Douglass in the Los Angeles Times -- 6/4/06

Oakland finds crime-fighting role model / Tough L.A. suburb Compton has cut homicide rate 65% -- This gritty blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles, perhaps more famous than Oakland for its reputation for crime, has seen its homicide rate tumble by nearly 65 percent in one year, and as Oakland grapples with spiraling killings and mounting crime, it is looking to this Southern California city for a solution. Jim Herron Zamora in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/4/06

Mayor oversells land deal Just $12 million of $80 million raised would defray deficit -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa failed to emphasize one critical fact when he touted selling surplus city land to ease Los Angeles' $250 million structural deficit: City rules require most of the money go to council members' districts or other special funds, the Daily News has learned. BETH BARRETT in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 6/4/06

More than 2,300 homeless agricultural workers, others said to be living in canyons of San Diego County -- As Romulo Munoz descends into the hollow where he lives, he sees the pastel hues of new suburban developments rimming McGonigle Canyon, a wide breach between Carmel Valley and Rancho Peñasquitos. Clusters of homes loom above him at the edge, where cul-de-sacs give way to tangled brush. Leslie Berestein in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 6/4/06