Schwarzenegger Tries to Calm GOP Anger -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to narrow his rift with conservatives Saturday by casting himself as tougher on illegal immigration than his Democratic challenger, Phil Angelides, but failed to quell a Republican revolt over his call for billions in borrowing for housing and school construction. At a time when Republican candidates nationwide are tapping public anger over illegal immigration, Schwarzenegger made his most aggressive move to date to turn the issue to his advantage against Angelides. Michael Finnegan and Robert Salladay in the Los Angeles Times Carla Marinucci, Tom Chorneau in the San Francisco Chronicle Kevin Yamamura and Laura Mecoy in the Sacramento Bee RICK ORLOV in the Los Angeles Daily News Kate Folmar in the San Jose Mercury John Marelius in the San Diego Union-Trib MICHELLE DeARMOND in the Riverside Press -- 8/20/06

Secure with Republican base, Schwarzenegger can woo middle -- Phil Angelides, the Democratic candidate for governor, has succeeded in uniting the party -- but unfortunately for him, it's the Republican Party that has clearly coalesced behind Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger despite fears of many conservatives that he's just a RINO (Republican in name only). Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/20/06

Tax boost or tax break? -- An expert calls Angelides' proposed cuts negligible and the governor's no-increase vow unsustainable.This is the second in an occasional series exploring the record behind the rhetoric in the gubernatorial race. SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON and CHARLES PROCTOR in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06

In California Balancing Act, Immigration May Tip Vote -- Illegal immigration has long been a political minefield in California, making and breaking political careers. Now, with Congress considering the most sweeping changes to immigration laws in two decades, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is learning just how troublesome that terrain can be in an election year. RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD in the New York Times -- 8/20/06

Illegal immigration debate drives events -- Two sides of the immigration battle rallied in separate corners of Orange County on Saturday. Mexican-American activists met in Anaheim to plan a political strategy aimed at blocking a congressional bill to crack down on illegal immigration. Meanwhile, about 35 anti-illegal immigration demonstrators greeted ticket holders at the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. JOHN GITTELSOHN in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06

Legislature leaders fail to live up to promise -- Politicians can be like cheating spouses. Give them the benefit of the doubt, and chances are they will burn you. California's legislative leaders -- Senate leader Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez -- asked voters a year ago to give them one more chance. Daniel Weintraub in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/20/06

Lockyer wants to resurrect reimbursement bill -- Attorney General Bill Lockyer is fighting mad about an Assembly vote that he claims could save polluters, charity cheaters and rip-off artists millions of dollars per year. "I don't know why we ought to have special provisions in the law for those kinds of wrongdoers," he said Friday. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/20/06

Iraq echoes in area races -- The war in Iraq is reverberating in Sacramento, and Reps. Dan Lungren and John Doolittle said they are feeling the effects. "Wow," Lungren exclaimed during a telephone interview after an appearance before a peace and justice forum at an Elk Grove church last week. "There's a lot of anger out there." David Whitney in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/20/06

Iraq -- not terror -- top '06 issue -- Republicans and Democrats are beating each other up on the issue of terrorism in the wake of the alleged London airplane plot, but polls show that most Americans are far more worried about the war in Iraq. Ron Hutcheson in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/20/06

Pellet gun shooting prompts bill -- Legislation prompted by the pellet gun shooting of a Contra Costa County resident has landed on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. Authored by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, the bill would make it a misdemeanor to fire a pellet or BB gun in a "grossly negligent manner that could result in injury or death." The incident that spurred Torlakson to push for a new law was the October 2003 shooting of Orinda resident Steven Glazer. Dogen Hannah in the Contra Costa Times -- 8/20/06

Teen slayings rock Oakland -- Marcellus Haley, 18, was gunned down because he asked out the wrong girl. Brandon Jackson, 16, died trying to stop a car burglary. William Guzman and Michael Walker, both 14, were killed the same day -- 8 miles apart -- because they had friends in gangs. The four share a common link: They are among the surging number of teenagers who have been killed in Oakland street violence this year. Jason B. Johnson, Jim Herron Zamora in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

Democrats Add Nevada, South Carolina to Early 2008 Voting -- Seeking to broaden the party's nominating process, Democratic leaders voted Saturday to add Nevada and South Carolina to the opening rounds of the 2008 presidential contest. The move could prove significant by introducing new voices and issues into the race for the White House — but only if Democrats choose to seriously campaign in the two added states. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

A Tortured Past -- Documents show troops who reported abuse in Vietnam were discredited even as the military was finding evidence of worse. Deborah Nelson and Nick Turse in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Lawmakers wrestle with global warming bills -- California, doing its part to warm the globe, could become what politicians want to call a "cooler" state — depending on the actions of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature over the next two weeks. Or, as scientists put it, California could go from one of the nation's biggest oil addicts to the most "carbon-free" state. Steve Geissinger and Ian Hoffman in the Oakland Tribune -- 8/20/06

Harrison Ford jumps into fray over Hetch Hetchy reservoir -- Can Indiana Jones rescue Hetch Hetchy Valley from its watery Temple of Doom? No sooner did the California Department of Water Resources issue a report concluding it would cost between $3 billion and $10 billion to drain the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and replace San Francisco's water and power supply than never-say-never environmentalists enlisted action hero actor Harrison Ford to their daunting cause. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

California's stealth initiative on land use -- Backers of Proposition 90 on California's November ballot describe it as a campaign to rein in a government power called eminent domain that has fallen into disrepute. But the measure would have more widespread -- and more pernicious -- impact. Ray Ring in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

Gore talks the talk, but ... -- Al Gore has spoken: The world must embrace a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To do otherwise, he says, will result in a cataclysmic catastrophe. "Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb," warns the Web site for his film, "An Inconvenient Truth." "We have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin." Peter Schweizer in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

Tourists flocking to Bay Area -- Bill Robertson was a picture of relaxation. Clad in a vibrant aloha shirt, he sat with a John Grisham paperback at a wooden table between Book Passage and Peet's Coffee & Tea as seabirds wheeled by outside the Ferry Building on a warm summer morning. Robertson, visiting from Denver, described himself as "a recovering lawyer,'' with travel an essential part of the recovery. David Armstrong in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

Pair build empire of nonprofit services -- Nonprofit work isn't all charity. Sometimes it's also big business. For executives of tax-exempt organizations who understand the way governments hand out contracts, careers in what is known as the third sector can be especially rewarding. Take William Eastwood and William Mead, two San Diego County social workers who built an empire out of a single contract they were awarded nearly 30 years ago, despite a spotty record of compliance and oversight. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/20/06

Justice Department on steroids -- Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams should not go to jail if they do not reveal their source for stories on a grand-jury investigation into steroid use in sports. For one thing, they haven't broken any laws. Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/20/06

A Harsher Border Crossing -- On her first try, Mari Paz said, she clambered over the barrier and walked only a short distance before U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted her. On her second, she slipped through a hidden door. She later tried crawling under the border and sneaking across hidden inside a van. Mari Paz, who asked that her last name not be used, had left central Mexico bound for Houston, where she hoped for a joyful reunion with the son she hadn't seen in five years. Friends told the 50-year-old that the illegal journey wouldn't be all that difficult. Richard Marosi in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Checking on teachers hit-and-miss -- As former Bay Area elementary school teacher John Mark Karr emerged as a suspect in one of the nation's most notorious child murder cases, one question persisted: How could a man like Karr — arrested for child pornography possession, fascinated with child murder cases and a possible perpetrator of past crimes — find a job in a California classroom? Shirley Dang in the Oakland Tribune -- 8/20/06

Practice Tests -- Los Angeles schools have called on the Princeton Review to help students and teachers prepare for state standardized tests, under a $4.5-million, one-year contract. The company, known for its college-entrance exam tools, will periodically assess the progress of middle school and high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, using questions developed by teachers and staff. Arin Gencer in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Students study afar, from home -- Jesse Sandow always hoped he'd graduate from college with a four-year degree, but life kept getting in the way. Then, just as his long-held dream seemed in danger of fading, he found an unlikely savior: his community college. This fall, Gavilan College in Gilroy will join with Indiana University to offer students such as Sandow an opportunity to obtain a bachelor's degree in general studies from the Big Ten school. He'll earn most of his credits while attending community college at $20-a-unit bargain rates. Becky Bartindale in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/20/06

An educational divide -- Gabriel Moreno woke up in his Santa Ana home to the sound of his father's voice. "Let's get to work," he said. A Mexican immigrant with less than a high school education, Moreno's father wanted his 14-year-old son to experience a day in his job. ERICA PEREZ, VALERIA GODINES and RONALD CAMPBELL in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06

Christian themes split UC, high schools -- How much Christianity is too much for the University of California? That's a question being asked these days, in a federal lawsuit that has pitted Christian schools against admissions officials at UC who decide which high school courses are eligible to be college prerequisites. MARLA JO FISHER in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06

Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center -- The top administrator at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center said Saturday that if the public hospital passes a recent make-or-break federal inspection, it will seek to regain accreditation and consider reinstituting cut services, including trauma care. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

West Nile `hot spot' -- They've fogged neighborhoods with pesticide. Aired radio spots urging listeners to ``wipe out West Nile.'' Flown above neighborhoods to identify scofflaws who allow mosquitoes to breed in their backyard pools. But even with all the tricks the county's mosquito fighters pull out of their sleeves, the West Nile virus season is off to a nasty start in Silicon Valley. Julie Sevrens Lyons in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/20/06

Affordable beauty — but at what cost? -- As the nail salon industry grows, health care officials worry about the risks Vietnamese workers face. Momo Chang in the Oakland Tribune -- 8/20/06

Race plays role in drug effectiveness -- Race and ancestry can help explain risk factors for diseases and lead to better treatments, but making generalizations is dangerous, scientists said at a national conference on genomics, race and health disparities on Friday. Rebecca Vesely in the Contra Costa Times-- 8/20/06

Water for Parched River -- "Remember this, water is California's most valuable possession — we need every drop that falls on the mountains and on the plains." The speaker was Gov. Earl Warren. The year was 1949. The occasion was the opening of two giant valves at the base of Friant Dam, for the first time sending the cold, Sierra-fed waters of the San Joaquin River pouring into an irrigation canal big enough to float a destroyer. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Desert Connections -- Even now, as heavy equipment peels back the cactus and creosote bush to carve out roads and building sites, it's hard to believe that this 67-square-mile tract of empty desert will blossom into one of the biggest cities in the fastest-growing state in the country and the projected home to more than 200,000 people. Chuck Neubauer and Richard T. Cooper in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Bolsa's biological rebuilding -- A 30-year argument. Deal-making. Epic-scale engineering. In just a few days, it will all come down to this: a gentle sheet of water moving quietly across sand. If all goes well, the ocean will meet the Bolsa Chica wetlands for the first time in more than a century Thursday, signaling the near-completion of a $147 million restoration project and the end of more than three decades of often bitter debate. PAT BRENNAN in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06

Capital's skyline -- The modest skyline of this city known for its golden Capitol dome, two major rivers and tree-shaded streets may get an urban upstart – twin condominium towers soaring 54 stories above the flat Central Valley floor. Ed Mendel in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/20/06

San Onofre contamination -- Officials from the county's main water supplier said last week that it was too soon to tell how the discovery of radioactive groundwater at the San Onofre nuclear power plant would affect their thinking about building a plant there to turn seawater into drinking water. GIG CONAUGHTON in the North County Times -- 8/20/06

Victim's Resolve Brings Down a Star of Science -- The girl set the showdown for the oak-shaded lawn in front of the South Pasadena public library, a lovely spot for an ugly encounter. She was a high school student with a painful secret that surfaced on her wrists, scarred where she had cut herself. He was William French Anderson, world-renowned scientist, the father of gene therapy and a martial arts expert with law enforcement connections from the FBI to the chief of his hometown police department in San Marino. Peter Y. Hong in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/20/06

Hollywood wiretap scandal fizzling -- Hollywood has seen its share of blockbusters this summer thanks to pillaging pirates, talking cars and returning superheroes. But an off-screen saga starring a Hollywood private eye accused of running a widespread wiretapping scheme hasn't lived up to its billing. GREG RISLING AP -- 8/20/06

Orange County residents aid victims of fighting -- Those are just two of the donations toward the goal of the Jewish Federation of Orange County to raise $1 million to help rebuild the lives of Israelis in the northern part of that country. Meanwhile, telephone calls have inundated the Los Angeles office of Lebanon's consul general, with people seeking ways to assist thousands returning to ruined homes in Lebanon. VIK JOLLY in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/06