Bill-signing blitz puts governor in driver's seat -- As the Schwarzenegger and Angelides campaigns spent the week fussing over the governor's “hotblooded” comment, the man himself methodically worked to restore his bipartisan image with a series of high-visibility bill signings. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has more than 1,000 bills to sign or veto in September. John Marelius in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 9/17/06

Schwarzenegger tape incident tarnished everyone involved -- As it turned out, all of those involved in the infamous leakage of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recorded -- albeit private -- remarks about the proclivities of Republican legislators sullied themselves. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

Californians may opt to skip this election -- Rather than embrace the opportunity to decide California's future on Election Day, voters appear poised to make the record books by staying home. Residents who vote Nov. 7 will determine the state's leadership for the next four years and shape the policy landscape through the middle of the 21st century. Mark Baldassare in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

A Tight State Senate Race With Loose Purse Strings -- Democrats, Republicans are expected to spend a combined $8 million for the Orange County seat, one of the few that remains competitive. Christian Berthelsen in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Is Fishhook Baited for Jerry Brown? -- Jerry Brown, you listening? I just had former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian in here calling you out. The Republican candidate for California attorney general, a onetime Fresno farm boy, swaggered into my office last week and said, in so many words, that he couldn't think of anyone in the world less suited for the job of top cop than you. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Governor, local GOP disagree on global warning -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is poised to sign landmark legislation to curb emissions of greenhouse gases that many scientists believe are heating the planet. But don't expect fellow Republicans from northern San Diego and southern Riverside counties to get up and cheer when he pulls out his pen. DAVE DOWNEY in the North County Times -- 9/17/06

Lewis rival a man with no name -- Louie Contreras wants to be a giant slayer. The Hesperia unknown is taking on Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Republican powerhouse from Redlands whose chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee makes him one of the most influential lawmakers in Washington. George Watson in the San Bernardino Sun -- 9/17/06

Internet transforming campaign process -- Savviest candidates embracing digital age's latest tools. Hank Shaw in the Stockton Record -- 9/17/06

Investigative report: Budget going up in smoke -- Four years after the most expensive fire season in history, two years after an exhaustive federal report on high firefighting costs, the U.S. Forest Service still is burning through dollars like wildfire through chaparral. Tom Knudson in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

Unanswered Cries -- Nearly two dozen abused or neglected children who had been under protection of the Juvenile Court in Orange County have died over the past six years. Most died of illnesses or accidents, but some could have been saved. JENIFER B. McKIM in the Orange County Register -- 9/17/06

Prison crisis left to fester another year -- Legislature adjourns without progressing on reform as corrections facilities struggle with beds, health care. Mike Zapler in the Contra Costa Times -- 9/17/06

2 Scandals Hang Over Top Tech Lawyer -- The head of a firm tied to Silicon Valley's stock options probe is also HP's outside counsel. David Streitfeld in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Silicon Valley loses its sheen -- Silicon Valley has long celebrated its counterculture mythology: high-speed achievers hunkered in garages, building the next generation of gadgets that will change the way the world works and plays. Jessica Guynn in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Day Laborers’ Lawsuit Casts Spotlight on a Nationwide Conflict -- The man, identified in court as John Doe No. 6, is one of six anonymous day laborers whose federal lawsuit against the Village of Mamaroneck could set a new national standard for the way local governments deal with the fast-growing influx of day laborers in their communities. FERNANDA SANTOS in the New York Times -- 9/17/06

Undocumented government workers -- Olson, of the watchdog group State Department Watch, has been showing up at board meetings for government entities -- the Ventura County Board of Education, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Los Angeles Community College District -- and asking board members what they are doing to prevent hiring illegal immigrants. Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

U.S. fails to track foreign visitors' departures -- After spending $900 million to set up a database to track foreign travelers arriving in America, the government still doesn't know how many of them stay in the country illegally because the system is incomplete and snarled by controversy. Marisa Taylor in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

The Legal Road -- The path to citizenship has many curves, and the journey is often long and arduous. Once they achieve their goal, the newest Americans can have differing views of how to get there and what to do with their new status. MARTIN ESPINOZA in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/17/06

In Campaign Ads for Democrats, Bush Is the Star -- From Rhode Island to New Mexico, from Connecticut to Tennessee, President Bush is emerging as the marquee name in this fall’s Congressional elections — courtesy not of his Republican Party but of the Democrats. ADAM NAGOURNEY in the New York Times -- 9/17/06

Bush Fails to Recapture the Nation's Post-9/11 Unity -- It's a truism that the world of Sept. 10, 2001, is gone, vaporized in the attacks of the next day. But the world of Sept. 12 is gone too. Ronald Brownstein in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Major Problems At Polls Feared -- An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat -- this time on a national scale -- of last week's Election Day debacle in the Maryland suburbs, election experts said. Dan Balz and Zachary A. Goldfarb in the Washington Post -- 9/17/06

Partisan Battle Trips Up Popular Tax Benefits -- Both parties want to extend a package of credits and deductions. But lawmakers are deadlocked over the bill it's attached to. Joel Havemann in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Republicans' fertile future -- If you're a liberal, here's what you can do to make Karl Rove a very happy man: Get yourself a labradoodle. Or any other kind of dog, for that matter. Even a cat will do. Just don't have children. Vicki Haddock in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

GOP gloom about fall election eases -- With the fall election campaign taking shape, many Republicans believe for the first time in months that they've turned a corner and could limit feared midterm losses enough to retain control of Congress. Steven Thomma in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

House must ID projects tucked into bills -- The House changed its rules Thursday to require lawmakers to identify the special projects they slip into legislation, a modest step toward restoring the reputation of Congress in a year of ethical lapses and scandals involving relations with lobbyists. Jim Abrams AP -- 9/17/06

Plunging enrollment costs Valley millions -- Plunging enrollment will cost Los Angeles Unified millions of state dollars this year, but the San Fernando Valley will feel a one-two funding punch with new schools opening over the hill drawing away more of their students. NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 9/17/06

The battle over charter schools -- After 14 years, controversial movement still sparks arguments over resources, students, results. Kristofer Noceda, Michelle Maitre, T.S. Mills-Faraudo, Katy Murphy, Grace Rauh and Linh Tat in the Oakland Tribune -- 9/17/06

Stanford's odd couples: model for innovation -- These days, Stanford University is full of odd couples doing extraordinary research: Gastroenterologists are working with aerospace engineers, geophysicists with pediatricians, radiologists with philosophers. Carrie Sturrock in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Suicide rate a concern for UC -- Adam Ojakian, a UC Davis senior, committed suicide in December 2004. He did not have a history of mental illness. He was not on medication, and there were no signs that would have led his parents to imagine their 21-year-old son could shoot himself. Eric Stern in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

Biochemist at UCSF earns research award -- Elizabeth Blackburn, a UCSF biochemist whose "crazy experiments" with her colleagues opened vital new insights into the workings of human cells in cancer, aging, stress and the immune system, is being named a winner of the prestigious Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research today. David Perlman in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Redesigned state Web site readies students for college -- Students who need help planning for college can check out the newly redesigned Web site www.californiacolleges.edu. The site provides easy access to 215 public and private colleges in California along with links to free financial aid forms and online applications. Carrie Sturrock in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

New stadium, with sushi bar, wins raves -- Not one fan went home with a splinter. There were no quarter-long lines at the women's restroom. No one's view was obstructed by a chain-link fence. Could this really be Stanford Stadium? Carolyn Jones in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Sick but Insured? Think Again -- Lawsuits accuse insurance companies of retroactively dumping families that rack up large bills. Firms defend their policies, but the state is investigating. Lisa Girion in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Spinach Warning Expanded -- All fresh forms of the vegetable should be avoided as a precaution against E. coli, the FDA says. California growers could lose $100 million. Rong-Gong Lin II, Deborah Schoch and Evelyn Iritani in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Spinach mystery takes its toll -- The mystery deepens into what caused the multistate outbreak of E. coli bacteria in Salinas Valley spinach, which has killed one person and sickened nearly 100 others. Lisa M. Krieger and John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury -- 9/17/06

Mystery shoppers' work can be good for what ails you -- Jason is not a hypochondriac, nor does he suffer from Munchausen syndrome, a disorder in which people fake illnesses to elicit attention. Instead, he's a "mystery shopper," an undercover consumer hired by health care providers to feign illness or injury. They do so to evaluate how well hospitals treat patients. Victoria Colliver in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Tens of thousands statewide aid coast cleanup under sunny skies -- Volunteers found a singing toy gorilla, a first edition of an obscure 55-year-old textbook, countless plastic bags and more cigarette butts than anyone ever thought possible when they descended on beaches, tidal marshes, riverfronts and lakes across the state Saturday to pick up more than 280 tons of trash. Chuck Squatriglia in the San Francisco Chronicle Deepa Ranganathan in the Sacramento Bee Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury JOHN GITTELSOHN in the Orange County Register Brooke Williams in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 9/17/06

Thieves stealing old-growth redwood logs -- California's ancient redwood forests have survived fires, logging and disease. Now they face a growing threat from poachers who steal downed old-growth redwood trees in ever-larger numbers, scarring the land and robbing the forest of a vital part of its ecology for the sake of a few thousand dollars. Chuck Squatriglia in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Troubled waters -- Plan to increase California's marine protected areas worries fishing industry. Terry Rodgers in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 9/17/06

San Francisco Bay plankton levels rise for better or worse -- The amount of phytoplankton — nature's most important building block in the food chain that feeds fish, clams, birds, harbor seals and other animals — is increasing dramatically in San Francisco Bay. For now, experts say, the growth appears to be a good thing. But if it keeps steadily expanding in the years ahead, fish and wildlife could be threatened. Paul Rogers in the Oakland Tribune -- 9/17/06

In San Francisco, a Plague of Stickers Opens a New Front in the Graffiti War -- One of the most wanted men in San Francisco — if he is a man — has no known name, no known mug shot and one very efficient sticker machine. JESSE McKINLEY in the New York Times -- 9/17/06

Most L.A. Buildings Not Checked for Damage From Northridge Quake -- The 1994 temblor may have weakened welds in 1,500 mid- and high-rises, but city records show only 235 have been inspected. Sharon Bernstein in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Conservationist Answered America's Call of the Wild -- Edgar Wayburn, 100 today, has protected more parkland than any other American. Julie Cart in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Racetrack, neighbor in a heated fight -- Helicopters buzzing overhead, rock music pounding late into the night, blinding floodlights and really loud cars -- this is the nightmare that has come true for Mark Rivard, owner of a brand new dream home on a hilltop overlooking the Altamont Motorsports Park raceway, of all places. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

'Fat man' walked into a wall -- Steve Vaught, the man who gained worldwide fame for walking across America, is penniless, divorced and living in a seedy downtown San Diego hotel in a 9-foot-by-9-foot room. J. Harry Jones in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 9/17/06

Humming Along With Mahler -- An electrical problem at Orange County's new concert hall made its own opening- night contribution. Mike Boehm in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Family Feud Puts Focus on California Conservator System -- Raymond Horspool says he wasn't consulted before three of his children got control of his finances. Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/17/06

Lee moves to provide condoms for prisoners -- Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, unveiled legislation Saturday aimed at putting condoms in the hands of federal inmates, a move she said she hopes will help "break the silence" about sex in prison and the disproportionate toll of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections upon African Americans. Christopher Heredia in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/17/06

Foster child deaths tallied -- Some 50 children died last year in the state's protective care, say the advocates tracking numbers. Clea Benson in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

New bill would let pros unlock woes -- The days are long gone when a locksmith could easily duplicate your lost or stolen car keys. Judy Lin in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/17/06

The trouble with jailhouse informants -- When jailhouse informant Timothy Villalba first told a jury that Roy Garcia had implicated himself in a killing, there were reasons to doubt Villalba, a convicted murderer looking for a way out of prison. Now, with Garcia heading for a second trial this week, there is far more reason. Fredric N. Tulsky in the San Jose Mercury -- 9/17/06