$800 million revenue drop increases pressure on budget talks — The longer state legislators wait, the worse the state's budget picture seems to get. With lawmakers nearing a stalemate on the state's overdue budget, revenue estimates released Friday show California has collected $800 million less in tax money than expected in recent months. AARON C. DAVIS AP — 7/13/07

Key governors join to oppose Bush on environment — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger brought his star power and the state's vanguard environmental policies to a climate conference here Friday, at which Florida joined the ranks of U.S. states and cities committed to fighting global warming. Carol J. Williams in the Los Angeles Times BRENDAN FARRINGTON AP — 7/13/07

CHP ignored early fire calls — The California Highway Patrol released audio tapes Friday showing a seven- to nine-minute delay between 911 calls made to report the devastating Angora fire and the first fire engines rolling in response. John Hill in the Sacramento Bee SAMANTHA YOUNG AP — 7/13/07

Casino Compacts Referendum, Anyone? — If you've been waiting to see how much can be spent on a ballot measure fight, you might not have to wait much longer. There are new signs that some of the state's powerful Indian gaming tribes are considering a referendum to overturn four other tribes' casino compacts recently ratified by the Legislature. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog — 7/13/07

Committee accuses administration of withholding key documents — Two influential lawmakers investigating how and when the Bush administration learned the circumstances of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death and how those details were disclosed accused the White House and Pentagon on Friday of withholding key documents, and renewed their demand for the material. SCOTT LINDLAW AP — 7/13/07

Slow pace of San Diego fence raises questions about White House plan — Bulldozers are moving hundreds of tons of dirt to make way for a 16-foot steel fence on the U.S.-Mexico border in an area that once was the most popular crossing for illegal immigrants. But before construction resumed recently, the 14-mile project in San Diego was stalled for years by legal challenges over environmental damage, lack of money and snags buying land, raising doubts about the government's plan to extend fencing to 370 miles of the Mexican border. ELLIOT SPAGAT AP — 7/13/07

Wild West days of San Diego border now a memory — Not so long ago, illegal immigrants huddled daily on U.S. soil just over the border from Mexico that hawkers would show up to sell tamales and tacos. Border Patrol agents watched from a distance, figuring it made more sense to wait for the immigrants to approach them than to chase them in the shrub-covered canyons and hills. ELLIOT SPAGAT AP — 7/13/07

Democrats: Miers May Be Held in Contempt — House Democrats told no-show witness Harriet Miers on Friday that she could soon be held in contempt as they issued the Republican National Committee a new subpoena for White House e-mails. The deadline for replies from both: Tuesday. LAURIE KELLMAN AP — 7/13/07

New GOP Bill Challenges Bush Iraq Policy — Two prominent Senate Republicans have drafted legislation that would require President Bush by mid-October to come up with a plan to dramatically narrow the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq. ANNE FLAHERTY and PAULINE JELINEK AP — 7/13/07

Insiders handicap presidential race — In a poll of Democratic political insiders by National Journal, an overwhelming majority believes Hillary Clinton has the best chance to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Republican insiders rate the Republican race as a virtual dead heat between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. John Marelius San Diego Union-Trib weblog — 7/13/07

Dems plan a floor vote on budget — As California approaches the third week of the fiscal year without a state budget, Democrats are planning a floor vote next week even though Republicans have said they will not provide the support to pass the spending plan. Judy Lin in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Pension panel gets an earful on future of retirement costs — Retired government workers clashed Thursday with groups looking to trim public pension and health care benefits as a bipartisan state panel looked at ways to pay for California governments' multibillion dollar promise to its employees. Barbara LaPlante, a retired state worker, angrily dismissed complaints that government workers get lavish, gold-plated pensions. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle Ryan Huff in the Contra Costa Times — 7/13/07

State audit says casino-impact funds misspent — Hundreds of thousands of dollars set aside to help Inland communities deal with the impacts of Indian casinos went to unrelated projects, such as a rescue ambulance boat and a program for troubled students, according to a state audit released Thursday. MICHELLE DeARMOND and JIM MILLER in the Riverside Press — 7/13/07

A preview of battle on seizure — California voters will weigh in next year on "eminent domain," the quaintly named procedure by which governments seize private property for ostensibly public purposes, and a preview of the forthcoming battle was staged in the Capitol on Thursday. Two Senate committees met back-to-back in the same room and approved a bill that's part of a drive by local governments to change eminent domain rules just enough to stave off a more far-reaching overhaul by property rights groups. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Arnold asks area execs to back health care reform — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked top Bay Area business executives to support his health care reform plan Thursday, deriding both Democratic leaders' alternative as well as another, single-payer plan. Josh Richman in the Oakland Tribune — 7/13/07

Farm labor bill would put governor on the spot — Legislation speeding toward Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk would force him to choose between the agriculture industry and the union representing its workers. Senate Bill 180, which cleared the Assembly on Thursday, would allow farmworkers to unionize by signing cards instead of casting secret ballots. E.J. Schultz in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Medical center bond for prison gets an OK — The Assembly approved a $146 million bond measure on Thursday to fund construction of a new five-story medical center at aging San Quentin Prison. Overhauling the state prison system's health care system is one project in the effort to change the troubled state corrections department. The San Quentin project was demanded by Robert Sillen, a court-appointed overseer of the prison's ailing system. Haley Davies, Matthew Yi in the San Francisco Chronicle Andy Furillo in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Fewer parole violators being sent back to jail — Prison officials in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration acknowledged Thursday that some parole violators are no longer being sent back to prison - part of a philosophical shift that will reduce overcrowding in the state's prisons. Edwin Garcia in the San Jose Mercury — 7/13/07

Riverside County elections review panel votes paper, not touch-screens — Riverside County, the first in the state to use electronic touch-screen voting machines, should return to a paper-based voting system, a panel appointed by the Board of Supervisors has recommended. KIMBERLY TRONE and RICHARD K. DEATLEY in the Riverside Press — 7/13/07

Pride and politics — This is a tale of rumor and suspicion, paranoia and conspiracy. It's about the Senate and the Assembly, the governor and the Democrats and the fight for the media spotlight on the state's sexiest issue. It is, in short, a story of California politics. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly — 7/13/07

Duncan Hunter's toughest fight yet — The conservative California congressman faces long odds in the Republican presidential race. Scott Martelle in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

John Edwards road-tests poverty theme — Seeking to regain his political footing, White House hopeful John Edwards is pursuing a road less traveled: a three-day, eight-state tour through pockets of urban and rural poverty. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Democrats court a confident NAACP — The candidates discuss poverty and equality before an audience that knows it's likely to be influential in 2008. Christi Parsons in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Bush quiets GOP revolt over Iraq — Stemming a revolt among Senate Republicans, President Bush appeared Thursday to win two more months for his "surge" strategy in Iraq after arguing that U.S. forces had made some progress and needed time to make the country more secure. Maura Reynolds and Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Key goals in Iraq elusive — The Bush administration's interim report finds the government in Baghdad has made the least progress on the most important objectives. Julian E. Barnes in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Staying course poses huge risk for Republicans — Facing rock-bottom poll numbers and the judgment of history, President Bush has little to lose politically in using the last 18 months of his presidency to try to prove critics of his war policy wrong. The president followed that path Thursday, finding promise in a "young democracy" in Iraq despite descriptions by his own administration of a deeply fractured society. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Doolittle's vote, words indicate he backs Bush — Rep. John Doolittle removed any thought that he was abandoning his support of President Bush's policy in Iraq on Thursday when he voted to oppose a Democratic resolution to begin withdrawing U.S. troops within 120 days. The measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled House. Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September, has threatened to veto it. David Whitney in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

10 arrested in immigration scam probe — Ten more suspects have been snared in an ongoing federal investigation into a scam involving Asians willing to pay thousands of dollars to immigrate to this country by entering into phony marriages with U.S. citizens from Vietnamese and Chinese communities in Southern California. H.G. Reza in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Citizenship — Feds say refining the exam immigrants must pass will make it fairer — students say it will be harder. Tyche Hendricks in the San Francisco Chronicle Leslie Berestein in the San Diego Union-Trib — 7/13/07

Ailing toddler's parents get deportation reprieve — A 17-month-old girl underwent surgery for a rare heart defect at UCSF on Thursday as her parents received good news: Their scheduled deportation to their native Mexico has been postponed for a year. The decision by immigration officials means Hazelle Roa's parents, Victor and Maria Roa, will be able to care for her in the coming months. Amr Emam in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Feds again shortchange county jails — A key House panel approved $405 million Thursday toward reimbursing California and other states for the costs of jailing criminal illegal immigrants. LISA FRIEDMAN in the Los Angeles Daily News — 7/13/07

Protections for career-college students extended into '08 — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday signed a bill temporarily extending student protections at California's career-oriented colleges. But he acknowledged that new regulations are still needed. The bill by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, allows the state Department of Consumer Affairs to enter into voluntary agreements with for-profit teaching institutions to abide by state rules so the schools can remain in good standing through Jan. 31. Judy Lin in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Oakland principal in cheating stink quits — Haqq is departing from the University Preparatory Charter Academy days after The Chronicle reported that the state Department of Education invalidated the school's test scores for a second straight year due to "adult testing irregularities," or cheating. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Hitting the books instead of the beach — Many California college students are taking summer courses, most hoping to graduate sooner. Some schools offer incentives. Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

State rates heart bypass surgeons — Californians needing a coronary bypass can now, for the first time, look up which surgeons in the state have the best — and worst — mortality rates for that operation. A report released Thursday names and rates 302 surgeons who performed heart bypass operations at 121 California hospitals during 2003 and 2004. Mary Engel in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Top heart centers, docs stung by bypass study — UCSF Medical Center, one of the premier teaching hospitals in the nation, was one of only six hospitals out of 121 in the state awarded a black eye in the survey — rated "worse" than average in a statistically complicated analysis that counted deaths but gave credit to doctors and hospitals that treat sicker patients. Sabin Russell, Victoria Colliver, Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Mercy rates high on bypasses — Study finds hospital among the best for heart procedure; Sutter surgeon scores low. Carrie Peyton Dahlberg in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07

Edison to press case for beach power plant — Southern California Edison is seeking to overturn the recent rejection of its proposal to build a small, state-mandated power plant at Oxnard's Mandalay Beach, saying it's needed to accommodate growth in Ventura County's largest city. Gregory W. Griggs in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Power brokers are at center of push for Vernon electric plant — Former elected officials lobby on behalf of the facility, which is before the AQMD today. Clean- air activists are opposed. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

DWP says it can handle the heat — Hoping to avoid the rolling blackouts that plagued Southern California last year, Los Angeles officials said Thursday they are far better prepared for more record heat this summer, but they implored residents to conserve energy. Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Orange County's Great Park takes off — The first attraction of the planned suburban oasis is a balloon ride that takes visitors to 500 feet for a panoramic view of the county. Roy Rivenburg and Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

BART to court SFO passengers with cut-rate parking on Peninsula — BART is ramping up a potentially lucrative side business that caters to motorists. The BART Board of Directors voted unanimously Thursday to start offering long-term parking at four of its Peninsula stations for travelers using San Francisco International Airport. Rachel Gordon in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Catapulted to new heights — The Felix Chevrolet dealership's neon cat sign in Los Angeles gets a historic-cultural monument designation. Bob Pool in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Florida facing global warming effects now — Gov. Charlie Crist says the state needs to find new energy sources and combat climate change. Ken Kaye in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Glad tidings for clients soaked by Ameriquest — About 78,000 Californians who got mortgages from the nation's leading subprime lender will receive letters in the next few days notifying them that they are eligible to split $51 million in restitution for allegedly improper sales practices. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

We are running out of room for rubbish in throwaway society — The garbage now piling up on East Bay sidewalks is a smelly, vermin-infested reminder of how easily we take for granted the idea that no matter what we throw away, there'll be some place to put it. The reality is that the United States is awash in garbage, and we're rapidly running out of ways to dispose of it. David Lazarus in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Wanted: Global warming staffer — Santa Cruz isn't alone in tackling global warming with a new staff position to focus on how to curtail climate change and protect the planet. San Francisco and Berkeley have each added an environmental expert to their staffs specifically to help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Shanna McCord in the San Jose Mercury — 7/13/07

State demands cleaning of ships be done safely — California fired back at the U.S. Maritime Administration on July 6, giving it a month to submit an "aggressive schedule" for cleaning up tons of toxic paint shedding from ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. Thomas Peele in the Oakland Tribune — 7/13/07

NRC gives San Onofre good marks for safety in 2006 — Nuclear regulators said Thursday that the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station met safety objectives over the last year, but could not say whether a recent unexpected shutdown might change results in the current year. PAUL SISSON in the North County Times — 7/13/07

Hot-and-heavy sculpture gets artists warmed up / Enormous flame -breathing creations at Fire Arts Festival are prelude to Burning Man — In the shadow of the West Oakland BART Station, a 168-foot-long serpent breathed fire, flames rocketed out of swinging pendulums and Silicon Valley engineer Lucy Hosking drove a fire-breathing pipe organ, "Satan's Calliope." Meredith May in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Alleged Paris Hilton perks in jail probed — The Sheriff's Department begins an investigation to see if the heiress got special treatment, as some deputies have claimed. Andrew Blankstein in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Veteran prosecutor nominated for U.S. attorney — Thomas O'Brien, formerly with the L.A. County D.A.'s office, is the nominee for U.S. attorney. He must be confirmed by Senate. Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times — 7/13/07

Woman known as 'Black Widow' in the feds' web — The Southern belle who charmed society folks in Marin County and is known as the "Black Widow" because her three husbands all died was taken into custody Thursday on charges including identity theft and Social Security fraud. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Solving great trash can mystery — t was a dirty job, and somebody had to do it. So it fell to a panel of San Francisco supervisors to find out how it was the city had removed more than 300 garbage cans from the streets since January without telling residents why, or even that it was happening. In the end, after a City Hall hearing Thursday, there were still unanswered questions. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

Balco case: Judge sends leaker to slammer, chides Bush — A lawyer who admitted leaking grand jury transcripts about athletes' steroid use to The Chronicle was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison Thursday by a federal judge who upbraided President Bush for commuting the sentence of Lewis "Scooter'' Libby, the former vice presidential aide who faced an identical prison term on nearly identical charges. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle — 7/13/07

San Jose fire official defends high disability rate — San Jose firefighters on Thursday blasted a city report that said understaffing and other hazardous working conditions weren't to blame for the department's high disability retirement rate and suggested injuries were rooted in poor health and mundane station chores. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury — 7/13/07

Pipeline crew unearths mystery amid shards of twisted metal — Many believe the site along Trafton Road could be the remnants of an old military airplane, unearthed by a construction company last week while digging a trench for a pipeline for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency in Watsonville. Tom Ragan in the San Jose Mercury — 7/13/07

Cyclist offers own spin — Floyd Landis will speak and sign his new book at Borders Books in Sacramento at 7 p.m. today, which means the following: He's not over there trying to win the Tour de France. He's an accused cheater trying to salvage his reputation. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sacramento Bee — 7/13/07