CA Debt Consolidation in California

The federal government on Thursday issued a voluntary recall of two styles of children's beds after the death of a 22-month-old California boy, reported KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says the 1,400 wildfires that have raged in his state may be the most ever.

Piles of charred rubble smoldered along California's scenic coastal highway Thursday as a ferocious wildfire descended on the storied tourist town of Big Sur, destroying vacation homes and sending forest creatures running toward the sea for cover.

The stubborn blaze, which has burned more than 100 square miles in the Los Padres National Forest, was just one of hundreds raging around the state. And officials on Thursday reported California's first firefighter death this year _ a volunteer who collapsed on the fire line in Mendocino County.

When winemaking giant E&J Gallo bought the Louis M. Martini Winery in 2002, it got a prestigious label, 1,735 acres of some of the best vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties and a sweet tax break.

The city of Sacramento said it won't fine a Sacramento couple for letting their lawn go brown.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has taken his first public step toward seeking higher office, filing papers to form an exploratory committee for a potential gubernatorial bid in 2010.

Newsom, a Democrat best known for challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, is six months into his second and final term, which expires in 2011. Speculation over whether he would run to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pursued him since before his re-election, but the mayor always deflected it by saying his attention remained fixed on the city.

The Los Angeles Times plans to cut 250 positions, including 150 jobs in the editorial department, in an effort to reduce expenses.

Those seeking the oohs and aahs of traditional Fourth of July fireworks could be sadly disappointed this year: Public displays and sales of boxed firecrackers are being canceled or scaled back across the ...

Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more ...

Starting Tuesday, drivers in California and Washington state will have to use hands-free phones to make or take calls while behind the wheel.

Having to make due with less water, California farmers are reassessing their planting of tomatoes, cotton, corn and other water-intensive crops.

A popular replacement this year _ safflower. The thistlelike plant is perfectly suited for the state's Mediterranean climate and does not require much water.

It can send a tap root 8 to 10 feet into the soil, sucking up water and nutrients that are out of reach of other annual crops. The plants are blooming across California's Central Valley, pushing out bright, yellow and orange flowers packed with dozens of seeds that will be turned into salad and cooking oil.

Millions of California motorists have had to put down their cell phones or risk a ticket as a new law takes effect requiring hands-free devices for those behind the wheel.

Police in San Diego and in Oceanside were giving motorists a one-month grace period before beginning to issue citations, but the California Highway Patrol and other agencies were ready to write tickets Tuesday.

'No grace period. The law was passed a year-and-a-half ago,' said CHP Officer Heather Hoglund, a spokeswoman in suburban Glendale. 'There should be no reason why somebody didn't know that today was the day that they needed to be hands-free.'

A 42-year-old chimpanzee who is toilet-trained and can eat with a knife and fork is believed to be at large in a Southern California forest after escaping his cage.

A mixture of fog and smoky haze is seen over the San Francisco skyline Tuesday, July 1, 2008, from Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

Obama to Support Expanding Bush's Faith-Based Programs; McCain Heads to Colombia to Address Fair Trade, Will Also Visit Mexico to Address Illegal Immigration; Gov.

California lawmakers have missed the deadline to approve a state budget for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday.

California's 30-year-old death penalty system that costs more than $100 million annually to administer is 'close to collapse,' according to a new report issued Monday.

The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, appointed by the state Legislature to propose criminal justice reforms, issued a 117-page report detailing a deeply flawed system with the biggest backlog of cases in the nation.

The commission stopped short of calling for the abolition of the state's death penalty. It did note, however, that California would save hundreds of millions of dollars if capital punishment were eliminated. Most condemned inmates are essentially given life sentences because so few executions are carried out, the report said.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc said on Monday it will manufacture the lower-priced follow-up to its Roadster sports car in California after the state offered a tax break to keep the operations there.

The good news in northern California is that more than a thousand wildfires aren't growing. The bad news: There's no relief in sight.

No new major fires had broken out Sunday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest of 1,420 blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services. Some 364,600 acres _ or almost 570 square miles _ have burned.

A 'red flag warning' _ meaning the most extreme fire danger _ was still in effect for Northern California until 8 a.m. EDT Monday. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is asking President Bush to declare a federal emergency in the state as it copes with widespread wildfires.