Barbara Bush hospitalized for tests -- Former First Lady Barbara Bush will spend the night in a Houston, Texas, hospital Tuesday night after falling ill, according to a family spokeswoman. CNN -- 11/25/08

Legislature rejects budget-balancing plan -- The California Legislature's outgoing class debated, complained and pointed fingers of blame Tuesday - but in the end, it did nothing about the state's massive budget gap. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

As mortgages went bad, New Century executives cashed out -- While the Irvine subprime lender was failing, key executives continually changed their stock trading plans and often sold within days of colleagues' trades, a Times investigation shows. William Heisel in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

U.S. home prices in free fall; more bad news on the way -- Plummeting national home prices established yet another benchmark low in September - and real estate observers say the worst is still to come. James Temple in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

$8 Billion in Cuts, $8 Billion in Taxes Up For a Vote -- One of two things will happen as the Legislature convenes today to consider solutions to the state's big budget mess: either a handful of Republicans will cross party lines and do something they've never done before... or we'll be right back at square one tomorrow morning. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 11/25/08

Laird lands high-paying board gig; is Migden next? -- LairdandBass.jpgAssemblyman John Laird has been appointed to a coveted spot on the state's waste board, the latest in a procession of politicians and political friends to occupy the high-paying post. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, named Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat, to the Integrated Waste Management Board on Tuesday. The job pays $132,178 per year. Shane Goldmacher SacBee Capitol Alert -- 11/25/08

Minefield: Will Holder Be the Obama Cabinet Nominee Who Goes Down? -- Lost in the speculation over a chimerical “filibuster-proof” Democratic Senate majority and in the justified praise of President-elect Obama’s sensible Cabinet nominations is a life lesson: No large batch of appointments makes it through the advise-and-consent process unscathed. Irvin Muchnick BeyondChron -- 11/25/08

Gates agrees to stay on under Obama -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Barack Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state, officials said. MIKE ALLEN Politico -- 11/25/08

State lawmakers gloomy on cutting deficit -- The state Legislature will make a last-ditch effort this afternoon to deal with California's looming two-year deficit, estimated to be as high as $28 billion, but party leaders were not optimistic after meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee Mike Zapler in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/25/08

State to probe allegation of Mormon church role in Prop. 8 -- California's political watchdog agency is investigating a complaint alleging the Mormon church failed to report non-monetary contributions to the Yes on 8 campaign, a state official said Monday. The sworn complaint by a group called Californians Against Hate contends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized phone banks from Utah and Idaho and sent direct mail to voters. Aurelio Rojas in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Legal experts puzzled over California justice's seeming reversal on Prop. 8 -- Justice Joyce L. Kennard has been a reliable supporter of gay rights in the past, but last week she was the only Supreme Court jurist to vote against hearing legal challenges to the gay-marriage ban. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

Appellate court keeps California executions on hold -- There will be no executions by California in the near future. An appellate court has ruled the state failed to follow required procedures in fashioning a revised protocol for administering lethal injections. Denny Walsh in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Walters: Big contrast between Sacramento, Fresno -- During their last pre-election debate, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo and her ultimately successful challenger, former pro basketball player Kevin Johnson, sparred over whether Sacramento should emulate Fresno, its slightly more populous municipal cousin. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Orange County imposes hiring freeze, plans to cut $60 million from budget -- Earlier, officials had identified $32 million in reductions in construction and planned purchases. Supervisors are expected to take up the shortfall today. Stuart Pfeifer in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

No lines, no fears in Downey takeover -- U.S. Bancorp had been lined up in advance as a buyer. The deal unfolded without disrupting operations or causing panic among customers. E. Scott Reckard and Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

San Diego County foreclosures fall sharply -- October home foreclosures in San Diego County dropped nearly 37 percent from September, but analysts say it's too soon to know if the decline means the tumbling housing market has finally reached bottom. Emmet Pierce in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 11/25/08

Immigrant advocates hope for policy change in new administration -- President George W. Bush couldn't fix it. Neither could several sessions of Congress. But several groups in the Bay Area are already sending their immigration policy suggestions to President-elect Barack Obama, hoping he can break the stalemate that for years has prevented lawmakers from enacting comprehensive immigration reform. Matt O'Brien in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 11/25/08

LAUSD cuts may be even deeper -- Already facing massive cuts this year, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have now been told to brace for reductions of up to $140 million next year. George B. Sánchez in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 11/25/08

4 shut schools could be charters -- The Los Angeles Unified School District board will vote this afternoon on whether to allow charter programs to convert three elementary school buildings in Woodland Hills - Collins Street, Oso Avenue and Platt Ranch schools - as well as Highlander Road Elementary in West Hills. George B. Sánchez in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 11/25/08

San Francisco teacher wins national Milken award -- San Francisco teacher Mindy Yip sat cross-legged on the floor of the Visitacion Valley Elementary School multipurpose room with her first-grade students Monday morning, consoling a crying boy. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Schrag: Give up the lie that all UC campuses are equal -- Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's proposal for a University of California tuition policy that would allow Berkeley to charge nearly $2,000 a year more than other campuses is another reminder of the worst-kept secret in California education: Some UC campuses are more equal than others. Peter Schrag in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Claremont parents clash over kindergarten Thanksgiving costumes -- Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is 'demeaning.' Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children's celebration. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

Fireplace owners, elderly attack new wood-burning rule -- They've heard complaints from feisty fireplace owners, elderly people just trying to stay warm and even a self-styled neo-pagan pantheist who believes that fire is a critical part of his religion. Ken McLaughlin in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/25/08

Corporate heavyweights flex muscles for Earth -- Levi Strauss has joined the war on global warming. So has Sun Microsystems. The two Bay Area multinationals are founding members of the recently formed BICEP, or Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy. With the changes in Washington, D.C., "it's time to move toward more of an advocacy position," said Anna Walker, senior manager of worldwide government affairs and public policy for Levi Strauss. Andrew S. Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Test program guides travelers by cell phone -- And a cell phone shall guide them this holiday season. You may think California officials frown on cell phones in cars these days, given the state's recent ban on the hand-held version of said instruments. Not entirely so. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Close to home for the holiday -- Southern Californians avoiding big trips for Thanksgiving, experts say. Steve Schmidt in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/25/08

Fewer to drive, fly for holiday -- Valley residents driving to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday have something to be thankful for, even before they reach their destinations -- the recent dramatic drop in gasoline prices. Eddie Jimenez in the Fresno Bee -- 11/25/08

Court ruling will limit solo pot providers -- Someone who supplies marijuana to a patient who has a doctor's approval for it can be prosecuted for dealing drugs, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday in a narrow interpretation of California's medical marijuana law. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Kevin Johnson prepares for the next level as mayor -- The runners cut through the pre-dawn stillness, traveling in near perfect cadence through the streets of Oak Park. At the head of the pack, Kevin Johnson sets a brisk pace as he calls out curt warnings of passing cars and speed bumps. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Former PUC workers sued in bribe case -- Two employees with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission took thousands of dollars in kickbacks to steer city business to a plumbing contractor, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said Monday in a lawsuit. John Coté in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Judge tosses 3 perjury charges against Bonds -- A federal judge dismissed three perjury charges against Barry Bonds on Monday and ordered prosecutors to file a new indictment to correct legal errors, but rejected a defense request to drop several other counts against the former Giants slugger. Lance Williams in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Demand for food, shelter grows in capital region -- The holiday season began this week with what could be unprecedented demand for food and shelter in the region, fueled by a flailing economy. In Oak Park, a line for a free Thanksgiving care package – including a turkey – snaked around the Sacramento Food Bank on Monday morning into a nearby thoroughfare. M.S. Enkoji and Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/25/08

Thanksgiving giveaway in Stockton draws massive crowd -- The first man in line slept Sunday night in a white pickup in front of the Greater Stockton Emergency Food Bank. By 6 a.m. Monday, two hours before the doors opened, hundreds had joined him. Alex Breitler in the Stockton Record -- 11/25/08

Southern California's fire-ravaged areas prepare for possible mudslides -- With forecasters predicting heavy rain and thunderstorms, burned hillsides are at risk. Yorba Linda plans to uses reverse 911 system to notify residents of danger. Tony Barboza and Tami Abdollah in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

Tracing a crime suspect through a relative -- California's familial searching policy, the most extensive in the nation, looks for genetic ties between culprits and kin. Privacy advocates and legal experts are nervous. Maura Dolan and Jason Felch in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/25/08

Armed and Drinking -- Rules about off-duty law enforcement officers consuming alcohol while carrying guns get fresh look. DOUGLAS QUAN in the Riverside Press -- 11/25/08

Where the Traffic Median Is a No-Pilates Zone -- From his squad car on a sun-drenched corner, Lemont Davis, a Santa Monica park ranger, spotted the perpetrator: white male, 40 to 45 years old, feet pressed against palm tree, legs fully extended in situp position. JENNIFER STEINHAUER in the New York Times -- 11/25/08

Martinez bicyclist killed in hit and run -- A 49-year-old Martinez bicyclist was struck and killed on Monday by a hit-and-run driver on a rural road in northern Contra Costa county, the Highway Patrol said. The cyclist, identified as Mark Alan Pendleton, was riding southbound on McEwen Road near state Highway 4 south of Port Costa when he was hit around 5 p.m. by a northbound vehicle that apparently crossed over the center line, officer Scott Yox said. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/08

Jardine: Cyclists remember a life of triumph -- A graveside service simply wouldn't have sufficed. Members of the Stanislaus County Bicycle Club and Team Triumph needed to bid adieu to their friend, Rita Grodt, in a more fitting manner. So they rode up into Del Puerto Canyon, where they met with her family and other friends to pay proper tribute. Jeff Jardine in the Modesto Bee -- 11/25/08