Núñez helped 55 Assembly workers boost their pensions -- Dozens of California Assembly employees can thank the state's fiscal crisis for padding their pensions through a controversial program pushed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez before he was termed out last year. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Governor's legacy on the brink -- In rejecting a Democratic plan to reduce the deficit by $18 billion only weeks before the state may start running out of cash, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen brinkmanship over expediency — and he may be putting his entire legacy on the line in doing so. Steven Harmon in the Oakland Tribune -- 1/11/09

Fallout from budget impasse could soon hit hard and wide -- It has been a month since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned legislators that if they didn't act soon to close a $42 billion budget deficit, the state would face “financial Armageddon.” James P. Sweeney in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 1/11/09

Matier & Ross: Obama team acts fast to change subject -- No sooner did New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdraw his nomination as secretary of commerce amid a "pay-to-play" grand jury investigation back home than word leaked that former California Rep. Leon Panetta was being named CIA chief. The timing was no coincidence. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

Willie Brown: Feinstein establishes her turf -- Dianne Feinstein is certainly on her game. In the past few days, she's given Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid a very public lesson in law and President-elect Barack Obama an equally public lesson in political manners. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

Doolittle leaves Congress with a $45,000 pension at age 62 -- John Doolittle left Capitol Hill with his legal troubles unsettled, but his financial future appears to be a bit more stable: Congress is giving him a $45,000-a-year pension that he can begin collecting in 2012, when he turns 62. Rob Hotakainen in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Q&A: How does Schwarzenegger's proposal to reduce school days save money? -- Under the governor's latest proposal to balance California's budget, school districts can shave five days off next school year to save money. The idea is to give districts flexibility to reduce state schools spending by $5.2 billion over the next 18 months. Melissa Nix in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Borenstein: California budget plan fails the poor, young and elderly -- If the measure of a society is how well it takes care of its neediest in times of crisis, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to bridge a $40 billion shortfall is an abysmal failure — letting down the poor, the young and the elderly while protecting the largess of the state's wealthiest. Dan Borenstein in the Contra Costa Times -- 1/11/09

Saunders: The woman who would be governator -- Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is preparing to run for governor in 2010. Considering that California is so broke that next month it may have to issue IOUs instead of checks, I cannot imagine why anyone would want the job. Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

SEIU merger to create healthcare 'mega-local' in California -- Planned branch pulls many members from Local 521 and United Healthcare Workers West and all members from Local 6434. UHW members threaten to disaffiliate with the international union. Evelyn Larrubia in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Sacramento businesses brace for furloughed workers' absence -- Sacramento's economy stands to lose around $1 billion over the next 18 months because of layoffs and unpaid furloughs imposed on state workers by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Walters: California may have a dim future -- Defense spending in the 1980s, high-tech startups in the 1990s and housing-fueled consumer spending in the 1990s – all were California economic bubbles that burst spectacularly, leaving recession and government deficits in their wake. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Lockyer to Schwarzenegger: Kiss my grits -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to require state workers to take two mandatory, unpaid furlough days — the first and third Fridays of every month — in order to help defray a tiny fraction of the state’s whopping budget deficit. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is having none of it. Josh Richman Political Blotter weblog -- 1/11/09

First Indo-American council member set to take seat in San Jose -- San Jose marked a milestone New Year's Eve with the swearing-in of the city's first Indo-American councilman, Ashu "Ash" Kalra. Yet what most gratified many local residents with ties to India was that Kalra won the District 2 seat by running not as an "ethnic" candidate but on his record of accomplishments. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

Internal Affairs: Tom Campbell wants to be California's next governor — really. -- Call it the under-the-radar campaign. Amid last week's buzz about Meg Whitman's expected decision to seek the GOP nomination for governor, and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's flood of releases about endorsements and high-priced advisers, former valley Congressman Tom Campbell finally returned our calls about his own aspirations. Mary Anne Ostrom, Ken McLaughlin and Peter Delevett in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

Internal Affairs: When Leo McGarry met Leon Panetta -- CIA choice Panetta inspired actor on 'West Wing' Northern Californians know Leon Panetta, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be the next CIA chief, as the longtime Monterey Bay area congressman who once served as President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. But most Americans probably know him better as Leo McGarry, the staff chief for Joshua "Jed" Bartlet. Mary Anne Ostrom, Ken McLaughlin and Peter Delevett. in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

Homeowners refinance at lower mortgage rates -- When state employee Tim McManus of Sacramento peers into the future, he sees 4.5 percent interest. "I'm hoping it will go down more. One more drop," says the Pocket homeowner with a first mortgage at 6 percent and a second at 7.75 percent. Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Audacity itself as economic experiment -- President-elect Obama proposes an unparalleled test of Keynes' decades-old idea: that deficit spending on a grand-enough scale can inspire the confidence to right a sinking economy. Peter G. Gosselin in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

IRS is willing to cut taxpayers some slack this year -- Officials say they'll help you work something out if you can't afford to pay all at once. And some tax changes for 2008 may mean you're in better shape than you think. Kathy M. Kristof in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

What Wells Fargo plans to do on a bigger stage -- Wells Fargo & Co., which began in 1852 as a San Francisco "Express and Banking House" mainly serving gold miners, now controls more branches than any U.S. bank. James Temple in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

Which are the best, worst money-making industries? -- If you’re looking for a career that is weathering the recession well, try bookkeeping or tax preparation. But forget legal services, says Sageworks, a financial analyst of privately owned U.S. businesses. Jan Norman in the Orange County Register -- 1/11/09

Indian outsourcing scandal shakes Silicon Valley -- The massive fraud that threatens Indian outsourcing giant Satyam Computer Services has sent tremors 9,000 miles to Silicon Valley, long an investor, partner and promoter of the South Asian country's rising tech industry. John Boudreau in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

San Bernardino County, cities brace for a drop in tax revenues -- As 2009 sputters to get into gear, the leaders of San Bernardino County and its cities are saying goodbye to the gargantuan rise in sales- and property-tax revenues they embraced so dearly during the housing market boom. Matt Wrye and Andrew Edwards in the San Bernardino Sun -- 1/11/09

Utility rate hikes possible for Coachella Valley -- Both the Imperial Irrigation District and Southern California Edison have rate hikes in the works — a 6 percent increase at IID and a 6 percent to 7 percent hike for many of Edison's residential customers. Keith Matheny in the Desert Sun -- 1/11/09

A few bright spots -- As 2009 begins, San Diego County faces its toughest employment challenge since the early 1990s, when local defense factories shut their doors and laid off thousands of workers after the end of the Cold War. Dean Calbreath in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 1/11/09

Hit by state budget deficit, Silicon Valley schools begin mapping out massive cuts -- Goodbye counselors, tutors, gardeners, janitors and five days of the school year. Hello class sizes in the mid-30s or above. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

Schwarzenegger's effort to expedite highway projects angers environmentalists -- Stripping environmental protections could fast-track the work, give California a $1.2-billion boost and create 22,000 jobs, the governor says. Eric Bailey and Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Housing industry a good environment for eco-friendly claims -- 'Greenwashing' is common in real estate. Products may have ecological virtues, but you may not be getting the full story. Lew Sichelman in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Quite the condor conversion -- Topa the California condor was a wreck when rescuers found him in 1967. Now, after learning how to mate, he's sired 21 chicks since 1993 -- the father of a new generation for his endangered species. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Los Angeles residents take inventory of billboards -- As part of a neighborhood plan to curb the growing number, a group in the Mid-City area counts and records what it sees in hopes of ridding the streets of signs posted illegally. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Inaugural parties' theme color: green -- Lots of organizations are throwing celebrations Jan. 20 to highlight their pet causes. But the environment will be cleaning up. (No Styrofoam in the House of Representatives.) Richard Simon and Jill Zuckman in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Tracking mountain lions - for their own good -- The tired, sweaty trackers scrambled up a steep, muddy slope in a remote canyon in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the towering madrone tree where the hounds were barking. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

Shai Agassi wants to turn your car green -- Shai Agassi didn't grow up dreaming of revolutionizing the auto industry by replacing gasoline-burning cars with electric ones. Matt Nauman in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

With more generations under one roof, U.S. families no longer shrinking, census data shows -- Lynn Fielder moves haltingly between the kitchen island and the cupboards in her Palo Alto home, intent on preparing a pot of coffee for her mother, Sondra Erickson, and a guest. Mike Swift in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/11/09

Food crisis due to warming world trumps all other worries, say scientists -- Many of today's toddlers face the grim prospect of coping with chronic food shortages in their old age if agricultural science doesn't adapt to a warming world, concluded scientists in a study published Friday in the journal Science. Suzanne Bohan in the Contra Costa Times -- 1/11/09

Officials work to keep Lake Elsinore water levels stable -- Recent winter storms sent more than 1 billion gallons of water into Lake Elsinore, raising the lake by a foot, but that's several feet short of where officials want the lake to be. AARON BURGIN in the Riverside Press -- 1/11/09

Toyota Plug-In Hybrid Coming Late This Year -- Toyota plans to introduce its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle late this year, a year earlier than originally planned, and a year ahead of the Chevrolet Volt, a senior Toyota executive said Sunday. Micheline Maynard in the New York Times -- 1/11/09

Detroit Goes for Electric Cars, but Will Drivers? -- Inside the Ford Motor Company, it was called Project M — to build a prototype of a totally electric, battery-powered car in just six months. BILL VLASIC in the New York Times -- 1/11/09

The Electric Auto Fleet Moves a Few Steps Closer -- Auto engineers have been talking for years about the coming “electrification of the automobile.” But as the development of hybrids and pure-electric vehicles has accelerated rapidly across the industry, it’s increasingly difficult to separate the subject of batteries from the cars and trucks they’ll soon be powering. LINDSAY BROOKE in the New York Times -- 1/11/09

Cuts to state health care -- What's at stake: Several million poor senior citizens or disabled Californians would no longer receive dental benefits, speech therapy, podiatric care or optical lab services under the governor's proposed budget. Additionally, an estimated 429,000 low-income people would no longer be eligible for Medi-Cal benefits. Elizabeth Fernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

State probes whether Kaiser call centers endanger patients -- Worried that Kaiser Permanente may be letting unlicensed staffers make medical decisions, the state is investigating the giant HMO's call centers and plans to demand documents that Kaiser has refused to surrender. Carrie Peyton Dahlberg in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Behind the lines with the Taliban -- A Times writer joins Taliban fighters in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan. The men appear to have no fear of troops, and prove to be gracious hosts. Paul Watson in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Iran Using Fronts to Get Bomb Parts From U.S. -- The Iranian businessman was looking for high-quality American electronics, but he had to act stealthily: The special parts he coveted were denied to Iranians, especially those seeking to make roadside bombs to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. Joby Warrick in the Washington Post -- 1/11/09

U-T Watchdog Report: After fires, city faced another mess -- San Diego officials awarded a contract to haul wildfire rubble from city-owned land without soliciting bids, despite a warning that the lack of competition could pose problems. Danielle Cervantes and Brooke Williams in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 1/11/09

A case so tragic, Covina police will never forget -- Covina's small, tight-knit police department put its heart and soul into the Christmas Eve shooting investigation, trying to unravel a case that shocked the nation and devastated the community. Tami Abdollah in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/11/09

Brown pushes D.A. to act swiftly in BART case -- Attorney General Jerry Brown, concerned about the pace of the investigation into a BART police officer's fatal shooting of an unarmed man early New Year's Day, said Saturday that he is sending an observer to the Alameda County district attorney's office to encourage prompt action. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle Kamika Dunlap in the Oakland Tribune -- 1/11/09

49ers deny Raiders will share their stadium -- A spokeswoman for the San Francisco 49ers said Saturday that the team has no immediate plans to share a new stadium with the Oakland Raiders, though she would not rule out the possibility. Marisa Lagos in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09

How Sacramento strong mayor plan stacks up -- As strong mayor systems go, the one proposed for Sacramento by Mayor Kevin Johnson is about as muscular as they get. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/11/09

Motorcycle deaths reaching record numbers -- The rate of people dying in Los Angeles County motorcycle crashes has almost doubled over the past eight years, according to data from the California Highway Patrol. Ben Baeder in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 1/11/09

San Francisco builder camouflages potty to avoid arson -- The world's first top secret outhouse sits on Russian Hill these days, the latest weapon in the war against high crime in the commode. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/11/09