Under the agreement, GOP lawmakers would vote to triple the vehicle tax in exchange for a ballot measure that would impose rigid limits on future state spending.

State lawmakers began moving toward a deal this week to close California's deficit with the help of steeper car fees that would cost many drivers hundreds of dollars annually, according to people involved in budget talks.

During high-surf advisory days, watercraft can be used at the famous riding spot in the Monterey Bay haven. Other regulations are altered at the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank sanctuaries.

After seven years of soul-searching, federal officials on Thursday agreed to allow tow-in surfing at California's most famous big-wave riding spot, known as Mavericks, as part of a major expansion of federal rules governing three marine sanctuaries.

During high-surf advisory days, watercraft can be used at the famous riding spot in the Monterey Bay haven. Other regulations are altered at the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank sanctuaries.

After seven years of soul-searching, federal officials on Thursday agreed to allow tow-in surfing at California's most famous big-wave riding spot, known as Mavericks, as part of a major expansion of federal rules governing three marine sanctuaries.

Workers carefully tally mail-in and provisional ballots at the registrar's office. It's a tedious process, but to officials looking on, it's a wonderful sight. Deadline is Dec. 2.

Two weeks after election day, Kenneth Bennett and Paul Drugan were standing together at the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder's office in Norwalk, gazing through a window that looks into the ballot-counting room.

Suits that result in important rights being enforced typically target government agencies.

Attorneys who prevail in lawsuits brought in the public interest are entitled to compensation for their work, the California Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Thursday.

The California governor tells Fox News that he will help the president-elect's administration 'in every possible way.'

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to President-elect Barack Obama this week and would be willing to work for the Democratic administration once his term expires if asked, the Republican governor said in an interview broadcast this morning.

The California high court will review legal challenges to Prop. 8. A hearing may be set for March. Prior to a ruling, gay weddings will not be allowed to resume.

Reporting from Los Angeles and San Francisco Jessica Garrison -- The California Supreme Court voted 6 to 1 on Wednesday to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a final decision.

Gov. Schwarzenegger signs a pact with heads of other states and provinces to cut greenhouse emissions. 'We have got to do something worldwide here,' he says.

California formally moved to spread its can-do global warming gospel around the world, signing a declaration Wednesday with 11 other U.S. states and provinces or states in five other countries to help them slash their greenhouse gas emissions.

Backers of the measure banning gay marriage have said they will target justices who vote to overturn it. Legal scholars say the court has no clear path to tossing out Prop. 8.

Six months ago, California's highest court discarded its reputation for caution and ended the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

Saying a critical review of Maximus Inc. was flawed, county orders a new study. In the meantime, Maximus will extend contract while low bidder Public Studies Inc. will bow out.

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday disregarded a strong recommendation to award a multimillion-dollar welfare-to-work contract to a new firm, instead ordering the bidding process to begin anew, giving a reprieve to a poorly rated company that spent $200,000 lobbying the county this year alone.

The assistance center is the only one up and running in Southern California. But another one should open in Los Angeles soon, the governor's office says.

When Jill Worthington peeked out the window of her Anaheim Hills apartment Saturday morning and saw flames beginning to jump into the edge of the Cascade complex, she had time only to scoop up her two cats and bird. As Worthington, 57, and her son fled, she ticked off what she'd left behind: medication, documents, photos, clothes.

The goal is to engage them into a discussion about global warming.

Here in Hollywood, we're all used to the idea that life imitates art, but in the rest of the world, the discovery of that truism, at least when it comes to films and TV, is still a source of delight and fascination.

His office, which has the responsibility of defending the initiative, also asks justices to review the lawsuits against the measure 'to provide certainty and finality.'

As more lawsuits against Proposition 8 landed before the California Supreme Court, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and the anti-gay-marriage campaign urged the court Monday to review the suits but allow the measure to remain in effect during that review.

The event, organized by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, aims to promote cooperation on technology and reduction of emissions in major industries.

The eyes of the world may be on President-elect Barack Obama, but when it comes to the issue of climate change, Arnold Schwarzenegger is muscling his way into the international spotlight.

Santa Anas subside and humidity rises at three major blazes in Southern California. Agencies line up aid for displaced families, and most schools plan to open Monday.

A lull in the fierce, desert-born Santa Ana winds that pushed three devastating wildfires through Southern California delivered the first major break in days to fire crews from Anaheim Hills to Santa Barbara on Sunday, although authorities warned that shifting winds could splinter off erratic blazes and threaten homes for at least another day.

Schwarzenegger calls for review of building standards; state officials are already at work on the issue. He also questions hospitals' emergency backup power plans.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a review of building standards and emergency procedures Sunday after the Oakridge Mobile Home Park was devastated by the Sayre fire and a backup power system failed at a Sylmar hospital.

Excited to have a Democrat in the White House again, leaders across California are hoping to see millions in federal funds for education, environmental causes, healthcare, transportation and housing.

If you've been elected to something somewhere in California, you're probably writing a wish list for President-elect Barack Obama.

If California rescinds the water rights it granted to the federal government, the troubled project might never be revived.

Use it or lose it is the rule of California water rights, and after 43 years, the would-be Auburn Dam -- subject of one of the state's bitterest water feuds -- is about to lose it.

With 111 homes destroyed and nine damaged, the news is often not good for residents. But some returning evacuees find reason to rejoice.

Jack and Jan Milton shared a bench Saturday overlooking the smoldering remains of their three-bedroom home with its million-dollar views in the hilly Sycamore Canyon area of Montecito.

Four decades ago, a police raid targeting homosexuals at the establishment prompted protests. Last week, after Proposition 8 protests in the area, some demonstrators stopped in at the pub.

The old, illuminated sign of a black and white smiling cat still beckons patrons into a small windowless bar, the site of one of the nation's earliest gay rights protests four decades ago.