Free Republic

The famous Hollywood sign has been saved from being spoiled by property development by a last-minute donation from Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner. The soft-porn magnate gave $900,000 (£580,000) to the fund which was set up to stop the site being developed. The sign is owned by the city, but the property around it belongs to a group of Chicago-based investors. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger described the news as "the Hollywood ending we hoped for".

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 30-year-old tourist was struck and critically injured while standing on the side of a freeway trying to take a picture of the famous Hollywood sign. The unidentified Texas woman was hit by a vehicle on the Hollywood Freeway Sunday evening, fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. The woman was thrown over a concrete barrier and suffered massive trauma to her legs, Humphrey said. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was listed in critical condition. The woman's 30-year-old husband and their three children also were injured, but those injuries were not considered life-threatening....