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The California Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in favor of opponents of a plan to divide California into three, saying the measure should not appear on the November ballot. The court instructed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to refrain from putting the measure before voters pending further review, “because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition’s validity, and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election...” The environmental nonprofit Planning and Conservation League and political attorneys alleged that breaking up...

Like the surprise ending to a long, dreary novel, Proposition 90 sits at the very end of this fall's crowded California ballot, a subtle plot twist that seems out of place among the more obvious turns that precede it. But take notice. This unassuming proposal is the most important question voters will confront on Nov. 7. Polls show that few voters know what Proposition 90 is about, much less understand its significance. No wonder, given that relatively little money has been spent so far communicating messages for and against the initiative. And unlike some of the other measures on the...

Voters may feel deja vu when they ponder Proposition 84 on the Nov. 7 ballot, because like five other bond measures in the last decade, it promises clean water, flood control, better parks and coastal protection. And like the last water bond to go before voters, in 2002, Proposition 84 was written by a Sacramento lobbyist whose clients are land preservation and environmental groups that stand to win public money for pet projects through the measure. Of the $11 billion that Californians have borrowed over the last decade ... less than $1 billion remains. Proposition 84 carries the highest price...

Coastside commercial fishermen were pleased that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday signed the Sustainable Oceans Act, severely restricting future fish-farming along the California coast. The act, authored by Palo Alto Democrat Joe Simitian, allows ocean farming operations but requires stringent environmental protections that industry experts are calling the toughest in the nation. Coastside fisherman Pietro Parravano, president of the Institute of Fishery Resources, said Saturday the new rules should help protect marine ecosystems and water quality. He said the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association had lobbied for passage of the act. There are currently no finfish aquaculture operations on the...

Eight towns would love to land the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy headquarters, projected to eventually have 70 employees and a $10 million budget. But only two showed up at the historic first meeting of the conservancy board Thursday in Sacramento, and both were from Nevada County. Nevada City used a laid-back approach in its pitch, but Truckee came on like a runaway snowboarder. Auburn, Colfax, Placerville, Amador City, Ione and Jackson were no-shows. “Give us your serious consideration,” said Truckee Mayor Craig Threshie in a lengthy speech that trumpeted the town’s location, history and commitment to the range. “We have...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed two East Bay residents to the board overseeing the agency that operates the state's electrical power grid. Elizabeth Lowe, 41, of Danville has served as vice president of Onsite Energy Corp. since 1997; earlier she was vice president of Western operations for DukeSolutions, Inc. Lowe is a member of the Power Association of Northern California, the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses and the California League of Food Processors. She is registered to vote without a party affiliation. Mason Willrich, 71, of Piedmont was president and CEO of PG&E Enterprises before becoming an independent consultant advising clients...

The Other Question -- A week from today Californians will settle the recall. And decide who has to deal with Proposition 54, the Racial Privacy Initiative. WHAT IF TIGER WOODS, frustrated by his inability of late to win one of golf's majors, enrolled at UC-Berkeley to finish the degree he started years ago at Stanford? Tiger would have to identify himself by race, and that would land him in the rough. Woods calls himself a "Cablanasian" (Caucasian, black, Native American, and Asian). But because his father is African American, that's how Berkeley would categorize him. If Tiger enrolled in California's...

CALIFORNIA Davis allies to launch anti-recall campaign By John Marelius STAFF WRITER May 28, 2003 Acknowledging for the first time they regard the recall drive against Gov. Gray Davis as serious, allies of the governor took the first official steps yesterday to launch a campaign to defend him. Meanwhile, recall sponsors declared their petition campaign was well on its way to gathering the required number of signatures to force a special recall election, although petitions were just beginning to dribble in to the offices of county registrars of voters around the state. A coalition of bedrock Davis support groups –...

Millions in grants, but scant oversight State is auditing funds to nonprofits Sacramento -- Community groups and local agencies that received millions of taxpayer dollars were subjected to scant government oversight and sometimes used questionable business practices to spend the money, according to a review of the grant process by The Chronicle. As state and federal investigators continue to probe a $500,000 grant earmarked for a San Francisco community center that was never built, state auditors are scrutinizing dozens of other grants that were distributed through the state Parks and Recreation Department. Most of the pork barrel allocations were secured...