2005 Year

New laws governing young drivers, homeowners associations, the marketing of fish and the sale of puppies take effect with the new year. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 729 bills into law in 2005. That was fewer new laws than in any year since at least 1967. Lawmakers took a number of actions to protect the privacy of Californians. They made it a crime to use e-mail ruses to try to dupe people into revealing private information.

Trying to choose the top moments of the 2005 college season is like trying to pick your favorite Steve Spurrier visor toss. Trying to narrow the list to 10 is tougher than Bevo's backside. How could you leave out UC Davis upsetting Stanford? How could you not remember the Alamo (Bowl), when Michigan nearly reprised the ending of Cal-Stanford in 1982? What about New Mexico State going 0-12? Or Gary Barnett getting the ax at Colorado after winning the Big 12 North championship?

PRODUCERS and writers famously don't always see eye-to-eye, but they found some common ground Wednesday when they announced respective nominees for their members' best work of the year. "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" scored with both the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America. The Johnny Cash biographical drama "Walk the Line" rounded out the list of nominees for the PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award.

Tropical Storm Zeta fell apart in the open Atlantic, finally bringing the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season to an end, forecasters said in Miami. Zeta, which was never a threat to land, set one last record before strong wind shear and dry air robbed it of its wind speed and other characteristics of a tropical system: No named storm ever endured so long into January. Zeta was the last and 27th named storm in the season that officially ended Nov. 30.

AS the new year begins, let's review the key events of 2005 in search of clues to smart travel this year: * A slight recovery of the U.S. dollar: Last year saw improvement in the value of the dollar -- 10% against the euro and slightly more against the Japanese yen. The cost of travel to Europe and Japan therefore has lessened a bit.

THERE was a golden age in Hollywood. And then there's today, when domestic box office is down for the third straight year and consumer spending on home video has dropped for the first time in a quarter of a century. Everyone has a theory about what's gone wrong. But for me, it wasn't the movies themselves -- there were more than enough good ones to go around. It was time. Box office may be down, but sales of iPods, Xboxes, cellphones, MP3 players, TiVos and plasma screen TVs are going up.

Glamorous Mariah Carey may have been queen at the record store in 2005, but she's practically a handmaiden to the wrinkled old Rolling Stones in Calendar's ninth annual Ultimate Top 10, which combines pop performers' album sales and concert revenue. Carey sold nearly 5 million copies in the U.S. of her career-rejuvenating "The Emancipation of Mimi" CD, which translates to $65 million in cash register sales, assuming an average of $13 per unit these days.

The heady pinnacle of the teen-pop explosion five years ago casts a long shadow in the pop world. 'N Sync, though long gone from the charts and arena stages, still holds the record for combined concert and album sales revenue since Calendar began compiling the list in 1997. 'N Sync racked up a whopping $212.9 million in 2000 and finished in the Ultimate Top 10 for four consecutive years, taking No. 1 honors twice.

The publishing industry enjoyed a strong year in 2005, with increases in both revenues and the number of books sold. But projections for long-term growth remain limited because people increasingly don't read, according to a study released Friday. Over the last few years, the number of books published has soared even as sales have fallen. That changed in 2005. A recent report by statisticians R.R. Bowker projected that the number of books released actually dropped last year, to 172,000.

The following new laws take effect Jan. 1 unless otherwise indicated. .50-caliber rifles: Sale of the heavy, long-range weapons, used mostly by target shooters, is banned in California. Ban supporters argued that the weapons, capable of hitting hovering helicopters, could be used by terrorists. AB 50 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood).