Northern California

The state Legislature finished with one piece of a multi-part water package Tuesday when the Assembly approved a bill mandating a statewide drop in per capita water use. Lawmakers were headed for another long night, with the Assembly expected to take up several other measures approved by the Senate in a midnight session Monday, including a massive water bond. "We are comfortable and confident that we will wrap up and we will have the votes," Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles)

A Gold Country hotel that boasts the longest continually operating saloon west of the Mississippi will remain open under a lease-option deal with a Utah company, managing partner Jim O'Brien said Thursday. The Holbrooke Hotel, which includes the Golden Gate Saloon that began operating in 1852, will be leased and managed by Atkinson and Johnson, a Salt Lake City firm that will have a two-year option to buy the hotel. "The Holbrooke is going to survive," O'Brien said. "We are no longer in danger of closing."

A police hazardous materials team was cleaning a West Los Angeles apartment Sunday after authorities discovered a methamphetamine lab inside the unit. Los Angeles police arrived at the apartment in the 2100 block of South Bentley Avenue on Saturday to search for evidence related to a homicide investigation in Stanislaus County. That's when they discovered the methamphetamine ingredients and equipment, Lt. Tony Carranza said. The apartment building was evacuated after the discovery.

Then: Judy, 56, a nurse, and Steve, 57, a Southern California Gas Co. technician, became middle-class millionaires through a lifetime of scrimping and saving. In March 2008, they were wondering how to best invest the $1.7 million they had squirreled away in savings and whether they could realize their dream of retiring early to a new home in Northern California. The planner said the Haibachs could retire and had enough money to last their lifetimes, provided that they diversified their portfolio and didn't move money in and out of the stock market.

Eric Peterson says California "just might be the greatest state for road trips." And he's written a new book to prove his point: "Ramble California: A Wanderer's Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous." The book includes sections on Los Angeles and Southern California, on San Francisco and Northern California, on Central California's coastal areas and valley, on the High Sierra, and on places in the California desert such as Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and Palm Springs.

Sam Hinton, folk singer, songwriter, naturalist and San Diego civic treasure who delighted schoolchildren and folk-festival audiences for decades, has died. He was 92. Hinton died Thursday at an assisted-living facility in Albany in Northern California where, in failing health, he had moved two years ago. The cause of death was a series of ailments, including congestive heart failure, said his daughter, Leanne. Possessed of a gentle, whimsical manner, and an enthusiasm for singing what he called "old songs for young people," Hinton was one of the fathers of the folk-song movement that began in the 1930s and gained great popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.

The founders of Skype filed a copyright lawsuit against EBay Inc. and the firms planning to buy the Internet-calling business, saying damages are growing at $75 million a day. The founders' company, Joltid Ltd., also asked for an injunction to stop the alleged infringement, according to a filing in U.S. District Court in Northern California. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom retained the rights to Skype's software code when EBay bought the company in 2005. Since then, EBay has showed the source code to third parties, copied it and altered it without permission, the complaint says.

One of four men charged in the fatal stabbing of a San Diego college student pleaded guilty Thursday and agreed to testify against the others, including the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Rafael Garcia, a college student in Northern California, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to destroy evidence. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him in the Oct. 4 death of Luis Santos, 22. As part of a plea bargain, Garcia agreed to testify against three co-defendants: Ryan Jett, Esteban Nunez and Leshanor Thomas.

An Indian tribe whose casino proposal was rejected two years ago has offered to pay Marysville $3.5 million if the City Council approves the plans. Officials from the Enterprise Rancheria told council members Tuesday that the money would be given to the city over 15 years and would be divided among police, fire, education and discretionary spending. The City Council appointed an ad hoc committee to review a memorandum of understanding from Enterprise Rancheria that will be presented to the city.

A Contra Costa County judge has granted the state an extension to prepare for the likely release of sex predator Cary Verse. Verse, 32, convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage boys and a homeless man, was granted a petition last month for placement in a community release treatment program. The Mental Health Department had 21 days to arrange housing, counseling and other needs. Department lawyer Susan King asked for an extension Friday, saying a treatment provider had backed out of the deal.