Pacific Coast Highway

Here are six coastal family lodging possibilities, all with rates that start at less than $150 a night. San Diego The Bay Club Hotel and Marina, 2131 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego; (800) 672-0800 or (619) 224-8888. www.bayclubhotel.com. Shelter Island isn't an island at all. It's a man-made finger of land, lined with hotels, restaurants, boat slips and yacht brokers, plopped into San Diego Bay. The Bay Club offers 105 rooms; all have decks or balconies, and most have big marina views.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign the state budget today, his office said. That would mean the budget becomes law 85 days after the fiscal year began, a record in state tardiness. Schwarzenegger is expected to veto line items amounting to millions of dollars in spending. Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary, said the governor would sign the budget in his office without the public ceremony that often accompanies such events. About 80,000 unpaid state bills have piled up during the impasse.

Two motorists died in Malibu on Wednesday when the driver of a big rig lost control of his truck, barreled down a steep canyon road, crossed an intersection and plowed into two cars, authorities said. The accident occurred about 10 a.m. when the driver of a gravel truck made an illegal detour onto Kanan Dume Road, a steep canyon pass that is off-limits to heavy trucks, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Construction is scheduled to begin today on a $322-million tunnel-and-bridge project that will replace a scenic but earthquake- and landslide-prone stretch of Pacific Coast Highway dubbed "Devil's Slide." Geologists, engineers and construction workers already have collected explosives, a 120-ton drill, back hoes, grinders, conveyor belts and dump trucks -- just some of the heavy equipment needed to bore through San Pedro Mountain south of Pacifica.

A woman was killed Thursday night when her car plunged off Pacific Coast Highway onto the rocky Ventura County shoreline just west of Malibu, officials said. The car ended up submerged in about 15 feet of water. The accident, which was reported about 8:30 p.m., occurred between Point Mugu Rock and the county line, a curving six-mile stretch of PCH notorious for accidents.

At first glance Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Cafe, with its kitschy sign featuring a lobster lounging beneath a beach umbrella, looks like just another beachside eatery. But if you make a quick turn off Pacific Coast Highway into its packed driveway you'll discover a local institution with high-quality grilled and fried seafood, including seared ahi tuna and succulent swordfish, at reasonable prices in a relaxed outdoor environment.

THE campground at Leo Carrillo State Park is a scenic retreat where a family can hike the Santa Monica Mountains, explore tide pools or simply hang out around the fire pit. It's also just a quick drive to a venti-sized caffe latte: We call it "Starbucks camping." And it's perfect for folks whose idea of "roughing it" includes access to flush toilets and a well-inflated air mattress.

A 20-year-old Camarillo man was struck and killed by a motorist when he stepped into the northbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway near the Los Angeles County line, authorities said Thursday. According to witnesses, Trevor Donald Beattie had stopped by Neptune's Nest restaurant about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and asked to borrow a customer's cellphone before walking out onto the busy road.

An 8-foot-deep sinkhole swallowed part of the northbound Pacific Coast Highway early Saturday when an underground water main burst. Northbound traffic was temporarily diverted onto one of the southbound lanes near Big Rock Drive.

A 16-year-old Huntington Beach girl is dead after being struck by a pickup truck while crossing Pacific Coast Highway, authorities said Tuesday. Her name was not released, a police spokesman said. The girl was walking north across PCH at 6th Street with a male companion about 8:30 p.m. Monday when the pair were struck, authorities said. She was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, where she died.