SACRAMENTO—The California Budget Project says the gap is widening between the middle-class and the wealthiest 1 percent of Californians. Analysts say Franchise Tax Board data from 2006 and 2007 shows the wealthiest taxpayers are getting...

Don't get stuck with a bigger tax bill next year. It could happen, given changes in California's tax laws that could cost the average married couple with two kids an extra $670 next April 15....

Sacramento is now a revolutionary outpost in the fight for cleaner fuels. With the arrival of 25 bright-green and yellow ethanol fuel pumps at gas stations regionwide in recent weeks, Sacramento lays official claim to being the nation's ethanol epicenter, at least west of the Mississippi, air quality officials said....

Democratic leaders said Wednesday they are only days away from a deal to solve California's massive budget deficit, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened to veto their plan and other Republican leaders said a final compromise could take weeks....

When a federal investigation of Mayor Kevin Johnson and his nonprofit St. HOPE was concluded in April, I wrote the words: "It's over." Shame on me. It's never over with this guy.There is seemingly always a skeleton poised to fly out of Johnson's closet. ...

War-funding legislation survives a fierce partisan battle in the House, a major step in providing funds to commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that this is the last time Congress will go through the ordeal of passing an off-the-books, expensive bill to fund two wars. It may also be one of the more difficult....

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today told a federal court in San Francisco that the state does not dispute that Proposition 8 may violate the federal Constitution and called for quick action to resolve the legality of the ant-gay measure law....

The city of San Diego could save millions of dollars a year, if it were to suspend the 2 percent cost-of-living increase it provides to retired employees in the city pension system, according to estimates provided by a consultant....

Deadline nears for those seeking to roll back property reassessments. Don Atkins shared his life with Ted Horzella for 37 years. For the last three years of Horzella's life, the men were registered with the state of California as domestic partners....

Facing multibillion-dollar state funding cuts, school districts across California are asking residents to tax themselves to fund local schools. Parcel taxes -- some topping $2,000 annually per family -- have been proposed this year from Sebastopol to San Marino....

Pakistan's president said Monday his intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden may be dead, but he added there is no proof. Other Pakistani officials and a U.S. counter terrorism official said they thought the al-Qaida chief is alive. U.S. officials said bin Laden is most likely hiding in the mountains along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, in particular the lawless tribal regions. "We continue to believe that bin Laden is alive," said the U.S. official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record...

Ever since gold miners first scraped their fortunes out of the hills of Northern California, America's most populous state has been a land of titanic dreams. These days, though, it's a place with big problems. Its $42-billion budget deficit would make an out-of-control Hollywood director blush — and bankrupt a small nation....

The California Senate abruptly adjourned its marathon weekend session Sunday night, leaving in doubt the fate of a $14.4billion tax bill that is a key part of a plan to balance the state budget. AP in the Daily News....

The California Supreme Court has agreed to consider a lawsuit over a state law that allows universities and colleges to charge the same tuition to undocumented students that state residents pay. If the high court overturns the law, it could lead to similar challenges in nine other states that discount prices for noncitizens; several of the states have submitted briefs...