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MONTEREY COUNTY Voter registration deadline is Monday County residents have until midnight Monday to register to vote in the June 3 statewide primary election.


LIKE A SUMMER'S DAY
Scorching springtime heat struck Monterey County for the second consecutive day as temperatures matched those on a summer day in the Central Valley. Temperatures hovered near 100 degrees Friday as fairgoers tried to avoid the heat at the Salinas Valley Fair in King City.


Vote is in: 'We Built This City' is all-time worst
The agony is over. The people have spoken. And never mind the drum roll. Starship is hereby pilloried for thrusting a song like "We Built This City" upon the public. During a week of Web voting, readers of Prof.


Clergy ready for gay vows
The Rev. Patt O'Brien is ready to marry whoever walks up to the altar. With Thursday's California Supreme Court ruling that allows same-sex marriages, O'Brien's customer base may soon expand.


Calendar of events
Bread for the World will be the topic at l0 a.m. with a hunger symposium from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Philip's Lutheran Church, 8065 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel For information, call 624-6765. A musical service with organ dedication will be held at 1 p.m.


Governor taps Wills for bench
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threw a wrench into the Monterey County Superior Court judicial race Friday by appointing one of the leading candidates to a different vacancy on the bench.


DLI students strut their stuff at Language Day
Small world, isn't it? About 2,800 high school and middle school students from as far away as Fresno converged upon the Presidio of Monterey on Friday to drink in the diversity of Language Day, an annual exhibition by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.


Kenney prosecutor sick, can't continue
The trial of John Kenney, the Carmel Valley man accused of murdering two neighbors, has been indefinitely delayed because the prosecutor is sick and will be replaced.


Salinas parking garage plan likely at dead end
The rising costs of renovating a county courthouse have almost certainly doomed a controversial Salinas parking garage for county employees.


Realtor Arliene Beesley dies
Arliene Beesley, former president of the Monterey County Association of Realtors, died Thursday several days after suffering a heart attack at home.


Wills appointed to bench by governor
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Salinas lawyer and judicial candidate Tom Wills to the Monterey County Superior Court bench today to fill the seat vacated by the removal of Jose Angel Velsaquez.


Prosecutor change delays Kenney trial
The trial of John Kenney, the Carmel Valley man accused of murdering his neighbors, has been indefinitely delayed. Assistant District Attorney Berkley Brannon told the court this morning that prosecutor Ann Hill is unable to continue on the case due to a physical medical condition.


Ugandan choir to perform in Marina
The Matsiko childrens' choir will perform at 10 a.m. Saturday at Marina Diversity Day. The International Children's Network choir performs dances, drama, testimonials and show-stopping drumming. The name of the group comes from the Ugandan word for "hope." The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.


Dismay over predator's placement
Sexually violent predator James Lamb will move from lockdown in Coalinga State Prison to a "second home" overlooking Lake San Antonio, a judge tentatively ruled Thursday. South County residents will know the address of the house in Jolon by Wednesday.


GOT ANY IDEAS TO BEAT THE HEAT?
The first real hot spell of the year drove Monterey County residents to seek relief from temperatures that in some places reached triple digits, and had firefighters battling brushfires that left thousands without power for hours.


Plant to treat Mexican waste
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The commission responsible for cleaning runaway sewage along the U.S.-Mexico border said Thursday that it will upgrade a government wastewater plant in California instead of paying a private developer to build a new treatment facility across the border in Tijuana, Mexico.


Warren Cowan, Hollywood publicist, dies
LOS ANGELES — Warren Cowan, one of the last of the super publicists who helped make Hollywood the glamour capital of the world, has died. He was 87.


Terra cotta ambassadors
SANTA ANA — More than a dozen Chinese terra cotta warriors crafted more than 2,000 years ago to protect their emperor in the afterlife have arrived in the United States with a very different mission: cultural ambassadors.


Pellicano guilty of wiretapping
LOS ANGELES — Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano has a reputation as a big talker, but he was uncharacteristically quiet when it came to defending himself against racketeering and wiretapping charges.


Parents seek suit over tiger attack
SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of a teenager killed by an escaped tiger at the San Francisco Zoo filed a claim against the city Thursday, seeking monetary compensation for the fatal mauling of their 17-year-old son. Carlos Sousa Jr.


Missouri woman indicted in teen's MySpace suicide
LOS ANGELES — A Missouri woman was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide. Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St.


State pushes for firefighting planes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is pressuring the Bush administration to deliver on its promise to outfit two National Guard cargo planes for firefighting duty by July, warning Thursday that residents face another season of wildfire danger. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.


President-elect doubts China unification
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's president-elect said Thursday that unification with China is unlikely "in our lifetimes," but pledged to reach out to the longtime rival while maintaining good relations with the United States.