Governor signs budget, cuts Inland-bound funds -- P-E

Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed millions of dollars for libraries, communities near tribal casinos, the homeless mentally ill, and other programs before signing a state budget Friday, nearly eight weeks late.

Governor cuts $30M in funds linked to casinos -- The Desert Sun

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday used his veto power in signing the 2007-08 budget, to slash $30 million from what's called the Special Distribution Fund that offsets casino impact on roads, public safety and services.

Libraries lose funding -- The Desert Sun

Coachella Valley libraries will be seeing fewer funds this year after the governor vetoed $15 million for public libraries from the budget he signed Friday.

Riverside County voting plan cuts costs -- P-E

Riverside County only needs to spend $700,000 -- not several million dollars -- on vote-counting equipment for the February presidential primary, Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore said in a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Report: Eagle Mountain ex-prison plans 'ill advised' -- P-E

Buying or leasing a defunct Eagle Mountain prison to relieve Riverside County's overcrowded jails would be an "ill-advised decision," an expert in jail construction has concluded.

Supervisors would select Doyle's successor -- The Desert Sun

If Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle officially resigns, the county board of supervisors will appoint a successor to serve the rest of his four-year term rather than hold a special election.

Discovery of destructive mollusks in Inland lakes raises concern -- P-E

Despite efforts to stop the quagga mussels' march westward since they were discovered in January along the Colorado River, divers found about 40 adult quaggas earlier this month in Lake Skinner near Temecula and Lake Mathews near Riverside.

Inland homeowners on foreclosure tightrope -- P-E

Inland mortgage and real-estate brokers say the nation's mortgage crunch is breaking the hearts of families who, for lack of alternative financing when their adjustable mortgage payments shoot sky-high, are selling their homes for less than they owe on them or waiting for lenders to foreclose.

Snow Fire is 95 percent contained -- The Desert Sun

The Snow Fire burning in the San Jacinto Mountains is holding at 101 acres and is about 95 percent contained, the U.S. Forest Service reported Friday.

Mandatory TB tests waived for new students -- P-E

New students in Riverside County schools no longer need a tuberculosis test to enroll and attend classes, a change that ends a 17-year policy, county officials said.

Seniors feeling stranded -- The Desert Sun

Cathedral City shut down a Greyhound terminal at 28-401 Date Palm Drive this week because it was operating without city permits.

Hate-crime case award will be hard to collect, experts say -- P-E

Legal experts described last week's federal jury verdict involving a 1999 hate crime in Murrieta as uncommon because the defendants were not criminally charged.

Injunction confronts Riverside gang violence -- P-E and The Californian

The Riverside County district attorney and Riverside police chief stood in the heart of East Side Riva territory Friday and laid out a new legal strategy to cripple the county's largest and most violent street gang.

Aerial spraying, ground fogging campaign in Coachella Valley targets mosquitoes -- P-E

An aerial spraying and ground fogging campaign aimed at wiping out mosquitoes and preventing West Nile virus has ended in the lower Coachella Valley.

City Council narrows search for city manager -- The Desert Sun

The Coachella City Council will meet in closed session on Monday to interview two candidates for city manager.

New bond on tap for Menifee schools -- The Californian

While most of Southwest County is seeing a slowdown in housing construction and therefore student enrollment growth, new students continue to pour into Menifee schools at a rapid rate.

Opinion: Prez on the Rez shows muscle of Native Americans -- The Desert Sun

Prez on the Rez, sponsored by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, is the first time on Indian land that Democratic candidates for president assembled to woo the Native American vote.