Hollywood  - In the end, it was his odd-looking truck that gave away Ralph Stephen Garbarini, the suspect in a killing so random that it became the talk of San Diego. Garbarini, suspected of gunning down a popular businessman for no apparent reason at a dessert cafe in the Hillcrest neighborhood, was arrested in Hollywood Tuesday after security guards saw his pickup parked on Hawthorn Avenue, authorities said. SUSPECT - Ralph Stephen Garbarini, who ... [full story]

Senators Smith and Wyden Fighting to put $60 Million in Emergency Bill To aid Oregon fishermen impacted by last year’s restricted salmon fishing season, U.S. Senators Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are pushing for $60.4 million in disaster assistance for West Coast salmon fishermen to be included in an emergency spending bill the Senate is drafting. “Last year’s closure was devastating to Oregon’s salmon fishermen,” Smith said. “We will do everything we ... [full story]

Legislation will expand ability to deliver lower prices to more Oregonians SALEM - The Oregon Senate voted Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 362, legislation that will allow more Oregonians to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs. The bill is sponsored by Senator Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) and builds on the Oregon Prescription Drug Program that was put in place in 2003 and expanded by the voters in 2006 with Ballot Measure 44.  “Prescription drugs are expensive and this ... [full story]

ColorOfChange.org, an online citizens' lobby of 70,000 members dedicated to advocating for the interests of Black Americans, launched a national letter writing campaign today calling on the Congressional Black Caucus Institute to reject Fox News as partner for their presidential debates.   "Fox News is not a 'fair and balanced' source of information or political debate, and it has repeatedly proven itself hostile to the interests of Black Americans," says a letter online activists can sign on ... [full story]

Shanaya S. Hicks of Hartford, Conn., pleaded guilty today to five counts related to her role in a sex- trafficking ring that involved minors. Hicks is the eighth of ten defendants to plead guilty to federal charges in this case. On August 8, 2006, Hicks, along with nine other co-defendants, was charged in a 64-count superseding indictment. Hicks, and two additional co-defendants were also charged with the sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking by force, ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - Chevron has abandoned plans to build a $650 million liquefied natural gas receiving terminal near Mexico's Coronado Islands, ending a four-year battle with U.S. and Mexican environmentalists who feared the project would harm delicate plant, sea mammal, and bird habitats. The energy company withdrew the three key Mexican permits required to develop the project last month, Chevron spokeswoman Margaret Cooper said Monday. Despite ongoing opposition to the LNG receiving terminal since it ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - San Diego Naval Medical Center is backing off of plans to treat the most severely wounded combat veterans even as it ramps up its outpatient and rehabilitation services, hospital officials said Monday. When they launched the Comprehensive Combat Casualty Care Center (C5) program last summer, the hospital's leaders called their facility a "West Coast Walter Reed" that was prepared to take on badly injured Marines, sailors and soldiers almost directly from the ... [full story]

Dealer Charged in 70-Count Indictment for Crimes Related to Business Practices SAVANNAH, Ga. - Special Agent in Charge Vanessa L. McLemore of the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced today the arrest of a licensed gun dealer in southeast Georgia. Yesterday, Mark Eric McDaniel, 37, surrendered to authorities at his Waycross, Ga. residence, following an eight-month ATF investigation into the business operations of "McDaniel's Firearms" in Waycross. ... [full story]

SISTERS—Deschutes National Forest fire specialists plan to burn 99 acres today along Highway 20, three miles northwest of Sisters.   The area being burned is located along FS road 2058 (Pine Street), about ¼ mile west of the Sage Meadows subdivision.The burn will reduce brush and woody debris that can feed wildland blazes, such as the 4,200-acre Cache Mountain Fire that forced the evacuation of the subdivision and damaged two homes before containment in July 2002.The ... [full story]

Human remains found Tuesday in a shallow grave in a remote area on Forest Service land southeast of Sunriver are believed to be those of Nicole Hutchings, a young woman missing since November 2004.  Two Bend men have been charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, and murder.   Loren Allen Bowers (L), Craig Allen Whiting (R) – DCJ Photos    Nicole “Nikki” Marie Hutchings, missing since Nov. 1, 2004 Nicole “Nikki” Marie Hutchings was last seen about 7:30 p.m. November 1, ... [full story]