SANTA ANA, Calif - Officials in Orange County, Calif., have used electronic highway signs to alert residents of a water shortage emergency. "ORANGE COUNTY WATER EMERGENCY CONSERVE WATER," read the 35 signs usually reserved for abducted children or traffic problems, the Los Angeles Times reported. A week-long shutdown at a water treatment plant in Yorba Linda, Calif., was behind the shortage, and less obtrusive requests to conserve water were not getting results, water district officials ... [full story]

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, the former astronaut charged with attempted kidnapping, has reported for duty at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas. The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times reported it wasn't clear whether Nowak would work on the Texas base or telecommute as she develops curriculum for the Chief of Naval Air Training. "She checked in like anybody would check in for their first day of work," Chief of ... [full story]

A Berkeley, Calif., woman who considers herself an "old hippie" has headed to Iraq, where she hoped to be embedded with a U.S. Army unit as a blogger. Jane Stillwater, 64, was sponsored by The Lone Star Iconoclast, a liberal weekly newspaper near President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. But as she boarded a plane Wednesday, she didn't know whether the military would find her a spot. "Oh, yeah, ... [full story]

A former top aide testified Thursday that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was more involved than he has admitted in firing eight U.S. attorneys. Under questioning by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Kyle Sampson told the Judiciary Committee that he does not think Gonzales was accurate when he said he had not participated in the process, The New York Times reported. "I don't think it's accurate," Sampson repeated. "I think he's recently clarified it. But ... [full story]

CINCINNATI - A Middletown, Ohio, man was being held on $5,500 bail on charges he tried to sell his toddler in a Walgreen's parking lot. Police said a witness claimed Jason W. McCarthy, 30, offered to sell her his 2-year-old son, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Police didn't say how much money McCarthy allegedly wanted for the child. McCarthy was charged with child endangering. He was also charged with loitering in the aid of a drug ... [full story]

One person was injured, a garage door was blown off its track, and two vehicles were damaged when attempts to light a camp stove inside a garage caused an explosion in a northwest Bend home Thursday morning, fire officials said. Emergency dispatch received a 911 call shortly after 10:30 a.m. from a person who reported hearing a loud explosion near NW Milwaukee Avenue and NW Union Street in Bend, and that a garage door had been ... [full story]

In a news conference held Tuesday afternoon, the City of Redmond announced they have selected Ron Roberts of Eugene as the city’s new Police Chief. Since September of 2006 when Chief Lane Roberts (no relation) announced his resignation to lead Deschutes County 911 operations, the city has undergone an extensive search to find a new police chief. Roberts currently commands the Special Investigations section of the Eugene Police Department. In this capacity he oversees the ... [full story]

At a special meeting held Tuesday afternoon, the Bend City Council narrowed down the list of candidates to six to be interviewed on Friday, March 30 and Monday, April 2. Thirteen candidates filed applications by the March 21 deadline.  The selected candidate will be appointed by City Council to fill the vacancy left by John Hummel, who resigned on March 1. The individual appointed to this vacancy will serve until December 31, 2008.The Council will ... [full story]

Three drivers were arrested or cited on criminal mischief and other charges after mudding" through Spencer Creek and damaging meadows along Oregon's only spawning tributary to the Klamath River. An Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division trooper came across the suspects after two pickups became stuck, and a third was trying to free them.   Two drivers’ four-wheel-drive pickups became stuck while mudding through Spencer Creek, and a third got stuck attempting to rescue ... [full story]

A crackdown on people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border using stolen or fake identification is jamming Chula Vista Superior Court, causing prosecutors and defense attorneys to scramble to cover the caseload. "We've been inundated with cases that charge using false identification to gain entry to the United States," said Sharyn Leonard, who supervises the south San Diego County branch of the county Public Defender's Office. Between March 5 and March 23, 66 felony false-ID cases have ... [full story]