The Lexus IS 250 is a svelte slice of personal-size, sport-sedan luxury. The 2008 version of the all-wheel-drive IS 250 has attracted attention because its price was cut $200 without sacrificing any equipment or features. The price "adjustment" probably had something to do with the new and larger Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic, which has a starting price of $35,215.   LEXUS IS 250 - The Lexus IS 250 is quiet and assured, but not boastful. All-wheel drive ... [full story]

Q: Enclosed is a photo of a rocker that has been in the family since I was a little girl (I'm now 82). The original back and seat were caned, but my mother had them recovered with needlepoint. The back of the rocker can   VICTORIAN ROCKER - This Victorian Eastlake platform rocker was made around 1875 and would probably be worth from $375 to $425. CNS Photo.    KALK PORCELAIN MARK - The Kalk Porcelain Factory in ... [full story]

A couple of years ago we agreed to take part in a neighbor's campaign to win election to the Maryland legislature. Before we knew it, we were standing in the rain for hours handing out her material at the primary election. Then, days before the November election, we spent hours on Sunday making cold calls urging people to vote for our choice. We had fallen victim to "volunteerism" - agreeing to take part in an ... [full story]

Winter is officially arriving, but I am already looking ahead to what I want to plant in my vegetable garden and flower beds next spring. I prefer vegetables that will be easy to grow and good tasting. The flowers need to be free flowering and hardy in my garden.  In order to determine if a new plant is going to work well in my garden, I see if it has been tested and approved in ... [full story]

The long-anticipated court date for the trial of ‘Little People, Big World’ star, Matt Roloff has been scheduled for January 8. According to a Washington County Circuit Court clerk, Roloff’s drunk-driving case will be presided over by Judge Donald R. Letourneau.   Matt Roloff - WCSO photo Roloff, 45, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants on June 19 when his Chevrolet van was observed by a deputy “failing to drive within its travel lane” ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO, Cal. - Environmental groups filed 13 lawsuits Wednesday against the Bush administration, alleging that it fails to protect imperiled species because of political meddling and other inadequacies. Mentioned in the litigation were at least five species with current or former habitat in San Diego County: the spreading navarretia, thread-leaved brodiaea, San Diego ambrosia, red-legged frog and arroyo toad. Dozens of related lawsuits are in the works, signaling a heightened battle with national implications ... [full story]

A day after gunmen stormed the Rosarito Beach, Mexico, police station, killing one officer and wounding another, dozens of soldiers stood guard around the building and work crews started repairing the broken glass and bullet-nicked walls. The attack's apparent target, Public Security Director Jorge Eduardo Montero Alvarez, was being shuttled around the city under heavy guard as funeral arrangements were made for his fallen bodyguard, Officer Guillermo Castro Corona, 35. Montero's other bodyguard, Leonel Pizana ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - A federal commission has agreed to look into a complaint by Broadcom Corp. alleging that Qualcomm Inc. violated a ban on importing wireless chips that infringe on a Broadcom patent. The U.S. International Trade Commission is opening an investigation into the allegations, the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between the two companies, the agency said Thursday. Broadcom charges that Qualcomm, a San Diego chip making giant, is continuing to market the ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - NASA reversed itself Thursday, agreeing with congressional critics that duPont Aerospace in La Jolla, Calif., should not be able to keep two jet engines it acquired with federal funds during a now aborted research project. In a letter to Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., NASA said it had informed duPont Aerospace President Tony duPont that the space agency was asserting the government's right to the engines, valued at $1.5 million. DuPont's 19-year, $63 million ... [full story]

SACRAMENTO, Cal. - A powerful Congressional watchdog Thursday unveiled plans to probe whether the federal Environmental Protection Agency put politics ahead of policy in blocking California's first-in-the-nation law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. At the White House, President Bush staunchly defended his administration's course and renewed a call for more nuclear power that he suggested would reduce reliance on fossil fuels and trim emissions at the same time. And in Sacramento, the leader ... [full story]