Letting the voter-approved ban on gay marriage stand, California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear several legal challenges against the ban. Though an earlier decision by the same court in May had opened marriage to same-sex couples in the state, gay couples are legally no allowed to resume marrying before it rules anew.

According to the Santa Barbara, Calif., District Attorney’s Office, a formal charge for DUI has been laid against Heather Locklear, former star of Melrose Place and who was arrested on 27th September in Montecito, following a 911 call made by a paparazzo reporting Locklear was ‘driving erratically’, who then took proceeded to take photographs of the star and her arrest, selling them later through an intermediary to TMZ.com, a celebrity news site for $27,500.
 

Los Angeles  - After four days of widespread devastation firefighters on Tuesday had three large fires under control and evacuated residents returned to find hundreds of homes gutted by the flames.

Aided by lighter winds Monday, firefighters in southern California were gaining the upper hand on three wildfires that have devastated the region. They were hopeful of containing the blazes by mid-week.

Sonoma, California  - Californian wines are now a long established part of European connoisseurs' drinking habits, the most popular of which are varieties from the Napa Valley region.

But the West Coast state is home to another winemaking area, Sonoma, which boasts no less than 4,100 square kilometres of vines.

More than 250 vineyards are located in Sonoma, many of which have a winemaking tradition which is over a century old. A few claim to have roots in Europe's vineyards.

Los Angeles - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency as more than 1,000 firefighters battled a raging wildfire near the celebrity hideaway of Montecito on Friday.

More than 100 houses had been destroyed by the wind-driven flames overnight and fire chiefs were working to contain the damage before strong winds picked up again Friday night.

Los Angeles - Over 5 million Californians ducked for cover and held Thursday as they took part in what was billed as the largest public emergency drill in US history.

Some 5,000 first responders and emergency managers were also involved in The Great ShakeOut drill, which was designed to simulate the effects of a 7.8 magnitude quake on the San Andreas Fault across the densely populated area of Southern California.