Dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy carrying journalists, and family and supporters of a candidate for provincial governor, killing at least 21 of the travelers Monday in the southern Philippines' worst political violence in years. Published November 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2˝ years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit. Published November 23, 2009
EDITOR: In response to Brian Way’s letter extolling the virtues of downtown Petaluma (“Vibrant downtown”, Thursday): I agree that our collection of fine restaurants is wonderful, and it’s great to have a movie theater. Published November 23, 2009
Editor: I couldn’t agree more with Jamie Waterman’s well-worded letter (“Big-box needed,” Monday). Yet again last week, my family traveled from our home in Petaluma to spend more than $300 at Rohnert Park stores. We would have liked to have spent that money in our hometown. Published November 23, 2009
LOS ANGELES — The King of Pop is still winning awards and setting records doing it. But while Michael Jackson won a record four posthumous awards at Sunday night's American Music Awards, he couldn't beat Taylor Swift for top honors. Published November 23, 2009
A train passenger's video of an arrest shows heavy-duty glass shattering and showering down on a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer and an unruly passenger in an incident that injured both men. Published November 23, 2009
Grieving miners' families demanded answers Monday from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China. Published November 23, 2009
A leading Senate Democrat said Monday his party is determined to push through a health care overhaul bill, President Barack Obama's top domestic issue, with or without support from opposition Republicans. Published November 23, 2009
The CHP was investigating a possible head-on crash on Highway 101 near Hopland early Monday involving two vehicles, one possibly a Brinks armored car. The crash was reported at 6:35 a.m., just north of Hopland. Published November 23, 2009
Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night indicated Sunday that they will not vote to pass the package if it includes a government-run insurance program. Published November 23, 2009
A new wave of foreclosures stands to hurt people who may have never taken out a mortgage: renters. In cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, where many investors are carrying upside-down mortgages on large rental buildings, some tenants are watching their homes fall apart along with the financing. Published November 23, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with IOUs on terms that seem too good to be true. Published November 23, 2009
As President Barack Obama measures the potential burden of a new war strategy in Afghanistan, his administration is struggling to come up with even the most dispassionate of predictions: the actual price tag for the anticipated build-up of troops. Published November 23, 2009
Five intoxicated men were transported by ambulance to a local hospital Sunday after Santa Rosa firefighters and police found them on the grounds of the Lewis Adult Center on Lomitas Avenue. Police Sgt. Ron Nelson said the men were sent to the hospital because their level of intoxication threatened their well-being. Published November 23, 2009
Nobody skates through life, not really. But Skippy Baxter has come pretty close. Baxter, two weeks short of 90 years old, is the grand old man at the ice-skating rink that was built -- for him, you could say -- by his late friend and employer Charles Schulz. Published November 23, 2009
Press Democrat wine writer Peg Melnik scopes out restaurant wine lists around the North Bay, looking for good value and the occasional splurge. Published November 20, 2009
While it’s hard to justify the noise generated by these contraptions, banning leaf blowers would likely generate more ill-will, and more unintended consequences, than necessary. Published November 20, 2009
The Sonoma State University Academic Foundation’s loans to “friends” were, at best, a case of poor judgment. As repugnant as this particular practice was, it is only a minor transgression in comparison with the mostly secretive behavior of the university’s highest administrators while attempting to feed the hungry elephant that has been in Sonoma... Published November 20, 2009
Those who hoped that the arrival in power of Barack Obama and Raul Castro would bring a thaw in the continuing 50-year cold war between the United States and Cuba so far have little to cheer. Published November 20, 2009
When there is no good solution to a problem, a president has three options. One is to avoid the problem. The second is to pick the least bad of the available options. The third is to mix and match among the proposed solutions and minimize the long-term damage any decision will cause. Published November 20, 2009
