Half a century ago, farmers cultivating the fertile plains and valleys of Ventura County sprayed their crops with the miracle pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a potent post-war product of American chemical ingenuity.

If there was ever a city that needed to roll the dice and get lucky, it's Richmond. Facing problems of poverty, crime and budget deficits, the city really could use a new pair of shoes. The city's plight might explain why the City Council recently made a controversial deal with an Indian tribe to allow the development of a casino on prime real estate on San Francisco Bay.

It is rare for a suburban city of 50,000 people take the lead in a $440 million transportation project. The City of Placentia in northern Orange County has, though, and the effort has stirred political controversy and placed the city under financial strain.

This month's selection of In Brief items includes: a land use corruption case in Stockton; a recommendation from the Legislative Analyst's Office for state lawmakers to beef up mitigation of coastal development; an ordinance created by the City of Turlock aimed at opposing plans for a Wal-Mart supercenter is upheld in court; farmers sue the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency over water rate increases; and more...

For planners, developers and local government officials, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal for 2005-06 might be as important for what it does not contain as for what it does contain.

In the latest setback for a proposed water project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a state appellate court has thrown out water permits and an environmental impact report approved by the State Water Resources Control Board.