Not too much on the side of Christian conversation in the news headlines today. Most folks are still recovering from a busy Easter Weekend, celebrating with family and church family members. We are also in the midst of Spring Break, so the kids are out of school and on the run...keeping us all busy this week. Here are today's headlines from a Northern California perspective.

GAS PRICES ARE DRIVING UP 'SALES TAX REVENUE'...

While motorists fume over the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, state officials say the extra sales tax revenue from high prices at the pump is proving to be a boon as California faces an $8 billion budget deficit. And lawmakers are likely to tussle in coming weeks over how to spend the unexpected revenue. Sales tax receipts from gasoline have been rising sharply over the past five years - from $2.1 billion in 2003, when a gallon of regular unleaded cost an average of $1.88, to $3.8 billion in 2007, when the same gallon cost $3.12, according to the state Board of Equalization. Should the revenue stay in transportation, or should the politicians pull from the windfall and direct it toward education funding - due to the large deficit in California's budget?  SF Chronicle 

NEW CELL PHONE LAW MAKE ROADS SAFER IN JULY...

As California joins five other states in requiring drivers to use hands-free devices when talking on cellphones, an increasing body of research suggests the legislation will accomplish little. The risk doesn't stem from whether one or both hands are on the wheel, the research suggests. It's whether the driver's mind is somewhere else. The biggest danger is "cognitive capture" - or being blind to driving cues because one is absorbed in conversations, especially emotional ones. "There's a common misperception that hands-free phones are safer when the research clearly suggests that they they're both equally risky," said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. I have a 'hands-free' cell phone in my car, and I'm a much 'safer' driver with it than without it, I like the new law. LA Times 

THE PREGO PARKING PLACARDS CONCEPT WAS STRUCK DOWN IN SACRAMENTO...

California legislators to pregnant women: No parking privileges. Lawmakers killed a proposal Monday to qualify women for "temporarily disabled" parking placards in the final three months of pregnancy and the first two months after birth. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, said he hoped to provide a "transition period" for women struggling with birth-related problems. "Most women, not all women, in pregnancy should be physically active," said Shannon Smith-Crowley of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' California chapter. The Department of Motor Vehicles said pregnant women already can obtain disabled placards if their doctors diagnose major mobility problems. "Pregnancy is not itself a disability and, secondly, we are creating an issue for the disability community without offering a solution," said Charlotte Newhart of California NOW and the American Association of University Women. I liked the idea, a respectful means of revenue and appreciation for mothers, children and women. Sacramento Bee 

LEGISLATION THAT TARGETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN CALIFORNIA...

A package of bills designed to crack down on California's estimated 3 million illegal immigrants will be unveiled by Republican lawmakers in Sacramento today. Two North County representatives are among the sponsors of the bills, which cover a wide range of topics, including elimination of in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrant students at state colleges and universities, requiring proof of legal status to receive state benefits, and barring companies that hire illegal immigrants from receiving state contracts. An immigrant rights advocate called the bills divisive. North Coast Times