We’ve discussed this on a previous show and I still believe it is the right method of ‘introduction’ for your children. From the story: if kids actually drank with their parents, they were about half as likely to say they had drunk alcohol in the past month and about one-third as likely to say they had had five or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks. As Foley and her colleagues wrote in a 2004 Journal of Adolescent Health paper, "Drinking with parents appears to have a protective effect on general drinking trends." TIME

In case you missed it: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did what he said he was going to do: He signed an executive order today eliminating jobs for as many as 22,000 temporary state employees and reducing pay for about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage. Most of these workers can borrow their paychecks from a credit union, without any interest - yet, a few will have to add the cost of some interest over the next 30-60 days.

Proponents of Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage, raised about $3.7 million from Jan. 1 through June 30, according to state filings. In contrast, gay-rights activists who oppose the measure raised about $2.5 million through June 30. Wall Street Journal

Paula Rodriguez, who lives in the San Fernando Valley, got so disgusted with soaring fuel prices last spring that she stopped driving, sold her SUV and bought a bike. But pedaling the 15 miles home from her job, the 30-year-old Ms. Rodriquez has encountered something more frightening than $4.50-a-gallon gasoline: the mean streets of L.A., home of the nation's most entrenched car culture. Wall Street Journal

Garbage collectors would inspect San Francisco residents' trash to make sure pizza crusts aren't mixed in with chip bags or wine bottles under a proposal by Mayor Gavin Newsom. And if residents or businesses don't separate the coffee grounds from the newspapers, they would face fines of up to $1,000 and eventually could have their garbage service stopped. San Francisco Chronicle Sounds like a nice job for someone, ugh!

A state appeals court upheld California's 12-year-old medical marijuana law Thursday, rejecting two counties' arguments that allowing patients to use the drug with their doctor's approval condones violations of federal narcotics laws. The Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego dismissed challenges by San Diego and San Bernardino counties, which objected both to the 1996 marijuana initiative and to recent legislation requiring counties to issue identification cards to users of medical pot. San Francisco Chronicle

Operators of area food banks say the weakening economy and higher food costs are changing the patterns of demand for free groceries. Not only are there noticeably more first-time clients, the timing of demand also has changed. Sacramento Bee

That controversial new ad for John McCain called ''Celeb,'' uses images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to jab at Democrat Barack Obama for being just too much of a celebrity - and is being credited to the saavy Steve Schmidt, John McCain's chief strategist. But didn't Schmidt - whose spot asks whether voters can trust such a star to govern -- manage that successful effort to re-elect the world's biggest celebrity, the action hero governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Weblog Maybe he learn something from his last session, here in California - celebrities can’t govern regular people.

As gas prices remain above $4 a gallon in most of the Bay Area, Californians are more open to the idea of offshore drilling for oil than they have been in the past. A slim majority — 51 percent to 45 percent — approve of offshore drilling, according to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. It's the first time since the institute began asking the question in 2003 that more residents favor drilling than oppose it. A year ago, only 41 percent favored drilling. Steven Harmon in the Contra Costa Times Jane Kay in the San Francisco Chronicle

About a dozen members of the Minutemen, a group that patrols the U.S.-Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, stood on the San Francisco City Hall steps Wednesday to decry the city's sanctuary policy and demand that Mayor Gavin Newsom resign. San Francisco Chronicle

As many as 5.4 million working Californians don't get any paid sick days - and they tend to be both sicker and poorer than employees who do receive sick leave, according to a report released Wednesday. San Francisco Chronicle

With a stagnating economy and hundreds of miles of new fences along the Mexican border, the United States - and California - may have become a less inviting destination for illegal immigrants from Latin America. Two key signals - an unprecedented slowdown in money sent by immigrants back to Mexico, and a new report that claims the nation's illegal immigrant population has dropped significantly since last summer - indicate a possible change. San Jose Mercury

But starting this year in Elk Grove, in a trend spreading throughout the region, parents have a new option for making sure their children get fed at noontime: They can prepay online through a service called myLunchMoney.com. Instead of sending checks or cash to school, they can use debit or credit cards to make payments, and monitor online when accounts need replenishing. Students punch in personal identification numbers to trigger food purchases. Sacramento Bee I have a thought here; how long until the Internet and the computer become a “utility” that people will need for the basics of their lives? If so, should the government be offering ‘help’ to those who are impoverished? Should we have tax dollars going toward the gap called the “digital divide”?

Authorities should tolerate an initiative to place ads about Islam in New York subway cars, said a Christian theologian with expertise in Islamic strategies. Several Muslim groups, including main sponsor Islamic Circle of North America, are supporting a campaign to feature 1,000 ads promoting Islam in New York’s subway trains in September to coincide with the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. The ads feature phrases associated with Islam such as “Head Scarf?” or “Prophet Muhammad?” and the phrase “You deserve to know” along with the Web site address WhyIslam.org, according to CNN. Critics of the ads have accused its backers of having ties with terrorists, and urged the Metropolitan Transit Authority to reject the ads. Christian Post

Earlier this year, Chad Smith, a pastor from Tuscaloosa, and his wife, Marti, began looking for a non-denominational church to lead. However, Pastor Smith found that his résumé was one of hundreds that many churches were looking through. So Smith says he began praying, asking God for a novel way to get his name out there. "So I was riding my motorcycle - yes, I ride a Harley Davidson - was riding down the road, and came up with the idea of putting my wife, myself, and my kids for sale on eBay," Smith explains. One News Now

Children have lost touch with the natural world and are unable to identify common animals and plants, according to a survey. Half of youngsters aged nine to 11 were unable to identify a daddy-long-legs, oak tree, blue tit or bluebell, in the poll by BBC Wildlife Magazine. The study also found that playing in the countryside was children's least popular way of spending their spare time, and that they would rather see friends or play on their computer than go for a walk or play outdoors. The Independent News

Jennifer Rein is due in August to deliver twin girls. She works 50 hours a week as a hospital administrator in Manhattan and has a supportive husband, but just doesn't believe she has enough time to get adequately prepared for her babies' arrival. So Rein hired a company called inBloom Baby Planners to help set up her baby registry and nursery, arrange private CPR classes for Rein and her husband, do product research to make sure her babies' new toys are safe from things like lead. And, last but not least, the company will help Rein find the right baby nurse and nanny. ABC News Nightline