(Updated 6 p.m EDT, May 16, 2008)
The California Supreme Court reignited a political wildfire with its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the most populous state in the union, but the issue already has burned out in more than half the states.

The customer-friendly New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is about to become a little less friendly to customers. The commission announced yesterday that, in response to the state's budget troubles, it will eliminate evening hours at its 45 agency offices starting June 16. Saturday hours will not be affected.

Lawmakers yesterday criticized state education officials for not trying to recoup $83 million in spending by heavily state-subsidized districts -- from travel and legal expenses to food and holiday parties -- that auditors found questionable.

The Legislature yesterday took the first step toward providing health care coverage by 2011 for 1.4 million New Jerseyans who do not have insurance.

A state audit released today took Rutgers University to task for spending thousands of dollars to send friends and family of athletic staff members to the Texas Bowl football game in 2006.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Barbara Buono yesterday said she wants to tighten oversight of a $153 million state program intended to temporarily assist cities in financial straits after a state auditor's report criticized the way it is run.

A panel of New Jersey lawmakers yesterday approved a bill that would require people found guilty of "disorderly persons offenses," including shoplifting and vandalism, to give saliva samples to the state's DNA database of criminal offenders.

Tens of thousands of people convicted in municipal court of disorderly persons offenses each year would have to provide DNA samples to police under a bill approved 5-0 yesterday by the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee.

Allegations that the longtime judge of the Palisades Interstate Park municipal court was biased against gay men who appeared before him on lewdness charges derailed his bid for a promotion to Workers Compensation Court yesterday.

New Jersey Turnpike Authority executive director Michael Lapolla announced yesterday he will step down by July 1 to take a job at a private-sector transportation company.

During a cross-examination in his divorce trial that was occasionally contentious in tone and left his lawyer wondering about its relevance, James E. McGreevey was forced Thursday to confront some of the more embarrassing moments from his scandal-plagued gubernatorial administration.

ELIZABETH, N.J. - The nation's first openly gay governor tried to convince the judge in his divorce case Wednesday that he's too poor to pay alimony, saying he's been financially crippled by his resignation and marital troubles.

The New Jersey State Museum, where as many as 80,000 schoolchildren trekked each year before renovations began in 2004, will reopen its main building tomorrow after a $15 million overhaul.

Pennsylvania casino industry executives told a House panel Thursday that they need table games, such as roulette, craps and blackjack, to compete with Atlantic City and West Virginia casinos.

WASHINGTON - The California Supreme Court's historic ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry is certain to inject the issue into the 2008 presidential race and could help Republicans by serving up a red-meat issue to rally conservative voters.

A little-noticed provision in a 2006 federal sex-offender law is rankling American Indian tribes in six states — Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin — because it would give state law enforcers unprecedented authority to monitor child molesters living on tribal land.

New Jersey this month joined California and Washington in adopting family leave insurance plans that allow workers to take time off with pay to care for sick family members or newborn and newly adopted children. New York and Oregon are expected to consider similar laws next year.

Sudden demand by state and local police to join the federal 287(g) initiative, which lets local police start deportation proceedings for suspects and criminals who are illegal immigrants, is overwhelming the federal government. That means long waits and alternative programs offered to police departments that want to join.

In the homestretch of an unprecedented presidential primary season, spinning with competing sound-bites and endless rhetoric, voters still heading to the polls in four states can’t look to their governors for any pre-election advice. These governors plan to wait until after their states vote to make their own endorsements.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) endures a bruising charge from Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D). A new Utah law stirs Salt Lake City bartenders to create a new drink. And Louisiana prison guards get outside help to prevent escapes. In case you missed those stories this week, Worth Noting fills you in.

After a pair of hard-fought primaries, North Carolina joins Missouri, Washington and Indiana on Out There's list of states where partisan control of the governorship could flip this fall.

(Updated 9:30 a.m EST, May 8, 2008)

When an elderly person with dementia is lost, eight states can trigger an alert to let the community know. Proposals in Congress would expand the successful missing persons program to all 50 states.

While voters in Indiana and North Carolina go to the polls today (May 6) to help Democrats pick Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as their nominee and Republicans rally behind John McCain, party insiders and state election officials are in informal talks to improve the presidential nominating contests for 2012 and beyond.

Lawmakers in 10 states have taken steps to require that American flags bought with state funds be manufactured in this country. While not all the legislation has passed, one state’s new law even bans the sale of foreign-made American flags in that state.

Death-penalty supporters are raising questions about the fairness of state commissions charged with studying how capital punishment is carried out in Maryland and Tennessee, claiming the panels will issue reports that ignore their views.

An Oregon voters’ guide lists a very wrong number. California’s governor insults rural legislators. And Pennsylvania considers selling wine in vending machines. In case you missed those stories this week, “Worth Noting” fills you in.

The national polls point to a tight presidential race in November. But Democrats have a bit more to cheer about than Republicans do, regardless of who wins the Democratic primary, according to the latest state-by-state electoral-vote projections by “Out There.”

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s commuting costs start to add up. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds settles a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a cranky game warden. California corrections officials install “flushometers” to control wasteful toilet flushing in prisons. In case you missed any of those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in.