Taylor Phinney's pursuit win at the UCI World Cup in Los Angeles over the weekend sure makes us look smart for putting him and Danny Summerhill on our awards-issue cover.

Phinney had begun his second season of racing with a virtual tie for the overall win in the Category 2 Tour of the Gila, racing against men twice his age. He next took the overall win at July's Tour l'Abitibi, then shocked the cycling community in October by winning the national pursuit title at his first-ever velodrome competition.

Feds raid suspected pot houses

Last year, federal agents raided 66 indoor grow houses countywide, up slightly from 59 in 2006, Zeidler said. Although Tuesday's raids were larger than most, Zeidler said she "didn't think it was going to be record-breaking" in total plants seized.As agents carried out the growing materials Tuesday morning, a neighbor cradling a white dog in his arms approached the agents and thanked them, saying he was glad to see his tax dollars at work.Contact staff writer Dan Simmons at (760) 740-5426 or dsimmons@nctimes.com.

One Woman's World

I don't care if they come with a padded wagon and a white jacket, I am not going to do it. I will never, never cut the tips of my fingernails straight across so they can be in style with today's fingernail fetish.

I recently noticed that Robin McGraw (wife of the notorious Dr. Phil McGraw) had her fingernails cut straight across at the tips. Wondering if she had gotten caught in the family lawnmower or if, once again, I was running far behind the style wagon of women's fads and fashions, I asked my stylish daughter about Robin's fingernails.

'Like look-alike mannequins, most women try to market themselves by the way they look. Into this outer cesspool of insanity goes the flesh. If anything slides south, they have it pulled further north and stapled... .'

Not to my surprise, she replied softly "It's the style, Mother.

Ultimate Fighting's Ultimate Fight

We were losing millions upon millions. But fighters have always gotten paid, we never bounced a check. Our goal was to pay a fighter a million dollars. Little did I know that would be the start of our problems."

To be sure, under White and Fertitta, Ultimate Fighting has gained a lot of respect. In the 1990s, critics like Senator John McCain were deriding ultimate fighting as barbaric, and the public was aghast at the mixed martial arts bloodbaths. The sport was banned in state after state. But the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization slowly built interest among young people, filling the void left by professional boxing, cleaning up the rules and marketing itself through the reality show The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The show helped humanize the fighters, managing to coax nobility out of their quests for martial arts fame.

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Phinney on Phinney

Taylor Phinney's pursuit win at the UCI World Cup in Los Angeles over the weekend sure makes us look smart for putting him and Danny Summerhill on our awards-issue cover.

Phinney had begun his second season of racing with a virtual tie for the overall win in the Category 2 Tour of the Gila, racing against men twice his age. He next took the overall win at July's Tour l'Abitibi, then shocked the cycling community in October by winning the national pursuit title at his first-ever velodrome competition.

Feds raid suspected pot houses

Last year, federal agents raided 66 indoor grow houses countywide, up slightly from 59 in 2006, Zeidler said. Although Tuesday's raids were larger than most, Zeidler said she "didn't think it was going to be record-breaking" in total plants seized.As agents carried out the growing materials Tuesday morning, a neighbor cradling a white dog in his arms approached the agents and thanked them, saying he was glad to see his tax dollars at work.Contact staff writer Dan Simmons at (760) 740-5426 or dsimmons@nctimes.com.

One Woman's World

I don't care if they come with a padded wagon and a white jacket, I am not going to do it. I will never, never cut the tips of my fingernails straight across so they can be in style with today's fingernail fetish.

I recently noticed that Robin McGraw (wife of the notorious Dr. Phil McGraw) had her fingernails cut straight across at the tips. Wondering if she had gotten caught in the family lawnmower or if, once again, I was running far behind the style wagon of women's fads and fashions, I asked my stylish daughter about Robin's fingernails.

'Like look-alike mannequins, most women try to market themselves by the way they look. Into this outer cesspool of insanity goes the flesh. If anything slides south, they have it pulled further north and stapled... .'

Not to my surprise, she replied softly "It's the style, Mother.

Ultimate Fighting's Ultimate Fight

We were losing millions upon millions. But fighters have always gotten paid, we never bounced a check. Our goal was to pay a fighter a million dollars. Little did I know that would be the start of our problems."

To be sure, under White and Fertitta, Ultimate Fighting has gained a lot of respect. In the 1990s, critics like Senator John McCain were deriding ultimate fighting as barbaric, and the public was aghast at the mixed martial arts bloodbaths. The sport was banned in state after state. But the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization slowly built interest among young people, filling the void left by professional boxing, cleaning up the rules and marketing itself through the reality show The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The show helped humanize the fighters, managing to coax nobility out of their quests for martial arts fame.