They put pot on the ballot

It’s considered an eccentric town, or maybe the largest open-air asylum in the country. According to local lore, hippies arrived around 1973 and never left. Nowadays it holds “diversity weekends,” during which same-sex couples can be seen walking the narrow, winding streets arm in arm.

None of this is terribly unusual, except for the location: Arkansas, several notches deep into the Bible Belt. And this particular little town, Eureka Springs, is going to vote next month on whether it should make misdemeanor marijuana arrests about as low a priority as finding matching shoes for an ornery Razorback.

“We barely have legal alcohol in Arkansas,” says a promoter of the decriminalization measure. “But if anyplace here has a shot, it’s Eureka.” Page A12

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Is there gold in

your parking spot?

Did you know that, under a 1992 state law, your employer might be required to offer you a monthly stipend if you go to work by means other than driving solo?

No, you probably didn’t. Many employers don’t know it either. Santa Monica is the only city in the state that enforces the law. But Wednesday, an L.A. City Council committee will consider how to implement and enforce the so-called parking cash-out law. Page B1

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Putting molesters on death row

What’s an appropriate penalty for a child molester? Several states are considering making execution an option -- and it might not be a coincidence that the issue has been raised in an election year.

Proponents say making anyone who rapes a child subject to the death penalty will protect children. Critics see two problems, though: It could discourage people from turning in a family member, and it might encourage assailants to kill their victims. “If the penalty for murder and molestation is the same, why not go ahead and kill the only witness to the event?” one opponent says. Page A15

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Iraqi recruits felled by illness

Not that Iraq needs new problems, but several hundred Iraqi police recruits are hospitalized with food poisoning after eating at a base dining facility in the city of Numaniya.

Tainted meat is the suspected cause, and the food supplier has been arrested. Some recruits who felt well enough were so angry that they stoned the car of the base commander.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, gunmen kill a brother of Tariq Hashimi, one of Iraq’s two vice presidents. He is the third sibling of Hashimi to be assassinated this year. Page A4

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Two views of government’s role

If there’s one similarity in the campaigns of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Phil Angelides, it’s in the theme of immigrants chasing the American dream. But the conclusions the two candidates have drawn about the role of government in aiding that dream are far different.

Schwarzenegger says he arrived in the U.S. from Austria with just $20, yet he made a point of buying his own health insurance because he didn’t want to “wait for a government program.” Angelides talks of his hard-working Greek immigrant grandparents and how the family benefited from government assistance and public education. Page B1

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A father’s grief

LAPD Capt. James Craig, left, consoles Cesar Avila, the father of murdered 3-year-old Kaitlyn Avila, after a news conference Monday. Police say she was intentionally targeted on Oct. 1 by a teen gang member. Cesar Avila also was wounded in the Baldwin Village shooting, which happened as the family returned home from McDonalds. Page B1

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THE CRITIC: ‘The documentaries debunk popular knee-jerk assumptions, namely that environmentalists are all Hollywood lefties and that evangelicals are simply anti-abortion zealots.’ Patrick Goldstein on “Is God Green?” from PBS and “The Great Warming,” which hits theaters next month. Calendar, E1

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SPORTS

Athletics’ achievement

After scoring a first-round victory, the Oakland A’s will jump into action tonight against the Detroit Tigers in a playoff series devoid of big-name story lines. “We’re not the sexy teams,” Tigers reliever Todd Jones says. “Heck, with Terrell Owens and North Korea, I’m surprised we’re even on TV.” Page D1

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Lakers get their Phil at practice

He won’t be stalking the sidelines any time soon, but at least for a day, L.A. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson got some action at the team’s practice facility.

There was no talk of reunions and his hip surgery, just some old-fashioned instructions on the triangle offense, which is music to the Lakers’ ears. He’s about three weeks away from assuming his full-time duties -- and he seems to be right on schedule.

“You can see that he’s getting better and he’s feeling better,” assistant coach Kurt Rambis says. “He was sprier [Monday] and barking out commands to the guys.” Page D3

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UCLA can stand Pat at quarterback

It comes as no surprise that Patrick Cowan, right, has emerged from the shadows to replace the more-heralded and injured Ben Olson as quarterback for the UCLA Bruins.

It’s more the natural state of things. You see, Patrick is the younger brother of UCLA wide receiver Joe Cowan, also more hyped and currently injured. Joe was highly recruited and a four-year starter at Bellflower St. John Bosco High School. Pat was hardly on the radar.

But UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell noticed and brought him to the Bruins. Now Dorrell has what looks like a poised starter to steady the ship. Page D1

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Fine China is the goal for 2008

Talk about your extreme makeovers. Beijing has its hands full with construction deadlines, touching up the city’s blemishes and getting its athletes up to speed before the Summer Olympics in 2008. And it’s still 2006.

Beijing’s famous Shichahai Sports School represents the pull-together spirit that the city has embraced in the runup to the big show in 2008. The school developed four of China’s 2004 Olympic champions in gymnastics, volleyball, taekwondo and table tennis.

“For an athlete, the Olympics is a bigger room to express themselves in,” said badminton player Deng Xiao. Page D1

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CALENDAR

‘Rock’ solid, in two languages

She can belt out songs in English and Spanish with equal amount of passion. But it appears that judges on “Rock Star: Supernova” were dazzled more by singer Zayra Alvarez, right, when she belted in English.

As soon as she sang in her native Spanish, the show’s judges gave her the boot.

No matter. Publicity from the television show has given Alvarez a nice boost. She is now working on a demo for her new album and she has come to Los Angeles for “you know, meetings and press, man.” Page E1

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BUSINESS

Expectations + statistics = Nobel

Economist Edmund S. Phelps captured the Nobel Prize in economics for theories that put people into the equation, not just numbers. In the 1960s, Phelps criticized the statistics-oriented Phillips curve for not taking into account the expectations of individuals and companies on price and wage inflation and how that affects their purchasing decisions.

Phelps, 73, a Columbia University professor, hoped his practical approach would provide solutions. Today, the Federal Reserve is still following Phelps’ template. Page C1

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Airbus exec gets a one-way ticket

A controversial restructuring plan unveiled a week ago for the European aircraft company known as Airbus has managed to restructure the job status of its author.

Christian Streiff, an aerospace newcomer who took over as Airbus’ top executive only three months ago, resigns after running afoul of politicians in four countries. And at least one observer sees that as bad news for the company, saying Streiff’s ouster “is a significant signal that Airbus is not going to change even though they are in a desperate situation.” Page C1

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ON LATIMES.COM

Feel the pain, then wait till next year

Take me back to the ballgame: This year’s Dodgers party may be over, but before turning off the klieg lights, Blue Notes bloggers Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky invite readers to take one last look back at the playoffs.

“What was the most indelible image of Dodgers in their (really, really short) ’06 National League playoff run?” they ask. For Brian, it was the sixth inning of Game 2, “when Jose Valentin laid down a bunt, the Blue managed to cram three defensive miscues into one play....What should have been a 2-0 Mets lead was now 4-0, in the most demoralizing way possible.” You can share your most painful memories, too.

latimes.com/dodgersblog

Rolling With the Mayor: L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on a 16-day trade mission through China, South Korean and Japan. Times reporter Duke Helfand joins the tour and blogs throughout the trip. An issue from the first day: What happens when the hard-charging mayor reaches Beijing but his baggage doesn’t?

latimesblogs.latimes.com/villaraigosa