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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A state appeals court says a California ballot measure that prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park amounts to an additional punishment for the original crime. The ruling on Proposition 83 - approved by voters in 2006 - was issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana Wednesday. Although the ruling leaves the law in effect, it could limit its application. Laws that increase punishments for past crimes are unconstitutional. Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, says the administration is reviewing the ruling. She says Schwarzenegger supports the proposition. Proposition 83, or Jessica’s Law, bars paroled sex offenders from living in most densely populated areas of the state.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A real estate tracking firm says the median price of a home in California plunged about 34 percent last month from a year ago, reflecting a surge in the sale of foreclosed homes. Figures released Thursday by MDA DataQuick show the statewide median home price in October declined to $278,000 from $424,000 in the same month last year. October’s median price declined 1.8 percent from September. Statewide home sales jumped nearly 64 percent from a year ago to 42,293 and nearly 5 percent from September. Foreclosure resales accounted for nearly 53 percent of preowned homes sold last month.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A new report is warning that some of the state’s most prized native fish could disappear by the end of the century. In a study released this week, the advocacy group California Trout says waterways need to be restored to prevent nearly two-thirds of the state’s salmon, steelhead and trout species from going extinct. Many of the fish navigate the treacherous pumps and canals linked to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where environmentalists and fishermen say they are sometimes ground up. California Trout says native fish also face hazards from dredging, pesticides, cattle grazing and timber removal. The group is recommending the state hire more game wardens to enforce laws that protect watersheds. It also recommends overhauling management of the state’s hatcheries.