October's California wildfires took a toll on firefighters: a $100 toll to be exact. The Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operates a network of toll roads in Orange County, sent Los Angeles County Engine Company Number 116 the $100 ticket for not paying a toll while it headed to San Diego County to fight wildfires near Palomar Mountain. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce picks up the story from there.

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. The California Department of Public Health has tracked HIV and AIDS cases officially since 1983. KPBS reporter Alan Ray has some of the numbers for San Diego County.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders are still trying to hammer out a deal to reform the state's troubled healthcare system. The two sides are said to be getting closer, but there are two big sticking points: affordability and financing. KPBS reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.

Listen to the best musical interludes heard throughout the week on These Days. This week's picks include tracks from Charlie Hunter Trio, Eldridge Holmes, Betty Davis, The Clovers, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Aimee Mann and R. Carlos Nakai.

The National AIDS Foundation is a part of Father Joe's Villages in San Diego. Father Joe Carroll started offering shelter to AIDS patients in 1988. In those days, he says, the shelters were essentially hospices where people went to die.

Last month we prayed for rain. Now San Diego County residents are crossing their fingers the showers don't start floods in areas burned by the wildfires. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has details.

Last month's wildfires put first responders to the test. More than 15,000 firefighters fought the battle. But many of the first responders were nowhere near the flames. They were holed up in a 911 dispatch center, taking calls from thousands of people. Yesterday we told you what happens when 911 calls you. For Part Two of our story, KPBS reporter Andrew Phelps tells us what happens when you call 911.

The rain around San Diego County brought an increase in traffic accidents on freeways and surface streets. There's also concern of flash-flooding in areas scorched by last month's wildfires.

Another red flag fire warning makes San Diego nervous. This week on the Editors Roundtable, we recap the Senate subcommittee wildfire hearing that was held earlier in the week. Plus, the link between sinking housing prices and recession. And, a local labor leader crosses into the corporate world. Next time on the Editors Roundtable.

Now if any of you are thinking that silent movies are filled with over-emoting heroines and moustache-twirling villains, well think again. At least in the case of John Ford it's not true. Viewers may be surprised at how graceful many of the performances are. And there's a genuine magic and beauty to these images that are nearly a hundred years old. There's something about seeing the medium when it was young that's exciting. Even though Ford had made dozens of silent films before 1924, you sense that he is still experimenting with the medium and trying to push its boundaries.