Thursday, November 6, 2008

California News Roundup- November 6, 2008

Massive budget deficit keeps growing, California's Senate chief says -- California faces a massive $11.2 billion deficit this fiscal year, even higher than projected in recent weeks, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said Wednesday. Without immediate intervention, the nightmare could lead to an additional $13 billion hole in the 2009-10 fiscal year, according to Perata, citing numbers he said came from the Governor's Office.


Democrats fall short of their goal of a super majority -- Despite Obama's big victory in the state, his party won two of the six Assembly seats it needed and possibly only one of the two it needed in the Senate.


Dems hope gains in Legislature will force GOP's cooperation -- Legislative Democrats fell short of capturing super majorities on Election Day, but insist the political landscape — paved by President-elect Barack Obama's decisive win — has shifted perceptibly to their favor.



Governor proposes plan to avert foreclosures -- . Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a new plan Wednesday to induce lenders to modify home loans to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure. The proposal must be approved by the Legislature, which the governor plans to call into special session to consider an economic stimulus package - including the foreclosure plan - and to address the budget shortfall.



Prop. 11 on state redistricting holds slim lead -- A ballot measure that would shift the power to draw legislative districts from state lawmakers to an independent commission held a slim lead Wednesday as elections officials said it may be a few days before all ballots are counted.


Gov. Schwarzenegger declares win in Proposition 11 -- . Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed victory Wednesday in his effort to reform the way California draws its legislative districts. Opponents of the hotly contested ballot initiative, however, insisted it was premature to declare the election over because possibly hundreds of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots remained uncounted.


Californians may be on Obama's short list -- President-elect Barack Obama has signaled that he and his campaign organizers will act relatively quickly to give shape to the incoming administration. The list of people under consideration for key appointments includes several Californians with deep political roots who were early advisers to the Illinois senator.


How Obama's big win could bring change to California -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein has a simple way to measure the immediate impact of Barack Obama's sweeping victory on California. "Now we'll get our phone calls returned," the jubilant California Democrat said Wednesday, noting that the Bush administration has often been hostile to the state's interests.


Backers focused Prop. 8 battle beyond marriage -- Opponents of gay marriage shrewdly targeted the implications for schools, churches and children, analysts say.


Same-sex marriage issue back to state top court -- A day after California voters approved a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, the incendiary issue returned to the state Supreme Court, where gay and lesbian couples and the city of San Francisco filed lawsuits Wednesday seeking to overturn Proposition 8.



Prop. 8 defeat could cost Newsom in long term -- Election night was not kind to Gavin Newsom, who may end up one of the biggest losers after suffering a potentially crushing loss with Proposition 8 and at best breaking even in the local contests he had a stake in.


Many Obama supporters also backed Prop. 8 -- Californians voted their religion, not their political party, when they pushed Proposition 8 to victory and banned same-sex marriage in the state, campaign officials and political experts said Wednesday.


Sen. Feinstein's lesson on Prop. 8 -- In 2004, when President Bush was re-elected, Sen. Dianne Feinstein was quick to lay some of the blame at Mayor Gavin Newsom's feet. Earlier that year, the mayor had allowed thousands of same-sex couples to marry.


San Francisco voters surprisingly conservative on issues -- It sounds like a stereotypical San Franciscan's dream: spend big on affordable housing, explore public power, decriminalize prostitution, vote against the military in schools - and, like icing on the political cake, name a sewage treatment plant after George Bush. But none of that happened.


Blue-state California gives Republicans the blues -- Barack Obama's margin of victory is a modern day-record for the state. Even budding GOP strongholds such as Riverside and San Bernardino counties back the Democrat.


Some key races play waiting game -- With 311,091 votes counted in a vast congressional district extending from Sacramento suburbs to the Oregon border, the margin separating Republican Tom McClintock and Democrat Charlie Brown stood Tuesday at a mere 451 votes. The fact that all 807 precincts in the 4th Congressional District reported election night returns was of little consequence.



Election scorecard - the good and bad for business -- Yes on high-speed rail and redistricting. No on two much-criticized alternative energy measures. That's a clean sweep of election issues judged most important by Bay Area business groups.



Budget woes will be first big challenge for Sacramento's next mayor -- There won't be much of a honeymoon for Sacramento Mayor-elect Kevin Johnson. The city's budget crisis will make sure of that.

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