Wednesday, December 24, 2008

California News Roundup- December 24, 2008

No budget solution likely before Christmas -- Democratic legislative leaders, following an hourlong meeting with the governor on Tuesday afternoon, said they plan to continue talking through the week with hopes of meeting again on Friday. Matthew Yi in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/24/08

Schwarzenegger, Dems try to find budget compromise -- With Republicans on the sidelines, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders met Tuesday to fashion a midyear fix for California's swelling budget deficit. JUDY LIN AP -- 12/24/08

Governor presses to expedite transportation projects -- Whether California can avert a major cash shortage next year hinges partly upon whether the state can build Highway 50 carpool lanes without further environmental review and eliminate two state worker holidays. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/24/08

Funding crisis threatens park, levee, science projects -- Near Placerville, long-sought park land might fall out of escrow. In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, vital ecosystem research has been halted. And in West Sacramento, officials fear a delay in rebuilding levees. These problems and more are piling up in the Sacramento region as California's budget crisis worsens. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/24/08

Walters: Lack of trust colors budget deficit talks -- The network television drama "Slattery's People" lasted a couple of seasons in the mid-1960s, but won wide critical acclaim for its writing, its acting and its thematic originality – the hero, played by Richard Crenna, was a state legislator who battled for his constituents' interests and against political corruption. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/24/08

Steve Lopez: Assembly leader sees opportunity in the state's crisis -- "California is on a track to a disaster," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday, and I was wondering just one thing: What else is new? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/24/08

State budget crisis is everyone's concern -- Californians have a lot on their minds. The recession, the credit crunch, home foreclosures, joblessness. Do we have room in our worried heads for the state budget stalemate? Should we care about what's happening, or rather not happening, in Sacramento? Definitely, says Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto. John Weeks in the San Bernardino Sun -- 12/24/08

Brown first in decades to go against voters -- Attorney General Jerry Brown's legal challenge to California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage marks the first time that the state's top lawyer has refused to defend a newly enacted ballot measure since 1964 - another epic discrimination case that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/24/08

Brown's stand on Prop. 8 raises new questions -- But far less attention has been paid to Brown's long written rejection of some of the principal legal theories put forth by same-sex marriage advocates in their bid to roll back Proposition 8. Indeed, a large chunk of Brown's 111-page legal filing was devoted to shooting down a more technical legal argument used by supporters of same-sex marriage. Victoria Kim and Jack Leonard in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/24/08

Large California contingent could boost state's clout in D.C. -- California will regain some of its political mojo next year, on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. On Capitol Hill, California lawmakers will chair the committees that manage health, education, energy and more. One California senator will oversee the nation's spies. The other will write global warming legislation. A willful San Franciscan will run the House of Representatives. Michael Doyle and Rob Hotakainen in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/24/08

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