California News Roundup - August 19, 2008

Democrats vow to seek voter change of two-thirds requirement -- Assemblyman Sandre Swanson is convinced that the only way to avoid lengthy budget stalemates in the future is to strip the minority party of what he calls its out-sized influence.

Democratic assemblywoman banished from Capitol for withholding budget vote -- The only perceptible movement Monday in the Capitol's long-stalled budget debate came on the fifth floor – Democrat Nicole Parra was booted from her office for bucking her party during a vote Sunday night.

California Budget Impasse Persists As GOP Refuses Income-Tax Rise -- California's months-long budget standoff hit a low when an emergency State Assembly meeting failed to produce a compromise between Democrats and Republicans over how to compensate for a shortfall exceeding $15 billion.

California Assembly rejects two bills on chemical bans -- An avalanche of lobbying buried two bills in the Assembly on Monday that sought to ban controversial chemicals from fast food containers, microwave popcorn bags and baby bottles.

Dan Walters: Solar power tax break has a ray of irony -- The central focus of Sunday's four-hour Assembly debate over the long-stalled state budget was the Democrats' $6.7 billion package of new taxes. Republicans complained loudly that with California's economy mired in recession, raising taxes would be counterproductive, making the state less hospitable to business and propelling investment elsewhere.

Panel urges San Francisco to help teen immigrant felons -- A San Francisco city commission has taken a defiant stand against Mayor Gavin Newsom's directive on young immigrant felons by urging officials to permit the offenders to remain in the city and help pay for their housing, job placement services and immigration lawyers.

California leads nation in immigrant births -- A new and more nuanced national report about fertility shows a significantly higher share of babies are born to immigrants in California than in any other state, even as a lower-than-average share of the state's births are to poor women and women on welfare.

Peter Schrag: Another shot in math wars: A stink bomb -- Who says Jack O'Connell doesn't have a sense of humor? Last week, O'Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction, called for an additional $3.1 billion a year to allow California's middle schools to meet a three-year deadline by which all students must take (and presumably pass) algebra in the eighth grade.

Doctors can't use bias to deny gays treatment -- California doctors who have religious objections to gays and lesbians must nevertheless treat them the same as any other patient or find a colleague in the office who will do so, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday. he justices rejected a San Diego County fertility clinic's attempt to use its physicians' religious beliefs as a justification for their refusal to provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.

Assembly OKs water park bill -- A proposal to improve child safety at wave pools - prompted by the drowning of a small boy at Great America last summer - drew spirited partisan debate among state lawmakers Monday but was eventually approved by a wide margin.

California News Round - August 18, 2008

Assembly Democrats' budget bill fails -- A revised budget proposal by Assembly Democrats failed Sunday night in the lower house of the state Legislature during an unusual weekend session that quickly morphed into nearly five hours of finger-pointing that didn't end the 48-day budget stalemate. The 45-30 vote fell well short of the 54 "yes" votes needed to satisfy the two-thirds majority required.

Some question if computer is to blame in California minimum wage standoff -- State Controller John Chiang says configuring the state's antiquated computer system to pay workers minimum wage would take six months.

George Skelton: Let go of the past and allow offshore oil drilling -- Admittedly I'm biased on offshore drilling. I was born in Santa Barbara, grew up in Ojai and spent many a weekend on the beach. But that didn't make me an anti-drilling fanatic.

Free digital texts begin to challenge costly college textbooks in California -- The annual college textbook rush starts this month, a time of reckoning for many students who will struggle to cover eye-popping costs of $128, $156, even $198 a volume. Caltech economics professor R. Preston McAfee finds it annoying that students and faculty haven't looked harder for alternatives to the exorbitant prices.

School boards are prodded to take a stance in gay marriage debate -- Some trustees want their panels to take a public stand on Proposition 8, the initiative that would ban same-sex unions in California.

California State Fair: Muslim booth offers answers on Islam -- Cindy Cassidy is the first to admit she knows little about Islam. She has questions, but she's never had the opportunity to ask Muslims about their faith.

Asm. Roger Niello explains the benefits of a Budget Spending Cap

As you already know, Assembly Democrats have already shot down ACA 19 which would amend the state constitution to include a hard spending cap. The following video contains a detailed description and explanation of the Republican proposal that you will not find in the MSM.

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The Democrats went on to spend the rest of the committee hearing attempting to misrepresent the legislation and almost literally calling Asm. Niello a liar. But he did the GOP proud. I am working on getting the rest of the committee hearing for you to view. So stay tunned!

Rep. Richardson's home declared a 'public nuisance'.

Laura Richardson just can't get get it together!

Today, the LA Times is reporting that Laura "Pimp my ride Richrson's Sacramento home (you remember the one that was foreclosed on, sold, stolen back by the bank that sold it and given back to Richrson... that home) has been cited by Sacramento Code enforcement as a public nuisance.

First Rep. Laura Richardson was having problems making house payments, defaulting six times over eight years.

Then after a bank foreclosed on her Sacramento house and sold it at auction in May, the Long Beach Democrat made such a stink that Washington Mutual, in an unusual move, grabbed it back and returned it to her.This week, in the latest chapter in the housing saga, the Code Enforcement Department in Sacramento declared her home a "public
nuisance."

The city has threatened to fine her as much as $5,000 a month if she doesn't fix it up.Neighbors in the upper-middle-class neighborhood complain that the sprinklers are never turned on and the grass and plants are dead or dying. The gate is broken, and windows are covered with brown paper.

"I would call it an eyesore," said Peter Thomsen, a retired bank executive who lives nearby.

The city action was prompted by police action.

Police were twice called to investigate reports of a suspicious person in or around the house, perhaps a homeless man squatting there. Officers called the Code enforcement Department, which boarded up a broken door.

Code enforcement inspectors visited the house twice in July, finding "junk and debris" in the driveway and "rotting fruit on the ground in the rear yard which creates rodent harborage," according to department documents.

Ron O'Connor, operations manager of the Code Enforcement Department, said homes in the Curtis Park area seldom were tagged as a public nuisance.

"It's a really nice neighborhood," he said.

Asked about the house, Richardson's office released a statement that said: "Neither Congresswoman Richardson nor her attorney have received any information referring to this matter. Any additional information will be provided at a later date."

Richardson has few worries in the November election. The 37th District is so solidly Democratic that no Republican is running against her. Democrat Peter Mathews, who has sought the seat several times before, is mounting a write-in campaign.

CTA TV ads target GOP legislators with lies from the left

As the budget battle heats up, the California Teacher's Association has taken to the airwaves, attacking Republican legislators for not agreeing to vote for the "compromise buget". The started with the generic ad below. But this morning, I saw the very same ad, only with a tag line at the end encouraging viewers to call Assemblyman Roger Nielo. I also have heard reports of the very same commercial targeting Todd Spitzer.

The funny part is that this commercial is full of lies:

1. "Teachers don't know what to expect for our schools or how to plan for our students." - School districts have already passed a budget for the 2008-09 school year. So, they do already know what to expect. Any teachers that would have been let go, already have been. Any cuts that would be required, already have been. And keep in mind, Republicans have already agreed to fully fund Prop. 98. This means that schools will get a $1.8 billion increase.

2. "Thats why lawmakers need to put the partisan bickering asside and pass a 'common sense' budget that raises revenue to protect education." What they are really saying is that Republicans need to agree to raise taxes. The funny part is that most of the money from the proposed tax increases go to social welfare programs, NOT EDUCATION. But even having said that, why don't they encourage Democrats to agree to common sense budget reforms like a hard spending cap or a rainy day fund?

3. "As a parent and a Republican, it's time for my letislator to listen to me about schools, not the Republican leaders in Sacramento." But Democrats should listen to the Democrat leader? This is the set up! But no partisanship here... right?

4. "Call your legislator and tell them to suppport the compromise budget today." - The only proposed budget that is in print is no compromise. It is the product of the Budget Conference Committee that is dominated by Democrats and has yet to recieve one Republican vote. Even the Governor has insisted that this budget is out of line with what is best for California, and he is "Mr. Compromise". All it does is raise taxes by $10 billion, increase spending by $3 billion, cuts law enforcement, contains no budget reform and continues to feed their spending addiction.

The truth is, CTA's view of compromise equates to Republicans folding and doing exactly what THEY and the Democrats want. Don't be fooled!

California News Roundup - August 15, 2008

Latest gambit in state budget impasse -- The Legislature is likely to vote Sunday on a new version of the Democrats' budget that includes more spending cuts and fewer tax increases than their previous version, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Thursday.

San Francisco Democrats take a sharp turn to the left -- The San Francisco Democratic Party has veered dramatically to the left, telling voters that on Nov. 4 they should elect a raft of ultra-liberal supervisorial candidates, decriminalize prostitution, boot JROTC from public schools, embrace public power and reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court in the Tenderloin.

Q&A: Can California prison receiver get $8 billion for inmate medical care? -- California prison medical receiver J. Clark Kelso's motion to ask the federal courts to order the state to give him $8 billion for inmate care raises questions about what he's doing and how he's doing it. Does he have the authority?

Engineers won't sue CalPERS over policy -- After hours of intense talks, the union representing California's publicly employed engineers has withdrawn its threat to sue the California Public Employees' Retirement System over investment policy.

Dan Walters: California has more than one financial mess -- If you've been paying attention to California's chronic budget problems, you know that they fundamentally stem from a disastrous decision in 2000 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and legislators of both parties to squander a one-time windfall of revenue on permanent spending increases and tax cuts that could not be sustained over the long haul. It was, however, just one of three similarly irresponsible decisions during Davis' governorship, which was cut short by his recall in 2003.

Feathers fly over hens in cages -- The fate of the state's 19 million egg-laying hens is coming to a polling place near you. Same-sex marriage, parental notification of abortion – California's November ballot is studded with weighty issues, but none is ruffling feathers like Proposition 2, which would effectively ban farms from raising hens in cages.

Steady growth shown on California Standards Test -- The state's public school students improved yet again in reading, writing and mathematics, marking five years of near-steady growth on the tough California Standards Test, according to results released Thursday by the Department of Education.

California News Roundup - August 13, 2008

Feinstein criticizes legislators for inaction on state water plan -- Warning that California faces catastrophic water shortages from a worsening drought, Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday upbraided state lawmakers for failing to rally behind a proposed $9.3 billion water bond for the November ballot.

Dan Walters: Fuzzy outline of a California budget deal emerges -- It's still a long way from being fully cooked, but the fuzzy outline of a deal on the much-delayed, deficit-ridden state budget is becoming visible as the deadline for placing measures on the November ballot draws near.

Budget deadlock may cut Schwarzenegger's starring role -- The Border Governors Conference convenes today at Universal City.

Assembly moves to protect whistle-blowers -- A bill allowing cities and counties to set up hot lines and ensure confidentiality for whistle-blowing employees who report alleged fraud, waste and mismanagement has been approved by the state Legislature.

Algebra expansion cost pegged at $3.1 billion -- California's schools will need an additional $3.1 billion annually - $2,100 more for every middle school student - to implement the governor's new eighth-grade algebra testing requirement, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said Tuesday.

Judge says UC can deny religious course credit -- A federal judge says the University of California can deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools whose textbooks declare the Bible infallible and reject evolution.

Yee's bill protects UC whistle-blowers -- University of California employees who were punished for reporting wrongdoing could sue for damages under legislation proposed Tuesday by a Bay Area lawmaker.

Highway 50 plan may not be green enough for state -- In what appears to be a California first, state highway officials are shelving a major Highway 50 widening plan in Sacramento until they can study whether the expansion will contribute to global warming.

Thousands whose health policies were canceled to be offered new coverage -- The state reaches agreement with Kaiser, Health Net and PacifiCare that will also provide for compensation for medical bills. Lawyers balk at the notification process.

Sacramento mayor apologizes to victims of racial profiling -- Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo called a report showing that black motorists are pulled over by city police more frequently than other drivers "very disturbing" and apologized to those who have suffered from racial profiling.