Rough & Tumble Page 2

What it means (and what's on his desk) -- Now that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto all bills until there is a budget, it is worth noting that there are currently 13 bills on the his desk. But fear not, senators (they are all Senate bills), the Schwarzenegger administration plans to allow lawmakers to "pull back" those bills. Shane Goldmacher SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/08

Gov.: Lawmakers should lose pay during impasse -- In addition to threatening to veto all bills until the budget is completed, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said at today's press conference that state lawmakers should forfeit their paychecks -- without any possibility of back pay -- as long as the budget remains unpassed. Shane Goldmacher SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/08

Schwarzenegger refusing to sign bills -- Frustrated with the Legislature's failure to pass a budget, the governor says at a press conference that he won't sign any bills until lawmakers approve a spending plan. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times Amy Chance in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Hillary says her backers need to feel ''voices were heard.'' -- Yet another California campaign fundraiser has produced an unauthorized video making news -- this one for Hillary Clinton. The five minute video clip was posted by SimoFish, a PUMA (as in ''Party Unity My Ass'') backer who attended the New York Senator's July 31 Bay Area fundraiser. Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 8/6/08

Schwarzenegger calls budget press conference -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has scheduled a 2:45 press conference today to talk about the budget. Dan Smith SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/08

Nine firefighters believed dead after helicopter crash in Northern California -- A helicopter believed to be carrying 13 people crashed and caught fire in the remote reaches of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and nine of those on board are missing and feared dead, authorities said today. Maria L. La Ganga in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

State employees' union to sue over late paychecks -- The largest state employees' union will file another lawsuit today in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging that the state mishandled the termination of some temporary and part-time employees last week. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

FBI raids three Southern California hospitals in probe of Medicare fraud -- The centers allegedly used skid row homeless to fill empty beds and boost their revenue. L.A. City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo plans to announce civil litigation against the hospitals' operators. Cara Mia DiMassa and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

State budget stalemate continues -- The prospects for quick resolution to the state's impasse grew dimmer Tuesday, a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a solution to the mess, when Democratic legislators were warned to cancel plans to attend the party convention at the end of the month. John Wildermuth, Samantha Sondag in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

State controller faces challenge -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office Tuesday took the first step toward a legal showdown with the state controller over his vow to block state workers' salaries from being slashed during the state's budget stalemate. Mike Zapler in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/6/08

Weintraub: Schwarzenegger's trip from tax cuts to tax hike -- Five years ago this month, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with the press for the first time as a candidate for governor. Emerging from a conference with a group of economic advisers at a hotel near the Los Angeles airport, Schwarzenegger declared his opposition to raising taxes to help balance the state budget. The people of California, he said, were already taxed too much. Daniel Weintraub in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Schwarzenegger formally asks California controller to cut pay -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration on Tuesday asked state Controller John Chiang to temporarily cut the pay of roughly 180,000 state employees while exempting about 50,000 workers in a patchwork of departments. Schwarzenegger's formal pay letter moves him closer to a legal battle with Chiang, whose office said Tuesday he will defy the instructions and continue to pay full salaries to state workers. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Schwarzenegger's pay-cut order exempts many California workers -- A large share of the state workforce will be exempt from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order to pay government employees the federal minimum wage until a state budget is enacted, but others -- doctors, lawyers and engineers -- will get nothing, according to documents provided by the administration Tuesday. Evan Halper and Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

Walters: Democrats' tax plan has too many gimmicks -- Overall, Democrats deserve credit for being forthright about intending to close much of the state's budget deficit with new taxes, in contrast with Republicans who say they want deep reductions in spending but refuse to say what should be cut. That said, the details of how Democrats would generate more than $10 billion in tax revenues, roughly two-thirds of the projected 2008-09 deficit, leave much to be desired – even if one accepts the underlying premise that the state's fiscal problem is essentially a lack of revenues. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Schwarzenegger's proposed sales tax hike finds few fans -- Higher sales tax in California? Chuck Alvey wouldn't mind. Alvey runs the Economic Development Authority of western Nevada, which recruits businesses to the Reno area, and he's glad to talk about Nevada's low-tax climate. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to tack an extra penny on California's sales tax could offer him another selling point. "We'll always use something like that," Alvey said. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Herdt: Ray of hope for workers? -- The Fair Labor Standards Act, passed 70 years ago, embodies all the humane workplace standards by which civilized societies abide: a ban on child labor, the 40-hour workweek, minimum wage, overtime pay. But those fundamental worker rights do not include one that most Californians believe ought to be among them. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star -- 8/6/08

Higher taxes: too much all at once? -- Local officials trying to sell voters on new bond and tax measures in a down economy were already worried about a November ballot crowded with competing measures. Now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could be adding to their headaches by asking legislators to raise the state's sales tax. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/6/08

Three top officials leaving Corrections Department -- The top operations official in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has resigned to take a new job with the prison system's medical care receiver. Andy Furillo in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08

Voter-backed gaming deal with Sycuan in jeopardy -- The Sycuan band's decision to put off ratification of its new gambling agreement has saved the El Cajon tribe millions of dollars, but it may be about to backfire. The compact permitting up to 5,000 slot machines on the tribe's East County reservation has been approved by the Legislature and the U.S. Interior Department, which has the final say. James P. Sweeney in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/6/08

Chertoff announces biggest ID-theft bust -- Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff announced the nation's largest-ever hacking and identity-theft case on Tuesday when, coincidentally, he was in San Jose to talk to Silicon Valley business leaders about the need for improved network security. Matthew B. Stannard in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Pfizer moving new biotech research unit to San Francisco -- San Francisco's drive to become a major hub of the biotechnology industry got a big boost Tuesday when Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, said it will move the headquarters of its new biotech research unit to Mission Bay, next door to UCSF's new campus. Bernadette Tansey in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Oakland port to eliminate 100 jobs -- The Port of Oakland is cutting 100 jobs, representing about 15 percent of all positions, in its biggest reduction in force in recent memory. The cuts, to take effect Aug. 29, affect 62 filled positions and 38 that were vacant because of a partial hiring freeze. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Reward in Santa Cruz bombings upped to $50,000 -- A reward for information leading to the prosecution of people responsible for twin firebombings targeting UC Santa Cruz animal researchers over the weekend swelled Tuesday to $50,000, the largest ever offered through Santa Cruz police, authorities said. John Coté in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Carly Fiorina tests her political mettle as McCain advisor -- A self-described "change warrior," Carly Fiorina has been a law school dropout, a real estate broker, an English teacher, a telecommunications executive and the first woman to be hired, then fired, as chief executive of a Fortune 20 company. Michelle Quinn in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

Paris bites back at McCain -- Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress known for partying, not politics, wants your vote. She announced her candidacy for president Tuesday in an online video, making her case reclining poolside in a leopard-print bathing suit and gold high heels. "I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said, beaming. It was a spoof, of course, a response to the ad Republican candidate John McCain launched last week comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears. Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

Students recruit minorities to UC in ways institution can't -- California law bans the state's public universities from recruiting students based on race. But it can't stop student volunteers. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/6/08

Tuition paid for valedictorian in legal limbo -- The future looked bleak for 17-year-old Arthur Mkoyan a couple of weeks ago. A 4.0 student and the valedictorian at his high school in Fresno, Arthur had lost his chance to study chemistry at UC Davis this year because of immigration problems involving his father, who had come to the United States illegally more than 16 years ago. He wasn't sure if he would stay in the States, get deported or ever finish his education. Until Sherry Heacox stepped in. John Koopman in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

San Francisco on course for emissions reduction goal -- San Francisco has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from 1990 levels and is on track to meet its goal of a 20 percent reduction in four years, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Bill would charge fees at ports for cleaner air -- Cargo shipping companies that send goods through ports in Oakland, Long Beach and Los Angeles would be charged new fees to fund efforts to reduce pollution under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate and sent to the governor. Samantha Sondag in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Golf courses try to play through drought -- Silence usually is sacrosanct on a golf tee. But on a recent sunny weekday afternoon, a mammoth drilling rig rumbled behind the fifth-hole tee box at Blackhawk Country Club's Lakeside course. As the drill made its way down to 1,000 feet, workers dumped soil samples into plastic baggies. The type of clay or granite indicated whether they were close to the mother lode: fresh water. Kelly Zito in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

L.A. County sales tax hike for transit hits roadblock -- Illustrating how politically difficult it is to tackle traffic in Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors failed Tuesday to back a proposed half-cent sales tax increase that could raise up to $40 billion for roads and mass transit. The supervisors' surprising inability to muster a simple majority to place the proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot does not kill the tax effort, but makes it more complicated and perhaps more costly. Steve Hymon and Garrett Therolf in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

West Nile cases on rise in Southern California -- Health officials from agencies across Southern California warned Tuesday that the region was experiencing a resurgence of West Nile virus after years of declining infection rates. My-Thuan Tran in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

Morro Bay pot dispensary owner found guilty of federal charges -- In a closely watched trial involving conflicting marijuana laws, a jury on Tuesday convicted the owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary on five counts of violating federal drug laws. Charles Lynch, 46, was found guilty of distributing more than 100 kilos of marijuana, some of it to people considered minors under federal law. Scott Glover in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/6/08

Beer dispute is over; Weed wins battle -- A Northern California brewer who tangled with federal regulators over the caps on his beer bottles said Tuesday that officials have given him permission to keep the message "Try Legal Weed." Juliet Williams AP -- 8/6/08

San Francisco supervisors approve limit on overtime -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved two closely watched pieces of legislation Tuesday, one limiting overtime pay for city workers and the other requiring some employers to provide public transit or vanpool commuting options for their employees. The measures face a final vote by the board next week and then must be signed by the mayor before they take effect. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/08

Navy vet tells story of rape, its scars -- On Tuesday, Christopher came to the Capitol to convince lawmakers that California government and its 58 counties must play a role in addressing post- traumatic stress of increasing numbers of female soldiers, sailors and Marines. Peter Hecht in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/08