Villaraigosa will not "Twitter while Rome burns" -- skipping Dem convention to work budget -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- considered a likely 2010 Democratic candidate for governor -- won't be addressing his party's state convention this weekend in Sacramento: he'll be at home dealing with budget issues. Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine Calbuzz -- 4/23/09

Ex-lawmaker's golden parachute lands her back at Capitol -- Just as state Assembly leaders rescinded pay raises to some of their staff members, The Chronicle learned that the Assembly Speaker has hired an ex-lawmaker as a temporary employee on the Legislature's payroll. Matthew Yi Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/23/09

SurveyUSA poll shows ballot measures lagging -- A new SurveyUSA poll shows California voters strongly opposed to most of the six measures on the May 19 special election ballot. Peter Hecht SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/23/09

Both sides agree, May 19 ballot measures are complicated -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the opponents of his budget measures on the May 19 special election ballot agree on at least one thing: the dense, eye-glazing political finance-speak of the ballot measures isn't going to make it any easier to pass those puppies. John Wildermuth Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/23/09

Schwarzenegger, measure's foes duel in San Francisco -- Half a mile of city and about a billion miles of ideology separated Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Proposition 1A's opponents Thursday, as both pleaded their cases about the top measure on the May 19th special election ballot. Josh Richman in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

Whitman's UCLA no-show: The story and the non-story -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman won't be speaking at UCLA. Peter Hecht SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/23/09

Most populous state could open up constitution -- Fed up with the budget crises and partisan battles that have paralyzed California for years, some influential voices believe it's time to tear open the state constitution and start anew. BETH FOUHY AP -- 4/23/09

Brown challenges Newsom to an IQ throwdown! -- Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown -- the former two-term governor expected to make another run in 2010 -- has issued the ultimate challenge to newbie Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom. He says he's willing to do "any test" to prove that he can meet and match any candidate, anywhere -- on brain power. Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/23/09

Young Democrats want to prove they're still engaged -- Now that the heady days of the presidential campaign are behind them, with President Barack Obama settling into the White House, will they stay engaged? Traditionally, voters ages 18 to 30 experience a significant drop-off in enthusiasm in midterm elections. Steven Harmon in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

California May Launch Pay-to-Play Probe Following N.Y. Charges -- California’s attorney general may investigate whether any firms broke the law to win investment contracts with pension funds in the most-populous U.S. state. William Selway and Michael B. Marois Bloomberg -- 4/23/09

Joan Buchanan jumps into CD 10, further crowding field -- Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan told supporters Thursday that she is joining the suddenly crowded field of candidates vying to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher. Shane Goldmacher SacBee Capitol Alert Steven Harmon in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

Obama gets high marks in polls -- Nearly two-thirds approve of the job the president is doing, and seven in 10 say they like Obama, the man. Mark Silva in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Wells Fargo accused of securities fraud by state lawsuit -- Attorney General Jerry Brown says customers were misled into believing that auction-rate securities were safe. Wells Fargo disputes that, and says it aided customers hit by the collapse of the market. Martin Zimmerman in the Los Angeles Times JESSE McKINLEY in the New York Times -- 4/23/09

Fed Funds Flowing, Tracking Qs Remain -- The first report on federal stimulus dollars in California and around the nation is out, and poses two key questions: do local officials have the resources and training to follow all the rules, and can anyone really peg the full impact of all this money? John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 4/23/09

Power plant bill nuked by Dems -- The fifth try was not the charm for a Republican who once again saw a bill to lift the state's nuclear plant ban killed by Democrats this week. EJ Schultz in the Fresno Bee -- 4/23/09

Scientists rip federal agencies for implementation of landmark Delta, salmon protection law -- California's federal water managers favored farmers over the needs of salmon and failed to take seriously a law that was supposed to overhaul the state's water delivery system and improve the environment, an independent scientific review of the 17-year-old law says. Mike Taugher in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

Feinstein intervenes to help lesbian mother threatened with deportation -- It literally took an act of Congress, but a native of the Philippines and the mother of twin boys born in the Bay Area who had been threatened with deportation won't have to choose between separation from her sons or forcing them and her same-sex partner to leave the United States. Mike Swift in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

Who’s afraid of the big, bad Garamendi? -- Not Adriel Hampton, apparently. Josh Richman Political Blotter weblog -- 4/23/09

Gephardt, not Pelosi, promised Harman chairmanship -- Rep. Jane Harman was promised the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee, according to a letter obtained by The Hill. But the promise was made by former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, not Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mike Soraghan The Hill -- 4/23/09

Rob Reiner not interested in political office -- Director Rob Reiner is politically active, but he's not about to star in his own campaign. Reiner told The Associated Press that he would not be a good politician because he likes to speak his mind too freely. SAMANTHA YOUNG AP -- 4/23/09

California sells bonds to resume public projects -- California's financially parched state government was drenched Wednesday with a $6.85 billion deluge in bonds that officials said would jump-start more than 5,000 stalled public works projects. Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee Matthew Yi in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

California municipal-bond yields fall with advent of U.S.-backed Build America Bonds -- On robust demand, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer boosts the size of a debt offering that includes the subsidized federal bonds. Tom Petruno in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Muni Market Takes Heart From Success by California -- The state of California took advantage of federal subsidies to issue $5 billion in debt on Wednesday, but some other municipal issuers like schools and not-for-profit hospitals continue to find it costly to borrow. SHEFALI ANAND and SERENA NG in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/23/09

Pension scandal in NY, what’s up in CA? -- CalPERS and CalSTRS have invested several billion dollars in a private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, that is part of a public employees pension scandal in New York. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 4/23/09

Eight Days Left in April — Still Nearly $4 Billion Short -- With eight days left in April, personal income tax receipts crested $5 billion – less than half the $12.8 billion collected in April 2008 and almost $4 billion short of the $8.9 billion, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance estimates the state will take in during the month. Greg Lucas California's capitol weblog -- 4/23/09

Jerry Brown calls Prop. 209 unconstitutional -- The 1996 ballot measure that outlawed preferential treatment for women and minorities in government programs is unconstitutional because it prohibits all affirmative action and fosters the discrimination it was supposed to eliminate, Attorney General Jerry Brown told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

State liaison to RNC demands Villines step down -- Shawn Steel, a former California Republican Party chairman and one of two representatives to the Republican National Committee, on Wednesday told Rob Johnson of Modesto's KMPH 840 that he and other Republicans plan to ask Villines to step down from his Capitol leadership post. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- Wyatt Buchanan Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/23/09

Assembly leaders withdraw staffers' pay hikes -- Speaker Karen Bass and minority leader Michael Villines acknowledge that the raises for 136 were ill-advised, given the state's budget crisis. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times Wyatt Buchanan Chronicle Politics Weblog Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Skelton: Two budget measures equal one case of confusion -- The backers of Prop. 1A forgot a key rule: Keep it simple for the voters. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Roberts and Trounstine: Burton Takes a Duck on Special Election Props -- For a guy known as a cut-to-the-bone straight talker, John Burton sounded awfully bashful when we asked him about the May 19 special election. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 4/23/09

State Senate panel approves Cate as prisons chief -- California's latest corrections chief moved closer to confirmation Wednesday, but only after state senators pressed him on why so few inmates get schooling, training and counseling to keep them out of trouble after release from prison. Susan Ferriss in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Unions, local officials square off over bankruptcy bill -- Firefighters are seeking new controls on when cities can declare bankruptcy in an effort to preserve existing union contracts with local governments facing hard financial times. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

Pay bill is stuck in Legislature -- The caller could have been describing a Mafia hit: "It's dead! Check with your sources! I'm hearing it's a payback." Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Cedillo responds to Villaraigoa move -- To state Senl. Gil Cedillo, the endorsemetn of Jud Chu for Congress by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa doesn't mean much. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 4/23/09

Villaraigosa backs mail-in ballots on fee increases -- If approved by council, proposal would ask property owners to pass measure boosting charges to $99 by 2014 to pay for cleaning up storm-water runoff. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Roberts and Trounstine: Plot Thickens for Villargairosa in LAPD vs. Hollywood Feud -- Partisans of Antonio Villargairosa groused and grumbled about our Monday post disclosing how the L.A. mayor and wannabe governor is caught in a Big Squeeze between the LAPD and Hollywood filmmakers over security for location shoots. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 4/23/09

Newsom visits San Diego, touting his green credentials -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom took an Earth Day tour of a La Jolla biotech firm Wednesday – donning a green tie for the occasion – on his first full day of campaigning after formally announcing his candidacy this week for the 2010 California governor's race. Ronald W. Powell in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 4/23/09

Tree planting caps governor's busy Earth Day -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger marked Earth Day on Wednesday in part by helping one local company reach its goal of planting 1 million trees. Eric Louie in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

SEIU contract creates political pickle -- The May 19 ballot has created a complicated situation for the largest union of state employees. While their parent union is adamantly opposed to the spending limit measure on the May 19 ballot backed by Gov. Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders, SEIU Local 1000 must try to navigate a new contract through the Legislative process and eventually obtain the governor’s signature. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

Church to protest Corona del Mar High's 'Rent' -- Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church, termed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, plans to send eight people to the high school to picket staging of the show that includes gay characters. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Oakland Ends Plan to Hire Security Firm -- The city of Oakland, Calif., dropped its plan to hire security firm International Services Inc. to patrol high-crime districts after the company's founder and two other executives were charged with fraud. BOBBY WHITE in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/23/09

Election pamphlet mailings lag behind ballots -- Mailing of state-issued pamphlets for the May 19 special election is lagging behind the schedules of Bay Area election offices, which began sending vote-by-mail ballots Monday. Lisa Vorderbrueggen in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/23/09

Top 100 List -- This week, we bring you the final installment of our Capitol Weekly Top 100 list of California political power brokers. We were a bit surprised last week about the lack of complaints about the people on our list. Perhaps people were holding their fire to see this second half of the list. The item is in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

Tax Day Tea Parties: A blip or a trend? -- If you ask Mark Meckler, California is once again about to lead a national anti-tax revolt. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

Q and A With Neal Cavuto -- Neal Cavuto is an anchor and commentator with the Fox Business Network. He spent April 15 covering the Tax Day Tea Party at the Capitol in Sacramento, part of the extensive coverage Fox gave the protests around the nation. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

Pelosi Says She Had Been Briefed on Harman Wiretap -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged yesterday that she was briefed "a few years ago" by Bush administration officials about the fact that Rep. Jane Harman was the subject of a wiretap. Paul Kane in the Washington Post -- 4/23/09

Pelosi backs anti-terror truth commission -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday endorsed the establishment of a formal truth commission to investigate Bush administration anti-terrorism policies, including an examination of former top Justice Department lawyers who crafted the legal justifications for what critics say was torture. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

Prosecuting 'torture memo' authors called 'a real stretch -- Legal experts say prosecutors would have to show that the Bush administration lawyers intentionally misstated the law against torture. David G. Savage and Josh Meyer in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Mortgage defaults hit record in state, Bay Area -- In an ominous sign that foreclosures may soon surge, the number of mortgage default notices in California and the Bay Area rose to record levels in the first quarter of 2009, according to a report from a real estate information service. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

Greg Industries iron foundry closes in El Monte -- The closure came a week earlier than planned, and company officials said state air quality authorities were to blame. Rebecca Kimitch in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 4/23/09

Arena's Cautionary Tale of Overconfidence -- Biotech analysts were not surprised last month when San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals' stock tumbled after the company announced good, but not great, Phase 3 trail results on its obesity drug lorcaserin. Wall Street is an unforgiving place. DAVID WASHBURN Voiceofsandiego.org -- 4/23/09

New round of defaults casts cloud over capital housing recovery -- We're going to find out now whether foreclosure moratoriums and new loan-modification programs will work. Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Mortgage defaults rise but homeowners stay put -- More Californians are missing their mortgage payments -- some deliberately -- but fewer are having their homes repossessed. William Heisel in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Jan Goldsmith not sharing 6% pain -- San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said today that he will not be taking a 6 percent cut in pay and benefits, as other city employees have been asked to do, because he's already saved the city money in other ways. Helen Gao San Diego Union-Trib weblog -- 4/23/09

Rates on bigger mortgages finally should come down -- Home loans from $625,500 to $729,750 in high-cost regions, including most of the Bay Area, should get cheaper in the next few weeks. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

Bidding Wars Are Emerging on Foreclosures -- Falling home prices are starting to ignite bidding wars in a few parts of the U.S. as first-time buyers compete with investors for the same foreclosed properties. JAMES R. HAGERTY in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/23/09

LAUSD wants to make firing teachers easier -- Embarking on a monumental task that some say is doomed to fail, Los Angeles Unified school officials are taking aim at state laws that make it virtually impossible to fire teachers. George B. Sanchez in the Torrance Daily Breeze -- 4/23/09

Scientists, supporters rally at UCLA for animal research -- Participants protest the violent acts of some opponents and tout the benefits of the research. A smaller group of critics of such studies also rallies. Larry Gordon and Raja Abdulrahim in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Oscar-winning Sean Penn helps out Oakland arts school -- Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn came to Oakland's refurbished Fox Theater on Wednesday night. He spoke at a benefit for the Oakland School for the Arts, a charter school that recently moved into a new, state-of-the-art building that wraps around the theater in the city's Uptown district. Katy Murphy in the Oakland Tribune -- 4/23/09

Inland libraries cutting hours, book purchases as revenues decline -- In the six months since Bernadette Wilkinson lost her real estate job, she has come to rely increasingly on San Bernardino's Dorothy Inghram Branch Library. CHRIS RICHARD in the Riverside Press -- 4/23/09

How water conservation measures in L.A. will work -- Drought prompts the city to limit automatic sprinkling, as well as adopt higher rates for exceeding a usage reduction of 15%. DWP officials discuss the new rules, which will take effect June 1. Alexandra Zavis in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

ARB set to approve low carbon fuel standard -- California is poised to approve a first-in-the-nation rule to cut carbon emissions from gasoline and diesel fuels, including a crackdown on emissions resulting from the production and distribution of alternative fuels, such as ethanol. The dramatic new regulation would curb greenhouse gases associated with the fuel, from its inception to its combustion. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 4/23/09

$97 million awarded to state's national parks -- Twenty-two national parks in California, including several in the Bay Area, will be awarded $97 million in federal stimulus money that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday will be used to fix trails, repair historic buildings, install solar panels and hire local workers. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/23/09

State pesticide rules relaxed -- State regulators this week finalized looser pesticide rules that environmentalists say will slow efforts to clean the Valley's smoggy air. E.J. Schultz in the Fresno Bee -- 4/23/09

Sacramento railyard makeover finally in motion -- For years, it seemed nothing would happen in the barren space that is the downtown railyard. Today, Sacramento finally sees the launch of a much-awaited makeover of the massive downtown railyard site. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Panel: Wastewater ammonia 'likely' alters Delta -- A panel of independent scientists has affirmed in a new report that ammonia from urban wastewater is a "likely" contributor to environmental shifts in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Medicare threatens to cut off funding to Southwest Healthcare System -- The effectiveness of Southwest Healthcare System's governing body and the hospital's ability to control infections were called into question by federal regulators who in a recent letter threatened to cut off the hospital's lifeblood -- its Medicare payments. AARON BURGIN in the Riverside Press -- 4/23/09

CalPERS program aimed at reducing health costs -- Capital-area members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System will be able to take part in a pilot program aimed at reducing health-care costs, the agency announced Wednesday. Bobby Calvan in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

Reagan statue moves a step closer to a place in the U.S. Capitol -- Ronald Reagan became president at a time of recession: the early 1980s when the nation faced double-digit unemployment and a dire economic outlook. BEN GOAD in the Riverside Press -- 4/23/09

In Orange County, D.A.'s office and Sheriff's Department keep clashing -- The latest confrontation is over a deputy's mistrial, which the district attorney's office is blaming on a 'code of silence' within the department. Christopher Goffard in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Ex-Garden Grove police chief's fortunes turn in embezzlement case -- Frank Kessler spent more than 40 years in public service. He pleaded guilty last month to using his city credit card for personal expenses. Now, his wife faces grand theft and embezzlement charges. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/23/09

Capitol event to reunite Holocaust survivors and liberators -- More than five decades later, Obie Wickersham vividly remembers the sight of dead bodies stacked "like cordwood" in a corner. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/23/09

When Skaters Grow Up -- Pool skating, for those of you who missed “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” the 2001 documentary about the sport’s early days in the 1970s, emerged in drought-wracked Southern California, when filling a pool was against the law for a time. PENELOPE GREEN in the New York Times -- 4/23/09