California budget crisis could bring lasting economic harm -- The short-term pain of budget cuts could pale next to a long-term loss of companies and academic talent. Martin Zimmerman, Marc Lifsher and Andrea Chang in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

California's cash is dwindling fast, experts warn lawmakers -- Instead, a two-house, 10-member legislative committee heard a quartet of fiscal experts repeat earlier warnings that the state is very low on cash, won't be able to borrow as much as it needs and will "almost certainly" have to postpone paying some of its bills. Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

California could run out of cash in two months -- California will run out of cash in two months unless lawmakers act swiftly to close a widening deficit and pass a budget, two state finance officials warned Friday. Judy Lin AP -- 5/23/09

Officials: Budget cuts will be deep -- State spending cuts will be comprehensive, deep and painful. And if the legislators cannot agree on what should go by July 1, California will run out of cash soon after. Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 5/23/09

Schwarzenegger details state layoffs -- California's prison and parole system will lose about 5 percent of its sworn officers as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's layoff order takes hold over the next four months, according to administration figures released on Friday. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

State policies work against good fiscal management -- Five recommendations could help, including updating the tax structure, ending the two-thirds majority rule, reigning in initiatives, building a serious rainy day fund and getting real oversight. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Expert who helped New York City avoid bankruptcy in 1975 has some advice for California -- Felix Rohatyn says the key is gutsy political leadership and a realistic plan that includes sacrifices by everybody. Geraldine Baum in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

California shouldn't hope for U.S. loan guarantees, lawmakers told -- As the governor's plan for drastic budget cuts begins stirring revolt, state legislators are told that California might not be able to borrow more than $10 billion as it faces a $24-billion deficit. Eric Bailey and Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Congress has no plan to aid California budget -- Congress left town on Friday for its annual weeklong Memorial Day break, in no rush to respond to California's simmering financial crisis. Rob Hotakainen in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Three families' stories put a face on the pain of California budget cuts -- Dependent on the Healthy Families, CalWorks and Cal Grants programs, they will face heartbreaking choices if the programs are victims of state's budget crisis. Rui Chong, Hector Becerra and Mitchell Landsberg in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

U.S. education secretary says California students in peril -- Speaking to mayors, trustees and superintendents in San Francisco, Arne Duncan challenges state lawmakers to embrace difficult reforms. 'Honestly, California has lost its way,' he says. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Ready to pay for beach privileges? -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed charging a parking fee to visitors to Sonoma Coast State Park, a 17-mile stretch of beaches from Bodega Head to just north of Jenner. MARTIN ESPINOZA in the Santa Rosa Press -- 5/23/09

Park advocates decry cuts, warn of statewide closures -- Advocates are sharply critical of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reported proposal to slash $150 million in state parks funding. Michael Gardner San Diego Union-Trib weblog -- 5/23/09

GOP infighting grows - even tax foe now targeted by recall -- GOP recall mania reached a strange new extreme Tuesday as renegade anti-tax activists launched an effort to oust Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona. Strange and extreme because Miller opposed against the tax hikes approved in February and voted against the final bill putting the six budget-related propositions on the ballot. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 5/23/09

Newsom returns contribution from Savage’s son -- Last week, you read it here first that Rockstar energy drink founder and CEO Russell Weiner – son of Michael Weiner, aka Bay Area-based, nationally broadcast conservative talk radio talk host Michael Savage – had made a $25,000 contribution to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Weiner told me he and Newsom are longtime friends. Josh Richman Political Blotter weblog -- 5/23/09

California Supreme Court to rule Tuesday on gay marriage -- Justices will reveal their decision on the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Expecting defeat, gay rights activists are already gearing up for a new campaign. Jessica Garrison and Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Feinstein unlikely to run for governor -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that it is unlikely she will run for governor, but said whoever does should have a specific plan to fix the state's budget mess. That way, the winner will have a mandate to act. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/23/09

Roberts and Trounstine: Stop The Presses: Difi Turns Thumbs Down on Gov's Race -- Although she just couldn’t bring herself to say the word “no,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein finally admitted, under interrogation by the Chronicle’s Carolyn Lochhead that it’s “very unlikely” she’ll run for governor. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 5/23/09

DA's office rejects report -- A grand jury report cites a waste of taxpayer money and an office "climate of fear and intimidation." RICHARD K. DE ATLEY and SONJA BJELLAND in the Riverside Press -- 5/23/09

Seeking political lessons in 32nd District race -- As Judy Chu emerges as the likely winner in the July 14 runoff for the heavily Democratic district, observers say newcomer Emanuel Pleitez cut into support for Gil Cedillo, who finished second. Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Postmus elected with little or no experience -- Bill Postmus had little, if any, applicable experience when he was elected San Bernardino County assessor in 2006. The man that voters placed in charge of valuing properties across the nation's largest geographic county had no background in tax law or fiscal policy. BEN GOAD in the Riverside Press -- 5/23/09

U.S. judge warns Justice Dept. -- A federal judge in San Francisco lashed out Friday at the Obama administration for its refusal to share a classified document with an Islamic group that claims it was illegally wiretapped, and said he may declare the group the winner by default in its lawsuit against the government. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/23/09

California jobless rate fell in April; 63,700 jobs lost -- California's unemployment rate fell in April for the first time in nearly a year, but there was little to celebrate. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Employment data suggest rate of job loss easing -- California's unemployment rate fell slightly to 11 percent in April, but the state lost 63,700 payroll jobs, in a pair of mixed signals that suggest the labor market continues to weaken but at a slower pace. Tom Abate in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/23/09

Forever 21 chain to bid for Gottschalks sites -- Like retail manna from heaven, Forever 21, a Los Angeles-based clothing retailer, plans to swoop in and take over 15 Gottschalks locations, including the two-story anchor at the ailing Country Club Plaza. M.S. Enkoji in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Kern's April unemployment at 14.8 percent -- The unemployment rate in Kern County was 14.8 percent in April, down from a revised 16 percent in March but above the same time last year, when the rate was 9.4 percent. The item is in the Bakersfield Californian -- 5/23/09

Official: NC considers Apple for massive tax break -- North Carolina lawmakers are pushing to give Apple a multimillion-dollar tax break should the Cupertino company bring an East Coast computer server farm to the state — an estimated $1 billion investment, according to a state official with knowledge of the recruitment efforts. AP -- 5/23/09

Barack Obama: Supreme Court pick coming soon -- President Barack Obama told C-SPAN on Friday that he’s “going to have an announcement soon” on his pick for the Supreme Court, and said he is looking for “not just ivory tower learning.” MIKE ALLEN Politico -- 5/23/09

Cheney's assertions of lives saved is hard to prove -- Arguing against Obama's policies, he says that the Bush administration's approach to terrorism spared 'perhaps hundreds of thousands.' Experts say no evidence of that has emerged. Greg Miller in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

GI Bill's wording costs state's student vets -- Miller ran into an anomaly unique to California's university system - a difference in a single word that could cause thousands of California veterans like him to miss out on educational benefits available in every other state. Matthew B. Stannard in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/23/09

U.S. schools chief: State longshot for stimulus -- A handful of states will soon be chosen to take part in an intense $5 billion experiment to improve schools that the federal government is calling the "Race to the Top" - but California will be lucky if it gets to participate, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Friday on a swing through San Francisco. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/23/09

Colleges Consider 3-Year Degrees To Save Undergrads Time, Money -- In an era when college students commonly take longer than four years to get a bachelor's degree, some U.S. schools are looking anew at an old idea: slicing a year off their undergraduate programs to save families time and money. Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post -- 5/23/09

Schools: More cuts a certainty -- With the May 19 special election out of the way, the next financial hurdle for Kern County schools is the state June budget revision, when they learn how much less funding they will receive. jeff nachtigal in the Bakersfield Californian -- 5/23/09

Water restrictions tied to Folsom Lake likely to end -- Federal officials on Friday announced that areas of the Sacramento region dependent on Folsom Lake for their water supply will get 100 percent of their contracted water deliveries. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Parents characterize immigration officials' actions as raid -- Parents of three high school students who say their children were deported to Mexico by immigration officials after they were detained at the Old Town Transit Station spoke out against authorities' tactics Friday. Angelica Martinez in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 5/23/09

$60 million targets state nursing shortage -- Another $60 million is headed to California community colleges and universities to increase the number of nursing graduates, the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency said Friday. Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

911: Dispatcher response time lags, more wireless users hang up on CHP system -- California Highway Patrol dispatcher response times have significantly worsened, with call centers that handle three-fourths of the state's wireless 911 traffic failing to meet national standards. Andy Furillo in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Bee staff wins for budget coverage, Delta stories -- The Center for California Studies has selected Sacramento Bee coverage for two of its annual John Jacobs awards, named in the memory of a longtime Bee political columnist. The item is in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

Banks: Cedillo's mailer on Pleitez smears a generation -- Emanuel Pleitez, 26, a defeated contender for Congress, faced an ugly attack by the opposition, which used his Facebook pictures to tarnish his image. Sandy Banks in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Subpoenas issued in pension fund corruption investigation -- Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown is looking into 'placement agents' who help secure pension fund investment contracts for clients, often in return for millions of dollars. Michael Rothfeld and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/23/09

Tran loses council seat by one vote in Rosemead -- Voters who needed a reminder that every vote counts got one Friday when a judge determined former mayor John Tran lost his City Council seat by just one vote in the March municipal election. Rebecca Kimitch in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 5/23/09

Prison riot causes lockdown -- More than 50 inmates at the California Institution for Men began a fight that ended with two men injured and a shot fired into the air, officials said. Neil Nisperos in the San Bernardino Sun -- 5/23/09

 •  Has Folsom bike ride spun out of control? -- Residents and motorists mostly see the worse: cyclists roaring through stop signs, riding five abreast, crossing the center line, stopping traffic. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/23/09

 Levi is waiting for his chance -- Lance Armstrong’s Astana teammate is third overall through 13 of 21 stages of the Giro d’Italia, with only Denis Menchov of Russia and Danilo Di Luca of Italy in front of him. ANDREW DAMPF AP -- 5/23/09