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John Perez closes in on speakership -- First-term Assemblyman John Perez, an ally of organized labor and cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has secured commitments from members of his caucus that could make him the next Assembly speaker. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 California Assembly speaker backs L.A. freshman as successor -- In a surprise move designed to end a brewing battle over who will be the next California Assembly speaker, current Speaker Karen Bass threw her support Wednesday behind rookie Assemblyman John Pérez of Los Angeles. Susan Ferriss and Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09 2 L.A. men vie to be California's next Assembly speaker -- The state Assembly soon could have a new top leader, or at least an heir apparent, as a testy battle to replace Speaker Karen Bass comes to a head a year before her term ends. Eric Bailey and Shane Goldmacher in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 L.A. dem may become first openly gay Assembly speaker -- Los Angeles Democratic Assemblyman John Peréz appears to be in line to become the next speaker of the state Assembly - and the body's first openly gay chief. Marisa Lagos Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 12/3/09 Arizona signature firm at center of failed Adam’s recall -- The head of a signature-gathering firm behind the failed attempt to recall Assemblyman Anthony Adams has been involved in several controversial campaigns in the past. And now, recall advocates hint, they may take him to court. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 Berryhill jumps in Senate race, Villines stays out -- Tom Berryhill is in and Mike Villines is out of the race to replace state Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, who is leaving the upper house after one term. EJ Schultz Fresno Bee News Blog -- 12/3/09 California insurers say $12 billion invested in Iran -- California's insurance commissioner said Tuesday he will push insurance companies doing business in California to divest up to $12 billion in indirect investments in Iran's defense, nuclear, energy and banking industries. Don Thompson AP Jim Boren in the Fresno Bee -- 12/3/09 Skelton: Schwarzenegger's last year and last chance -- The reign of California's action-hero governor has so far been a disappointment. But he has one year left in which to improve his legacy. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 Budget-busting pension costs: Is there a fix? -- Contra Costa County is projecting that annual pension costs for its employees will soar from about $140 million currently to $250 million in six years, a 77 percent increase. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 12/3/09 Senate, Assembly pay in line with private salaries -- The 2,129 staff members of the California Legislature earn an average of about $61,728 a year, which places them in the upper range of private-sector salaries and higher than the state’s average per-capita income. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 Assemblyman changes mind, asks governor to stop Orange County fairgrounds sale -- In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today, Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) said that while he had voted for the July bill that authorized the state to sell the fairgrounds, a public hearing he held in Costa Mesa with fellow Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove) last month raised serious concerns that convinced him it should be halted. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 12/3/09 Daly City pol accused of workers' comp scam -- A Daly City councilwoman has pleaded not guilty to charges of workers' compensation fraud after authorities allegedly caught her exercising and riding a motorcycle at a time she said she was too injured to do her job. Henry K. Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/3/09 FPPC clears Placer GOP, but Rocklin councilman quits party in disgust -- By shenanigans, Hill was referring to the Placer County Republican Central Committee's practice of attacking party members viewed as not Republican enough and its contributions to a San Diego-area assemblyman, which resulted in the investigation. Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09 Now, a Reagan app for iPhone -- The Ronald Reagan iPhone app, introduced this week, promises to "deliver Ronald Reagan right to your fingertips," offering the speeches, sayings and photos of the "Great Communicator" to a potentially wider and younger audience, thanks to the popular mobile technology. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/3/09 Ad Watch: Whitman spot is big on ideas, short on specifics -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has a new radio ad touting her tenure as CEO of online auction firm eBay. Jack Chang in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09 CalBuzz: How eMeg Spends Money & Why Poizner Doesn’t -- Meg Whitman’s people wrote another big check for another, retooled statewide radio ad this week, while Steve Poizner’s e-blasted a memo assuring supporters that his pathetic, single digit standing in the polls was no reason to tap his own big pile of filthy lucre just yet. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 12/3/09 New York State Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill -- The New York State Senate decisively rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have allowed gay couples to wed, providing a major victory for those who oppose same-sex marriage and underscoring the deep and passionate divisions surrounding the issue. JEREMY W. PETERS in the New York Times -- 12/3/09
Pension funds profit from job-cutting buyouts -- CalPERS and CalSTRS are both boosting investments in private equity, which includes leveraged buyouts that a new book says bankrupted many companies, eliminated thousands of jobs and may cause a new credit crisis. Ed Mendel in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 No telling how holiday 'strike' went in California -- The closest any California public employee union has come to a strike went down last month. It's not apparent that much came of it. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09
California’s Trot to the Top -- Forty-six days and counting, holidays included, before the state’s Race to the Top application is due in Arne Duncan’s hands. But if the state’s plan is any closer to completion than last week or last month, the state officials leading the effort aren’t saying. John Fensterwald educatedguess.org -- 12/3/09 Could California face a “brain drain” of college students? -- In the 2007-2008 academic year, California did something it had not done since the 1980s: sent more college students out of state than it received from elsewhere. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 Cal State students protest budget cuts -- A group of about 60 chanting, whistle-blowing students and their supporters protested in front of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's downtown Los Angeles office Wednesday, urging the governor and Legislature to increase spending on education. Carla Rivera in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 UC protesters invoke Free Speech Movement -- The Free Speech Movement lives on at UC Berkeley - 45 years to the day after a barefoot, 21-year-old student named Mario Savio energized thousands from atop a police car by exhorting them to do all they could to stop the administration's restrictive policies. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/3/09 SSU braces for $4 million shortfall, student fee hikes -- Sonoma State University expects to raise student fees 10 percent in the next academic year and is bracing for a budget shortfall of $4 million or more, university administrators warned Wednesday. NATHAN HALVERSON in the Santa Rosa Press -- 12/3/09 Ruskin convenes Master Plan committee for higher education -- For the last 50 years, California’s vast public higher education system has been governed by a Master Plan that sets out goals and determines student eligibility. Starting Monday, a legislative committee will begin contemplating the biggest changes in that plan in decades. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 Nailing a trade at Rosie the Riveter High -- Long Beach charter school seeks to put young women in nontraditional jobs such as welding and carpentry. Bob Pool in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 Former community college police chief charged with bribery, forgery, perjury by Riverside County D.A. -- The former police chief at a Riverside County community college was charged today with eight felonies and one misdemeanor, including bribery, forgery, perjury, embezzlement, destroying court records and concealing evidence. Baxter Holmes in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09
ARB’s diesel rule-making deeply flawed, member says -- A year ago, on the eve of approving a landmark regulation curbing diesel soot from a million trucks and school buses, there was a sharp, behind-the-scenes discussion at the Air Resources Board. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 12/3/09 Governor: Backup plan on global warming needed -- California has set an ambitious agenda to combat climate change, but on Wednesday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state needs to prepare for the worst if human action cannot stop global warming and the rise of sea levels. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/3/09 Google unveils new feature to let Californians see risks of climate change -- The Internet giant unveiled the new interactive tool in San Francisco as part of a climate change press conference by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Samantha Young AP Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09
California doctors group opposes U.S. Senate's healthcare plan -- The California Medical Assn. says it would increase costs of services and restrict access for elderly and low-income people. Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 Embryonic stem cells approved for tax-funded research -- Shares of two Bay Area stem-cell companies jumped Wednesday after the National Institutes of Health approved 13 new human embryonic stem-cell colonies for federally financed research, with more colonies likely to win similar approval within days. Steve Johnson in the Oakland Tribune Rob Stein in the Washington Post -- 12/3/09 Kaiser, VA to share electronic records -- Kaiser Permanente and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Wednesday a pilot program that will allow the two health systems to share electronic health records. Bobby Caina Calvan in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/3/09 Richmond imposes temporary ban on new pot clubs -- New pot clubs will have to wait before settling in Richmond. The City Council this week prohibited new medical marijuana dispensaries until the city can develop regulations for them. Natalie F. Jones in the Oakland Tribune -- 12/3/09 Study: Chemicals, pollutants found in newborns -- Chemicals from cosmetics, perfumes and other fragrances were detected along with dozens of other industrial compounds in the umbilical cords of African American, Asian and Latino infants in the United States, according to a national study released Wednesday. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/3/09
Immigration Detention System Lapses Detailed -- Growing numbers of noncitizens, including legal immigrants, are held unnecessarily and transferred heedlessly in an expensive immigration detention system that denies many of them basic fairness, a bipartisan study group and a human rights organization concluded in reports released jointly on Wednesday. NINA BERNSTEIN in the New York Times -- 12/3/09 Report claims illegal immigrants have small impact on country's economy -- Illegal immigrants drive down wages of low-skilled American workers, but they aren't a drain on the overall economy, according to a report released Wednesday. Stephen Wall in the San Bernardino Sun -- 12/3/09
White House accepts some blame for dinner crashers -- Obama's staff says 'we can do more, and we will' to prevent such breaches. But the administration says Social Secretary Desiree Rogers will not testify at a congressional hearing. Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 As Obama opens jobs summit, he faces limited options for growth -- Creating jobs is a political and economic imperative for President Obama, who is holding a high-profile jobs summit Thursday that aides hope will demonstrate his concern for the plight of everyday Americans. Michael A. Fletcher and Ben Pershing in the Washington Post -- 12/3/09
Global warming e-mails prompt Republican letter to EPA -- GOP members of Congress ask the administration to put climate-change measures on hold because messages from scientists in Britain appear to cast doubt on the idea of man-made warming. Jim Tankersley and Alexander C. Hart in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/3/09 |
