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CHP withholds costs of protecting Schwarzenegger -- When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger heads to Copenhagen next week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, his office will defend the trip in a deficit-plagued year by saying his foundation-backed travel won't cost taxpayers a dime. But that overlooks one fact: Wherever the governor goes, a crew of California Highway Patrol officers travels as well, paid for by the state. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 $2 million to guard officials in San Francisco -- The San Francisco Police Department spent just over $2 million last year to provide regular security for Mayor Gavin Newsom, other city officials on an occasional basis, and for visiting national figures and foreign dignitaries. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/09 Federal receiver hires ex-lawmaker, congressman's son -- A former state senator and the son of newly elected Rep. John Garamendi have been hired by the federal prison health care receiver to build support for a proposed facility in San Joaquin County. Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 Clinton may be model for Fiorina, Whitman -- They're tough, Republicans and former CEOs - but they're also wives, daughters and mothers striving to be something more: winners next year in the cutthroat male-dominated world of California politics. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/09 Who is helped by Denham's LG exit? -- State Sen. Jeff Denham's departure this week from the lieutenant governor's race narrows the GOP primary contest to two, state Sens. Abel Maldonado and Sam Aanested. But there's some debate about who will be helped more by Denham's exit. EJ Schultz Fresno Bee News Blog -- 12/12/09 Prop. 8 sponsors don't have to show memos, judge rules -- The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban do not have to turn over internal campaign documents as part of a lawsuit to overturn Proposition 8, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. Lisa Leff AP Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury Carol J. Williams in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Judge rules against landmark 2003 state water pact -- If the tentative ruling is upheld, the agreement aimed at reducing California's reliance on Colorado River water would be voided. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 CalPERS investment officer Jelincic wins board seat -- An investment officer at the California Public Employees' Retirement System has won a seat on its governing board. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 CalPERS winner wants investment change -- The winner of a runoff election for an open CalPERS board seat, J.J. Jelincic, would like to see more of the giant pension fund’s $200 billion investment portfolio managed by staff, rather than outside managers. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 12/12/09 Cedillo floats compromise to fighting Pérez -- Sen. Gil Cedillo is not backing down on his vow to run against Assemblyman John A. Pérez next year, despite the latter's selection by Democratic colleagues Thursday to be Assembly speaker. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 Rep. Maxine Waters gets message across on economic, minority issues -- The Los Angeles congresswoman stands up even to Obama. Her persistence helped get loans for unemployed homeowners and money to restore foreclosed properties into Wall Street regulatory legislation. Richard Simon in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 It's Politics: Legislature races to more battles -- As if California didn't have enough competition from other states when it will vie next month for a piece of $4 billion in federal stimulus funds for education, state lawmakers have decided to fight one another as well. The item is in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 12/12/09 Lopez: DWP's $100,000 secretary? Great job if you can get it -- As predicted in my Wednesday column, the L.A. City Council unanimously approved a five-year package of raises and bonuses today for DWP employees. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Proposed ballot measure would ban divorce -- When John Marcotte studied the pro-Proposition 8 Web site last year, he found that it generally steered clear of moral issues concerning homosexuals, whose marriages were banned by the subsequent passage of the ballot measure. MARTIN WISCKOL in the Orange County Register -- 12/12/09 The grades are in for Valley lawmakers -- It's legislative scorecard season, that time of year when interest groups of all stripes judge how state lawmakers voted on their pet causes. EJ Schultz Fresno Bee News Blog -- 12/12/09 Swap Meet: eMeg of Oz Meets Craig, Scott & Inga -- Rants and raves: Amid a shortage of MSM reporting about the epic legal battle between eBay and Craigslist, political junkies wanting to track Meg Whitman’s role in the messy litigation can rely on Jerry DiColo’s coverage in the Wall Street Journal. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 12/12/09
State speeds up payments to 121,000 long-term jobless Californians -- Many of those affected had been without benefits for more than a month. Unemployment extension checks could arrive as early as midweek. Tiffany Hsu and Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Retail sales increase for start of the holiday season -- Strong gains in autos and gasoline drove a 1.3% increase from October, but excluding those categories, retail sales still rose 0.6%. November sales also were up 0.2% from a year earlier. Ylan Q. Mui in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Recession slows Californians' move to other states -- The Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution released a report today detailing how Americans -- including Californians -- are opting to stay in the state they live in at the highest rate since World War II. Susan Ferriss in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 Villaraigosa forming economic advisory team to help create jobs -- Facing a local unemployment rate of nearly 14 percent, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is reaching out to the city's most influential business and community leaders to help get more Angelenos back to work. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 12/12/09
San Francisco Bay schools phase out gay-friendly curriculum -- A San Francisco Bay area school board will use broad lessons against bias to replace a curriculum against bullying gay people that had become a national centerpiece in the opposition to same-sex marriage. LISA LEFF AP -- 12/12/09 U. of California Hires Auditor in Dispute With Ex-Dean -- The move came after a United States senator accused school officials this week of mismanaging research money and making misleading statements to state legislators. GARDINER HARRIS in the New York Times -- 12/12/09 For-profit colleges prepare for state oversight -- Two-and-a-half years after state regulators took their eyes off about 1,700 for-profit and vocational colleges, a new agency is set to pay attention once again — but with some major exceptions. Matt Krupnick in the Contra Costa Times -- 12/12/09 Police arrest 66 UC Berkeley protesters -- Most of the arrests were of protesters who've been inside Wheeler Hall most of this week holding a teach-in and other "open university" activities. One person outside the building was arrested. Angela Hill in the Contra Costa Times Nanette Asimov, Henry K. Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/09
Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down -- The project by the company, AltaRock Energy, was the Obama administration’s first major test of geothermal energy as a significant alternative to fossil fuels and the project was being financed with federal Department of Energy money at a site about 100 miles north of San Francisco called the Geysers. JAMES GLANZ in the New York Times -- 12/12/09 Newsom wants energy audits for large buildings -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants owners of large commercial buildings in the city to conduct an energy audit within five years to secure their business license renewal - and to provide the results to the city, which will publish the information in a public database. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/09 Henrik Fisker's cars roar into the future -- The Danish designer creates cars to be fast and beautiful, and he's convinced that people will pay for those features in a hybrid. With a federal loan, his Irvine firm will put that to the test. Scott Kraft in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Water board moves to enforce ban on trash in L.A. River -- Cities along the watershed are required by 2016 to keep all trash out of their storm drains. Those that don't comply will now be in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Mayor heads for an urban climate summit -- As world leaders haggled to forge an international climate agreement this week in Copenhagen, the Los Angeles City Council was wrestling with the consequences of plopping a mammoth city solar farm near Lone Pine. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09 Trees, Fire and the East Bay Hills -- If you secretly love the non-native, frowzy eucalyptus tree found throughout the Bay Area, despite its reputation as the villain that exacerbated the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, then Dan Grassetti is your man. MICHELLE QUINN in the New York Times -- 12/12/09
Pot clubs close down in San Mateo County -- Medical marijuana clubs have been getting a major buzzkill from new regulations in San Mateo County. Shaun Bishop in the San Jose Mercury -- 12/12/09
San Francisco will pay $7M to settle wildfire lawsuits -- The city of San Francisco has agreed to pay the federal government $7 million to settle two civil lawsuits alleging national forest wildfires were the fault of the city's water and power agency. Denny Walsh in the Sacramento Bee -- 12/12/09 Man who killed bicyclist gets 6 years -- A judge on Friday ordered a man to serve six years in state prison for killing a 14-year-old bicyclist while he was driving under the influence of two prescription drugs and sending text messages from his cell phone. ANNIE BURRIS in the Orange County Register -- 12/12/09 Stanley Chais target of federal criminal investigation -- Federal prosecutors disclosed Friday that they were conducting a criminal investigation of Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais, who is accused of serving as the Southern California link to a Ponzi scheme operated by disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff. Stuart Pfeifer in the Los Angeles Times -- 12/12/09
Immigration agents arrest nearly 300 foreigners with criminal records during three-day sweep -- About 96 of the arrests took place in Los Angeles County and included people from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Among those arrested in the county were a suspected gang member from El Salvador who had a 2004 robbery conviction and a Guatemalan man with a 1993 conviction for lewd acts with a child under 14. Anna Gorman in the Los Angeles Times Ken McLaughlin in the San Jose Mercury -- 12/12/09
Business Roundtable edges away from health reform plan -- Without fundamental changes to the current health reform plans, the White House and congressional Democrats risk losing the last major corporate group that is standing by their effort: The Business Roundtable. JEANNE CUMMINGS Politico -- 12/12/09 |
