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GOP operatives crash the tea party -- Just days after the first widespread tea party demonstrators hit the streets a year ago Thursday, Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, made a proposal to his colleagues that he said could “give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus.” KENNETH P. VOGEL Politico -- 4/15/10 University president says Palin contract stolen -- A California university president says a contract between a school foundation and Sarah Palin for an upcoming speech was stolen from a campus administrator's office last week. California State University, Stanislaus president Hamid Shirvani said Wednesday the five-page document was taken from a recycling bin inside the office of a vice president. ROBIN HINDERY AP -- 4/15/10 California tea partiers move from rallies to races -- Now Mintz, the sole Republican running in a Democrat-heavy Assembly district in Los Angeles, has joined a growing pool of tea party activists hoping to convert the energy of what began as a fringe movement into votes at the polls. Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 Tea Party shuns Obama birthplace lawyer -- Lawyer Orly Taitz has been told she won’t be allowed to speak at a Tea Party tax day rally in Pleasanton on Thursday because other candidates planning to be on the platform basically don’t want to be seen with her. Dena Bunis in the Orange County Register -- 4/15/10 The Capitol Weekly Top 100 List -- Now we know how Santa Claus feels. Making these types of lists is not easy. But we checked it once, checked it twice, checked who was naughty and nice – the former outweighed the latter -- and came up with our latest Capitol Weekly Top 100 list. The item is in Capitol Weekly -- 4/15/10 Chairman of state campaign watchdog panel announces resignation -- Former state Sen. Ross Johnson cited health reasons Wednesday in resigning as chairman of the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces ethics and campaign finance laws in California. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 Whitman accused of manipulating media with video feeds -- Meg Whitman's campaign opponents are accusing her of trying to manipulate the media by providing selective footage of a campaign event to television stations around the state. Steven Harmon in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/15/10 CalBuzz: eMeg’s Video Feeds Put TV Stations on the Spot --- When we saw Mike Sugarman’s piece on KPIX-TV about Meg Whitman’s new media tactic — shooting video of campaign events, uplinking to a communications satellite and making the video available to TV stations throughout the state — we thought that was a pretty clever use of her vast resources. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 4/15/10 Poiz and Jerry have done Google. When will Meg Whitman make the 8 mile trip from her HQ? In our story Wednesday about the performance of Steve Poizner's guv campaign not matching the performance of his best-selling book, we mentioned that he was speaking at Google. First, he was interviewed before CEO Eric Schmidt, then the unwashed Google masses asked him questions. Joe Garofoli Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/15/10 Top GOP stars stumping for Meg Whitman -- Republican heavyweights such as former presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are scheduled to hit the campaign trail this month for GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, according to the Whitman campaign. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/15/10 Skelton: Jerry Brown, how about some specifics on how you'd fix the state? -- The Democratic former governor has so far been relying on his experience as a selling point for voting for him. But he's going to have to do better than that. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 Calpers Moves To Limit Bets On Property Conversions -- Public pension fund Calpers is set to cease making investments in real-estate deals that can force tenants out of lower-rent properties. JAMIE HELLER in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/15/10 Stanford students ‘rock’ public pension funds -- CalSTRS is unveiling a new website, just in time to rebut a Stanford study last week that says California’s three big public pension funds have a shocking shortfall of more than $500 billion. Ed Mendel in Capitol Weekly -- 4/15/10 Business interests slipping funds into AD 5 race -- Used car salesmen, strip clubs, big money self-financing, the healthcare debate, gay marriage and burning buildings — the race in the 5th Assembly District has it all. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 4/15/10 Schwarzenegger administration says it saved millions not buying cars -- The state of California avoided spending about $63 million last year by reducing purchases of new state vehicles and ordering most agencies to reduce fleets by 15 percent, the Schwarzenegger administration said Wednesday. Susan Ferriss in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 Legislature spends $529,000 on new cars -- Last year, when the state was gripped by a budget crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered hundreds of state cars to be sold to save money. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 Cash-strapped state opens bidding on $2 billion in office buildings -- Amid controversy over the wisdom of the move, state officials took bids Wednesday on an estimated $2 billion worth of office buildings they're trying to sell in an effort to reduce the budget deficit. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 Juicy record for judge rumored for high court -- Sidney Thomas, the latest name floated by the White House as a possible candidate to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, is a long-shot. Bob Egelko Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/15/10 Senator Ashburn gets 2 days in jail, 3 years' probation for DUI -- State Sen. Roy Ashburn pleaded no contest Wednesday to drunken driving charges and was immediately sentenced to two days in jail and three years' probation. Andy Furillo in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10
“Furlough Friday” still in place while court ponders action -- The seemingly interminable legal wrangling over “Furlough Friday” is moving through the state appellate courts, with the justices saying this week that they need more time to decide the issue. The item is in Capitol Weekly -- 4/15/10 State worker furlough days may cost California -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to furlough thousands of workers at agencies that generate revenue for the state will ultimately cost California at least $700 million, a UC Berkeley economist told lawmakers Wednesday. Marisa Lagos in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/15/10 Baby boomers scaling back at work instead of retiring -- Every time Fran Baxter-Guigli crunches the numbers, she comes up with the same result: She can't afford to retire yet, even though she'd like to. Anita Creamer in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 Agency employees get bad tax news on vehicle use -- Hundreds of workers at one state agency face a bigger income tax bill next year because their employer didn't understand the law for reporting company vehicle use. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10 For many, being jobless can seem never-ending -- A record 44% of the nation's unemployed have been out of work at least six months. Many of those 6.5 million people may never completely rebuild their working lives. Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 Report: Poor pay higher state tax share -- California's poorest residents cough up a higher share of their income to fund the state services than those in the highest income bracket. Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 4/15/10 Same-sex couples sue CalPERS over insurance denial -- CalPERS is being sued over its refusal to sell its long-term care insurance to the same-sex spouses of state workers – a refusal that the pension fund says is dictated by federal law. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/15/10
Santa Ana schools will undergo drastic reform for federal funds -- Since March, Santa Ana Unified School District, the third largest district in California, has been faced with this dilemma: Do we apply for the federal School Improvement Grants and undergo drastic reform, or do we forgo the program and pass up much-needed federal dollars? Corey G. Johnson California Watch -- 4/15/10 How a Strict Earthquake Safety Law Doesn't Apply to All Schools -- But not all schools are subject to the rules. Preschools aren't covered by them. Private schools are covered by a separate, slightly less demanding law, which doesn't apply at all to older private schools. And charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run, don't fall under the Field Act unless they accept state facilities money -- something that is rare here -- or use district buildings. EMILY ALPERT Voiceofsandiego.org -- 4/15/10 University of California admits more nonresident students -- Preliminary admissions data from the University of California shows some campuses in the state's premier public university system are admitting more nonresident students – a move that will bring more money to the campuses while also shifting the composition of the student body. Erica Perez California Watch Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/15/10 Fensterwald: Community college first: a parcel tax -- The San Mateo County Community College District will make history in June if district voters pass a $34 parcel tax. It will be the first time, as far as anyone can tell, that one of the state’s 72 districts will have approved such a measure. Other districts will be waiting and watching. John Fensterwald educatedguess.org -- 4/15/10 UC puts 10,000 applicants on waiting list -- For the state's high school seniors, this was the toughest year ever to get into the University of California, with seven of the nine undergraduate campuses reporting the lowest admission rates on record and – for the first time – more than 10,000 applicants being offered a spot on a waiting list. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 Lawmakers propose caps on college fees -- Lawmakers in Sacramento are proposing limits on skyrocketing student fees for higher education in California as campuses across the state have seen unrest and even violent protests over increased student costs. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/15/10 U.S. Falls Short in Measure of Future Math Teachers -- America’s future math teachers, on average, earned a C on a new test comparing their skills with their counterparts in 15 other countries, significantly outscoring college students in the Philippines and Chile but placing far below those in educationally advanced nations like Singapore and Taiwan. SAM DILLON in the New York Times -- 4/15/10
Boeing scientists use organic remedies to remove toxins at Santa Susana Field Laboratory site -- On land that launched the testing of nuclear reactors and rocket engines, scientists use molasses and soybean extract to draw chemical waste from soil and stone. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 4/15/10
Arizona's immigration strategy: Make life tough -- The bill passed this week reflects the government's belief that illegal immigrants will leave or stay away if conditions are harsh enough. Critics say it doesn't work. Nicholas Riccardi and Ashley Powers in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10
Obamas limit time first daughters spend online -- First lady Michelle Obama revealed Wednesday that there are strict rules on the use of technology within the walls of the White House's East Wing - at least during the week and only if your name is "Sasha" or "Malia." Charles Riley CNN Politics -- 4/15/10
California returns 656 parolees to active supervision -- California is changing how it applies a new law allowing some parolees to go unmonitored after their release from prison, and will return 656 of the parolees to active supervision after learning they are at high risk of committing new crimes, prison officials said Wednesday. DON THOMPSON AP -- 4/15/10 Legislature spends $529,000 on new cars -- Last year, when the state was gripped by a budget crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered hundreds of state cars to be sold to save money. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 L.A. council approves 4.5% electricity rate increase -- The deal, if approved by the board of the Department of Water and Power, would end a bitter dispute over city finances. In other action, the council refuses to freeze police hiring. David Zahniser and Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/15/10 The Parking Lot Where Pilots Sleep -- At Los Angeles International Airport, many pilots and mechanics bunk in RVs near work. Then they commute long distances by plane to their permanent homes. But the long journeys bring up safety concerns. The item is in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/15/10 State says San Bernardino County owes $3M -- California's inspector general says San Bernardino County will need to pay back more than $3 million in federal stimulus funding that should have gone to other counties. James Rufus Koren in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 4/15/10 HP offices in Moscow raided by Russian officials -- Russian authorities raided the Moscow offices of Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday, reportedly as part of an investigation into allegations that HP executives paid millions of dollars in bribes to win a government contract. Brandon Bailey in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/15/10
Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated -- Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, and are no more or less afraid of falling into a lower socioeconomic class, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. KATE ZERNIKE and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN in the New York Times -- 4/15/10 |
