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Two Long-time GOP Strategists Advise Democrat Jerry Brown -- Jack Flanigan, a veteran GOP political strategist, is among the informal network of advisers Attorney General Jerry Brown consults in his race for governor. Flanigan said he has no formal role Brown’s campaign, just offers advice when Brown seeks it. Greg Lucas California's capitol weblog -- 4/29/10 Goldman reaches out to a 'master of disaster' -- But there’s irony here: To defend itself, the Wall Street super-firm has hired one half of the self-proclaimed "Masters of Disaster" – Mark Fabiani -- while the other half -- Chris Lehane -- is part of an anti-Whitman group impugning Whitman's links to Goldman at every turn. Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Whitman camp's plan: Link Brown, Goldman -- Trying to dig out from underneath a torrent of bad news surrounding her ties to Goldman Sachs, Meg Whitman employed what political observers say is a well-worn campaign tactic this week in deflecting the harsh glare onto her opponent. Steven Harmon in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/29/10 Constitutional law prof Tom Campbell on AZ immigration law: "It's Constitutional" and ends sanctuary cities -- As we told you about earlier, GOP US Sen. candidate Tom Campbell stopped by Wednesday to ask for The Chronicle editorial board's endorsement. Joe Garofoli Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/29/10 Counties urge Schwarzenegger to reconsider special election timing -- The five counties that make up the now-vacant state Senate district once held by Abel Maldonado are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reconsider the timing of the special election to fill that seat. Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Former Univision CEO gives Schwarzenegger $1 million -- Former Univision CEO Jerry Perenchio has given Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger $1 million as the governor raises money for Proposition 14, the open primary initiative on the June 8 ballot. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/29/10 New study shows pluses, minuses of open primaries -- The nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles has released an excellent analysis of the impacts of Proposition 14, the open primary initiative on the June 8 ballot. Lisa Vorderbrueggen Political Blotter weblog -- 4/29/10 Anthem Blue Cross withdraws request for rate hikes -- California health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is withdrawing rate increases of as much as 39% for thousands of California policyholders after state insurance regulators rejected the proposals, officials announced Thursday. Duke Helfand in the Los Angeles Times Bobby Caina Calvan in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Poizner doesn’t embrace Ariz. immigration plan -- Republican Steve Poizner is running as the anti-illegal immigration candidate for governor, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily wants local police here to have the broad powers recently signed into law in Arizona. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 4/29/10 State audit: High-speed rail zooming toward disaster without major changes -- A scathing state audit released today says the state's high-speed rail government suffers from "weak oversight" and "lax" management that could result in delays or collapse of the plan to build a bullet train in California. Mike Rosenberg in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/29/10 Occidental’s profit nearly triples; BP’s more than doubles -- Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell also report higher first-quarter earnings than in 2009. British Petroleum’s earnings report draws ire as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill grows. Ronald D. White in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Lawmakers vote to rollback county inmate early release program -- The Senate voted to rollback the program after lawmakers expressed public safety concerns. They cited news reports of a Sacramento man who was arrested for attempted rape within hours of his early release. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Anyone have an extra $3.4 billion lying around? -- With two days left in April, California needs $3.4 billion in income tax revenues to meet Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's projection for the month. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/29/10 Free health clinic serves 2,260 patients in first two days -- Organizers of the massive free health clinic at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena said Thursday that although they have treated far more patients daily than they did during the August clinic, they have yet to reach a daily goal of 1,200 patients. Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Schwarzenegger embraces national healthcare, vows quick implementation in California -- As other GOP governors appeal to the courts to roll back federal healthcare reform, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday that he was fully on board with the overhaul and was directing his administration to begin putting the new system in place in California immediately. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times TOM VERDIN AP -- 4/29/10 Villaraigosa backs L.A. boycott of Arizona over immigration crackdown -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday that he supports a boycott of Arizona by the city of Los Angeles, and he called that state's newly passed immigration law "unpatriotic and unconstitutional." David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Lawsuit alleges PG&E boss admits Prop. 16 is meant to thwart competition -- A coalition of locally owned public utilities, including the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, are claiming that Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. Chairman Peter A. Darbee essentially admitted at a March 1 investor conference that Proposition 16 is designed to choke off competition. Denny Walsh in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 California Farm Bureau Federation endorses Meg Whitman -- The state's biggest farm organization, the California Farm Bureau Federation, announced its unanimous endorsement this morning of Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/29/10 State says California's population up nearly 400,000 in 2009 -- California added nearly 400,000 bodies to its population in 2009, reaching 38.6 million, the state's demography office reported today. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/29/10 Chelsea’s Law foes are riding into wind -- They assembled a few feet across the table from Brent King, close enough to see the pain in his eyes and feel the grief in his voice as he testified for legislation sparked by his daughter’s rape and murder. Michael Gardner in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 4/29/10 Want to see who's giving Gov. Schwarzenegger gifts? -- Californians can view disclosures of elected officials' income, investments and other personal financial information beginning today by clicking a computer keyboard. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 4/29/10 Fox: Government May Not Be Trusted But Small Business Is -- Gaining headlines with the release of the Pew Research Center's survey last week was the fact that Americans don't trust government. But buried in the survey numbers on the negative feeling Americans had about most institutions was a major exception - small business. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds weblog -- 4/29/10 '99ers' dread future without jobless benefits -- They've exhausted 99 weeks of unemployment checks. Thousands are banding together to lobby Congress for another extension. Alana Semuels in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Death rates decline for cancer, heart disease, stroke -- California met federal health goals for reducing death rates from cancer, heart disease and stroke last year and improved its health status in 20 of 26 categories tracked by the state, according to a health status report card released Thursday by the Department of Public Health. Daniel Weintraub HealthyCal.org -- 4/29/10
California Watch: Whitman raises $480,000 per day, mostly from herself -- Her ties to Goldman Sachs may have slowed her momentum, but GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is coming off an extraordinary successful quarter – at least when it comes to campaign finance. Lance Williams California Watch -- 4/29/10 Meg Whitman says she'll post tax returns online -- Meg Whitman, the Republican front-runner for California governor, said Wednesday that 25 years of her tax returns are ready to be posted on the Internet. But first, she said, presumed Democratic nominee Jerry Brown must release his tax returns from the 1980s to show that he wasn't "cashing in" from his two terms as governor or from the "contacts" of his father, former Gov. Pat Brown. Ken McLaughlin in the Oakland Tribune -- 4/29/10 Poizner explains how he’ll make a huge comeback -- GOP governor candidate Steve Poizner acknowledges it will probably take “the biggest comeback in California history” for him to beat fellow Republican Meg Whitman on June 8 – but he makes the case that he’s on his way. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 4/29/10 Steinberg: Schwarzenegger pressuring lawmakers with possible pay cut -- Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday of leveraging legislative pay to pressure lawmakers in budget talks over a projected $18.6 billion deficit. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Poizner no longer a 'Schwarzenegger Republican' -- In his latest ad, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner attacks Meg Whitman by suggesting she's another version of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The commercial – titled "Don't Be Fooled" – even morphs a picture of Schwarzenegger into Whitman. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Poizner's tilt right is in keeping with record -- With a half smile, Steve Poizner asked Google employees who had come to hear him recently at their Mountain View headquarters, "Are there any engineers here?" Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10 Hundreds reportedly received unsolicited copies of Poizner memoir -- In early April, Matthew Donnellan received a copy of Steve Poizner’s new memoir, “Mount Pleasant,” in the mail from Amazon.com. But the San Diego area college student, who is active in local Republican clubs, said he never ordered the book. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 4/29/10 CalBuzz: Meg vs Meg on Those Goldman Sachs Stock Deals -- In her autobiography, “The Power of Many,” Meg Whitman discusses the charges against her for “spinning” initial public offerings that Goldman Sachs made available for her personal portfolio when she was CEO of eBay. It’s in a chapter titled “Results matter. Be accountable.” Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 4/29/10 Fiorina releases 2008 tax return -- Returns show that the GOP U.S. Senate candidate and her husband had joint income of more than $2.75 million that year. Maeve Reston in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Capitol budget fight: Part Kabuki, part tragedy -- and mostly farce -- This week’s installment of Capitol political theater features a battle between a new Assembly speaker trying to establish himself as a new power broker and a lame-duck governor determined to stay relevant and show he cannot be bullied by the Legislature. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 4/29/10 Minimum wage issue lurks in background of budget fight -- As lawmakers and the governor prepare to rewrite a red ink-stained state budget, a thorny legal question remains up in the air – the forced minimum wage for thousands of state employees. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 4/29/10 Skelton: The politics and perils of public pensions -- The dispute over California public employee payouts is growing. Republicans blame Democrats, who see the problem but fear alienating labor. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 California lawmakers want analysis of building sell-off -- California lawmakers on Wednesday ordered the Schwarzenegger administration to perform a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the governor's plan to sell 24 state office buildings, expressing skepticism about whether taxpayers would save money in the decades ahead. SAMANTHA YOUNG AP -- 4/29/10 Tom Campbell on GOP CA Guv''s race: "Harsh," "wasteful" and "damaging" to eventual winner -- We listened in as GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell stopped by to chat with The Chronicle's editorial board Wednesday, hoping to snag their endorsement. Joe Garofoli Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 4/29/10 Study predicts many same-party races under open primary measure -- One of the key questions in the debate over Proposition 14 is what sort of candidate might prevail under a so-called "open-primary" system. Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Fight for 19th District stirs tension, national attention -- The reliably Republican 19th Congressional District -- which has been in a political slumber for well over a decade -- has awoken with a bang this year as four ambitious members of the GOP scramble for a rare open seat. John Ellis in the Modesto Bee -- 4/29/10 California Watch: Committees spend big to knock off two SoCal candidates --- A group of independent expenditure committees backed by moneyed business interests has spent more than $600,000 so far to knock off two Democratic legislative candidates in Southern California, fillings released by the California Fair Political Practices Commission show. Chase Davis California Watch -- 4/29/10 Inland corruption probes linked to push for legislation -- Boards of local government appointees, such as Riverside County's transportation agency, someday could eject members facing criminal charges under a bill approved Wednesday by a state Assembly committee. JIM MILLER in the Riverside Press -- 4/29/10 Sale of state buildings losing favor -- Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Wednesday sharply criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cash-raising plan to sell off and then lease back 11 state properties, including the Supreme Court building in San Francisco's Civic Center. Marisa Lagos in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10 Morain: Ruling may backfire on tribal casinos -- A California band of Indians that runs a bustling casino won an important court ruling last week. If it holds up on appeal, California tribes could gain the power to expand their casinos without having to pay significant money into state coffers. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10
Arizona illegal immigrant law spurs May Day protests -- Afraid that Arizona's new illegal-immigration law could spur efforts in other states, Bay Area activists plan to rally Saturday for immigration reform and to stop the spread of laws designed to find and punish the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. Vinnee Tong in the Contra Costa Times -- 4/29/10 Rep. Hunter: Deport U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants -- Rep. Duncan Hunter has roiled an already volatile immigration debate by saying that U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants should be deported. The item is in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 4/29/10 Tourism chief opposes Arizona boycott -- When Proposition 8, the ballot initiative outlawing same-sex marriage, passed in November 2008, "we got calls threatening to boycott California," recalls Joe D'Alessandro, CEO of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We told them they were going to hurt the very LGBT businesses they were trying to support." Andrew S. Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10 Kevin Johnson urges, then rejects, Arizona economic sanctions -- First, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson called Wednesday for economic sanctions against Arizona for its tough new immigration law. Then, he changed his mind. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 California Watch: Arizona immigration law has roots in California border turmoil -- Turbulent events in California nearly two decades ago have helped create the conditions for the current backlash against illegal immigrants in Arizona. Louis Freedberg California Watch -- 4/29/10 Saunders: America's political Grand Canyon -- Let me lead with what should be an unremarkable observation: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer did not write federal immigration laws that require permanent residents to carry green cards, employers to check documentation or limit the number of legal immigrants admitted each year. Washington did. Debra Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10
The State Worker: Does minimum wage loom? -- A budget gimmick that lawmakers embraced last year may soon bite state workers in the paycheck – and give Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a stick to wield in his last budget go-round with Democrats. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Labor vs. labor in debate over Employment Training Fund -- With money tight and getting tighter, a scramble is underway in the Capitol for the special funds that are set aside to train California workers. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 4/29/10 State appliance rebate program starts briskly -- A week into California's Cash for Appliances program, thousands of rebate applications have poured in, retailers are reporting brisk sales and state officials are pleased with the so-far orderly process. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Car sales accelerate -- Overall vehicle sales increased in San Bernardino County and portions of east Los Angeles County in February, according to new data from an international automotive sales tracking firm. Michael J. Sorba in the San Bernardino Sun -- 4/29/10 Study: New ballpark would bring billions of dollars to Oakland, Alameda County -- Claiming they are still in the game when it comes to keeping the A's in Oakland, city officials and others trying to keep the team in town released results of a study Wednesday claiming a new waterfront baseball park is worth millions to the city's coffers and billions to the local economy. Chris Metinko in the Oakland Tribune -- 4/29/10 Chase to add more than 80 new California branches -- New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., which had no retail banking presence in California two years ago, will add more than 80 new branches this year, pushing its statewide total to more than 800. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10
Fensterwald: Cuts to schools worry Californians -- The budget cuts to California’s schools are hitting home. Many more parents of public school children than a year ago say that their local schools are being greatly harmed by spending reductions. And significantly more Californians now say funding for public schools is inadequate. John Fensterwald educatedguess.org -- 4/29/10 Calexico schools struggle to recover from quake -- Teachers hold classes in the city library and track teams practice at a local park after a 7.2 quake south of nearby Mexicali closed all 13 campuses. Tony Perry in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Oakland teachers steel for one-day walkout -- Oakland teachers prepared for today's one-day strike by putting the finishing touches on picket signs Wednesday, while school administrators readied 300 emergency workers to cover the classrooms. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10 Fensterwald: Duncan wants California to resubmit -- A week ago, state officials were all set to abandon thoughts of re-applying to the Race to the Top. They’d been discouraged by California’s 27th place, out of 40 states, in the first round competition for federal dollars, and there’s not much time before the June 1 submission deadline. John Fensterwald educatedguess.org -- 4/29/10 FUSD teams up with L.A., Long Beach for fed funds -- Fresno Unified School District will go after federal Race to the Top funding -- along with two more of the state's largest school districts -- after California failed to secure the education reform dollars earlier this year. Tracy Correa in the Fresno Bee -- 4/29/10 Not all charter schools succeeding -- But just like regular public schools, some charters — publicly funded schools that run independently of school boards and education codes — have washed up on the shoals amid rough seas. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/29/10 Budget cuts gaining students' attention -- The economy. Politics. Budget cuts. When most teens hear these words, they instantly check out, thinking there is no way they can have any say in these ongoing issues in American society. Think again. Emily Kay Shrader in the Modesto Bee -- 4/29/10 Education's budget crisis in the eyes of a student, teacher and principal -- Downey High School senior Jenna Meyers has made defending the arts her main priority as budget cuts have come into the forefront over the past four years. Victoria Pardini in the Modesto Bee -- 4/29/10 Students’ measure is critical of Israel -- Student leaders at the University of California San Diego have plunged themselves into another polarizing issue. Late Wednesday night, they were still debating a resolution that criticizes Israel’s human-rights record and calls on the university to pursue divestment from two U.S. companies doing business with the country. Keith Darcé in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 4/29/10
Fewer gray whales traveling by Santa Cruz this year -- Whale watching tour guide Sarah Graham used to chug out of Santa Cruz harbor, take a right and find gray whales. Now, though, Graham said she and her fellow whale watchers must travel farther west to find the marine mammal, if they find them at all. Genevieve Bookwalter in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/29/10 Oil spill five times as large as earlier thought -- Another leak has been found near the site where a drilling rig sank last week. Louisiana fishermen fear the effects on their livelihoods. Richard Fausset in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 Santa Cruz County air is among the cleanest in the nation -- The air in Santa Cruz County is among the cleanest in the nation, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association. Jondi Gumz in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/29/10 California cities top lists for worst air quality in the nation, study says -- If you want a breath of fresh air, don't live in California, so says a new study from the American Lung Association where the state's air quality was rated one of the most polluted in the nation. Daniel Tedford in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 4/29/10
Feinstein pushes to cancel Anthem rate hike -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein called on WellPoint Inc. Wednesday to cancel plans to raise premiums by as much as 39 percent for individual Anthem Blue Cross policyholders in California in light of the health insurer's 51-percent first-quarter profit increase. Victoria Colliver in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10 Explaining health reform: new insurance exchange will play major role -- It will be years before the new health insurance exchange at the heart of the federal health reform passed in March rolls out in California. Daniel Weintraub HealthyCal.org -- 4/29/10 UCSF find predicts severity of breast cancer -- UCSF researchers have found a way to predict whether women with the earliest form of breast cancer are likely to develop deadly tumors - a significant discovery that might save women who aren't at high risk from getting life-altering and unnecessary treatment. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/29/10
Why reporters are down on President Obama -- One of the enduring story lines of Barack Obama’s presidency, dating back to the earliest days of his candidacy, is that the press loves him. JOSH GERSTEIN & PATRICK GAVIN Politico -- 4/29/10 Obama criticizes Arizona immigration law -- The president, on a swing through the Midwest, says the strict new measure threatens Americans’ ‘core values’ and could inflame the debate. He says his administration is considering how to respond. Peter Nicholas in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10
Sacramento CPS cuts, layoffs may endanger kids -- At least four Sacramento children were critically injured and two have died of suspected abuse or neglect in the first four months of this year as budget cuts batter local social services programs, The Bee has learned. Loretta Kalb and Marjie Lundstrom in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 'Perspectives' forum to feature Sarah Palin, Howard Dean -- Two former governors, Sarah Palin of Alaska and Howard Dean of Vermont, will headline the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce's "Perspectives 2010" event. Cathy Locke in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Sen. Boxer introduces bill to close ‘revolving door' between carmakers and NHTSA -- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced legislation Wednesday to close the "revolving door" between government service and automobile companies, which she said allows the automakers to have "undue influence" on actions by the agency that regulates them. Kimberly Kindy in the Washington Post -- 4/29/10 SMUD, others allowed to sue Wall St. firms -- SMUD, the Sacramento Suburban Water District and the city of Stockton are among 11 California cities, counties and agencies that received a federal court's go-ahead to sue some of Wall Street's biggest players on allegations of bid-rigging and price-fixing. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 Sempra Energy to pay $410 million in refunds in California -- Nine years after the last rolling blackout, California consumers are going to get $410 million worth of refunds from a San Diego energy conglomerate accused of using Enron-style tactics to gouge customers during the energy crisis. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/29/10 DA candidates court medical marijuana advocates -- The contentious race for Sonoma County district attorney took a mellower tone Wednesday night as the two candidates assured a room of medical marijuana advocates they would not step up prosecution of qualified patients. PAUL PAYNE in the Santa Rosa Press -- 4/29/10 Mojave Desert cross can remain on public land, at least for now -- Defenders of a 76-year-old cross in San Bernardino County's High Desert heralded Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing it to remain, claiming victory in the decade-long battle over whether the religious symbol should be allowed on public land. BEN GOAD in the Riverside Press -- 4/29/10 Lawmaker defends law banning sale of violent video games to minors -- State Sen. Leland Yee says gory games are particularly harmful to children and the purchase of them should be restricted to adults, just like pornography. Ben Fritz in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/29/10 |
