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Medi-Cal cap could be devastating -- In an effort to close the state budget gap, California health officials are proposing a “hard cap” of 10 medical visits per year for needy patients who rely on the Medi-Cal program for health care. Christina Jewett California Watch -- 2/7/11 San Quentin death chamber -- Nearly five years ago, a San Jose federal judge went on a highly unusual expedition to San Quentin's aging death chamber, eventually finding that the converted eerie green gas chamber was outdated and replete with potential problems for carrying out executions. Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/7/11 Texas' finances not as rosy as they seemed -- The Lone Star State is facing a budget gap of about $27 billion, putting it in the same league as California among states facing financial meltdowns. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/7/11 Redistricting -- One election is barely behind us, but local politicians -- always looking toward their next electoral opportunities -- are already jockeying ahead of 2012 in the state's never-ending game of political musical chairs. Josh Richman in the Contra Costa Times -- 2/7/11 Skelton: Celebrating Ronald Reagan the centrist -- Call me the skunk at the picnic, but as conservatives celebrate Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday, I'll remind them that their icon often governed as a moderate. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/7/11 How Sacto Is Like Cairo: Why Difi Rivals Are Doomed -- One of the inherent strengths of local news operations, way too rarely exercised (see: newspapers, death of) is the daily opportunity to report how and why big global events matter to readers and viewers on the home front. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 2/7/11 Walters: California's strange view of prisons -- A recent poll of California voters by the Public Policy Institute of California confirmed anew that prisons are the least popular way to spend tax money as Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators struggle with a chronic budget deficit. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/7/11 Parker has uphill climb -- Darren W. Parker, a Democrat in a sprawling high desert district that consistently votes Republican, is counting on help from labor and independents to pull off an upset of Sharon Runner in a special election next week. Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/7/11
Landowners fear they'll have to sell -- In some ways, Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed elimination of California's Land Conservation Act is just one more symbol of the state's great budget disaster. Loretta Kalb in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/7/11 Brown plan to offload parolees -- Capital region counties, already struggling to supervise probationers, are concerned about Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to add parolees to their workloads. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/7/11 Graphic: The Downtown Money Tree -- With Gov. Jerry Brown proposing to eliminate redevelopment agencies across the state, city officials have been touting what they built, who they employed and where millions of dollars went over the years. Keegan Kyle Voiceofsandiego.org -- 2/7/11 fairs subsidy -- Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to eliminate state funding to local fairs has some fair managers worried that they may be forced to cease operations next year. CATHY BUSSEWITZ in the Santa Rosa Press -- 2/7/11 Gaming lobby pushes Internet poker as budget fix -- A group of legislators, casino owners and American Indian tribes are framing a state Senate bill that would legalize Internet poker as a way to address California's $25 billion budget gap. Marie C. Baca California Watch -- 2/7/11
Capital loses 18,200 jobs in 2010 -- Sacramento's job market struggled mightily in 2010, losing more than 18,000 private-sector jobs, one of the highest totals in the nation, according to federal data. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/7/11 Big Salmon Run -- An unexpectedly large run of salmon in the rivers of far Northern California this winter is providing an economic boost to local communities across the hard-hit region. JUSTIN SCHECK in the Wall Street Journal -- 2/7/11 World's fair 2020 pitch -- Hosting a world's fair in the Bay Area would draw at least 25 million visitors, create 42,000 jobs and add $5.6 billion to the economy, bid organizers said today. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/7/11
Separate study confirms many Times findings on teacher effectiveness -- A study to be released Monday confirms the broad conclusions of a Times' analysis of teacher effectiveness in the Los Angeles Unified School District while raising concerns about the precision of the ratings. Jason Felch in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/7/11 Fensterwald: Categorical spending questioned -- Gov. Jerry Brown generally favors giving school districts more control to spend state dollars as they choose – the same position as his predecessor. John Fensterwald educatedguess -- 2/7/11 Dillon: CalSTRS is not in crisis; do not begrudge the teacher’s pension that I earned -- As a public school teacher, I am often gratified by the show of support that parents and others throughout California show for members of my profession. Everyone I talk with says they value education and the need to inspire and engage our youth to lead our nation’s future. Dana Dillon TopEd -- 2/7/11 UC Berkeley asked to absorb $80M of Brown's $500M cut -- University of California President Mark Yudof has set a target for the Berkeley campus to cut $80,800,000 from its budget for the coming year, as the 10-campus university system struggles to come to terms with a $500 million reduction in funds proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Louis Freedberg California Watch -- 2/7/11 Schrag: Pepperdine’s Soggy Waffle -- Education research, someone famously said many years ago, “is a soggy waffle.” Nothing demonstrates that better than the latest version of a Pepperdine University report purporting to show that, as one headline summarized it, since 2003 “California schools spent less in the classroom as budgets increased.” Peter Schrag Cal Progress Report -- 2/7/11 For-profit colleges have highest student loan default rates -- For-profit colleges top the list of California institutions with the highest rates of federal student loan borrowers who defaulted within three years of beginning payment, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education. Erica Perez California Watch -- 2/7/11
Mandatory co-pays -- If the Legislature approves Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, poor and disabled Californians insured by the state's safety-net health insurance program would have to start paying for some services. James Rufus Koren in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 2/7/11 California taxes parents who add adult children to workplace health policies -- Thousands of California parents leaped at the chance to provide health coverage to their grown and uninsured children when a provision in the federal health care law took effect last fall. Bobby Caina Calvan in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/7/11
Retiring San Francisco police brass cash in -- In the game of megabuck public paychecks, outgoing San Francisco police brass are hauling away the gold. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/7/11 Google Executive Emerges as Key Figure in Revolt -- More than a week after his mysterious disappearance in Egypt, Google's top executive in the Middle East and political activist Wael Ghonim will be released from government detention on Monday, according to his family and a prominent businessman. MARGARET COKER, NOUR MALAS and MARC CHAMPION in the Wall Street Journal JENNIFER PRESTON in the New York Times -- 2/7/11 AOL to buy Huffington Post -- As part of the deal, Arianna Huffington will oversee a new AOL division responsible for bringing together all editorial content from both companies. Jessica Guynn in the Los Angeles Times JEREMY W. PETERS and VERNE G. KOPYTOFF in the New York Times -- 2/7/11
How Obama plays media like a fiddle -- In early November, Barack Obama was one sad sack of a president—his agenda repudiated by midterm voters, his political judgment scorned by commentators, his future darkened by a growing belief he might be a one-time president. JOHN F. HARRIS & JIM VANDEHEI Politico -- 2/7/11 Obama, O'Reilly -- President Barack Obama downplayed the threat posed to the U.S. by the the Muslim Brotherhood – and expressed optimism that “secular” forces will emerge in post-Mubarak Egypt during a friendly pre-Super Bowl sparring match with Bill O’Reilly Sunday afternoon. GLENN THRUSH & KEACH HAGEY Politico HELENE C. COOPER in the New York Times -- 2/7/11 Obama fundraisers hard at work -- The president's reelection campaign fundraisers are crisscrossing the country to visit big donors. Some predict he could raise more than $1 billion. Matea Gold in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/7/11
Reagan's 100th -- An array of admirers saluted Ronald Reagan here Sunday with a well-choreographed tribute of speeches, songs and images befitting the showman-turned-president. JONATHAN MARTIN & JAMES HOHMANN Politico CHRIS CARSON AP-- 2/7/11 House GOP targets Obama regulations -- House Republicans are scrutinizing a wide array of existing and proposed Obama administration regulations in areas as diverse as the environment and Wall Street, and they are taking guidance from industry groups that say the rules threaten jobs. Philip Rucker and David S. Hilzenrath in the Washington Post -- 2/7/11 |
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