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New California rules require cleaner cars -- California, long a national leader in cutting auto pollution, pushed the envelope further Friday when state regulators approved a suite of rules designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and put far more more pollution-free vehicles on the road in coming years. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Gov. Jerry Brown offers sweeping defense of high-speed rail -- Gov. Jerry Brown took to the airwaves Friday in defense of the state's controversial high-speed rail project -- with a pretty sweeping statement. William Nottingham in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 California Supreme Court denies challenge of Senate maps -- The California Supreme Court ruled today that state Senate maps drawn by a citizens commission will be used in this year's elections, despite a pending referendum to overturn them. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert Maura Dolan LA Times PolitiCal Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle JUDY LIN AP BRIAN JOSEPH in the Orange County Register John Myers Capitol Notes -- 1/27/12 Supreme Court decision on Senate districts blasted by Republicans -- Friday's California Supreme Court's decision to use a citizens commission's newly drawn state Senate district boundaries for the 2012 election was blasted by Republicans who had challenged the maps and were hoping to have a referendum on the November ballot. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Jeffe: Politics and Billionaire CEOs Don't Often Mix -- We’ve seen this movie before. The millionaire—or billionaire—corporate type who enters the electoral arena, touting his or her CEO skills and business savvy and crafts a populist, anti-government message. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe KNBC Prop Zero -- 1/27/12 Union membership dips slightly in California, still 7th highest -- Union membership among California's workers declined fractionally in the last year, according to an annual survey by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, but remains seventh highest among the states. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 1/27/12 L.A. City Council: Wesson strips Parks, Perry of key chairmanships -- Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson engineered another shake-up at City Hall on Friday, removing Councilman Bernard C. Parks from his post as chairman of the powerful Budget and Finance Committee, which serves as the clearinghouse for budgets proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Fox: Gov. Brown Pitches LA Chamber for Tax Measure Support -- Governor Jerry Brown returned to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to give a similar speech to the one he gave last year– seeking support for his tax plan. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/27/12 Rarick: What the Voters Want: More Corporate Taxes -- Here’s the most interesting thing about the new PPIC poll: One of the most popular ideas with voters is something that almost nobody talks about. Ethan Rarick Fox & Hounds -- 1/27/12 Wildermuth: Chiang Gets the Lawsuit He’s Looking For -- Controller John Chiang got a nice little present from Democratic legislators this week when Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg decided to sue him. John Wildermuth Fox & Hounds -- 1/27/12
Gender gap in Capitol growing -- But the same forces contributing to turnover under the dome are expected to cause the number of women elected to state office to drop for the third consecutive cycle. Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/27/12 Tani Cantil-Sakauye pleads her case, fights Calderon bill -- Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye today urged the defeat of Assembly legislation that would undermine the authority of the Judicial Council, and give courts in as few as two counties authority to veto any statewide judicial project. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/27/12 Jerry Brown talks taxes, pensions at L.A. Chamber of Commerce -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday urged 1,500 Los Angeles political and business leaders to back his proposal for higher taxes and implored them to pressure lawmakers in Sacramento to overhaul the state's pension system this year. Rosanna Xia and Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Reformers Team Up for November Ballot -- Advocates for major government reform have long lamented that if only they could find the financial backing for a political campaign, the voters would ratify changes to help end California's dysfunction. Now, it looks as though the white knight has ridden in... on his own jet. John Myers Capitol Notes Lisa Vorderbrueggen Political Blotter Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 1/27/12 Podcast: Sales Pitch -- Maybe all those years spent on the rough seas of California politics help explain why, so far, Governor Jerry Brown has charted a pretty successful course for his November tax initiative. John Myers Capitol Notes -- 1/27/12 Walters: California Legislature once again earns scorn -- Last Tuesday, the Public Policy Institute of California issued a new poll that found, among other things, just 17 percent of the state's voters like the Legislature's performance. Simultaneously, the Legislature's top leaders provided another reason for Californians to harbor such scorn. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/27/12 Bill on media access to prisoners advances -- The Assembly voted 47-22 today to pass a Bay Area lawmaker’s bill that would lift the ban on media interviews with specific inmates in California’s prisons. Since the ban on pre-arranged inmate interviews went into effect in 1996, bill author Tom Ammiano noted, eight versions of this bill have been vetoed by three governors. Josh Richman Political Blotter -- 1/27/12 Billionaire insurance exec backs initiative to change rate rules -- The 90-year-old billionaire chairman of Mercury Insurance just won’t give up. Will Evans California Watch -- 1/27/12 McKeon’s Family Feud: Spouse vs. Former Staffer -- A sleepy race for a California Legislature seat is turning into a fractious family feud that pits a former top staffer to Buck McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, against the congressman’s wife. Shane Goldmacher National Journal -- 1/27/12 Duke to Newt: I've Got Your Back -- Jailed ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham wants Newt Gingrich to know he's got the Republican presidential candidate's back. Liam Dillon Voiceofsandiego.org -- 1/27/12 CalBuzz: Snorking Spilled Milk: Mitt Beats Down Newt -- Bottom line on Thursday night’s big Florida debate: All four Republican wannabes agree that patriotic Cuban refugees should self-deport to the moon to build an English-speaking, manufacturing-based lunar economy free of government regulation. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 1/27/12
Occupy protest seizes UC Davis building, blocks bank -- Taking advantage of some extra patience on the part of administrators who came under heavy criticism for the pepper-spraying of demonstrators in November, student protesters on the UC Davis campus have seized control of a vacant campus building and are sporadically blocking access to an on-campus bank. Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/27/12 Occupy Santa Rosa protesters appear in court on bank arrests -- About two dozen Occupy Santa Rosa supporters filed into a Sonoma County courtroom Thursday for hearings on protesters arrested for entering a downtown bank. PAUL PAYNE in the Santa Rosa Press -- 1/27/12
No reprieve for agencies as deadline looms -- Legislation to extend the life of redevelopment agencies beyond Feb. 1 seemed all but dead Thursday despite a last-ditch push by local officials and other groups. JIM MILLER in the Riverside Press Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 AG Sues Over San Diego's Transportation Future -- As the public agency responsible for planning San Diego's transportation future drafted plans to spend $200 billion on roads, bikeways and public transit over the next 40 years, the state kept watch.Rob Davis Rob Davis Voiceofsandiego.org -- 1/27/12
California school districts change board elections to avoid lawsuits -- In recent years, the rural Esparto Unified School District has eliminated teaching jobs and classes as it struggled to absorb state funding cuts. Hudson Sangree and Melody Gutierrez in the Sacramento Bee Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 1/27/12 Fensterwald: Charters getting 7% less funding -- Under state law, charter schools and district public schools are supposed to be funded equally. That’s not happening, according to a report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which found that charter schools receive on average $395 per student or 7 percent less than district schools. John Fensterwald educatedguess -- 1/27/12 State told to help enforce ban on fees -- The state bears some legal responsibility for enforcing an often-ignored provision of the state constitution that blocks schools from charging fees for public education, a judge ruled this week. Ashly McGlone UT Sandiego -- 1/27/12 Kindergarten? Transitional class? More preschool? Shifting state law and budget has parents confused -- For decades, California parents with kids nearing their fifth birthday knew that right about now, they needed to start thinking about registering for kindergarten. But a new law, a funding crisis and California's Byzantine budgeting ways have turned that certainty on its head. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/27/12 Baron: San Francisco scraps Transitional Kindergarten -- When registration begins today in San Francisco Unified School District for the 2012-13 academic year, it will become the first district in California to forgo plans for Transitional Kindergarten. Kathryn Baron TopEd -- 1/27/12 Experts say math preparation should begin in preschool -- Education leaders in California are turning their sights to making sure students have a strong foundation in mathematics when they enter kindergarten. And that means introducing students to math in preschool. Matthew Rosin EdSource -- 1/27/12 For-profit accreditor seeks more accurate job placement data -- The accreditor that oversees several campuses owned by for-profit college company Career Education Corp. is demanding that it submit more accurate data on its job placement rates as part of a "show-cause" hearing, saying data the firm provided to the accrediting council in December was insufficient. Erica Perez California Watch -- 1/27/12 New Web reality series puts USC in a bad light -- The James Franco-produced 'Undergrads' depicts students drinking, partying and having run-ins with police. Administrators and students say the show doesn't accurately portray the campus. Angel Jennings and Rick Rojas in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12
Universal health care measure stalls in California Senate -- Legislation to create a universal health care system in California stalled in the state Senate Thursday ahead of a key legislative deadline, signaling it will likely fail to advance this year. Torey Van Oot and Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Gene test may aid early-stage lung cancer patients -- In a finding that could improve the survival odds for early-stage lung cancer patients, UCSF researchers have determined a new molecular test can predict more accurately than current diagnostic methods which tumors are more likely to be aggressive and turn deadly. Victoria Colliver in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/27/12 US guidelines on food marketing to kids stalls -- According to a recent analysis of medical costs in the research journal Obesity, California spends an estimated $15.2 billion on obesity-related health problems each year – the most in the country. Bernice Yeung California Watch -- 1/27/12 State launches Lap-Band investigation -- Aetna says it is cooperating with the state Department of Insurance as it looks into 'alleged fraud against our members.' Stuart Pfeifer in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12
CA vehicle emissions rules would sharply cut smog -- California is on the verge of approving the most stringent vehicle emissions regulations in the United States, forcing automakers to cut exhaust by two-thirds and begin mass-producing zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/27/12 Planners want to direct Bay Area residents to live in existing communities to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions -- A Bay Area plan for where to build new houses, shops and offices in a way that helps cut greenhouse gases relies on increased population concentrations some communities may reject, a state homebuilding industry representative told Contra Costa business and political leaders Thursday. Lisa Vorderbrueggen in the Contra Costa Times -- 1/27/12 Desal opponents plan November ballot measure: Petition for city charter change calls for voter OK of water project -- Opponents of a proposed seawater desalination plant have submitted a preliminary petition notice to the city that would ask voters whether they want the opportunity to approve the controversial project in a future election. J.M. BROWN in the Santa Cruz Sentinel -- 1/27/12
San Diego Sheriff releases inmates to avoid overcrowding -- A recent surge in the population at county jails has prompted Sheriff Bill Gore to start shaving up to 10 percent off jail terms for some inmates to avoid overcrowding. Dana Littlefield UT Sandiego -- 1/27/12
With campaign season here, Obama shows some swagger -- President Obama's recent confrontations with Republicans and some relaxed moments before voters display a fight and a confidence that are eagerly welcomed by his Democratic base. Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12
With stakes high in Florida, Romney keeps Gingrich on defensive -- Picking up where their last debate left off, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich resumed battling Thursday night over personal integrity and the tenor of their respective campaigns, each accusing the other of unfair character attacks. Mark Z. Barabak and Maeve Reston in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/27/12 Pelosi: I've got nothing on Newt Gingrich -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday dismissed the idea that she has dirt on GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. Mike Lillis The Hill -- 1/27/12 Ron Paul campaign slams decision to accommodate Newt’s “billionaire buddy” casino magnate at special caucus -- The presidential campaign of Texas Rep. Ron Paul is calling it “underhanded” and “completely unacceptable” that the Nevada GOP has scheduled a special evening caucus in Las Vegas on Feb. 4 to accommodate billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Carla Marinucci Chronicle Chronicle Politics -- 1/27/12 Waxman: GOP 'so stupid' to include Keystone pipeline in payroll tax package -- A senior Democrat on the payroll tax conference panel had some strong words Thursday for Republicans hoping to attach Keystone pipeline language to the package. Mike Lillis The Hill -- 1/27/12 Harry Reid Sets Up STOCK Act Procedural Vote -- The Senate is set to vote on taking up legislation Monday that would explicitly ban federal lawmakers and their staff from trading on insider information. Humberto Sanchez Roll Call -- 1/27/12 Latino group to challenge Rubio as GOP courts him -- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is at the top of every pundit's short list to be the Republican vice presidential nominee, in the belief that having a Latino in the second spot on the ticket will attract Latino voters who have been fleeing the GOP in recent years. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/27/12 |
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