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California to reap taxes from Facebook IPO, but unclear when -- California stands to gain hundreds of millions of tax dollars after Facebook goes public, but fiscal analysts say it's hard to predict when that money will flow into state coffers. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert JUDY LIN AP -- 2/1/12 Dell eyes South Bay expansion that means hundreds of new jobs -- Just months after setting up a big Silicon Valley outpost, Dell is preparing to expand its initial presence in the South Bay by adding hundreds more workers. The expansion could leave Dell with 850 employees in Santa Clara. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Meager Sierra snow worries CA officials, farmers -- California's Sierra Nevada snowpack measured a meager 15 inches in some places, officials announced Wednesday, bearing bad news to a state that depends on snowmelt to meet the water needs of 25 million people and more than a million acres of farmland. TRACIE CONE AP -- 2/1/12 California lawmakers cut ties with Komen over funding decision -- Several California lawmakers are severing ties with Susan G. Komen for the Cure over the breast cancer foundation's decision to stop providing breast cancer exam funding to Planned Parenthood. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Gavin Newsom suggests Jerry Brown lacks 'vision for greatness' -- Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pops up from time to time to snipe at Gov. Jerry Brown, suggested today that his fellow Democrat lacks a "vision for greatness" and is "not necessarily the most collaborative executive," and he criticized social service cuts Brown has proposed. David Siders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Grappling with the water bond -- An $11 billion water bond facing voters on the November likely will be rewritten, downsized or delayed two years – or even all three — to reflect political realities and a weak economy, says the leader of the Senate. Grappling with the water bond -- John Howard Cal Water Wars -- 2/1/12 Judge issues injunction blocking healthcare cuts; state to appeal -- A federal judge has agreed to block cuts in Medi-Cal payments, making her temporary ruling earlier this week permanent. Chris Megerian LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 California sees record lobbying -- more than $285 million spent -- Education, healthcare, assistance to a proposed NFL stadium in Los Angeles and a proposal to dissolve the troubled city of Vernon were among the top issues drawing attention from lobbyists in 2011. Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 Fundraising totals for hot California legislative contests -- Early money is already flowing into the campaign coffers of candidates running for legislative seats across the state. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Linda Halderman decorates her cramped Capitol 'doghouse' -- Constituents are pitching in to make Assemblywoman Linda Halderman and her staff members feel right at home in the Capitol's doghouse. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Facebook files long-awaited IPO, seeks at least $5 billion -- In a milestone for one of Silicon Valley's hottest companies, Facebook on Wednesday filed papers announcing a $5 billion initial public offering of stock in the world's biggest social networking business. Brandon Bailey and Troy Wolverton in the San Jose Mercury Jessica Guynn in the Los Angeles Times Brian Womack and Ari Levy Bloomberg BARBARA ORTUTAY and MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP -- 2/1/12 House GOP transportation bill at odds with Boxer's -- House Republicans rolled out a $270 billion transportation bill Tuesday that would open the California coast to oil drilling and eliminate most bicycle and pedestrian programs. And that's just for starters. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/1/12 Romney attempts to contain fallout from comment about the ‘very poor’ -- Remark leaves one of richest men to seek presidency open to criticism. Buoyed by his decisive primary victory in Florida, presidential candidate Mitt Romney headed to Minnesota and Nevada to campaign Wednesday, declaring that the Sunshine State results should put to rest charges that he is not conservative enough to lead the Republican Party. Philip Rucker, Amy Gardner and Rosalind S. Helderman in the Washington Post -- 2/1/12 Zuckerberg IPO Haul Could Top $28 Billion -- Facebook Inc.'s impending initial public offering will likely net its 27-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg a fortune of $28 billion. GEOFFREY A. FOWLER in the Wall Street Journal -- 2/1/12 Gov. Jerry Brown names panel to dismantle L.A. redevelopment agency -- Two weeks after the Los Angeles City Council jettisoned its redevelopment agency, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday tasked an attorney and lobbyist, the chairman of a real estate investment firm and the head of a consulting group with the job of dismantling the sprawling, half-century-old agency. Ari Bloomekatz in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 Report: California women struggle with job market, budget cuts -- Even as California crawls out of a damaging recession, the state’s women continue to struggle, according to a new report released Wednesday. Chris Megerian LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 Small radiation amount 'could have' escaped plant -- Federal regulators say a tiny amount of radiation could have escaped into the atmosphere from a Southern California nuclear power plant after a water leak prompted operators to shut down the reactor. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks says a small amount of radioactive gas "could have" escaped the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on the northern San Diego Coast. MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP -- 2/1/12 PG&E can charge customers to nix SmartMeters -- California regulators say Pacific Gas & Electric Co. can start charging its customers fees to avoid having wireless utility meters installed in their homes. GARANCE BURKE AP -- 2/1/12 Proposition 8 ruling coming Thursday in federal court -- In a brief notice released Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it planned to rule by 10 a.m. tomorrow in the legal battle over Proposition 8, the voter-approved law restoring the state's ban on the right of same-sex couples to marry. Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Indiana will become first Rust Belt state with right-to-work law -- Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday is set to make his state the first in the Rust Belt -- once the home of powerful unions -- to have a right-to-work law. The measure received final legislative passage Wednesday morning, and Daniels was expected to sign it later in the day. Michael Muskal in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 The End Of The CRA: A Look At Five Projects -- CRA/LA has been roundly criticized for straying far from its core mission of providing affordable housing and improving blighted areas and instead using taxpayer money to subsidize commercial developments in more desirable submarkets. Matt Pressberg USC Neon Tommy -- 2/1/12 Oakland mayor names new chiefs for police, fire -- Removing the interim tag, Mayor Jean Quan on Wednesday named 23-year department veteran Howard Jordan as the city's 47th chief of police. Harry Harris and Matt Artz in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Lower returns to raise CalSTRS' unfunded liability -- California's teacher retirement system should lower expectations on its investment earnings in a move that could increase the unfunded liability for the nation's second largest pension fund by nearly $6 billion and require taxpayers to chip in more, according to a consultant's report submitted ahead of the pension board's meeting Thursday. JUDY LIN AP -- 2/1/12 Jerry Brown's tax initiative rivals not backing down -- Despite warnings from Gov. Jerry Brown that too many tax initiatives on the November ballot could cause voters to reject all of them -- including his own -- proponents of two efforts to raise revenue from California's taxpayers are not backing down. Nicholas Riccardi LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 Steinberg shows no love for controversial judicial funding bill -- Looks like controversial legislation on how to fund California courts has been put on ice in the Senate. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters today not to expect to see action on the legislation, Assembly Bill 1208, any time soon. The measure passed the Assembly on Monday. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 Measure to scale back Three-Strikes law passes state Assembly - but no vote til 2014 -- A group of Stanford University professors backing an initiative to scale back California's tough Three Strikes Law will continue to aim for the November ballot, even as the state Assembly on Tuesday passed a similar measure that wouldn't appear before voters until 2014. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Fox: If Stop Special Interest Money Initiative Passes– A Test of Trust for Unions -- the Stop Special Interest Money initiative on the November ballot will stir up public employee unions in a frantic effort to defeat it. The measure would require union members to declare they want some of their dues to be used for political purposes and set up similar rules for corporation employees, as well. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 2/1/12 Florida polls show Romney's dominance, Gingrich's image woes -- The two times Newt Gingrich has gone into a state as a prospective front-runner, the arsenal backing Mitt Romney has shredded him, knocking him from his perch and endangering his candidacy. James Oliphant in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 California Senate approves stricter rules on debt collection -- Senators approved tougher regulations on the debt collection industry on Tuesday, a move hailed by consumer advocates as an important step toward protecting California residents from unscrupulous collectors. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 Berman, Sherman rolling in campaign cash -- Rep. Howard L. Berman, battling fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for a newly drawn San Fernando Valley congressional district, raised more than $1 million in a three-month period, campaign finance records filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission showed. Jean Merl LA Times PolitiCal -- 2/1/12 Decline-to-state voters gather strength as major parties ebb -- California voters’ independent–minded push to shed party affiliations is accelerating, reflecting over a fifth of the electorate even as the state remains solidly dominated by Democrats. John Howard Capitol Weekly -- 2/1/12 Report: Fewer than one in three California voters registered as Republican -- Since just before the last California presidential primary, the proportion of voters registered as Republicans has fallen from 33.5 percent to 30.4 percent, according to new figures from the California Secretary of State. Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12
Controller: State to run out of cash in March without action -- California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert Chris Megerian LA Times PolitiCal Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle Michael Gardner UT Sandiego -- 2/1/12 Gov. Jerry Brown gets wide array of support for tax-hike initiative -- Early contributions to Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike initiative show a wide span of interests are beginning to line up behind it. Steven Harmon in the San Jose Mercury Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times JULIET WILLIAMS AP -- 2/1/12 Jerry Brown negotiates gambling deals as tribes fill campaign fund -- Gov. Jerry Brown is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his tax campaign from California Indian tribes at the same time many tribes are seeking to renegotiate lucrative gambling compacts with him. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 Herdt: The seed of a pension compromise? -- As any mediator might tell you, the best way to resolve a dispute is to ask adversaries to spell out their bottom-line concerns and then try to fashion a solution that serves the core interests of both sides. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star -- 2/1/12 Fensterwald: Brown renews call for pension reform -- Someone watching State Sen. Joe Simitian’s annual education presentation in Palo Alto from an adjoining room last week passed along a comment. “I’m for more money for schools; I support the governor’s tax initiative,” the person wrote, “but I won’t vote for it unless the Legislature passes pension reform.” John Fensterwald educatedguess -- 2/1/12 Walters: Jerry Brown plans to cut back high-speed rail to save it -- Gov. Jerry Brown is scaling back the state's highly controversial bullet train project to keep it alive. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 Lopez: Should California bite the bullet on high-speed rail? -- Is the state chasing a costly boondoggle, or making a large investment in the future? Travelers are for, against and unsure about devoting so much money to an expensive, futuristic project. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 California Senate preserves redevelopment money for housing -- The day before local redevelopment programs begin shutting down, state lawmakers acted Tuesday to allow cities and counties to build affordable housing using $1.36 billion held for that purpose by agencies that are closing. Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert DON THOMPSON AP JIM MILLER in the Riverside Press -- 2/1/12 California redevelopment funding ends today: So what happens to affordable housing? -- California's redevelopment agencies officially are out of business, effective today. But that doesn't mean that the future of affordable housing is wiped out in the state. Loretta Kalb in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 Jerry Brown, lawmakers back bill protecting school bus money -- Rural and urban school districts in California that make heavy use of buses appear safe -- for now. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Myers: Political Inside Game, Outside Game... All in One Day -- You don't get many political multi-tasking days like this one: heated debate over legislation down to its final day to survive, a new alarm over the state's finances, and public disclosure of all the campaign cash raised by candidates and campaigns in 2011. John Myers Capitol Notes -- 2/1/12 Voter registration numbers show parties' decline -- The growth in “decline to state” voters in California continues to climb, while both the Democratic and Republican parties saw their voter rolls dip over the past year, new statewide voter registration figures show. Phil Willon LA Times PolitiCal Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/1/12 Major parties lost electorate in 2011 -- The major parties' share of the Inland Southern California electorate dipped in 2011, new state figures show, with a significant increase in the percentage of voters who lack a party affiliation. JIM MILLER in the Riverside Press -- 2/1/12 California campaign disclosure bill rejected by Assembly -- Legislation to require more public disclosure of contributors by independent expenditure committees supporting candidates or ballot measures was rejected today by the Assembly. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert Chris Megerian LA Times PolitiCal Michael Gardner UT Sandiego -- 2/1/12 Assembly rejects 3-tier plan for sex offenders -- Legislation to create a tiered sex-offender registration system designed to focus attention on violent criminals was killed Monday by the Assembly. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 Bill would suspend vehicle fee for call boxes -- The obscure but generously funded agency that manages roadside yellow call boxes would see its funding suspended and more than $9 million of its reserves split among local governments for public safety under legislation planned by two lawmakers. Christopher Cadelago UT Sandiego -- 2/1/12 Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation -- One day after turning thumbs down, the Assembly today passed legislation that would ask voters to alter California's "three strikes" criminal sentencing law. Assembly Bill 327, approved by a vote of 41-33, now goes to the Senate. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert JUDY LIN AP -- 2/1/12 Defense contractors step up to support congressman's wife -- As a general rule, major defense contractors don't get involved in campaigns for state political offices. There's no Pentagon in Sacramento, and the governor doesn't have an army. That is changing this year in the race for the new 38th Assembly District, campaign finance reports filed Tuesday revealed. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star -- 2/1/12 CalBuzz: Memo to Huey P. Newt: Keep on Keepin’ On, Brother -- Our favorite theme in Newt Gingrich’s campaign against Mitt Romney is his new slogan: “All power to the people.” Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 2/1/12
Occupy Oakland: 12 barred from City Hall -- In a strategy that Oakland officials hope will calm tensions with protesters downtown, Alameda County prosecutors won stay-away orders Tuesday against 12 Occupy Oakland demonstrators charged in connection with Saturday's skirmishes with police. Demian Bulwa, Justin Berton in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/1/12 Occupy protesters pull out of campus building at UC Davis -- Occupy protesters on the University of California, Davis campus have ended their inhabitation of a vacant building, university officials confirmed today. Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12
Oakland saves some services, cuts jobs -- Oakland officials averted some of the most dreaded service cuts Tuesday night thanks to last-minute budget scrambling, but were unable to save 105 jobs. Carolyn Jones in the San Francisco Chronicle Matthew Artz in the Oakland Tribune -- 2/1/12 SEIU pushes supervisors to reopen talks -- More than 1,000 Riverside County workers took to the streets Tuesday protesting benefit reductions and warning that additional strikes could be on the way if county officials don’t reopen contract negotiations. DUANE W. GANG and DUG BEGLEY in the Riverside Press -- 2/1/12 Furlough lawsuit deal affects only SEIU workers, drops further litigation -- Roughly 700 state workers covered by SEIU Local 1000 will receive back wages from an furlough lawsuit agreement between the union and Gov. Jerry Brown's administration. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 Thousands of Kaiser workers wage one-day strike -- As striking workers circled outside Kaiser Permanente medical centers throughout Northern California on Tuesday, hospital and union leaders traded allegations about the motivations behind the bitter dispute. Sandy Kleffman in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Some nurses join workers picketing Sacramento Kaiser hospitals -- Kaiser health care workers, joined by nurses, picketed Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento area hospitals, part of demonstrations statewide over stalled labor negotiations. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12 CalSTRS may cut forecast again -- CalSTRS is thinking of cutting its investment forecast for the second time in barely a year, a move that acknowledges the increased financial strain on the pension fund. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12
Blue Shield agrees to cover autism therapy -- The health insurance firm settles an action launched by California regulators and will now pay for applied behavior analysis therapy. Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 Stanford scientists bypass stem cells to create nervous system cells -- Bypassing stem cells, mouse skin cells have been converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the animal's nervous system, according to new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 California clinic licensed by controversial stem cell treatment group -- Doctors at a Southern California clinic have announced that they are “licensed and trained” to perform a stem cell treatment pioneered by a Colorado group that is being sued by the U.S. Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration. Christina Jewett California Watch -- 2/1/12 Helping Californians Access, Afford and Adhere to Quality Health Care will Have Dramatic Benefits -- Difficult economic times are forcing many Californians to make difficult choices every day about whether to continue taking medication or to feed their families and pay rent, while many Californians are simply unable to afford quality health care. Eric Glassman HealthyCal.org -- 2/1/12
NASA: Warming driven by humans, not sun -- A new NASA study shows that even during a time of minimal energy from the sun, planet Earth continued to retain more solar radiation than it emitted back into space. It’s a powerful addition to an already strong body of evidence pointing to human greenhouse-gas emissions as the main driver of global warming. Pat Brennan in the Orange County Register -- 2/1/12 Gasoline consumption falls in California -- California drivers are keeping their feet on the brakes, with gasoline demand falling for eight months in a row. Nancy Rivera Brooks in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12
Coliseum officials made $1 million in cash payments to union -- Bundles of cash were used to pay wages of IATSE members for concerts and other productions, with no controls on disbursement. The U.S. Labor Department is investigating. Paul Pringle and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 State regulators to vote on PG&E smart meter "opt-out" -- In a move being closely watched by utilities across the country, state regulators are expected to vote Wednesday to give PG&E customers the right to "opt out" of having a smart meter and keep their old meters -- for a fee. Dana Hull in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/1/12 Matt Gonzalez is representing firm suing San Francisco -- Matt Gonzalez, the former San Francisco Board of Supervisors president and now chief attorney in the public defender's office, was in court the other day - but not to represent an indigent defendant. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/1/12
Missteps preempt Obama counter-programming effort -- The White House’s weeks-long effort to counterprogram against the GOP presidential primary fight has veered off course over the past two days. Amie Parnes and Jeremy Herb The Hill -- 2/1/12 Morain: So much for Obama's pledge on CEO salaries -- Homeowners suffering the consequences of the crash should take a deep breath, and consider what the CEO of one of the biggest recipients of a taxpayer bailout considered a hardship. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/1/12
Romney's Florida landslide doesn't mean Gingrich is quitting -- After the Florida results come in, winner Mitt Romney focuses his attacks on President Obama. Second-place finisher Newt Gingrich vows to 'contest every place.' Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/1/12 'Wild West' Nevada set to weigh in on GOP hopefuls -- Hundreds of crumpled dollar bills are tacked to the ceiling of the bar at the Bonnie Springs Ranch here, a 105-acre back-roads hideaway that has seen plenty of booms and busts since "Badwater Bonnie" Levinson bought it back in 1952. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/1/12 Front-runner’s earmark assault splitting GOP -- A bipartisan effort to permanently ban earmarks has split Republicans, putting a large group of them at odds with GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. Alexander Bolton The Hill -- 2/1/12 |
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