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Controller John Chiang to appeal legislative pay ruling -- State Controller John Chiang will appeal a judge's ruling that he does not have authority to withhold lawmakers' pay in cases in which the Legislature passes a budget Chiang finds unbalanced. David Siders SacBee Capitol Alert Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal$ -- 7/2/12 Senate committee votes to shift California water bond to 2014 -- Legislation that would shift an $11 billion water bond from the November ballot to 2014 cleared the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee Monday on a bipartisan, 5-0 vote. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/2/12 Factions gear up for war over Darrell Steinberg's lawsuit bill -- The contents of Senate Bill 1528 are scant but lobbyists for personal injury attorneys and business and insurance industry groups assume that the final language will spark political war and the contending factions are arming for battle over its high financial stakes. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/2/12 California lawmakers pass historic foreclosure protections -- California lawmakers have passed historic legislation that would provide homeowners with some of the nation's strongest protections from foreclosure and aggressive bank practices, such as when a lender tries to seize a home even as the resident negotiates to lower mortgage payments. Marc Lifsher and Alejandro Lazo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Sacramento online job vacancies surge -- Sacramento and all of California saw a surge in job vacancies advertised online in June, according to the latest monthly report released today by the Conference Board. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/2/12 Mammoth Lakes files for bankruptcy -- The High Sierra ski resort of Mammoth Lakes said Monday that it filed for bankruptcy because it cannot afford to pay a $43-million breach-of-contract judgment against it brought by a developer. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Romney breaks with GOP, says mandate is a penalty, not a tax -- Mitt Romney's presidential campaign broke with congressional Republicans on Monday by arguing that the individual mandate upheld by the Supreme Court last week is a penalty, not a tax. Jonathan Easley The Hill -- 7/2/12 Exclusive: Republican ad maker Fred Davis offers regrets -- He’s not a witch. Nor, Fred Davis wants the world to know, is he a racist. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 SEIU Local 1000 counting ratification votes, announcement expected today -- SEIU Local 1000 spokesman Jim O'Donnell said this morning that the local is tallying the vote on its side-letter furlough agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown and will announce the results "later today." Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/2/12 Quinn: Gov. Brown and his Friends Try to Rig the Election -- Ah, the sweet mysteries of rigging elections. That’s what Gov. Jerry Brown, the legislature, the Secretary of State and Los Angeles elections office are trying to do, and they might succeed but for a Sacramento judge last Friday sticking his nose into their business. Tony Quinn Fox & Hounds -- 7/2/12 Fox: Molly Munger Will Win this Case Against “King” Jerry in the Court of Public Opinion -- The famous line from George Orwell’s Animal House, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others,” seems to apply of late to the powers that be in California politics. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 7/2/12 Former IRS Official Demands Investigation of ALEC -- Marcus Owens, a lawyer at Caplin & Drysdale, who for a decade directed the division responsible for approving organizations’ charity status, accused the American Legislative Exchange Council of illegally lobbying state lawmakers among other violations of tax law in a letter to the IRS earlier this month, Roll Call has learned. Janie Lorber Roll Call -- 7/2/12 Vote set on writing bank settlement into California law -- California will become the first state to write into law much of the national mortgage settlement negotiated this year with the nation's top five banks, if state lawmakers approve wide-ranging legislation on Monday. DON THOMPSON Associated Press -- 7/2/12 Key provisions -- Here are key provisions in California's homeowner protection bill, which writes into state law the national mortgage settlement reached with five top lenders, and expands it to all mortgages: Associated Press -- 7/2/12 Cost of protecting state officials down, but up for lt. governor -- California taxpayers are paying less to protect most elected state officials, including the governor, since Jerry Brown replaced Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the cost has gone up to safeguard the lieutenant governor. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Tattoo parlors, body piercing studios subject of new health law -- Berkeley will start inspecting tattoo parlors and body piercing studios for sanitary practices to prevent infection of their customers as part of the Safe Body Art Act that became state law July 1. Ear piercing studios are exempt. Doug Oakley in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/2/12 California Bullet Train Vote: High-Speed Rail Faces Contentious Decision -- Gov. Jerry Brown's ambitious plan to start building the nation's first dedicated high-speed rail line is set for a pivotal vote by the Legislature this week with some state lawmakers still skeptical about spending billions in the Central Valley. JUDY LIN Associated Press -- 7/2/12 Navy to resume sinking old ships in US waters -- The U.S. Navy is resuming its practice of using old warships for target practice and sinking them in U.S. coastal waters after a nearly two-year moratorium spurred by environmental and cost concerns. JASON DEAREN Associated Press -- 7/2/12 Bay Area transit prices increase for nearly all services -- Weekday commuters will be paying slightly higher fares for most public transit options beginning Monday morning. Several increases took effect Sunday, including for BART, MUNI and CalTrain. Sean Maher in the Contra Costa Times -- 7/2/12 San Francisco booming - it's a high-tech bonanza -- San Francisco began as a boomtown, an instant city that sprang up in 1849 on the site of a sleepy little burg called Yerba Buena. And now it's a boomtown again, this time fueled by high tech instead of gold. There are more San Franciscans than ever before in the city's history - 812,826, according to the latest census. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/2/12
Auditor: State owed up to $20.8 million but fails to collect -- The state may have failed to recover up to $20.8 million lost to waste, fraud and other problems, according to data provided by the California State Auditor. JENNIFER GOLLAN Bay Citizen -- 7/2/12 Bond insurer may contest Stockton bankruptcy -- A potential big loser in the bankruptcy filed by Stockton last week, an insurer backing a $121 million Stockton pension bond issue, is warning that it may contest the city’s eligibility for bankruptcy. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 7/2/12 California bill would allow a child to have more than two parents -- Surrogate births, same-sex parenthood and assisted reproduction are changing society by creating new possibilities for nontraditional households and relationships. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/2/12 PG&E identifies 239 pipelines at risk of failure -- Nearly two years after the pipeline explosion that killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood in San Bruno, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. considers 239 of its natural-gas transmission lines to be at risk of a similar failure, according to a company assessment obtained by The Chronicle. Jaxon Van Derbeken in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/2/12 Walters: California Legislature could opt for sanity on campaign donor disclosure -- Common Cause and other, similarly inclined reform groups have for decades advocated limits on campaign contributions as a cure for the corrupting influence of special interest money. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/2/12 State's medical malpractice law faces more challenges -- The family of a San Francisco man who died after a 2008 surgery filed an appeal last week over their malpractice award – the latest in a round of legal challenges to a state law that has long pitted medical providers against consumer advocates and attorneys who represent patients. BERNICE YEUNG Bay Citizen -- 7/2/12 Orlov: Nothing simple in Berman-Sherman race -- Nothing is simple when it comes to the race between Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman -- even an analysis of the vote from the June 5 election in the 30th Congressional District. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 7/2/12 Schrag: California Dreaming – Backwards -- The movie “California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown,” which has been making the rounds of public TV channels, is a tender blend between a family memoir and a nostalgic look at a more hopeful era in California history. At times it makes you want to weep for what we once had and will probably never have again. Peter Schrag Cal Progress Report -- 7/2/12 Many agencies drank (millions) from redevelopment watering hole -- Yes, the cities (and counties) that formed redevelopment agencies were the big beasts that guzzled the most at the watering holes. But schools, community colleges and special districts still managed a few sips as well. Teri Sforza in the Orange County Register -- 7/2/12
High-speed rail: Bay Area legislators' support key -- When California's high-speed rail plan comes up for the big vote this week in Sacramento, there will be a lot more at stake for the Bay Area than just bullet trains to Los Angeles. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/2/12
Silicon Valley lands Patent Office bureau -- Fulfilling one of Silicon Valley's longtime goals, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is expected to announce Monday that it will open one of its first satellite bureaus in San Jose, potentially slashing the amount of time it takes local entrepreneurs to patent their ideas. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/2/12
UC alumnus pushes tuition-freeze plan at California colleges -- To the relief of families who dread annual tuition increases, a growing number of public and private colleges are moving to freeze those bills so that students pay the same amount in their freshman through senior years. Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 DemiDec Dan is a legend in Academic Decathlon's rarefied world -- Academic Decathlon star Daniel Berdichevsky, or DemiDec Dan, turned his passion into a livelihood, helping a new generation parlay 'geeky quirkiness' into high scores. Rick Rojas in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12
California patients struggle to transition to managed care system -- The state began moving Medi-Cal patients to a managed care system to save money, but many with serious illnesses have had to give up doctors or delay treatment. Anna Gorman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Court ruling opens door to big changes in health care -- The Supreme Court decision last week upholding President Barack Obama’s health reform law clears the way for a transformation in the way millions of Californians will get their health insurance, and, ultimately, their care. Daniel Weintraub HealthyCal.org -- 7/2/12 Food ads, sugary drinks leave you craving more, study says -- You've seen billboards showing a triple-stacked hamburger, dripping with cheese, laced with bacon and nestled in a light, fluffy bun. And you've seen the commercials highlighting the delectable fudge swirls churned into a pint of rich, creamy ice cream. SUSANNE RUST Bay Citizen -- 7/2/12 Plea to end transplant ban between HIV patients -- A federal ban that forbids HIV-positive donors from giving organs to HIV-positive recipients is outdated and unnecessarily restrictive and should be repealed for the benefit of all transplant patients, says a growing clutch of health care and public health experts. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/2/12 What's the Affordable Care Act's impact on small business? -- The Supreme Court’s upholding of most of the Affordable Care Act means some small businesses will continue to enjoy a tax break while others will have some tough decisions to make. Brian Watt KPCC LA -- 7/2/12
Small sea-level changes could pose big problems for California coast -- Experts believe sea levels on the California coastline could rise as much as 30 centimeters over the next 20 years. Doesn’t sound like much, but what could it mean for you? G.W. SCHULZ Bay Citizen -- 7/2/12 Most California parks escape ax, but not out of woods -- California's state parks have emerged almost intact from the vortex of red ink coursing through the state, but officials insist it will take more time, work and a lot more money to save the beleaguered system during the next budget cycle. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/2/12
Proposed Sacramento ordinance would restrict actions outside City Hall -- While city officials insist Hanson and his fellow Occupy Sacramento protesters were not the inspiration for the new guidelines, many of the proposed violations under debate are committed by Occupy members every day. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/2/12
Watchdog disputes LAPD rationale for rise in police shootings -- A report by the Police Commission inspector general disagrees with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's assertion of a link between the jump in officer-involved shootings and assaults on officers. Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Lopez: Alzheimer's patient Dr. Arthur Rivin won't give in to the disease -- Arthur Rivin, former UCLA professor of medicine, is convinced his lifestyle approach is working to beat down his Alzheimer's. That may be good enough for us all. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12 Orbitz defends search results for Mac users -- Mac users who search for hotels on the Orbitz online booking service are initially directed to more expensive hotels than PC users, Orbitz acknowledged last week. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/2/12
Vice president hopefuls play the name game -- The vice-presidential selection process is not merely the act of each nominee picking a running mate. It’s also the political equivalent of the Oscars. JONATHAN MARTIN Politico -- 7/2/12 |
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