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State to override local pension votes? -- Legislative Democrats are exploring whether they can politically and legally override local pension reforms enacted by voters. Michael Gardner and Jen Lebron Kuhney UT San Diego -- 7/4/12 Steinberg: Jerry Brown has pension concept but no proposal -- After Gov. Jerry Brown's office described a divide in negotiations over cutting public pensions, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg suggested Tuesday that the California governor had been slow to propose bill language on a crucial piece of the package. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/4/12 State Senate leader predicts pension reform next month -- Despite a setback on pension reform, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Tuesday that he expected a plan to be adopted next month and that the Legislature’s proposal would save $40 billion over 30 years. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 Brown rejects Democratic pension plan -- Tough battles are everywhere these days at the state Capitol, but changing public employee pensions is probably the toughest -- which should mean there's no surprise talks between Democrats and Gov. Jerry Brown hit a stumbling block Monday night. John Myers News10 -- 7/4/12 Pension reform talks break down in Sacramento -- Don’t expect the Legislature to vote on pension reform before leaving for summer recess at the end of the week. BRIAN JOSEPH in the Orange County Register -- 7/4/12 Field Poll: Voters oppose cuts in K-12 schools -- California voters overwhelmingly oppose the automatic spending cuts that would fall almost entirely on K-12 public schools, along with colleges and universities, if a tax-raising initiative backed by Gov. Jerry Brown fails on the November ballot, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 Government labor unions give ground in California as budgets are squeezed -- When California's largest public employee union announced Tuesday that its members accepted another year of furloughs, it was one more sign that government labor unions are moving to make concessions. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 California legislators to tackle sizzling summer issues -- The state budget is out of the way, but the Legislature has a few sizzling items in its summer basket -- and it won't be a picnic. Steven Harmon in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/4/12 San Francisco 49ers win restraining order on $30 million in disputed stadium funds -- The San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday scored their first victory in the team's fight with South Bay leaders to wrestle back $30 million in stadium funds, as a judge barred local school districts from spending the money and signaled he may soon give it to the team. Mike Rosenberg and Steve Harmon in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/4/12 California legislator wants conservator fees capped throughout state -- A California lawmaker on Tuesday joined a chorus of outrage over exorbitant fees depleting the life savings of elderly and disabled adults in Santa Clara County, calling for new state rules to cap what court-appointed estate managers can charge for their service. Karen de Sá in the Contra Costa Times -- 7/4/12 Use of government aid for junk food questioned -- As Republicans prepare to cut billions of dollars from food stamps, a Bay Area activist has stirred a hornet's nest on the left by questioning how much the program ends up benefiting corporations that peddle soda, candy and other junk food to low-income people. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 Walters: Redevelopment abolished in California? Not really -- Redevelopment is dead in California, or so we were told last year when the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown erased more than 400 local agencies and seized assets for the state budget. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 Oakland Turns A Corner As California Faces Budget Woes -- The city of Oakland, Calif. has long been associated with crime, poverty, urban decay and, more recently, violent protests tied to the Occupy movement. So it may have been a surprise to New York Times readers when the newspaper listed Oakland as No. 5 among its top "places to go" in 2012. RICHARD GONZALES NPR -- 7/4/12 Bilbray, tea party to hold 'Repeal Obamacare Tax Rally' -- Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-San Diego, will join a coalition of local tea party activists this weekend for a “Repeal Obamacare Tax Rally” in downtown San Diego. Christopher Cadelago UT San Diego -- 7/4/12 Oakland council endorses Goldman Sachs boycott -- Oakland is poised to become the first city to cut ties with Goldman Sachs if the investment bank refuses to cancel an investment deal that will cost the city nearly $4 million this year. Matthew Artz in the Oakland Tribune -- 7/4/12 Morain: Legislature – build that statue to Reagan -- There's a move afoot to place a statue inside the Capitol honoring Ronald Reagan, the most consequential politician ever to come from this state and the only California governor to become president. It's a great idea, so long as it teaches a lesson about the vanishing art of compromise. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 CalBuzz: Say Happy Birthday to Cool Cal as We Fete July 4 -- On this, the 236th anniversary of our nation’s breakaway, Calbuzz gives a big shout out to Calvin Coolidge, the only president born on the Fourth of July. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 7/4/12
High-speed rail funding poised for approval -- Even though Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers failed this week to reach a deal on public worker pensions, the Legislature may be ready to approve billions of dollars in spending on high-speed rail and related projects. Patrick McGreevey and Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 High-speed rail bill includes regional money, oversight language -- Lawmakers preparing for a crucial vote this week on high-speed rail will see a bill tailored to include funding for regional transportation improvements in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, as well as language designed to address longstanding concerns about the California High-Speed Rail Authority's oversight of the project. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 How Senate districts would benefit from CA high-speed rail -- As lawmakers prepare for a contentious vote later this week over billions of dollars in funding for high speed rail, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's office distributed a chart that shows the potential benefit of the project to each member of the upper house. Dan Smith SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/4/12 Correa looks for Orange County investment in high-speed rail -- Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg said Tuesday afternoon that there would definitely be a high-speed rail vote on either Thursday or Friday of this week. Speaking with reporters in his Capitol office, Steinberg once again acknowledged that the vote would be tight in the Senate, with several Democrats publicly voicing their opposition to the plan along with Republicans, who are universally opposed. BRIAN JOSEPH in the Orange County Register -- 7/4/12
Oakland tries to retain A's, Warriors, Raiders -- On Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's desk sits a glass case containing two boxing gloves signed by hometown champ Andre Ward. Now might be the time to break them out - Quan will need to fight to keep her city's three professional sports teams. Vittorio Tafur in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 Grants help ailing pets as families struggle -- When Riot, a 5-year-old Chihuahua, needed emergency surgery last year for a bladder stone, his guardian, Peter McGurty, started looking around his Brisbane home for something to sell. Stacy Finz in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 Apple planning an iPad mini -- Apple plans to debut a smaller, cheaper iPad by year-end, two people with knowledge of the plans said, to help maintain dominance of the tablet market as Google (GOOG) and Microsoft ready competing handheld devices. Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano Bloomberg -- 7/4/12
L.A. raises parking fines, zoo admission to help with budget woes -- The city is raising the cost of many parking tickets by $5 in hopes of generating an extra $8.4 million a year. The zoo will increase admission by $1 to bring in an additional $720,000. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 L.A. eliminates business tax on new car dealerships -- Officials say nearly 100 dealerships have left L.A. over the last 25 years, with some of them migrating to nearby cities such as Glendale, which exempts car dealers from the business tax. Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12
City College of San Francisco on brink of closure -- The poorly run City College of San Francisco has eight months to prove it should stay in business, yet must "make preparations for closure," evaluators ordered Tuesday. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 California Assembly bill to alter teacher firing process dies -- Legislation to expedite the process of firing teachers for sex, violence or drug offenses involving children was killed late Wednesday by an Assembly committee after sparking strong opposition from the state's largest teachers union. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 Getting to the core of Oakland Unified School District superintendent -- As a white man who talks about white privilege and institutional racism, the superintendent of Oakland's school system is not your typical school administrator. Katy Murphy in the Oakland Tribune -- 7/4/12 Riley: John Roberts on health care, Jerry Brown on No Child Left Behind: similar logic -- While the majority of coverage and interest in the case centered around the ACA’s “individual mandate,” a somewhat lesser known issue involving Medicaid has interesting implications for federal and state education policy, particularly in California. Benjamin Riley EdSource -- 7/4/12
Sutter plot thickens with leaks -- Perhaps the most explosive possible inference from recently leaked Sutter Health documents is that the medical group was considering a scenario where it could deliberately drive down the bottom line at its California Pacific Medical Center affiliate to trigger an escape clause that would allow it to quickly close a rebuilt Mission District hospital it was pledging to keep open for 20 years. John Coté, Rachel Gordon in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 Blue Shield plan to close policies to new customers is denied -- California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones says the health insurer's proposal violated state rules designed to protect consumers from large rate increases. Chad Terhune in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 Restaurants feel squeeze on insurance -- San Diego restaurant owners say they are feeling even more pressure in a tough economy now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act and employers will have to start providing health insurance to workers. Janet Lavelle UT San Diego -- 7/4/12 Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Health Reform? -- Will the health reform law require nearly all Americans to have health insurance starting in 2014 or else pay a fine? That’s one of the questions in Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation’s new Health Reform Quiz. Shuka Kalantari KQED State of Health -- 7/4/12 Still Have Questions About The Affordable Care Act? Watch This Video -- The Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a big victory for the Obama Administration, but obstacles still lie ahead. How will states respond to the Medicaid expansion ? And will Republicans try to repeal the health overhaul law if President Obama loses the November election? Shuka Kalantari KQED State of Health -- 7/4/12
Obama cabinet official criticizes Brown's wildfire plan -- Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to limit legal damages from wildfires appears to be headed for final approval this week after some tweaks to the legislation. But one more high-ranking federal official has joined a chorus of critics urging Brown to drop the plan. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 Gammon: Brown's Disinterest in State Parks -- The governor just doesn't seem to care about them. Plus, the failure of the Quan recall campaigns proves that they were a waste of time. Robert Gammon East Bay Express -- 7/4/12
Children of immigrants get certificates of U.S. citizenship in Old Sacramento ceremony -- Fourteen children were presented with citizenship certificates Tuesday at a special ceremony held in the Schoolhouse Museum in Old Sacramento. Ravali Reddy in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/4/12 Citizens on the Fourth of July; naturalization ceremony welcomes 60 new Americans from 14 countries -- Marta Gloria Escobar of Aptos sought asylum in the United States 23 years ago, fleeing civil war in El Salvador that caused the death of more than 70,000 citizens in 12 years. Monday, she was sworn-in as a United States citizen. CATHY KELLY in the Santa Cruz Sentinel -- 7/4/12
Perjury accusation against mayor could be pivotal -- A strange thing has happened since Building Inspection Commission member Debra Walker came forward last week to challenge MayorEd Lee's sworn testimony that he had never spoken to any of San Francisco's 11 supervisors about suspending Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Silence. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/4/12 Oakland Police Commission Faces Obstacles -- City regulations and state law preclude an independent commission from shining a light on police misconduct and meting out discipline. Ali Winston East Bay Express -- 7/4/12 Budget cuts take toll on Valley fireworks shows -- Small-town Fourth of July fireworks shows in the Valley are getting shorter, becoming less extravagant and in some cases have closed down for good. The reason: Big budget cuts. Fireworks displays put on by small towns can cost as much as $30,000. Ezra Romero in the Fresno Bee -- 7/4/12 Long Beach council axes medical marijuana ban exemptions -- The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday night voted 5-4 against the creation of an ordinance to extend the six-month reprieve granted to 18 collectives in February. Eric Bradley in the Long Beach Press -- 7/4/12 In California, status of medical pot in limbo -- Two years ago, marijuana was on the upswing in California. Medical marijuana proliferated from Cresent City to Imperial Beach. And voters appeared on the cusp of approving the nation’s most sweeping proposal ever to legalize pot for casual use. Christopher Cadelago UT San Diego -- 7/4/12 $1 million worth of marijuana plants found in Irwindale warehouse -- Police arrested two men and found about 3,000 marijuana plants with a street value of $1 million growing in a warehouse Tuesday. Ruby Gonzales in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 7/4/12 In Cudahy, FBI probes allegations of election fraud -- Two elections are now part of an FBI investigation into allegations of corruption at Cudahy City Hall. Transcripts of wiretaps allegedly show that local officials believed they could control election outcomes. Hector Becerra and Jeff Gottlieb in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 Stephen Glass, disgraced journalist, seeks California law license -- The State Bar of California has rejected Stephen Glass, but the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear his case. His employer at an L.A. County law firm champions him. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 Ron Howard: What I learned from Andy Griffith -- Early in the second season of "The Andy Griffith Show," I ventured a suggestion for a line change to make it sound more "like the way a kid would say it." Ron Howard in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12
Obama braces for June jobs report -- Weak June manufacturing numbers released Monday intensified concern about the fragility of the economic recovery and turned election-watchers’ attention toward unemployment numbers due out at the end of this week. Peter Schroeder The Hill -- 7/4/12 Polls: Obama holds edge on health policy after high court ruling -- New polls show a surge of enthusiasm among Democratic voters in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding much of the Affordable Care Act and greater voter confidence in President Obama’s healthcare policies than rival Mitt Romney. Jonathan Easley and Meghashyam Mali The Hill -- 7/4/12
Poll: Romney up big in battleground states -- Mitt Romney has a sizeable lead in 15 battleground states, according to a CNN/ORC poll released late Monday. The Republican candidate leads President Obama 51 percent to 43 in 15 states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2012 election. Jonathan Easley The Hill -- 7/4/12 Mitt Romney supporters fight calls for campaign staff shake-up -- Supporters of Mitt Romney are pushing back against calls for a campaign shake-up from Rupert Murdoch and Jack Welch, two industry titans who recently took to Twitter to advise the Republican presidential candidate to dump his staff. Nia-Malika Henderson and Karen Tumulty in the Washington Post -- 7/4/12 Where the cash is: mapping political money -- Orange County is the most golden corner of the Golden State for Mitt Romney. Ronald Campbell in the Orange County Register -- 7/4/12 Republican governors vow to fight Medicaid expansion, but will they? -- Will Republican-led states "opt out" of the expansion of Medicaid that is one of the chief pillars of the Obama administration’s healthcare law? David Lauter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/4/12 |
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