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| New Since This Morning |
Talks fail to end California budget impasse -- A carefully orchestrated vote in the state Legislature to solve a record budget deficit was thwarted for a second night today as legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger anxiously searched to find one more Republican Senator to support the budget plan. Matthew Yi, Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle John Myers Capitol Notes weblog Eric Bailey and Jordan Rau in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
Maldonado gets chance to remind governor about loyalty -- When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his allies came to state Sen. Abel Maldonado early this morning begging for the last vote needed to pass the state budget, no one could blame the Santa Maria Republican for grinning. "What goes around, comes around" is a proverb that fits really well in politics. John Wildermuth Chronicle Politics weblog -- 2/15/09
Sweeping budget plan in big trouble; Dems still need one more GOP vote -- The plan's prospects severely dimmed this morning when Sen. Abel Maldonado, in an interview with the Mercury News, all but ruled out voting for the measure while pointedly criticizing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as the Republican Senate leader. Maldonado, a moderate Republican whose district stretches from Los Gatos to Santa Maria, was seen as the last best hope for securing the final GOP vote needed to get the deficit plan over the two-thirds hump. Mike Zapler in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/15/09
Schwarzenegger trying to save stalled budget deal -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday was trying to salvage a proposal to close California's $42 billion deficit after an all-night legislative session failed to produce a new budget. Judy Lin AP -- 2/15/09
Budget package stalls one vote shy -- California's massive $40 billion-plus budget plan stalled in the state Senate early Sunday morning, as it became clear the three needed Republicans in the upper house were unready to support the plan. Kevin Yamamura, Steve Wiegand and Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee Shane Goldmacher SacBee Capitol Alert Matthew Yi, Wyatt Buchanan, John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/15/09
California budget process is ultimate backroom deal -- Sacramento has become so dysfunctional that the framework for an entire fiscal year's budget was put together with the active participation of just four of the 120 legislators. And it was all done behind closed doors. John Diaz in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/15/09
Budget… Suspended Animation -- "The answer is no." Those were the words of Sen. Dave Cox, a Republican from the Sacramento suburbs who was widely believed to be the decisive third GOP vote for the $40 billion budget proposal. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 2/15/09
California lawmakers debate $42B budget plan -- The California Legislature on Saturday began approving a budget-balancing plan that would raise billions in taxes and cut billions more from education and other programs to close the state's $42 billion deficit. Samantha Young AP Steve Wiegand, Kevin Yamamura and Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee Evan Halper and Jordan Rau in the Los Angeles Times Matthew Yi, Wyatt Buchanan, John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/15/09
Speaker: May revisions could lead to more cuts -- The state Assembly's leader expressed concern Saturday that the combination of tax increases and spending cuts under consideration by lawmakers may not be enough to balance California's budget. AP -- 2/15/09
Orange County sweetener aids California budget deal -- It wasn't a coincidence that a measure to give Orange County an extra slice of the state budget pie was included in Saturday's deficit-closing proposals, the fate of which rested heavily on the vote of an Orange County state senator. Kevin Yamamura and Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
Potential GOP fallout from budget vote -- Unhappiness with Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis, is reportedly being stoked by a smal group of conservatives that includes Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine. DeVore have been a vocal opponent of tax increases, and has already announced his 2010 candidacy for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Barbara Boxer. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 2/15/09
DeVore resigns post as Republican whip over tax increase deal -- DeVore, R-Irvine, who is running for Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat, said, "The St. Valentine's Day deal to raise taxes on hardworking Californians will neither close the budget deficit nor control spending. I believe leadership thinks they are doing the right thing, but I cannot be a party to this agreement as I believe it will harm California." The item is in the Orange County Register Amy Chance SacBee Capitol Alert -- 2/15/09
Matier & Ross: The other budget: -- At least one kind of spending shows no signs of letting up in these lean times - special interest spending up in the state capital. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/15/09
Largest state-employee union reaches contract deal -- California's largest state-employees union reached a tentative agreement Saturday with the Schwarzenegger administration on a contract that would cut the number of days its workers are furloughed to one a month. Don Thompson AP Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
Rivals are lining up now to run state in '11 -- As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to leave office in less than two years, with no obvious heir apparent, a host of candidates in both major political parties are already jockeying for position to succeed him. John Marelius in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 2/15/09
Walters: California governor's race points to the middle -- Superficially, Barack Obama's landslide victory in California last year would appear to push the state irrevocably into the Democratic camp and set the stage for the party's recapturing the governorship in 2010. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
The feds give, California takes : So, how much money do we have? -- In case you haven't heard, the federal government is about to give: It's offering tax breaks, college grants, unemployment help, even money to weatherize your house. But California, wouldn't you know it, wants to take away: It's planning cuts in education and health care benefits for the poor, and to increase taxes on everything from your T-shirt to your car — and the gasoline you'll need to put in it. Denis C. Theriault in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/15/09
Fresno County, cities at odds on taxes -- The budget squeeze for state and local governments is fueling new conflict between Fresno County and its 15 cities over who benefits from the tax revenues that often result from new development. Russell Clemings in the Fresno Bee -- 2/15/09
• Cancellara wins Tour of California prologue -- When Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa crossed the finish line, the final rider of a 136-strong field, the results mirrored last year's. No one could catch swift-pedaling Fabian Cancellara, a world and Olympic champion from Switzerland. Cancellara blew away the field with a time of 4 minutes, 32 seconds. Also like last year, Leipheimer was second, this time two seconds behind. David Zabriskie and three-time world champion Michael Rogers were three seconds back on a day former stars Lance Armstrong finished 10th, Tyler Hamilton 71st and Floyd Landis 90th. Elliott Almond in the San Jose Mercury John Schumacher in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
• Tour of California kicks off, with Sacramento at center of cycling world -- It was big for the city and huge for professional cycling, or was it the other way around? Lance Armstrong – the greatest name in the sport and an inspirational figure the world over – marked his comeback on U.S. soil after three-plus years from competition. This was Babe Ruth. It was Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan and Pelé and Secretariat and Mother Teresa, all at once on a bike going fast. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
| Economy |
Renters, too, feeling effects of foreclosure crisis -- For the second time in less than two years, Jackson-Gordon says she has lost her subsidized rental home to foreclosure. The first time, she also lost her $1,500 security deposit — but the bank offered her $3,500 to move out fast so it could sell the property. Lisa P. White in the Oakland Tribune -- 2/15/09
Lopez: Laid-off lawyer in predicament she never imagined -- I've been getting a lot of e-mails that start like that. This one was from Ellie Trope of Mid-City in Los Angeles, near La Brea, who lost her job more than a year ago. She wrote me after reading my column two weeks ago about the endless mob scene at the employment office in Van Nuys. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
Lazarus: Don't miss a credit card payment, or the APR could soar -- Even in the best of times, carrying a balance on your credit card is a risky -- and costly -- proposition. These days, it can be downright foolish, at least if there's a chance you might miss a payment or two. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
Bargains still to be had at Northern California foreclosure auctions -- As the auctioneer rattled off prices and his assistants in tuxedoes and bow ties blew whistles and yelled, Lisah Hoover Jackson and her husband had only seconds to decide whether to keep bidding. Chelsea Phua in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
There's some gold in the stimulus for Orange County -- There's a treasure hunt starting. And the place people are looking is in the 1,000 page $787 billion stimulus bill Congress is sending to President Barack Obama's desk. Dena Bunis in the Orange County Register -- 2/15/09
| POTUS 44 |
Sources: Obama to sign stimulus Tuesday in Denver -- President Obama will sign the economic stimulus bill Tuesday in Denver, Colorado, two senior administration officials confirm to CNN. Suzanne Malveaux CNN -- 2/15/09
Stimulus struggle hints at a party showdown -- The monthlong struggle over the stimulus plan left behind a smoking battlefield of partisanship, but it also set the stage for a political collision on a scale seldom seen in Washington -- a showdown on a succession of even more divisive issues that could shadow the future of the two major parties. Janet Hook in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
| Education |
New UC eligibility standards will open college doors, but may change demographics -- A controversial new policy at the University of California will open the country's premier public university system to a wider array of applicants, creating campuses that could be less Asian and more white, with a few more African-Americans and a modest climb in the number of Latinos. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 2/15/09
LBUSD chief calls for federal revisions -- The federal No Child Left Behind system has been controversial since President George Bush signed the act in 2001 with bipartisan support that included Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Democrat. Kevin Butler in the Long Beach Press -- 2/15/09
| Environment |
Wilderness label would protect Magic Mountain (the other one) -- The peak in the Angeles National Forest, a former Nike missile site with sweeping views, is part of 750,000 acres in California the national Omnibus Public Land act would set aside. Julie Cart in the Los Angeles Times -- 2/15/09
Lowenthal bill targets foreign marine species -- It is illegal for ships calling on California ports to dump their ballast water. But non-native marine species are still released, often inadvertently, into local waters, causing damage to native fish and plants. John Canalis in the Long Beach Press -- 2/15/09
Conservation efforts slow to slake consumers' thirst -- California is facing its worst drought in decades, but you wouldn't know it by looking at water use in the Santa Fe Irrigation District. Mike Lee in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 2/15/09
| Immigration |
U.S. Military Will Offer Path to Citizenship -- Stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American military will begin recruiting skilled immigrants who are living in this country with temporary visas, offering them the chance to become United States citizens in as little as six months. JULIA PRESTON in the New York Times -- 2/15/09
| Health Care |
Suits criticize Kaiser emergency procedures -- The Sacramento region's largest health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, runs a special, doctor-to-doctor call operation that has become a target of legal actions alleging malpractice and failure to pay claims. Carrie Peyton Dahlberg in the Sacramento Bee -- 2/15/09
Radiation riddle remains -- A large tract of land not far from E. John Ainsworth's Pleasanton home bears no evidence of the research on radiation health effects he led in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. Suzanne Bohan in the Contra Costa Times -- 2/15/09
Central Valley hard-hit by diabetes epidemic -- Every week in the San Joaquin Valley, at least 19 people die of diabetes - and the death toll is rising. Barbara Anderson in the Fresno Bee -- 2/15/09
| Also.. |
Most port workers still don't have credentials -- Just two months before federal authorities begin enforcing a port worker ID program, more than half remain uncredentialed in the nation's busiest seaport. Kristopher Hanson in the Long Beach Press -- 2/15/09
Reputed Mexican Mafia member vanishes -- Three days before he was scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court on murder conspiracy charges last month, Darryl Castrejon disappeared. -- Will Bigham in the San Bernardino Sun -- 2/15/09
Is Sonoma County a 'must ride' destination for cyclists? -- But without the race organizers’ cars, team buses and hordes of reporters, is Sonoma County the cycling mecca that many think it is? The answer is yes and no. KERRY BENEFIELD in the Santa Rosa Press -- 2/15/09
