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California lawmakers eulogize Sikh temple victims -- California lawmakers struck a somber tone Monday when they eulogized the victims of the shooting rampage at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. The Assembly observed a moment of silence in honor of the six worshippers killed a day earlier at a suburban Milwaukee temple. Lawmakers in both houses praised the contributions Sikhs make to their communities. HANNAH DREIER Associated Press -- 8/6/12 California campaign against gay marriage faces $49,000 in fines -- The campaign committee for Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure banning gay marriage in California, faces $49,000 in fines for failing to properly report and handle political contributions it received. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Occupy Sacramento begins vigil outside Jerry Brown's loft -- Members of Occupy Sacramento targeted the downtown loft of Gov. Jerry Brown, urging the governor to take action to help stem the tide of foreclosures in California. Anthony York LA Times PolitiCal$ -- 8/6/12 California Senate leader, attorney general back gun-control bill -- In the wake of the recent mass shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, the leader of the California Senate and the state attorney general said Monday they support a gun control bill aimed at making it harder to reload assault rifles. Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal$ Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/12 Moody's calls Facebook share drop a 'negative development' -- Moody's Investors Service called the drop in Facebook's share price a "credit negative development" in the wake of a Legislative Analyst's Office report last week on how the company's stock value could impact the state budget. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/12 Extreme summer heat linked to climate change, scientists say -- Exceedingly high summer temperatures, longer summers and related catastrophes, such as wildfire and drought, are poised to be the norm, and they are driven by climate change, according to a new research paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Neela Banerjee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Assembly speaker: inquiry on all state special funds -- Saying he was "aghast" at revelations that state parks officials had been hiding some $54 million, Assembly Speaker John Perez says his house will now examine the fiscal status of every state special fund. John Myers News10 -- 8/6/12 (Orange County) Register takes bold new direction -- Aaron Kushner, new publisher and owner of The Orange County Register, is undaunted by investing in an industry whose obituary many have already written. MARY ANN MILBOURN in the Orange County Register -- 8/6/12 Occupy group targets Gov. Jerry Brown's Sacramento loft -- Gov. Jerry Brown may find his neighborhood a little more crowded after the group Occupy Sacramento announced that it is targeting his loft near the Capitol for round-the-clock protests starting Monday morning. Patrick McGreevy LA Times PolitiCal$ -- 8/6/12 San Joaquin Delta water war documentary to debut with Ed Begley Jr. -- It may not be an Oscar contender but folks who like to drink water may want to catch the Aug. 8 premiere of “Over Troubled Waters,” a documentary about efforts to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta into the Central Valley and Southern California. Lisa Vorderbrueggen Political Blotter -- 8/6/12 No arrests yet for 'hate' graffiti at Torrance Chick-fil-A -- Torrance police are continuing to investigate graffiti scrawled on the side of a Chick-fil-A restaurant last week amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the fast-food restaurant and its chief executive's recent comments regarding gay marriage. Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Gay activists counter Chick-fil-A with Starbucks appreciation day -- Gay marriage activists are planning to swarm Starbucks on Tuesday in an attempt to counter the record sales from last week’s Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Lawmaker wants California to push for national bill of gay rights -- Assemblyman Ricardo Lara has proposed Assembly Joint Resolution 43, which is scheduled to be considered by the Assembly Judiciary Committee today, marking its first legislative hearing. It was introduced July 2. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/6/12 No More Dog Days for Candidates -- More than any campaign in history, this summer has been a battlefield with neither Democrats nor Republicans leaving much in reserve for the post-Labor Day weeks that used to be considered the stretch run to Election Day. George E. Condon Jr. National Journal -- 8/6/12 Fox: Facebook Folly: Prop 30 and California’s Budget Pains -- Proposition 30’s reliance on the rich could make the state budget long-term problems worse because it adds more volatility to state taxes. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 8/6/12 Wildermuth: Brown Shows He’s Willing to Offend Everyone -- If Jerry Brown is thinking about running for re-election in 2014, it’s a good thing the campaign didn’t start this summer. John Wildermuth Fox & Hounds -- 8/6/12 State Supreme Court upholds death sentence in killing of deputy -- The California Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of murdering Los Angeles County Sheriff 's Deputy Michael Hoenig. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 California weighs innovative community solar bill -- Rooftop solar power is growing like crazy in California. But there's a big problem: About 44 percent of California residents are renters, not homeowners. That means that nearly half the residents of the state can't purchase solar-generated electricity even if they want to. Dana Hull in the Contra Costa Times -- 8/6/12
California lawmakers face a mountain of work -- Eight-hundred bills on issues such as pension reform, student aid and gun control await action between Monday and the end of the session in four weeks. Patrick McGreevy and Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 CA legislators taking on pension reform -- After a monthlong break, the Legislature returns to work at the Capitol on Monday to take on one of the Golden State's thorniest issues: public employee pensions. Wyatt Buchanan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/12 Walters: Private-sector pension proposal sets off lobbying war in California -- This is not the first time that state Sen. Kevin de León has proposed a state-sponsored pension system for the more than 6 million California workers whose employers don't offer retirement benefits. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/12 City bankruptcies target retiree health care costs -- The cost of retiree health care promised state and local government employees, growing at a faster pace than more-publicized public pensions, has become a common target for cuts in a string of California city bankruptcies. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 8/6/12 Skelton: Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California -- Legislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and increases disparities. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Scandal spurs plan to keep closer eye on state parks budget -- A little-known commission could be empowered to provide more oversight of the California Department of Parks and Recreation after an investigation revealed the department sat on a multimillion dollar budget surplus for years. KATHARINE MIESZKOWSKI Bay Citizen -- 8/6/12 Brown has Golden State thinking big even in tough times -- During the 30-plus years Barbara O'Connor has known California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), she says the man once derided as "Gov. Moonbeam" has developed a well-deserved reputation as someone never inclined to back down from a big challenge. RICH EHISEN State Net -- 8/6/12 President Villaraigosa? Well, not so fast -- What will Antonio do next? That is the question that has dogged Mayor Villaraigosa almost since he took office in 2005, with various folks predicting he would run for governor or U.S. Senate or be appointed to the president's Cabinet. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 8/6/12 In California, County Jails Face Bigger Load -- Standing on the footsteps of the Fresno County Jail, where he had just been released one recent afternoon, Juan Diaz rated the food inside a 2. The state prison at Coalinga, where he served three years on a weapons conviction, earned a 10. NORIMITSU ONISHI in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/12 California Is Shaming Texas -- If California were its own Olympic team, it would have bigger delegation in London than Mexico, Turkey or Switzerland. The 128 members of Team USA hailing from the Golden State represents 23% of all the Americans at the Olympics—by far the most. Tony Olivero and Sara Germano in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/6/12
Panhandling in Arcata tests the city's tolerance -- Arcata traditionally has welcomed the downtrodden. But balancing the comfort of the haves with tolerance for the have-nots has come down to a question of just who is worthy of help. Lee Romney in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Romneys, caught in housing bust, got tax cut in La Jolla -- Reassessment of their $12-million home, one of many reductions in San Diego County, has saved $109,000 over four years. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Real estate bubble bursts for California lawmakers too -- State lawmakers typically keep modest quarters near the Capitol to use when they're in town, with help from their tax-free expense allowance of $28,000 a year. Assemblyman Tony Mendoza bought a three-bedroom home instead, paying $463,000 for it after his 2006 election. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Some area cities had to make big payments to state for former redevelopment agencies -- Some Inland Empire cities' successor agencies to their redevelopment agencies recently had to pay fees - some higher than $4 million - to the California Department of Finance, which upset city officials and a local economist. Wes Woods II in the San Bernardino Sun -- 8/6/12 Davis biotech company AgraQuest is a striking success story -- If this were Silicon Valley, the story of AgraQuest Inc. would barely make a ripple. In the Sacramento area, where high-tech startups struggle and big payouts are rare, what's happened to the Davis biotech company is nothing short of remarkable. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/6/12 Bank says San Bernardino County eminent domain for mortgages proposal may not be worth controversy -- A Royal Bank of Scotland analysis questions a controversial proposal for a San Bernardino County agency to use eminent domain to buy "underwater" mortgages. Andrew Edwards in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 8/6/12
AIG to pay L.A. Unified nearly $79 million in claims settlement -- Insurance giant AIG will pay nearly $79 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District to settle a lawsuit over its failure to pay claims on properties with environmental and pollution hazards, The Times has learned. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/12 Legislature taking notice of risk school insolvency poses to state -- With a record number of school districts facing the serious threat of insolvency and news of yet another seeking a state bankruptcy bailout, key members of the California Legislature are beginning to take a harder look at the fiscal risks failing schools pose to the state. Kimberly Beltran SI&A Cabinet Report -- 8/6/12 School funding primer: A is for Alligator -- It’s called “the alligator chart” because it looks like a reptile’s gaping maw. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 8/6/12 Rosenblatt: “Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique -- There are many critiques of the public sector by those in the private sector; some have validity, while others ring hollow. Seth Rosenblatt EdSource -- 8/6/12
Administrators ordered to stop making patient care decisions -- California managed care regulators are ordering a doctors' group to stop letting business administrators make decisions about granting requested medical care. Christina Jewett California Watch -- 8/6/12
65,000 Bay Area immigrants could benefit from deportation policy, study states -- As the Obama administration readies for a rush of applications from young illegal immigrants seeking work permits, a new study predicts one of the largest contingents will come from the Bay Area, perhaps more than from all of Arizona. Matt O'Brien in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/6/12
Mortgage relief plan embraced in Berkeley has links to Occupy -- The Berkeley City Council has thrown its support behind a growing group of activists, public officials and entrepreneurs calling upon governments to seize mortgages to provide relief to financially troubled homeowners. MATT SMITH Bay Citizen -- 8/6/12
Oakland billboard perk may blight city -- One of the first "benefits" from Oakland's big $500 million development deal for the city's old Army base will be five giant billboards along the new Cypress connector. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/12 Bill would expand penalties for nonprofits, fundraisers that misuse funds -- Amid reports of some nonprofits mismanaging charitable donations, the state Legislature is considering a bill that would increase the authority of the state attorney general’s office to crack down on organizations that violate the law. Kendall Taggart California Watch -- 8/6/12 L.A. case pushes for 1-drug execution -- It's been 6 1/2 years since California's last execution, and nearly that long since a federal judge suggested that the state replace its challenged three-drug sequence with a single, fatal dose of a powerful anesthetic - a change that prosecutors in Los Angeles are now demanding in a potentially precedent-setting case. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/6/12
Obama associate got $100,000 fee from affiliate of firm doing business with Iran -- David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser who was President Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, accepted a $100,000 speaking fee in 2010 from an affiliate of a company doing business with Iran’s government. Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten in the Washington Post -- 8/6/12
Romney, the rich and the delicate politics of wealth and class -- We want the pony. We want the Jet Ski. We want the big house on the beach, the big account at the bank (Swiss or otherwise), the big car in the garage (especially if that garage comes equipped with a super-cool elevator that lifts the car from one floor to the next.) Manuel Roig-Franzia in the Washington Post -- 8/6/12 Republicans Attack Reid Over Tax Allegations -- Republicans attacked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Sunday, accusing him of lying about how much Mitt Romney has paid in taxes. But the offensive did little to change the conversation, as the issue of Romney’s tax disclosures continued to take center stage. Alexandra Jaffe National Journal -- 8/6/12 David Krone, Harry Reid's chief of staff, denounces GOP ‘cowards’ -- The war over Mitt Romney’s tax returns is getting more bitter by the moment, with a top aide to Senate Majority Harry Reid blasting Republicans as “cowards” and “henchmen” for their attacks on the Nevada Democrat. JOHN BRESNAHAN Politico -- 8/6/12 |
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