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Jerry Brown releases CalPERS document with pension details -- With his pension under scrutiny, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has just released a document his campaign says it received from the state Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, detailing how many years of work history he'd be credited with if he retired next year. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Day 57: Leaders to gather in rare ‘Big 5’ meeting -- For the first time in more than two months, the Legislature’s four leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will meet face-to-face this afternoon to discuss California’s still missing state budget. Shane Goldmacher in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Harris campaign blasts Cooley for campaign cash -- The race for state Attorney General got hotter yet today with a report that the Republican nominee, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, never noticed that one of his donors was using straw men to bypass campaign contribution limits, even as he prosecuted others for doing the same thing. Josh Richman Political Blotter weblog -- 8/26/10 Nurses celebrate women's right to vote, slam Whitman for not voting -- Hundreds of nurses and their supporters descended on Sacramento today to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the women getting the right to vote ... and to protest against GOP candidate for governor Meg Whitman. Marisa Lagos in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/26/10 Meg Whitman criticizes Jerry Brown plane use in TV ad -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has launched a new TV ad criticizing Democratic rival and Attorney General Jerry Brown's use of a state-owned turboprop plane to attend two events where campaign donors attended and to travel 74 miles to another event. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Steinberg: Federal teacher funds not for budget relief -- Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said earlier this week that $1.2 billion in new federal aid for teachers is "separate from the budget," a change from remarks a couple weeks ago. Kevin Yamamura SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans disputes "painful" Whitman campaign charges about alleged statements to Gold Star mom (VIDEO) -- Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, a former insider for Democrat Jerry Brown's past presidential campaigns, is challenging what she calls the "painfully untrue" statements of Meg Whitman's gubernatorial campaign -- which suggested this week that Evans told a Gold Star mom that her son "deserved to die" in Iraq. Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 8/26/10 Cooley dinged -- LA Weekly story details questionable campaign contributions -- Attorney General hopeful Steve Cooley is on the defensive again. Marisa Lagos Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 8/26/10 CalPERS investment officer linked to bribery scandal resigns -- Senior CalPERS investment officer Leon Shahinian resigned today after being linked to the pension fund's bribery scandal, The Bee has learned. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Banks appear close to killing foreclosure-prevention bill -- The year's last big mortgage foreclosure-prevention bill is on life support and its author is racing to revive it before the California Legislature recesses Tuesday night. Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Whitman pulls ahead of Brown in new Rasmussen poll -- Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman has pulled eight points ahead of Democrat Jerry Brown, according to poll results released today by Rasmussen Reports. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Campaign Contributions and the California State Board of Equalization -- Taxpayers with complex tax dispute cases before the California State Board of Equalization were more likely to win their cases if they or their representatives made campaign contributions to the elected board members, either directly or through political action committees, according to a detailed examination by Daily Tax Report, a BNA publication. Laura Mahoney Daily Tax Report -- 8/26/10 Day 57: California struggles with deficit; Virginia has a surplus -- California is the last state in the nation without a spending plan. The budget deficit is an estimated $19.1 billion – roughly one-fifth of the general fund. IOUs loom within weeks. Shane Goldmacher in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Bill extends health insurance to mental illness -- Health care insurers would have to cover treatment for mental illness under legislation winning final legislative approval Thursday. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Students to get a voice on teacher performance under new state law -- High school students will get a chance to say what they think of their teachers under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Cure for homosexuality? Lawmakers turn thumbs down -- California is poised to give up on "curing" gays and lesbians. Legislation to eliminate a decades-old law requiring the state to seek a cure for homosexuality has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Controversy erupts over proposed horse racing changes -- But when the bill was amended last Friday to authorize a complex type of betting called exchange wagering, the industry divided into a bitter camps with opposing lobbying and advertising campaigns. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 8/26/10 Price of getting married may rise soon -- The Senate Thursday gave final approval to legislation, Senate Bill 662, that would allow county boards of supervisors to boost marriage license fees from $23 to $33 with the extra $10 going to keep shelters for victims of domestic abuse from closing. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 3 bills on tax loopholes survive legislative votes -- Three bills attacking state tax loopholes survived legislative votes Wednesday and appear headed to uncertain fates on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Recall effort could halt city operations in scandal-plagued Bell -- An effort launched this week to recall Mayor Oscar Hernandez and three council members would leave one councilman in office, but three panel members are needed to have a legal meeting. Corina Knoll and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Mayor says wedding won't take place in Sacramento -- Mayor says wedding won't take place in Sacramento. Dixie Reid in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Assembly rejects pet sterilization bill -- An immense outpouring of opposition from dog and cat owners had an impact today when the Assembly rejected a bill aimed at forcing more pet sterilizations as an alternative to euthanizing hundreds of thousands of strays. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10
Brown re-emerges after summer campaign absence -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is resurfacing this week on the campaign trail after spending much of the summer courting donors to get ready for an expensive fall contest. SAMANTHA YOUNG AP -- 8/26/10 Santa Rosa stop comes as Brown steps out more -- After months of infrequent appearances and skinflint spending, Democrat Jerry Brown was in Santa Rosa for a campaign rally Wednesday, even as GOP candidate Meg Whitman suggested that President Obama's recent endorsement of the state attorney general means the president is "very worried about what's going to happen in California." Carla Marinucci, Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle DEREK MOORE in the Santa Rosa Press -- 8/26/10 Brown doesn't rule out future use of state plane -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown on Wednesday declined to rule out continuing to use a state plane for official state business, despite criticizing his Republican opponent for traveling on private jets and saying he would get rid of such perks as governor. SAMANTHA YOUNG AP -- 8/26/10 A bumpy day in the Brown, Whitman campaigns -- Just another day in the governor's race, and both Democratic candidate Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman are on the defensive. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Karl Rove-backed group launches ad attacking Boxer -- A group backed by GOP strategist Karl Rove is wading into the California Senate contest, launching a new TV spot blasting Sen. Barbara Boxer for voting for Medicare cuts included in the federal health care legislation. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 CalBuzz: eMeg’s Charm Offensive (Take 47); Foxy & Brown -- Meg Whitman’s new ad, “130 Miles,” is an attempt to use the glamor of Silicon Valley to reboot eMeg’s image as a can-do business executive whose skill is needed to repair California’s “mismanaged, ineffective” government. It’s polished and – if you knew nothing else about her, Silicon Valley or how government works – a persuasive 30-second argument. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 8/26/10 Small-business PAC gets big-business support -- A November ballot initiative to implement a two-thirds majority vote requirement on all new fees imposed by the state took in a big chunk of change from some not-so-small businesses – including big tobacco and alcohol interests. Jennifer Chaussee in Capitol Weekly -- 8/26/10 Skelton: Brown and Schwarzenegger don't have to defend Prop. 8 — but they should -- Even if they disagree with the same-sex marriage ban or think it unconstitutional, the governor and attorney general have a duty to stand behind the voters' will. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Toil and trouble: The Capitol seethes as the deadline looms -- Everybody expected it and nobody was disappointed: The biggest bills of the year are emerging, seemingly out of thin air it seems at times, amid hasty rewrites, marathon negotiating sessions and skirmishes between lobbyists and the interest groups that employ them. John Howard and Anthony York in Capitol Weekly -- 8/26/10 Bill to boost student voting clears Legislature -- Senate Bill 970 by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, creates a pilot program of establishing absentee vote drop-off boxes on one University of California campus, one state university campus and one community college campus. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Three anti-tax loophole bills gain legislative approval -- Three bills that obliquely attack state tax loopholes survived legislative votes Wednesday and are headed to uncertain fates on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Plastic-bag backers donate to California lawmakers ahead of bill's vote -- With California lawmakers poised to vote on a historic effort to phase out plastic grocery bags, the American Chemistry Council is going all out to stop the proposal before the Tuesday legislative deadline. Susan Ferriss in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Morain: Bag ban: Nice cause, flimsy idea -- Surely, the path for any right-thinking liberal is clear when it comes to banning plastic grocery bags. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Niello gives his state Senate campaign $100,000 -- Niello, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville and Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, a Democrat, are running in a Nov. 2 special primary to replace GOP Sen. Dave Cox, who died last month of prostate cancer. Torey Van Oot SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/26/10 Ex-Berryhill helper condemns campaign -- Republican Mike Berryhill's struggling San Joaquin Valley congressional campaign is being body slammed by the man who says he was supposed to run it. Michael Doyle in the Fresno Bee -- 8/26/10 Larry Aceves will remain 'retired school superintendent' on state ballots -- A Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that Larry Aceves, a candidate for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, can retain his ballot designation as a "retired school superintendent" in November. Theresa Harrington in the Contra Costa Times -- 8/26/10 LA Weekly: Cooley's Blind Eye -- District attorney accepted laundered campaign money while prosecuting Democratic contributors for same offense. Gene Maddaus LA Weekly -- 8/26/10 SF Weekly: Her House Divided -- The most powerful female politician in the country now teeters between long-term victory and instant defeat. Sasha Abramsky SF Weekly -- 8/26/10 California inmates still suffer from lapses in prison medical care -- Changes ordered by a federal receiver have brought better doctors and better care to inmates in California state prisons. But, as KPCC reports, inmates continue to suffer from misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. Julie Small KPCC -- 8/26/10 California judicial panel backs Cantil-Sakauye for chief justice -- Tani Cantil-Sakauye took one step closer to donning the robe of chief justice of the California Supreme Court on Wednesday when the three-member Commission of Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed her appointment. Gina Kim in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10
Budget nowhere in sight -- Nearly eight weeks into the new fiscal year, California lawmakers aren't even pretending they're close to approving a state budget. James Rufus Koren in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 8/26/10
Big California solar energy push moves forward -- California's long-awaited boom in solar power plant construction took a major step forward Wednesday when state regulators approved the first in a string of projects that will soon blanket thousands of acres of desert with mirrors harnessing the energy of the sun. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/26/10 A closer look at governor's job chart -- The chart travels with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a trusty companion created to drive home a point: State workers haven't felt much "pain." Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10
Fensterwald: How 5 Race to Top judges scored California -- The five unidentified reviewers of California’s Race to the Top application generally praised the district-led approach that California took and expressed optimism that ceding control to districts committed to reform could succed. John Fensterwald educatedguess.org -- 8/26/10 Union, data system faulted for state's loss in federal education-grant contest -- Weak support from teachers unions was a key factor in California's failure to win money in the Obama administration's school reform competition, according to documents released Wednesday by U.S. Department of Education. Terence Chea AP -- 8/26/10 Bill would guarantee CSU admission for community college grads -- The Legislature has given final passage to a bill that would require California’s community colleges to offer a degree that would guarantee students admission to a California State University campus. Dan Weintraub HealthyCal.org -- 8/26/10 Community colleges cancel deal with online Kaplan University -- The state's community college system cancels agreement allowing students to take courses at the private online school, because they would not be transferrable to UC or Cal State campuses. Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 CSU "broke the law" in withholding Palin documents, judge rules -- A judge has ruled that CSU Stanislaus violated state law when it refused to make public Sarah Palin’s contract for an on-campus speech, a First Amendment group says. Lance Williams California Watch Cyndee Fontana in the Fresno Bee -- 8/26/10 LAUSD drops policy of assigning teachers by race -- A civil rights group has dropped its lawsuit challenging Los Angeles Unified's race-based policy of assigning teachers to specific schools after the district voted to halt the practice, attorneys said Wednesday. Susan Abram in the Torrance Daily Breeze -- 8/26/10 L.A. schools chief says district will adopt 'value added' approach -- Cortines wants the method based on student test scores to count for at least 30% of instructor evaluations. But the teachers union must consent. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Judge orders Cal State Stanislaus to release documents related to Palin's visit -- The former Alaska governor was paid $75,000 to speak at a campus event. The court asks the university to make public files on the use of facilities, staff and services surrounding the gala. Carla Rivera in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10
Bankrupt chemical company agrees to clean up California Superfund site -- The federal government announced this week that a major U.S. chemical manufacturer has agreed to spend approximately $26 million to clean up 17 contaminated sites, including one in California. Susanne Rust California Watch -- 8/26/10 Flap over power plants’ cooling heats up in Capitol -- A sharp dispute is brewing in the Capitol over a plan pushed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to ease new state rules over the way power plants use ocean water to cool their engines. John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 8/26/10 State lawmakers approve limit on cadmium in jewelry -- If signed by the governor, California would become the fourth state to regulate the heavy metal in jewelry. Joanna Lin California Watch -- 8/26/10 California ban on bisphenol A in doubt -- A bill to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in products for children is on life support at the Capitol after it fell three votes shy of winning final passage in the state Senate today. Wyatt Buchanan Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 8/26/10 Treating Sacramento region's sewage to eliminate ammonia could cost $10 per household -- Removing ammonia from Sacramento's treated sewage could cost every household in the region an extra $10 a month, according to a new study by economists at University of the Pacific. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10
California won't block individual health care rate hikes -- The Department of Insurance won't stand in the way of rate hikes for hundreds of thousands of Californians who buy health insurance on their own, after finding no regulatory reason to block hefty increases filed by two of the state's largest insurers. Bobby Caina Calvan in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Despite court, state stem cell funds continue -- Perhaps a third of the $200 million in grants that the federal government intended to award nationally in 2010 for embyronic stem cell research will be blocked at least temporarily by a U.S. District court ruling, but in California the funding will continue without interruption, according to the state’s stem cell agency. The item is in Capitol Weekly -- 8/26/10 Anthem Blue Cross allowed to move ahead with rate hikes -- California insurance regulators cleared the way Wednesday for Anthem Blue Cross to implement scaled-back rate hikes after a previous rate increase was canceled amid an uproar over its size. Duke Helfand in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10
Schwarzenegger calls for 50,000 Border Patrol agents -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for more than doubling the number of Border Patrol agents on the U.S.-Mexico border – from the current level of around 17,000 to 50,000. Louis Freedberg California Watch -- 8/26/10
L.A. finds only a quarter of registered pot dispensaries eligible to stay open -- City clerk says 41 of 170 medical marijuana shops that registered in 2007 meet the new ordinance's requirements. Ousted operators express shock and outrage; city lawyers gear up for more litigation. John Hoeffel in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 Legislators prepare to vote on paparazzi crackdown -- Senate and Assembly approve dozens of bills, including a plan to help finance a replacement for King-Harbor Hospital and fines for minors who ski or snowboard without a helmet. Patrick McGreevy and Patrick McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10 State’s plans to send prisoners to county jails worry officials -- Low-risk inmates would , police groups hopes to save money by shipping low-risk inmates. Michael Gardner in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/26/10 California Assembly dress code for women means business -- Bad news for bare shoulders. While mercury soared to triple digits Wednesday, Assembly sergeants-at-arms began notifying women that a new policy requires them to wear a coat or sweater to enter the chamber. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10 Assembly OKs bill to keep tenant’s cats clawed -- California lawmakers have approved a bill that would prohibit landlords from requiring tenants to declaw or devocalize their pets in order to move in. Samantha Gowen in the Orange County Register -- 8/26/10 Obituary: Keith Hearn, 67, spokesman for California state worker unions -- Keith Hearn, a former Sacramento journalist, labor consultant and spokesman for state employee unions, died Saturday of complications related to Parkinson's disease. He was 66. Robert D. Dávila in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/10
Healthcare law backers plan counteroffensive -- The White House and supporters of the overhaul are poised to challenge intense negative publicity against 'Obamacare' with a massive ad campaign. Noam N. Levey and Tom Hamburger in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/10
Former G.O.P. Leader Says He Is Gay -- Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has revealed that he is gay and is working to advance the cause of same-sex marriage. MICHAEL LUO in the New York Times -- 8/26/10 Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening -- Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House, privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day. JIM VANDEHEI, ALEX ISENSTADT & MIKE ALLEN Politico -- 8/26/10 |
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