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Governor's budget offers little new support for high-speed rail -- Despite a recent statement of support, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included little additional money for California's high-speed rail project in his revised state budget proposal — and most of the new funding has a string attached. STEVE LAWRENCE AP -- 5/14/07
Senate OKs giving state's electoral votes to popular vote winner -- For the second time in nine months, the state Senate has approved legislation that attempts to circumvent the Electoral College. But the bill approved Monday could be headed for another veto by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. STEVE LAWRENCE AP -- 5/14/07
Miami tops rude drivers list for second year; L.A. not far behind -- For the second consecutive year, rude Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday. SARAH LARIMER AP -- 5/14/07
Richardson Touts Energy Plan -- Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson on Monday proposed dramatic increases in automotive fuel economy in the next 10 years and the near-elimination of industrial greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. SCOTT LINDLAW AP -- 5/14/07
Court hears arguments in suit over federal gas mileage rules -- Lawyers for 11 states and several environmental groups told a federal appeals court Monday that the Bush administration failed to consider global warming when setting new gas mileage rules. MARCUS WOHLSEN AP -- 5/14/07
Bloomberg Again Nixes Presidential Run -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg again rejected supporters Monday who wanted him to run for president. That includes Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel's suggestion that the nation could use an independent presidential ticket with Bloomberg and Hagel on it. MICHAEL GORMLEY AP -- 5/14/07
Court hears arguments in suit over federal gas mileage rules -- Lawyers for 11 states and several environmental groups told a federal appeals court Monday that the Bush administration failed to consider global warming when setting new gas mileage rules. MARCUS WOHLSEN AP -- 5/14/07
Kuehl slams Richardson in 37th C.D; Schipske out -- The race to replace the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald is already getting ugly with one of the state's most prominent gay elected officials denouncing Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, one of the candidates in the race, as "homophobic." John Howard in Capitol Weekly -- 5/14/07
Migden's Caddy fetches $23,000 -- A state-owned Cadillac once used as the legislative vehicle for Senator Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, was sold at auction. Once the bidding was done, the off-white 2005 Cadillac STS V6 sold for $23,000 at a Department of General Services auction on Wednesday--just under Kelley Blue Book value. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 5/14/07
Schwarzenegger releases revised budget that boosts spending -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday released a revised state budget that calls for spending slightly more than he proposed in January, even as the state's soft housing market is expected to depress tax revenue in the coming year. AARON C. DAVIS AP Judy Lin in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Governor unveils proposed `no tax hike' budget revision -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a revised 2007-08 budget today that uses higher-than-expected tax revenue to ease the state deficit, bolster the state emergency fund and lower California bond debt. Steve Geissinger in the Oakland Tribune -- 5/14/07
McNulty, Justice Dept. No. 2, Resigning --- Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said Monday he will resign, the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys, The Associated Press has learned. LARA JAKES JORDAN AP -- 5/14/07
CalPERS trustees oppose Iran divestment bill -- Trustees of the California Public Employees' Retirement System voted Monday to oppose legislation requiring the fund to shed investments in foreign companies doing business in Iran. Gilbert Chan in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Gingrich May Jump Into Presidential Race -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday there is a very good chance he'll get into the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but he won't decide until after September. LIBBY QUAID AP -- 5/14/07
Giuliani's Firm Lobbied Government -- As a partner in a law and lobbying firm, Rudy Giuliani has profited from his firm's work representing corporate clients before nearly every Cabinet department, exposing himself to a wide range of potential ethical entanglements. SHARON THEIMER and DEVLIN BARRETT AP -- 5/14/07
Whales spotted in Sacramento River -- The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that "three or four" whales are in the Sacramento River just north of the town of Rio Vista, said Petty Officer Shannon Swagerty. The Coast Guard is using boats to maintain a 100-yard safety perimeter around the whales to protect them from boat traffic, and it has notified the Marine Mammal Center in case the whales need any help. The item is in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Oversight problems hindering compacts -- Long before a federal appeals court last fall threw out operating rules designed to protect the integrity of Indian casinos nationwide, the legal outcome had been forecast by nearly everyone who had studied the matter. “No court seems to have struggled with this issue,” agreed Kathryn Rand, a law professor and co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota. James P. Sweeney in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 5/14/07
Some doctors don't like this Medi-Cal prescription -- Schwarzenegger's plan would tap physicians to help pay for universal healthcare. The issue has left the medical profession increasingly divided. Jordan Rau in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
State Guard alone on the tuition front -- Moving through the Legislature now, such measures would join laws passed in the last couple of years that allow the soldiers — mostly National Guard members — to postpone payments on mortgages, credit cards and property taxes and give them "preference points" for state civil service jobs. The one thing they want most, though, is not available: state money for college. All it would take, Guard officials say, is $3 million a year, a negligible sum in the state's $130-billion proposed budget. Nancy Vogel in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Who says lawmakers don't have a prayer? -- Lord, give us this day our daily ... labor union? California lawmakers start each floor session with a prayer. Sometimes they beseech the Almighty for the darnedest things. The Rev. Monsignor Eugene J. Boyle, serving as a guest chaplain at an Assembly session honoring Cesar Chavez Day, led a rousing appeal on everything from hunger to violence to health care. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Income tax windfall arrives at budget time -- Just as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's run of financial good fortune seemed to be on the wane, billions of extra dollars unexpectedly flowed into state coffers last month. The surge likely will spare Schwarzenegger from a protracted budget battle with Democrats that had threatened to sidetrack his sweeping agenda this year. MIKE ZAPLER in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/14/07
Farmworker union fights against secret ballots -- With the farm labor movement in its infancy, legendary organizer Cesar Chavez won a major victory in 1975 with the passage of a state law that guaranteed secret ballot elections for farmworker unions. Now the union Chavez helped found is fighting against secret ballots, claiming the process allows for company intimidation -- and ultimately, union losses. A bill backed by the United Farm Workers union would allow for workers to sign cards instead of cast ballots in union elections. If a majority of workers sign up, the union would be certified almost immediately. E.J. Schultz in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Legalizing immigrants gains favor -- National newsmagazines often publish sweeping generalizations about social trends, and five years ago Time magazine declared Sacramento to be "America's most integrated city" in which "people seem to live side by side more successfully" than in other multicultural communities. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
The Buzz: Capitol (again) gets jump on silliness -- Elected officials, media reps and amphibians put aside their differences last Tuesday for an event that made two of the three groups look silly. The event was a frog-jumping contest sponsored by state Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks. The point was to promote the famous annual frog-jumping contest held as part of the Calaveras County Fair, which is this coming weekend. Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
The McCain Comeback -- With a lead in Nevada, a statistical tie in California, and a spirited performance at the first Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library outside Los Angeles earlier this month, Arizona Senator John McCain looks like the first comeback candidate of the campaign. Bill Bradley NWN weblog -- 5/14/07
Cable news is more than open to political debates -- Back in October, Fox News gleefully announced that it would be presenting the first debate of the 2008 campaign, a face-off between the Republican presidential contenders set to be held this month in Columbia, S.C. In the end, Tuesday's forum at the University of South Carolina will be the third of the season, following on the heels of two debates on MSNBC. (Fox News has now dubbed its event the "First-in-the-South" Republican debate.) Matea Gold in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Border case puts U.S. attorney on defensive -- Internet cartoons show him with horns and the word "TRAITOR" branded on his forehead. Conservative talk radio derides him as "Johnny Satan." At least two Republican congressmen, normally staunch defenders of the Bush administration, have castigated him on the House floor. Richard A. Serrano in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Senate negotiators try for compromise on immigration law -- Congress can stage one heck of an immigration debate, as senators have shown. But write new immigration law? That's the real test. Starting as early as today, the Senate revives an immigration overhaul drama. The cast is familiar, the lines well-rehearsed, but the plot is a work in progress. MICHAEL DOYLE in the Modesto Bee -- 5/14/07
Rookie in Congress touts science -- It's not every day that a member of Congress rises on the House floor to announce a major breakthrough in mathematics. But that's what the Bay Area's newest lawmaker, Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton, did in a recent speech. Zachary Coile in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/14/07
Nun roamed Capitol, lobbying for needy -- They know her as Sister Sheila, this seemingly demure Catholic nun -- and registered lobbyist, of all things -- who has roamed the halls of power in Sacramento for decades. For much of that time, she has wielded more than her share of influence. Lawmakers across the political spectrum know how hard it is to say no when she has them in her sights. Sister Sheila Walsh, who prefers to be called Sister Sheila, has devoted her life to fighting for the cause that matters most to her -- social justice for the neediest among us. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Staying way after school -- The rooms in this college dorm have no electricity, no running water and ceilings that are just 11 inches high. But the residents don't mind. They're dead. Roy Rivenburg in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
School board race pivotal -- The struggle for control of the Los Angeles Unified School District will culminate Tuesday when voters go to the polls to decide between two political giants for the school board. RICK ORLOV in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/14/07
Morale at UCR, medical school push seen as key for next chancellor -- UC Riverside's new chancellor should be a model scholar who can boost faculty morale, build relationships with the surrounding community, and continue the momentum of UCR's vision for a medical school, campus and community leaders say. MARISA AGHA and DAVID OLSON in the Riverside Press -- 5/14/07
SSU president faces no-confidence vote this week -- Faculty members backing a no-confidence vote this week on Sonoma State University President Ruben Arminana say they hope it will force him to step down. BOB NORBERG in the Santa Rosa Press -- 5/14/07
Common chemicals are linked to breast cancer -- More than 200 chemicals — many found in urban air and everyday consumer products — cause breast cancer in animal tests, according to a compilation of scientific reports published today. Writing in a publication of the American Cancer Society, researchers concluded that reducing exposure to the compounds could prevent many women from developing the disease. Marla Cone in the Los Angeles Times Douglas Fischer in the Oakland Tribune -- 5/14/07
Lawmaker aims to end lottery system for nursing schools -- Getting into nursing school shouldn't be left to chance, according to Assemblyman Tom Berryhill. The Modesto Republican, whose district includes the Mother Lode, is shepherding through the Legislature a measure that would scrap the existing lottery system used by many California community colleges in favor of a merit-based system. Hank Shaw in the Stockton Record -- 5/14/07
Outbreak of iPods at UCSF -- Talk about a nice "thank you" -- as part of Staff Appreciation Week, UCSF Medical Center has given all 8,300 hospital employees their own iPod Shuffles. At a discounted $70 each, that comes to about $581,000. Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/14/07
New front in war in mosquitoes -- Thousands of unsold and empty houses in the Sacramento region are fast becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes. As the region's housing slump creates more vacant houses and a growing excess of homes in transition between buyers and sellers, Culex mosquitoes that can spread the West Nile virus to birds, other animals and humans are thriving in uncared-for swimming pools, garden ponds and yards flooded by broken sprinklers, said David Brown, manager of the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District. Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
L.A. loses water-hog rep as residents learn to conserve -- For years, Southern Californians had a reputation that's been difficult to shake: Water hogs. Resource stealers. Movie stars filling up their swimming pools and washing their fancy cars with our water. But as a record dry spell envelops the state's most populous city - fewer than 3 inches of rain have fallen on downtown Los Angeles since October - water officials throughout the state will tell you that, at least these days, the stereotype's all wrong. Julie Sevrens Lyons in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/14/07
Don't rush to reseed at park, experts say -- Several scientists are cautioning Los Angeles officials to think hard before reseeding and replanting large areas of Griffith Park that burned in last week's 820-acre brush fire. Deborah Schoch in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Researchers learn why tar pits are bubbly -- Newly discovered bacteria in natural asphalt are munching on the petroleum and burping up methane gas in Hancock Park. Jia-Rui Chong in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Tourists allowed to visit fire-scarred Catalina Island -- As of 4 p.m., ferry boats from San Pedro and Long Beach were cleared to resume carrying tourists to the island, 22 miles off the Southern California coast, officials said. Visitors will be restricted to the town of Avalon while firefighters continue to fight the blaze in the island's interior, about five to 10 miles from town. Joel Rubin and John Johnson in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Plan spews debate over diesel soot -- Seeking to reduce the health risks from diesel soot, California air regulators are proposing to require thousands of bulldozers, backhoes, cranes and other types of construction equipment that have been in operation for years to have their engines retrofitted or replaced entirely. Paul Rogers in the Contra Costa Times -- 5/14/07
Boycotts and Bike to Work Day -- The national gasoline boycott day is upon us. It's tomorrow, in case you didn't get the memo. As I mentioned last week, it is my opinion this protest against soaring gas prices isn't going to accomplish much, other than create a speed bump for oil companies on their way to selling more gas later in the week. DAVE DOWNEY in the North County Times -- 5/14/07
Smog increases fire threat -- Mountain residents are all too familiar with the multiple-whammy that turned the San Bernardino National Forest into a tinder box earlier this decade. One of those factors was drought, and with a bone-dry winter just past, another scary fire season is effectively here already. On top of the well-documented villains, it turns out there's something else that drove the forest into its dangerous state - smog. Andrew Silva in the San Bernardino Sun -- 5/14/07
Crooked take on American dream -- Oppressed in their native Ukraine, Konstantin and Mayya Grigoryan came to the United States a dozen years ago in search of the American dream. They didn't speak English, struggled to pay the bills and relied on family and friends to make ends meet. Eventually they found jobs and began to acquire wealth, opening a restaurant, starting a string of medical clinics and finally buying a $661,500 home in a gated community in Altadena. JASON KANDEL in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/14/07
New citizens share strong ties to the U.S. -- For Hans Kaufmann, the decision to finally become a U.S. citizen after living in this country legally for more than four decades had nothing to do with the national debate on immigration. His decision was personal. He held on to his German passport in honor of his father, who was very proud of his heritage. But when his father died at age 91 last year, Kaufmann decided to become a citizen for his children's sake. Anna Gorman in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
'I want us to remain spectators, not actors in this' -- When San Diego city planner Tait Galloway settled behind his desk on June 19, 2006, he was surprised to find a message saying the Federal Aviation Administration wanted to talk about an office tower going up near Montgomery Field. What interest, he wondered, could the FAA have in a project that was nothing more than a concrete foundation? David Hasemyer in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 5/14/07
A magical mystery maypole rises in Brentwood -- The pole rises 20 feet in the air, and with its colored ribbons tapering to the ground in a circle looks like an enormous spinning top that somehow has alighted on a leafy stretch of Sunset Boulevard. Carla Rivera in the Los Angeles Times -- 5/14/07
Visiting mom in prison -- It's a momentous day for Renecia Threadgill. It's her 13th birthday and she's on her way to the Central Valley for a visit with her mom, incarcerated in a state prison. Renecia hasn't seen her mother in a year. She carefully planned for the trip, fixing her hair just so with a pink headband, wearing a special shirt and polka-dot earrings. Elizabeth Fernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/14/07
'Honk for peace' case tests limits on free speech -- When one of Deborah Mayer's elementary school students asked her on the eve of the Iraq war whether she would ever take part in a peace march, the veteran teacher recalls answering, "I honk for peace." Soon afterward, Mayer lost her job and her home in Indiana. She was out of work for nearly three years. And when she complained to federal courts that her free-speech rights had been violated, the courts replied, essentially, that as a public school teacher she didn't have any. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/14/07
Critical Mass cyclists seek Berkeley council support -- One of the organizers of the monthly Critical Mass bicycle ride through Berkeley said bikers will ask the City Council Tuesday night to complain about their treatment Friday, during a confrontation between about 30 riders and an elderly couple in a minivan in Berkeley. Jason Meggs, who helped create the monthly Friday evening ride 14 years ago, accused the driver Sunday of deliberately driving through a red light into the mass of riders. He said three bicycles were crushed under the van, causing about $3,000 damage. William Brand in the Oakland Tribune -- 5/14/07
Church puts focus on peace for Mother's Day / Woman who lost her only son in Iraq war gives tearful speech -- May is the hardest time of year for Karen Meredith. It's the month when her son first shipped off to Iraq, in 2003, and it's the month when he was killed there in 2004. It's also the month of Mother's Day, when she is reminded of everything she lost with the death of her only son, Army Lt. Kenneth Ballard. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/14/07
Highway to hell -- Despite all the laws, penalties, innovations and emotional speeches to deter drunken driving, people still take the wheel while intoxicated. There is no magic bullet to keep the drunken driver off the road. Appeals to conscience fall flat, license suspensions are flouted, ignition devices are almost never used. California's alcohol-involved traffic death toll continues to rise, from 1,072 deaths in 1998 to 1,574 in 2005, according to California Highway Patrol data. That's an increase of nearly 50 percent during a period when the state's population grew about 12 percent. Christina Jewett and Dorothy Korber in the Sacramento Bee -- 5/14/07
Welfare-to-work program was target of fraud -- Lana Michael and her husband collected welfare benefits in 2003, claiming they earned less than $24,000. But authorities say Michael, the former office manager of a job-training center for immigrant welfare recipients, also owned a liquor store and recycling business. And, authorities say, she drove a $76,000 luxury car, shopped at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue and had $147,980 stashed in her bedroom dresser. TROY ANDERSON in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/14/07
Director has lock on taste, nutrition -- A state board that sets jailhouse nutritional standards decided last year that California prisoners should drink three glasses of milk daily, not two. That extra half-pint a day cost Contra Costa County an extra $87,000 this year. Who knew? Jeff Vickers did. Karl Fischer in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/14/07
Little Orchestra That Could -- Oakland is great place to live -- a point that can't be stressed enough. Regardless of what Gertrude Stein, Herb Caen and Charles Barkley have said about Oakland, this is a special city with special people. And one of Oakland's best selling points is the little orchestra that could, and can, the Oakland East Bay Symphony under music director, conductor and exciting visionary Michael Morgan. Dave Newhouse in the Oakland Tribune -- 5/14/07
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