One of the most hotly contested features of Gov. Brown's premier state budget, tapping local redevelopment funds to help balance the state's books, prompted a court battle between the locals and the state. Today, the state Supreme Court is expected to issue its long-awaited ruling.
From the Mercury News' Howard Mintz: "The California Supreme Court will issue a long-awaited ruling Thursday on the legality of the state's move to grab $1.7 billion in redevelopment money to help close California's budget shortfall -- a move that rocked cities around the Bay Area and across the state."
"The ruling, expected at 10 a.m., should give critical guidance on two state laws: one that dissolves redevelopment agencies and redirects their property tax revenues to the state, and a second that allows agencies to stay afloat if they agree to relinquish a large portion of their funding, which will be used to pay for schools."
"San Jose's agency, until recently the state's second largest and the architect of the city's downtown renewal, said it could not afford the payment for schools and would close shop. But most others in the state -- including Oakland, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Concord -- are hoping to pay the money and survive. Oakland, for instance, would like to use redevelopment money in its bid to retain the A's baseball team, which San Jose is trying to land."
"The state's high court promised a 10 a.m. ruling on its website Wednesday. The Supreme Court previously had agreed to rule on the crucial issue by Jan. 15, when half of the redevelopment money is slated to be turned over to the state for the 2011-12 fiscal year."
Gov. Brown. meanwhile, is weighing clemency in the case of a grandmother who was sentenced to prison for the shaking death of her grandchild. The LAT's Maura Dolan has the story.
"The governor, who received the petition Wednesday, is being asked to commute the life sentence of Shirley Ree Smith, a 51-year-old grandmother who was sentenced to 15 years to life in 1997 for causing the death of a child."
"Although Brown is notoriously unpredictable, a longtime advisor said he would be "very surprised" if Brown did not grant clemency to Smith, who has spent 10 years in prison for a death she has maintained was a tragic case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, not a crime against a beloved child."
"A federal appeals court found "no demonstrable support" for the prosecution's claim that Smith shook 7-week-old Etzel Glass to death in 1996 and granted her release from prison in 2006 after striking her conviction by a Van Nuys jury. But the U.S. Supreme Court in October reinstated the conviction on the grounds that courts should not second-guess verdicts "supported by the record."
Down in San Diego, the hotelier who bought the Union-Tribune -- Doug Manchester -- is now thinking about buying the North County Times, whose parent company filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month.
From Rob Davis in the Voice of San Diego: "Lee Enterprises, the Times' parent company, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, struggling under the weight of nearly $1 billion in debt."
"Manchester said he hasn't made an offer for the paper, but has discussed how it could allow the Union-Tribune to expand."
"Everyone is looking at it," Manchester said. "It could add to our collection and it could be beneficial. We're probably the logical buyers, but we haven't met with anyone on it."
"Manchester and the Union-Tribune's new CEO, John Lynch, have said they are interested in bringing in television and radio stations into two empty floors of the newspaper's Mission Valley headquarters."
Stanford University, which has been linked to the creation of such SiIicon Valley behemoths as Google, Yahoo and Hewlett Packard, has created Startx -- an incubator for startups.
From Peter Delevett in the Contra Costa Times:"StartX is the brainchild of Cameron Teitelman, 23, who graduated from Stanford in June but launched the program while still an undergraduate."
"The idea began when Teitelman went looking to build his own company as a sophomore. The Essential Card aimed to give Stanford students discounts at local stores and restaurants, but Teitelman found the process frustrating despite the university's famed entrepreneurial streak. "There are a lot of resources all over the place, but it's really fragmented," he said. "What was missing was a network of mentors."
"After a year of buildup and brainstorming, StartX rolled out its first three-month session in summer 2010. Since then, 32 companies have gone through the program -- representing fields as diverse as cleantech, biotechnology and gaming -- and 13 more are currently enrolled."
And from "Love is Eternal" file comes the tale of James Love, the Civil War soldier whose letters to his sweetheart Molly have come to light 150 years later -- and are being posted on a museum web site, one at a time.
"Just Hum me a tune in the evening hours occasionally & I will fancy I hear it borne on the Autumnal breeze"
"James E. Love, a Union soldier, wrote those sweet words on Oct. 9, 1861, to his fiancée back in St. Louis. He and Eliza Mary "Molly" Wilson, both natives of northern Ireland, had secretly become engaged before he joined the army two months into the Civil War."
"The letter, mailed from near Sedalia in western Missouri, is more chatty than newsworthy, written during a lull in the hunt for elusive home-state rebels. Love describes the beauty of the countryside, his pleasure upon being "near or at the seat of war," and of affection for "dear Molly."
"It was one of 170 letters by Love to Wilson that were preserved and donated 70 years ago to the Missouri History Museum, which is publishing them one at a time online. Each is posted 150 years after the soldier wrote it to his lady love."