California's 2012 elections reflect a historic milestone in the state's history, exemplifying the swelling power of ethnic minorities in a trend that has been developing steadily for decades.
From Mark DiCamillo in The Field Poll: "The 2012 elections may prove to be a turning point in California politics – one that has been many years in the making – as the political might of the expanding ethnic voter population fully exerted itself in this year's statewide elections..."
"When I first began polling at The Field Poll in the late 1970s, the influence of ethnic voters on California election outcomes was less, and top-of-the-ticket races were typically more competitive affairs, with each party winning their share of the elections. For example, in the 16 elections for president, U.S. Senate and governor between 1978 and 1994, Republican candidates won nine times, while Democrats won seven times."
"The 1994 election marked a turning point, as ethnic voter participation began its ascent. What appeared to stimulate this surge was the passage of the highly divisive illegal immigration initiative, Proposition 187, which had the full support and backing of the Republican Party and of Governor Pete Wilson, who was running for re-election that year."
Meanwhile, California's first cap-and-trade auction of greenhouse gas credits fetched hundreds of millions of dollars from companies who bought the allowances as part of the state's program to crack down on carbonpaid more than $10 each for the credits.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Despite the hefty price tag, the final per-credit price was nearly the bare-minimum -- $10 each -- required by the auction and more than $2 below the per-credit market price projected last week on Wall Street.
The Air Resources Board, which supervised the event, reported today that the three-hour auction fetched $233.3 million from the sale of 23.1 million credits -- all that were available -- for 2013, plus another $56 million for 2015 from the sale of 5.58 million credits, a fraction of the 39.5 million that were on the block for that year.
For banks meeting their settlement requirments to ease the plight of stressed homeowners, the short sale has become key.
From Pat Brennan in the OC Register: "Big banks relied on short sales rather than reductions in principal to make a start on their $20 billion national mortgage settlement."
"That's the bottom line in a report released Monday by the monitor of a nationwide settlement between five banks, 49 state attorneys general and the U.S. Justice Department."
"Bank of America, Ally Financial, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo said that from March 1 through Sept. 30 they approved $13.3 billion in short sales, in which banks allow homeowners to sell homes for less than is owed on their mortgages. Nearly half of the short sales, $5.9 billion, were in California. They completed $7.78 billion in principal reductions or loan refinances with reduced rates, including $2.9 billion in California."
State regulators plan on putting together new rules governing the use of underground injection, a process used by the petroleum industry to extract oil.
From the LAT's Michael Mishak: "The pledge comes more than a year after the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued an auditthat found regulators were not adequately protecting potential drinking water and urged them to tighten extraction standards."
"The state's response, released Monday, said the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources had taken steps to correct deficiencies in its oversight program, including adding staff, increasing training and stepping up annual reviews of underground injection projects. Officials also said they developed new policies to ensure the integrity of oil wells."
"Still, regulators said they needed to update existing rules to comply with federal standards, including testing requirements for a controversial form of drilling that has been linked to spills, eruptions and a Kern County worker's death. "Cyclic steam" injection, in which a rush of steam heats the ground and loosens oil deposits, yields much of California's crude."
Down in Orange County, a Republican stronghold for generations, the GOP's stance on immigration is spurring Latinos and others into the Democratic fold.
From the LAT's Christopher Goffard: "Orange County was once an instant synonym for Republican power, and the GOP's dominance looked impregnable. Now, battered by the recent election results and dismayed by the slow, steady decline in party registration, Republicans here are struggling to craft a new strategy."
"The percentage of registered Republicans has eroded — it now stands at 41% — and the party has long since lost control of the political districts that envelop the county seat of Santa Ana, a Latino-dominated city of 330,000, and surrounding communities in the county's core."
"This month's election brought more blows. For the second time, the once-red city of Irvine voted for Barack Obama over the Republican candidate. And a northwestern chunk of the county fell to the Democrats when GOP Assemblyman Chris Norby, an outspoken conservative, lost to Latina schoolteacher Sharon Quirk-Silva."
Asked to explain the loss, Scott Baugh, chairman of the county's Republican Party, attributed it to "not fully appreciating the demographic shift and not seeing it in time."