When voters approved Proposition 39, they thought they were closing a corporate tax loophole, in part to provide money for green energy projects. But they were misled, notes Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor.
From the LAT's Chris Megerian: "Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who originally proposed using clean energy money for schools, agreed with Taylor on some of his criticisms. He said Brown's plan to count the money as Proposition 98 funding is a form of "double dipping" that could set a bad precedent."
"The senator also said it was wrong to distribute the money based on the number of students in each district. That "locks in the status quo" by treating poor and rich districts as if they have the same funding needs, he said."
"However, de León defended the plan to focus on schools, an approach also backed by financier Tom Steyer, who bankrolled the Proposition 39 campaign. The senator said the proposal would create jobs and help schools cut energy costs. He said, “We can take those dollars and reinvest them back in the classroom, where they are really needed.”
People may like their iPhones and iPads, but this is bidness: Apple's stock is dropping and as experts look at the Silicon Vallley powerhouse. they aren't sure why.
From the Mercury-News' Patrick May: "Apple stock fell well below $500 on Tuesday, shedding $200 billion in market value since peaking at more than $700 a share shortly after the launch of the iPhone 5 in September. Analysts were all over the map trying to decipher what's really going on with the world's most valuable company, even as Apple faces intense competition from rivals like Samsung, which has taken the lead in the smartphone race."
"As Apple prepares for its closely watched earnings report next week, many wonder what this steady decline might mean for both Apple's future and for the people who buy and sell its shares."
"I think there's a material psychological impact here for Apple investors because there's been this aura of invincibility to the company that has now come off," said John Jackson, an analyst with IDC in Boston. "But then you could have seen this coming because it's only reasonable to expect some maturation of Apple's formula. They set a cadence of innovation and disruption for years, and now this price drop shows Apple is simply a victim of its own successive successes."
Speaking of high-tech, California's Inland Empire is topping every area of the country except the suburbs of Washington, D.C., in the race for high-tech jobs.
From Beau Yarbrough in the San Bernardino Sun: "In the past 12 years, the Inland Empire beat out high-tech hubs like Seattle, San Francisco and Silicon Valley in the creation of high-tech jobs."
"From 2001 through 2012, high-tech jobs grew by 18.6 percent. Only the Washington, D.C., suburbs outpaced the trio of Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario. The ranking was created in a report by the Praxis Strategy Group, an economic strategy development firm and published at Forbes.comand at NewGeography.com. ..."
"Silicon Valley doesn't need to watch its back just yet, though: The raw number of high-tech jobs in the Inland Empire is still small: There are 5,267 high-tech jobs in San Bernardino County, spread out among 310 companies, according to the California Employment Development Department."
Southern California Edison, a part owner of the trouble-plagued San Onofre nuclear power plant, wants to keep secret most of its testimony before state investigators probing the plant's closure.
From Anita Sharma at KPBS: "In calling for the secret testimony, Edison and SDG&E said they may be required to submit confidential and proprietary information for the state investigation. And some of that information, they said in filings with regulators, might make public competitive details or may violate contracts they have with third parties like Mitsubishi."
"Mitsubishi manufactured the faulty steam generators at the center of the state's inquiry."
"John Geesman, an attorney for the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, has objected to Edison's request. He said if the California Public Utilities Commission agrees with Edison, public interest groups as parties to the state's investigation will get to see the companies' testimony only if they sign a nondisclosure agreement."
Meanwhile, the saga of who did what to whom at the UC Davis Medical Center may be winding down.
From the Bee's Marjie Lundstrom: "Federal regulators have backed off their threat to cut funding to the UC Davis Medical Center after a follow-up inspection found that the public hospital is now complying with regulations governing patient safety and care."
"The latest findings by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are a victory for the university, which has endured withering scrutiny in recent months over the controversial activities of two neurosurgeons."
"In a letter mailed Jan. 10 to the medical center, and released Tuesday to The Bee, federal officials informed UC Davis that the hospital has "demonstrated compliance" with all conditions for Medicare participation."