That dreaded word "sequester" looms ever closer and In California the impacts are likely to be dramatic -- and bad.
From the Mercury-News' Mike Rosenberg: "Just when Californians are finally feeling upbeat again about where the state is heading, here comes a fresh downer: The federal sequester cuts set to kick in this week could cost California billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs while making most of our daily lives more difficult."
"The state's budget may be balanced and the economy improving, but unless congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama reach a last-minute deal, the federal government on Friday will begin slashing $85 billion this year, including about 8 percent from the Pentagon and about 5 percent from most other discretionary programs."
"In an effort to ramp up the pressure on Republicans to accept new revenues to reach adeal, the White House on Sunday released a detailed state-by-state list of likely cuts for the federal fiscal year, which ends in September."
But the economy is recovering, however slowly, so CalPERS' thoughts are turning to rate increases for the locals.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "CalPERS last week gave some 1,575 local governments a small increase in their annual pension costs, one of the last rates kept low by unusual actuarial policies adopted after a $100 billion investment loss five years ago..."
"CalPERS funding levels are low, around 70 percent. Officials fear another big investment loss could require unworkable rate hikes to get to 100 percent funding. So a risk-based investment policy is being considered to cut losses in future downturns."
"The level of the big CalPERS state worker fund is projected to drop to 60 percent in 50 years, even if earnings average 7.5 percent. Proposed actuarial changes would boost funding levels, avoid conflicting debt reports and make employer rates more predictable."
Speaking of ilncreased rates, the boost in long-term care rates is coming as a shock to those who can least handle it -- the elderly.
From the Chronicle's Victoria Colliver: "The former San Francisco Unified School District teacher is one of 113,400 policyholders who bought long-term care insurance through the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, and will be hit with the 85 percent hike in 2015."
"They have been absolutely outraged," said Bonnie Burns, a policy specialist with California Health Advocates, an advocacy group for Medicare beneficiaries. "They feel the promises that were made to them when they bought these products have been violated."
"The state pension fund's board decided in October to increase rates for the policies, which help pay for nursing-home care, home health care and other expenses not covered by Medicare. Board members said lower-than-expected investment earnings and loose underwriting forced them to take the drastic action or risk insolvency."
The Judicial Council, the administrative arm of the courts, is draws relatively little public attention. And there may be a reason for that: Transparency is not the Council's strong suit.
From The Recorder's Cheryl Miller: "The workings of the council's more than three dozen advisory panels, task forces, working groups and subcommittees are even more secretive. No agendas or minutes for their meetings are posted publicly. Instead, the administrative director of the courts offers in his regular reports to the council two- or three-sentence reviews of their recent gatherings."
"Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said the council hasn't considered whether the branch should be doing so much work in private because "no one's really asked."
"Opening committee meetings "is probably a good idea to consider," so long as it doesn't "chill" discussions or generate new costs, she said."
A question to President Obama: Are you in or out? When it comes to the legal fight over California's Proposition 8, we may know the answer soon.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "A month before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments over California's ban on same-sex marriage, President Obama is due to render his own verdict with a decision to join the legal battle or stay out of it."
"His decision will be closely scrutinized by both sides of the bitterly debated issue. It's far less clear how much - or even whether - it will matter to the court."
"Thursday is the deadline for filing "friend-of-the-court" briefs by nonparties in support of gay and lesbian couples and the city of San Francisco in their challenge to Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative that limited marriage to the union of a man and a woman."