Jim Brulte, the former leader of the caucuses in both houses of the Legislature who narrowly missed being Assembly speaker in the 1990s, was elected chair of the California Republican Party at the GOP's spring convention. His immediate problem? You name it.
From Seema Mehta in the L.A. Times: "Brulte takes office at a time when the party faces daunting obstacles. In addition to the debt, its share of the state's voters is at a historic low of less than 30%, and the party has not elected a candidate statewide in seven years, most recently suffering a shellacking in November."
"Echoing what Republicans have pledged for years, Brulte called for expanding the party by pushing it outside its "comfort zone," and talking to every community rather than only to die-hard Republicans."
"After a tough election, and it was tough in California, it's easy to turn and blame other Republicans for it, but it was our loss," Brulte told several hundred party activists after he was elected chairman. "We all ought to own it, and we ought to redouble our efforts going out and winning elections."
Speaking of Republicans, what about Abel Maldonado? If Republicans need a business-savvy, moderate contender to face Jerry Brown next year, why not Maldonado, a former lieutenant governor?
From the Chronicle's Carla Marinucci: "Former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado — who was the highest ranking GOP Latino statewide official in generations — said Sunday he is seriously considering a 2014 run for governor against Democratic incumbent Jerry Brown."
"Saying he could “bring a different face” and a new Republican message to California, Maldonado told the Chronicle in an interview that he is strongly mulling the run against three term Democrat not only to strengthen the party, but also to encourage the kind of vibrant two-party political debate that makes for “a better state.”
“I’ve been encouraged publicly, and privately,” he said, to offer a challenge to Brown as the California Republican Party is in such dire straits that it appears the Democrat could easily sail to a fourth term without serious opposition. “At this point in time, I’m seriously thinking about it,” Maldonado said. “I think I need to decide sooner rather than later.”
Okay, so the intricacies of the Stockton bankruptcy proceeding are painful to decipher, but one thing is clear -- the bond insurers are not pleased.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: 'A federal judge suggested last week that pension cuts in the Stockton bankruptcy may not be a key issue until the city tries to negotiate a debt-cutting “plan of adjustment” with creditors, a step awaiting an eligibility ruling after a trial later this month."
"Bond insurers say a city proposal to reduce its long-term debt, including a $124 million pension bond, treats them unfairly because the biggest creditor, CalPERS, is left untouched."
“I understand the financial market creditors are upset about that and contend that if they have to take a ‘haircut,’ so do you,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein told a CalPERS lawyer, Michael Gearin, at a hearing last week."
A trio of seats are up for grabs on the L.A. school board, which runs the nation's second-largest school district and which is capturing interest -- and money -- from around the nation.
From Jennifer Medina in the NY Times: "On Tuesday, voters in Los Angeles will go to the polls for a mayoral primary. But much of the attention will also be on the three races for the school board, a battle that involves the mayor, the teachers’ union and a host of advocates from across the country — including New York City’s billionaire mayor — who have poured millions of dollars into the races."
"The outcome of the political fight for the school board seats will have a profound impact on the direction of the nation’s second-largest school district. But the clash has also become a sort of test case for those who want to overhaul public education, weakening the power of the teachers’ union, pushing for more charter schools and changing the way teachers are hired and fired."
"After years of pressing to take power away from local school boards, some advocates have directed their money and attention directly to school boards in the hope that they will support their causes, as unions have done in the past."
Federal and state discussions about tougher gun laws are rsulting in an increasing number of people wanting to get and sell weapons.
From the Bee's Cynthia Hubert and Phillip Reese: "They stood in the crisp morning air clutching Red Bulls and bearing arms: Bushmaster rifles poking from backpacks, HK pistols nestled in cases, Colt semi-automatics propped on shoulders."
"Thousands of people, many from California and some toting unloaded guns for sale, waited in line for nearly two hours across from Reno's glitzy Atlantis Hotel on a recent Saturday for the chance to buy and sell weapons. It is a right, they insisted, that never has been in greater jeopardy in America."
"The crowd was the largest in memory for the Crossroads of the West gun show in Reno, organizers said, and the reason was hardly a mystery. Gun advocates are nervous amid talk of proposed laws that could restrict their ability to buy and sell weapons and ammunition. Already, several noted, gun shops across the country are reporting shortages."
And finally from our bulging "Sorrow and Pain" file comes word that thousands of gallons of whisky were inadvertently spilled from a Chivas plant. Ahh, the unfairness of it all.
"A massive spill at a Chivas plant has sent the smell of spirits flowing through a Scottish sewer and sorrow coursing through the hearts of Scotch whisky fans."
"Chivas Brothers Ltd. spokeswoman Jennifer Stevenson says the group is investigating what she described as an "accidental loss" of spirit at the company's bottling plant in Dumbarton, Scotland on Feb. 26."
"She declined to estimate how much of the bulk whisky had been lost, saying only that it was less than the 18,000 liters (4,755 gallons) mentioned in media reports."