California voters are declaring to the political parties, "a pox on all your houses," as they increasingly refuse to identify themselves with the political parties.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Fickle Californians are voting with their feet, walking away from the political parties and increasingly declining to state any party preference at all."
"The secretary of state reported Monday that Democrats and Republicans both lost registrants, with Republicans dipping to 28.9 percent, while Democratic registration stood at 43.9 percent, fully 15 points above the GOP’s level. Some 23.86 million people were eligible to vote in California, with nearly 18.1 million, or 75.68 percent, actually registered."
"More than a fifth of all registered voters, or 20.9 percent, declined to state a preference with any political party, reflecting a steady increase in the number of decline-to-state voters in recent years, or about 259,000 more during the past two years. In 2005, decline-to-state registration totaled 17.9 percent."
If you've ever driven into California from Oregon, Nevada or Arizona, one thing you notice right way is the miserable condition of California's roads. It's no illusion -- the roads really are bad.
From the LAT's Ronald D. White: "The woeful condition of California's road surfaces is costing drivers $13.9 billion a year in repairs and operating costs, according to a new report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)."
"Clark Barrineau, manager of state public relations for ASCE, said that the $13.9 billion figure came from an analysis done by TRIP, a national transportation research group."
"Barrineau said that the $13.9 billion represented what the state's drivers were paying for repairs and operation costs that they would not have incurred if they were driving on roads in good condition."
Repeated budget cuts have battered the state's community colleges, forcing declines in staff, students and programs.
From EdSource's John Fensterwald: "A decline of 24 percent in per-student funding over five years has led to a record decline in access to community colleges and has jeopardized the services to those students who are enrolled, an extensive study by the Public Policy Institute of California concluded.
"Between 2006-07 and 2011-12, total revenue per student (in FTES or full-time equivalent, since most students attend part-time) fell from $6,700 to $5,100. Source: Impact of Budget Cuts on the California Community Colleges...."
"Although, the state’s 112 community colleges were protected more than four-year universities from cuts as a percentage of their budgets, they are more dependent on state revenue because fees comprise a tiny piece of their budgets, leaving them less well-positioned to weather cuts, the report said. The colleges responded by cutting back on non-credit courses, but they comprise only 10 percent of courses. As a result, the total number of sections overall plummeted 21 percent to a 15-year low, the study found. Enrollment declined by a half-million students from 2008-09 to 2011-12, even as the college-age population grew. Had the enrollment rate of 2008-09 continued, community colleges would have served 600,000 more students, the report said."
Wall Street, which always seems to be present when Main Street is in trouble, is not happy with the Stockton bankruptcy proceeding.
From the Bee's Peter Hecht: "Wall Street creditors Monday sought to block the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, arguing in federal court that the city of Stockton improperly claimed insolvency while refusing to cut its massive pension obligations."
"As U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein began a four-day trial in Sacramento to determine whether Stockton should be allowed to seek Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy protection, creditors ripped the city, saying it was wrongly sticking them with the bill for its fiscal ineptitude."
"Creditors that insured Stockton's pension bonds and issued bonds for downtown redevelopment projects, including a sports arena, charged that the city should have negotiated concessions in employee pension obligations to the California Public Employees' Retirement System to meet other payments."
It's Maxine vs. Henry -- now, there's a pair -- in the fight over a runway project at LAX that suddenly has bloomed into a major political issue.
From the LAT's David Zahniser and Dan Weikel: "U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a foe of the plan to shift Los Angeles International Airport's northernmost runway 260 feet closer to Westchester and Playa del Rey, has gone public with her unhappiness with Rep. Henry Waxman, a colleague who supports the runway relocation."
"Speaking over the weekend to the Westchester Democratic Club, Waters depicted Waxman as someone who had joined "an unholy alliance" composed of organized labor and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which view the runway plan as critical to job creation and keeping the airport competitive..."
"The Westside lawmaker confirmed he had spoken twice with Waters but said he felt no obligation to inform her of his final decision. "I don't think I needed to get her permission to take a position on an issue," said Waxman, whose district includes cities near the airport, including El Segundo, Manhattan Beach and parts of the Westside."