Okay, so the administration's plan to dig tunnels in the Delta to move water south is well known, but did you know that major area highways also will be rerouted? It's hard enough already trying to drive around the Delta.
From the Bee's Matt Weiser: "Conceptual engineering documents obtained by The Bee illustrate detours on Highway 160 in Sacramento County around each of three huge water intakes proposed for the project, called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan."
"Other documents discuss the need for new interchanges on highways 4 and 12 along the tunnel alignment. This might entail widening each highway to add a middle turn lane so heavy construction traffic could safely access work areas along the tunnel route."
"According to preliminary estimates by the state Transportation Department, altering the highways would cost at least $265 million. Once the intakes are built, the Highway 160 detours would be relocated again, moved to the top of new larger levee segments."
An issue at the heart of the public pension dispute is the legal inviolability of a worker's vested rights -- an issue that is getting new attention in the Stockton bankruptcy case.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "Public pension benefits offered on the date of hire are widely believed to be “vested” rights, protected under contract law by a series of state court decisions, that can only be cut if offset by a new benefit of equal value."
"Vallejo officials said they decided not to propose pension cuts after CalPERS threatened a long and costly legal battle. But during a 3½-year bankruptcy a federal judge overturned a Vallejo labor contract, regarded as a precedent-setting first by some."
"Stockton officials do not want to cut pensions said to be needed to compete in the job market. In deep cuts since 2008, the city argues, labor lost pay, retirees health care and citizens services, leaving cuts in bond debt as the only fair way to get more savings."
A gung-ho Gov. Brown leaves for China tomorrow to woo business for the Golden State and plant his feet firmly on the world stage.
From the LAT's Anthony York: "After two years largely spent cloistered in California tending to the fiscal crisis, he starts a weeklong visit to China on Tuesday in a bid to reclaim the state's reputation as a global economic powerhouse and innovator."
"The visit will lack the glitz of Brown's travels as governor decades ago, with rock star companions and international paparazzi replaced by dozens of state bureaucrats and business officials."
"While abroad, Brown plans to sign pacts forging government research partnerships and limiting Chinese greenhouse gas emissions. He'll announce deals involving California clean-technology companies — electric vehicle makers, a firm that converts trash to electricity — and reinforce his mantra that good environmental policy is good economics."
California has an overabundance of lawyers, and that fact alone should have been enough to put the brakes on building another law school. But no, UC Irvine went ahead anyway.
From the Bee's Dan Walters: "The column pointed out that the state already had 25 accredited law schools and the number of graduates taking the State Bar examination had been rising steadily to nearly 7,000 a year."
"It also cited a study by the California Postsecondary Education Commission's staff, concluding that there was simply no need for another law school, especially one whose construction and operation partially depended on public funds..."
"And how are some of these unemployed lawyers spending their time? The Times reported that some are suing their law schools for overpromising their prospects of becoming well-paid attorneys."
The tax breaks enjoyed by nonprofit hospitals are drawing fire from labor unions -- and the issue is developing into a major Capitol dispute this year.
From the AP's Laura Olson:"Some of California's most powerful unions are pressuring nonprofit hospitals to prove that they provide enough charitable care to justify their tax-exempt status."
"The California Nurses Association is pushing legislation that would set statewide standards for what hospitals can count as charity care. Under the bill, a hospital would have to show why it should keep its nonprofit status if revenue exceeds spending by more than 10 percent."
"Hospitals also would be fined if they fail to submit timely reports detailing their charity care."