A plan by Senate Democrats' to put money into prison inmates' rehabilitation was approved in the Budget Committee as an alternative to the governor's attempt to provide more lockups.
From the AP's Don Thompson: "Democrats in the state Senate on Wednesday backed a plan to spend $200 million this year on rehabilitation programs instead of renting thousands of cells in private prisons and county jails to meet a federal court demand that California reduce its inmate population."
"The rehabilitation proposal by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is competing with the leasing plan by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown that would cost $315 million in its first year."
"The federal court has ordered the state to reduce the prison population by an additional 9,600 inmates before the end of the year, part of a long-running court case aimed at improving inmate medical and mental health care."
Speaking of the governor's plan, a new LAO report says Brown's proposal doesn't solve the problem.
From the LAT's Paige St. John: "The Legislative Analyst's Office determined that California will still need to take action in two years when the governor's temporary leases would expire. At that point, the agency calculates, the state will still have about 8,800 inmates more than court-ordered limits on the prison population."
"The governor's proposal to submit a plan for a long-term fix in January 2015 would leave lawmakers little time to implement any proposals, let alone consider alternatives, the LAO analysis stated. Lawmakers would be in much the same position as they are now, forced to take up emergency legislation with little time to debate other options."
"The agency, which advises the Legislature, cautioned that the cost estimates in the governor's plan could be wrong. The LAO report also warned of the risk that California may not be able to lease enough private prison beds to comply with a December deadline to reduce prison overcrowding that was imposed by federal courts, or that federal judges might not accept the governor's proposal."
Democrats and the feds have worked out a scenario that will enable the state to receive federal transportation dollars amid a dispute over public pension issues.
From the AP's Juliet Williams: "Under a carefully orchestrated deal, California would again receive billions of dollars of mass transit funds that the federal government was withholding amid a dispute over cuts to public employee pension benefits."
"As a result, transportation systems across the state no longer face service cuts and the prospect of abandoning planned light rail, subway and other construction projects."
"The deal, announced Wednesday by the state's top Democrats as part of new legislation, temporarily exempts workers at public transit agencies from a 2012 California law that required public employees to contribute more to their retirement funds."
The supervisors in far-north Siskiyou County, a rugged, majestic area with few people and lots of trees, say the county should leave the state of California and form a new state.
Fro9m the LAT's Kate Mather: "Fed up by Sacramento's regulations and Southern California's political sway, residents in one rural Northern California county are taking steps to leave the state."
"The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted, 4-1, on Tuesday to pursue seceding from California, the Redding Record Searchlight reported. Proponents say Siskiyou should form a new state -- called Jefferson -- with other counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon they believe share similar interests."
"On Tuesday more than 100 people filled the supervisors' chambers, many of whom indicated support for the declaration, the Searchlight reported. When a speaker asked those in the audience who was in favor, "nearly every hand in the room was raised," the newspaper said."
Among those attending the meeting were members of the staff of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, the Republican who represents the district in Congress. The staff liked the idea of secession.
From the Record Searchlight in Redding: "Among those in attendance was Erin Ryan, field representative for Rep. Doug LaMalfa. She said that she and other LaMalfa staff members supported the effort to secede, but she did not know LaMalfa's thoughts on it."
"Board Chair Ed Valenzuela was the sole vote against the declaration today. He said he was elected to solve problems within the system."
"In August, county residents lobbied the board to consider separating from the state over a laundry list of complaints including a lack of representation in Sacramento for the Republican-majority county, issues pertaining to water rights and the rural fire prevention fee."
And from our "Bar Fly" file comes word of a new university class in -- wait for it -- beer.
"It just might be every college student’s dream come true: Anheuser-Busch InBev says it will open a beer brand data analysis center, called the "Bud Lab," at the University of Illinois Research Park this month."
"Staff at the Bud Lab in Champaign will analyze data and perform research on a wide range of topics from the optimization of social media to market trends."
"Through our permanent presence on-campus we will be at the edge of leading research and innovation, working together with some of the best minds in key fields including statistics, computer science, business and engineering," AB-InBev Chief People and Technology Officer Claudio Garcia said. "We strongly believe that our collaboration will put forth new and exciting solutions and insights, and we look forward to working closely with the team here."
A beer lab in Champaign. Hmmmm .....