Jerry Brown and California are getting positive reviews from the national media, but there's another side to California governance, an unattractive underbelly exemplified by the federal probe of Ron Calderon's activities, the money that flows in and out of campaigns and lobbyists who aren't lobbyists. And there are other examples.
From the Bee's Dan Morain: "Legislators are distancing themselves now. But for more than a decade they enabled Calderon. Even if every word in the 124-page FBI affidavit is false, insiders knew Calderon was skirting the law."
"His proclivities became widely known in February 2004 when the San Francisco Chronicleexquisitely detailed how he spent his campaign money: $1,200 on cigars, $287 on women’s clothes and accessories, a Christina Aguilera concert, a trip to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to watch an Oscar De La Hoya fight."
"The FPPC fined him in 2010 for failing to disclose “gifts” including spa treatments for his wife at Pebble Beach costing $1,077, courtesy of the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies."
Speaking of Calderon, he was dumped from his committee roles.
From the Mercury-News' Jessica Calefati: "A state Senate committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to remove a Los Angeles area lawmaker from his committee assignments following accusations that he took lucrative bribes."
"Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, is alleged to have accepted tens of thousands of dollars from an undercover FBI agent leading a sting operation against the longtime legislator and his relatives, according to a sealed FBI affidavit obtained last month by Al-Jazeera America."
"Citing a duty to protect the Legislature's integrity, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg urged his colleagues on the Rules Committee to remove Calderon from 10 standing and select committees."
It seems like every time you turn around, it costs more to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Well, grab your socks and hold on to your wallets: In a few years, the tab may be $8.
From the Chronicle's John Wildemuth: "Commuters should get ready to dig deeper into their pockets to cross the Golden Gate Bridge as transit district officials consider plans to bump the toll as high as $8 over the next five years."
"On Friday, directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District will look at five options for an April toll increase. While the directors will not vote on a toll hike until early next year, bridge district officials made it clear Tuesday that the increase is coming."
"The last time tolls were raised was just over six years ago," said Denis Mulligan, the district's general manager. "Things cost more now than they did then."
Meanwhile, donations to the University of California are up to record highs. About a third of the money went to research. Our guess is that all those students with loans outstanding to pay huge tuition costs aren't celebrating, but that's another story.
From the Mercury-News' Katy Murphy: "The University of California brought in a record $1.64 billion in private donations in the last year, surpassing $1.5 billion for the third time in a row, according to an annual report that will be presented to the UC Regents on Wednesday."
"The number of donors -- nearly 300,000 -- is also rising, said Daniel Dooley, senior vice president for external relations."
"About 30 percent of the contributions went to research. The growing importance of donors in the 10-campus university system is reflected in the number of endowed chairs, or professorships: 81 in 1980, compared to 1,700 today."
Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, has put together legislation to require insurance companies to continue offering their existing health care plans, and California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on board.
From Seung Min Kim in Politico: "Feinstein’s support is more evidence that an increasing number of congressional Democrats are getting uneasy about last month’s bungled rollout of the health care law – Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement."
"In her statement, Feinstein said she has gotten 30,842 calls, e-mails and letters from her constituents on the issue. One man from Rancho Mirage, Calif., told Feinstein that he is being forced to spend more than $400 extra to pay for coverage through Obamacare that essentially mirrors his existing plan."
“Too many Americans are struggling to make ends meet,” she said. “We must ensure that in our effort to reform the health care system, we do not allow unintended consequences to go unaddressed.”
The federal government's healthcare website for the Affordable Care Act has problems, but some states are making the new law work. Take Washington, for example.
From the LAT's Maria La Ganga: "More than 55,000 people in Washington state enrolled in health coverage in October — most in Medicaid — and about 40,000 more applied for coverage, making the Evergreen State one of the brightest success stories in the rocky national rollout of the federal health law. Here in the home of online shopping giant Amazon.com, officials credit the exchange's success in part to the Pacific Northwest's high-tech bent."
"Colorado enrolled just over 37,500 people in the same period. New York state — with a population nearly three times the size of Washington's — had enrolled just more than 48,000 in health plans as of Tuesday, state officials announced. Kentucky enrolled more than 32,000 in its first month. California is expected to release figures this week."
"All are among the states that embraced Obamacare and crafted their own insurance exchanges rather than rely on the federal site, which has been riddled with breakdowns."
Finally, from our "Tales of Obamacare" file comes word that the woman on the government's glitchy website -- she's been dubbed the "Mona Lisa of health care" -- is getting harassed because of the site's well-reported problems.
"On Oct. 1, 2013, when the ACA's website launched to enroll Americans in health insurance through federally run exchanges, it was Adriana's face that greeted them."
"Dubbed the "enigmatic Mona Lisa of health care," her face was soon mocked, Photoshoped, altered. She became the subject of late-night jokes, partisan hatred and intense speculation..."
"She learned over the summer that her photo would be on healthcare.gov's main page, but she didn't realize it would become so closely associated with the problems of the glitchy website."
"I mean, I don't know why people should hate me because it's just a photo. I didn't design the website. I didn't make it fail, so I don't think they should have any reasons to hate me," Adriana told ABC News."
Adriana, welcome to the world of spin doctors, communications consultants, media advisers, partisan hacks, bloviators, political junkies, Obama haters, etc., etc, where truth is chimerical and reality is an abstract. Other than that, how was your day ... ?