When it figured at the center of the FBI's undercover sting of the Capitol, the notion of tax credits for Hollywood drew fire. But a lawmaker pushing for the tax incentives says he's redoubling his efforts and hopes to put a final plan on the table by next year.
From Capitol Weekly's Samantha Gallegos: "California’s TV and film tax incentive appears as popular as ever, despite a rash of negative news coverage of an FBI undercover sting of a state senator in which an industry tax break figured as a lure."
“The FBI could have picked any topic from any industry to mount a sting,” Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra, D-Los Angeles, said recently at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s 2nd Annual State of the Industry Conference."
“I want to be clear, the integrity of the program itself was never questioned,” Bocanegra said, addressing the dark cloud looming over the incentive program. “This is the most transparent tax incentive program that California has and this will not in deter us in any way next year.”
President Obama, once highly popular in California, is generating less enthusiasm among California voters, according to the latest statewide survey.
From The Field Poll: "The latest Field Poll finds that while 51% of California voters approve of the President's overall performance, a growing proportion (43%) disapprove. This represents an increase of 8 percentage points in the proportion disapproving since July. While the growth in the number of Californians disapproving spans most demographic subgroups, some of the greatest increases have occurred among voter segments who have been among the President’s strongest supporters."
"This includes independent voters with no party preference (+16), Latinos (+16), union-affiliated households (+18), and women (+13)."
"Californians’ assessments of the President’s performance in two specific areas – his handling health care and foreign policy – have also declined compared to past measures. In addition, there has been a significant worsening in Californians’ views of the overall direction that the U.S. is heading, with 33% saying the country is moving in the right direction and 55% saying it is seriously off on the wrong track."
The captain of the Cosco Busan, the vessel that collided with the Bay Bridge six years ago, won't get his skipper's license back, a judge has ruled.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "A federal judge refused Monday to reinstate the mariner's license of the pilot of the Cosco Busan, the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge in a thick morning fog November 2007 and spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into the bay."
"The spill coated beaches from the Marin Headlands to San Mateo County and killed nearly 7,000 birds. The pilot, John Cota of Petaluma, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor water-pollution charges and served 10 months in federal prison."
"Cota, now 66, asked the Coast Guard in June 2010 to restore the federal merchant marine license he had held for 27 years. The agency refused, saying he was not a "safe and suitable" pilot for reasons that went beyond the bridge collision."
Gov. Brown paid a visit to the site of a new casino-hotel in Hawaiian Gardens, his second stop at a casino property in less than a month.
From the LAT's Christine Mai-Duc: "The casino has contributed to Brown’s political efforts, donating $25,000 to the campaign for his tax measure last year and nearly $40,000 to his campaign for governor in 2010, according to figures from the secretary of State’s website."
"The Gardens Casino also has contributed $12,500 toward Brown’s reelection campaign, an effort he has not yet announced."
"Last month, Brown traveled to Bell Gardens to mark an expansion of the Bicycle Casino, which has contributed $67,000 toward his gubernatorial campaigns and donated $25,000 to last year’s tax campaign."
Meanwhile, North Coast crab boats are staying at the docks -- at least for now.
From the Press-Democrat's Mary Callahan: "Unsatisfied with the $2.50 a pound they are being offered, skippers who fish along the Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte county coasts appear unified in their decision to stay ashore until wholesalers make an offer closer to the $3 a pound being paid to fishermen working out of Bodega Bay and points south."
“We feel that we should at least get the same price as they do in the Bay Area,” said Aaron Newman, president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association."
“We’re all tied up and just waiting,” McKinleyville fisherman D. Ray Pemberton said."
Finally, we turn to our "Tales of the Postal Service" file to find that the USPS is in trouble again, this time for chasing Lady Liberty to Las Vegas.
"It turns out that a 2011 “forever” stamp featuring the Statue of Liberty is based on a replica of the original in New York City’s harbor instead of the original, according to an NBC report on Tuesday. The stamp is based on the Statue of Liberty that is located outside the New York-NewYork casino hotel in Las Vegas."
"The sculptor of the Las Vegas statue is suing the United States government for copyright infringement."
"The sculptor, Robert Davison says - via his law suit filed last week –his statue in Las Vegas was more “fresh-faced” and “sultry” than the original statue in New York. It is alleged that the differences are what led to government choosing Davidson’s statue over the New York original."
"Davidson’s attorney asserts that the Statue of Liberty lady who welcomes weary gamblers to Las Vegas has a more feminine form. The original, he claims, was only an inspiration for the loose height, width, and depth requirements of Davidson’s work. Davidson never visited the New York statue while creating his copy version."
Send us your weary, tempest-tossed high-rollers ....