A last-minute deal in California's on-time budget has found bipartisan critics under the dome. Don Thompson of AP writes of a call for veto as lawmakers include a tax break for the solar industry in the budget.
"Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, was among the critics when it reappeared as lawmakers' last order of business in passing the budget.
'I think it needs to be decided through a public and transparent process where members had a chance to have those arguments played out,' said Chesbro, who was among five Assembly Democrats who voted against the bill. Despite their opposition, it passed and was sent to the Democratic governor with wide bipartisan support."
Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter announced that he will retire next year, giving Governor Brown the opportunity to name a second justice to the state's highest court. Justice Joyce L. Kennard announced her retirement in April. Christopher Delago has the story in the Sacramento Bee:
"'I have been privileged to have such an interesting and fulfilling career in the law, serving as a deputy district attorney, in private practice, as Appointments Secretary to Governor George Deukmejian, and as an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal and Supreme Court,' Baxter said in a statement Wednesday."
The race for State Controller continues to be a nailbiter, with no clear winner for second place as ballots are counted. John Perez and Betty Yee have taded leads and are currently separated by just over a hundred votes. In the San Francisco Chronicle, John Wildermuth reports that Sonoma County and its 28,000 untallied ballots may tip the race:
"'I've got two models on my computer right now,' said Douglas Herman, a strategist for Pérez's campaign. 'One shows a close win for John and the other shows a close win for Betty. I don't know which one to believe.'
California had about 1 million uncounted ballots the day after the election, but by Wednesday evening, the secretary of state's website showed the total had dropped to about 119,000. More than 23 percent of those unreported ballots were from Sonoma County.
'We are trying our best to get the count completed by this week,' said Gloria Colter, the county's assistant registrar."
"The board voted unanimously to terminate Charney on Wednesday after its annual meeting, the source said.
'He was totally taken by surprise, which is part of the problem,' the source said. 'He’s going to fight like hell to get this company back, but he won’t succeed.'
Charney’s firing comes at a precarious time for American Apparel, which has been fighting to lift sales after years of lackluster performance and debt. The company said the move may trigger a default under its credit agreements, and it will talk with lenders about its obligations....
'...We take no joy in this, but the board felt it was the right thing to do,' [co-chair] Mayer said in the statement."