The Sodomite Suppression Act has gotten all the press, but a wave of ballot initiatives, ranging from the intriguing to the outrageous, are being proposed for the 2016 ballot. Topics include the elimination of alimony, secession from the United States and taxing companies that extract water in California for resale. Dorothy Mills-Gregg has the story at Capitol Weekly:
“There are 36 proposed initiatives that are either awaiting review in the Attorney General’s Office or are being shopped around California’s 58 counties for signatures…
“Louis Marinelli, an English language teacher, has introduced six initiatives with the goal of making California autonomous from the United States.
“We are a desirable place to live,” says Sovereign California volunteer Stuart Webb. “And the rest of the world views us in a different light than a resident of another state.”…
“[One] initiative declares that the United States, among other things, has appropriated money from income taxes levied on California for other states’ infrastructure development; denied Californians an equal voice in government, giving California the lowest number of Congressional representation per million citizens; and “repeatedly” pursued foreign policies in conflict with California’s interest, ‘hurting our reputation globally.’
“’Wyoming is not the same as California,’ Webb said, ‘We are a nation, not a state.’”
A new report blasts the back-channel communications between utilities and members of the California Public Utilities Commission, calling for them to be eliminated in rate cases. Jaxon van Derbeken at SFGate:
“Such back-door communications became notorious last year when e-mails showed that a PG&E executive had engaged in a secret campaign to obtain a preferred judge in a $1.3 billion rate-setting case before the utilities commission. Those and other back-channel contacts — known as ex parte communications — are the focus of federal and state criminal investigations into whether commission officials violated influence-peddling or other laws.
“In the aftermath of the judge-shopping revelations, the utilities commission hired the Strumwasser & Woocher law firm of Los Angeles to review its practice of allowing commissioners and their aides to meet with utility executives in rate-setting cases without other parties, such as customer advocacy groups, being present. Currently, rules require that the commission notify all parties of such solo talks three days in advance and that utilities submit a report on what was said.
“The law firm’s report, the product of 88 interviews of current and past commission officials, concludes that such “communications are a frequent, pervasive, and at least sometimes outcome-determinative” in rate-setting cases.”
Timm Herdt says that the stars may be aligning for an attempt to raise the tobacco tax. From 95 Percent Accurate:
“Calfornia’s 87-cent per-pack tax on cigarettes is only a little more than half the national average, and California ranks 34th among the states. Californians seem to get this: In a survey released last month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, two-thirds of likely voters said they’d support an increase in the tobacco tax. On top of that, Gov. Jerry Brown last week indicated he would consider supporting such a tax…
“One logical place to look for new revenue would be an increase in tobacco tax. But that would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, which would mean getting some Republicans on board, and virtually every GOP lawmaker is 100 percent committed to opposing tax increases of any kind.
“Enter a coalition of health-care workers, doctors, dentists, insurance companies and others. They have put up $2 million and filed two proposed ballot measures with the attorney general.
“The message is clear, both to the tobacco industry and to lawmakers of both parties who might be reluctant to vote for any proposed tax increase the industry opposes: Play ball and negotiate in good faith. If not, we’ll take it to the ballot in a high-turnout general election, with financial support from deep-pocketed folks such as health insurance companies, hospitals, doctors and the SEIU.”
Less than a third of affected water users have responded to the State Water Resource Control Board's deadline to confirm that they have ceased pumping water from rivers and streams. Fenit Nirappil, AP:
“A majority of farmers and others holding some of California's strongest claims to water have missed a deadline to confirm they stopped pumping from rivers and streams during the drought, state officials said Monday.
…The board's order earlier this month affected 277 century-old rights to water from the Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds in the agriculture-rich Central Valley.
“State officials expect to demand that even more senior water rights holders stop diverting water as rivers and streams run too dry to meet demand in California's fourth year of drought.”
Assemblyman Henry Perea (D-Fresno) is termed out of the Assembly in 2016, but where he goes from there is the subject of rampant speculation. John Ellis, Fresno Bee:
“Last week, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call ran a story about labor union unhappiness with Democrats who supported a trade package pushed by Republican congressional leaders and President Barack Obama. Unions seem to have aimed their wrath at Rep. Jim Costa, a Fresno Democrat who who was one of 28 Democrats to vote for Trade Promotion Authority. Union leaders told Roll Call that Costa’s vote was against American jobs.
“The story went on to say that unions are looking for a fellow Democrat to challenge Costa, and had singled out Perea.
“This could be true, but it also might not be the first group to query Perea about challenging Costa. There is word that some frustrated farmers and ranchers had approached Perea with a similar request earlier this year. Perea is currently the Assembly Agriculture Committee chair.
“But Perea also has a second congressional option that might even be more tempting, should the U.S. Supreme Court cooperate.
“[There] has been broad speculation that the seat of Hanford Republican David Valadao could be redrawn, giving it more Democrats than it already has (a 16-percentage point advantage over the Republican Party) and moving Valadao into the seat of neighboring congressional Republican Devin Nunes. If those additional Democrats come from Fresno County, that could be a possible option for Perea.”
A gaggle of political luminaries including former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Secretary of Energy John Herrington gathered in the capitol rotunda today for the unveiling of a statue of president and former governor Ronald Reagan. Andrew Holzman, Sacramento Bee:
“The statue is a bronze likeness by sculptor Douglas Van Howd, a close friend of Reagan who served as White House artist during his administration. The foundation said the sculptor used tracings of Reagan’s shoes and ‘hundreds of pictures’ to make the image.
“Reagan will replace the young Christopher Columbus statue, which the Department of General Services says is now in storage but may soon move to the State Library at the discretion of State Librarian Greg Lucas.”
A fluffy black and white cat got the ride of its life recently, finding itself stranded on the wing of a small plane – after takeoff. (photos and video)
“A cat stowed away in the wing of an ultra-light airplane, and the video uploaded Sunday of the pilot's reaction at discovering the unexpected passenger is getting thousands of views.
"’A standard flight until …’ wrote Roland Jantot, the chief pilot instructor at Club ULM 16-34 in Kourou, French Guiana, in the description of the YouTube video.
“The video appears to be a routine flight of an ultra-light plane until about 45 seconds in, when the cat first appears from its hiding spot inside the wing.
“It crawls out to the end of the frame of the wing, just above the passenger seat, and even then goes unnoticed for a few seconds until the pilot spots the stowaway.
"’I still don't know if it got in after the pre-flight check or if I missed it,’ wrote Jantot.”
Spoiler alert: the cat makes it A-OK.