While the governor may be having some problems with his right flank since the special election, a new PPIC poll shows
the governor's overall numbers are on the rise. "Among all adults, 40 percent approve of the way Schwarzenegger is handling his job, up from 33 percent in October. Still, 52 percent disapprove, including 72 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of independents. The governor has made some headway with independents, however, who are a key voting group for a Republican governor in a largely Democratic state," reports the Chron's Lynda Gledhill.
PPIC's
Mark Baldassare says the governor "had modest improvement with Democrats and independents, but he's nowhere near where he was two years ago."
Here's the
complete poll.
While the governor's overall poll numbers may be climbing, Capitol Weekly reports he will
launch an aggressive campaign next week to bring concerned Republican activists back to the fold. The governor himself and surrogates from the administration will begin courting volunteer groups and local Republican leaders to hear their concerns about the governor's spending plans, and explain the governor's positions.
"'Last week, Cabinet Secretary
Fred Aguiar met with the Los Angeles County Republican Party to help explain the governor's bond package. 'A lot of people listened,' said one party official. 'Some didn't necessarily agree, but I think those things are helpful.'"
Controller
Steve Westly hopes to buoy his name recognition with "plans to
launch the first television advertising of the Democratic primary for governor today, tapping his dot-com fortune in an effort to gain an early edge over rival
Phil Angelides, the state treasurer," writes Michael Finnegan of the Times.
We're guessing he didn't have to tap all that much of that fortune to buy the ad time in the exclusive Chico local cable media market, where Westly's limited ad buy was made, but that's not really the point. The point is, the small buy gets you ink in the LA Times and other papers, not to mention some prime Roundup real estate.
"Responding to the first Westly ad, Angelides spokesman
Dan Newman said the controller was trying "to reinvent himself." He cited Westly's role as co-chairman of Schwarzenegger's campaign for budget measures on the March 2004 ballot."
"'He's hoping that by putting $20 million of his own money into slick TV ads,
Democrats will forget how eager he was to jump in Gov. Schwarzenegger's sidecar,' Newman said."
Peter Hecht
adds in the Bee that more small media market buys will follow. "'We are going to move sequentially from the small to medium markets,' said
Garry South, Westly's campaign strategist. 'This is really something that he wanted to do. He demanded that we go out to these markets and do some real campaigning instead of just holding a press conference and leaving.'"
"'Right now, the overwhelming majority of most California voters don't have a clue as to who either Westly or Angelides is,' South said. 'So both of the candidates, for all practical purposes, are starting from scratch.'"
Capitol Weekly's Shane Goldmacher
shines the spotlight on David Crane, Arnold's other Democratic advisor, who faces a tough confirmation fight to the STRS board.
Crane is a former employee at Babcock & Brown, the firm that "
brokered the governor's controversial jet-lease deal with Singapore Airlines,
allowing the governor to defer paying taxes on millions in income. The company declined to comment on whether Crane worked on that account, though Crane has said that he and the governor 'did some business together' in the past."
Meanwhile, CW's Malcolm Maclachlan looks at why hospitals
were left out of the governor's bond plans, after joining with the governor on nurse-staffing ratios last year. "'You get into the question of whether public bond dollars should go to the retrofitting of privately-owned facilities, and then balancing that against public needs,'" said DOF spokesman H.D. Palmer.
Greg Lucas reports in the Chron that November's planned
high speed rail bond will likely be removed from the ballot, after two previous postponements. "Although the rail bond is still on the November ballot, backers say it is likely to be removed as part of whatever compromise lawmakers strike with the Republican governor over his proposed 10-year, $222 billion public works spending plan."
"'In a word of finite choices, when you combine what you know you need and haven't done with what the public wants done,
high-speed rail sounds too futuristic and does not generate the kind of enthusiasm any number of other projects do,' [Senate President Pro Tem
Don] Perata said."
Assembly Republicans, under a new plan introduced by
Kevin McCarthy would
rather earmark general fund revenues for infrastructure spending than pass new bonds. "The approach could put the Republican governor at odds with lawmakers from his own party, at least some of whom must ultimately vote for any bond plan to make the ballot," reports the Bee's Clea Benson.
Speaking of ballots, the June 2006 ballot is
shaping up to be short, with only one citizen-qualified initiative, reports John Wildermuth in the Chron. "By today's deadline, only a universal preschool initiative, sponsored by actor-director Rob Reiner, had qualified for the June ballot. It will be joined by a $600 million library construction bond put on the ballot by the Legislature."
It's still possible, however, for measures approved by the Legislature to make the June 6 ballot. "While the legal deadline for initiatives is Jan. 26, we've sent a letter to the governor and the Legislature that indicated we've determined that measures approved by Feb. 16 could make the principal ballot,' said
Jennifer Kerns, a spokesman for Secretary of State Bruce McPherson. '
Legislative measures approved by March 10 could be on a supplemental ballot.'"
"It's been more than a decade since the state has seen so few initiatives on a statewide ballot and voters and politicians are both grateful for the respite."
One of those proposals may involve redistricting, as John Howard reports
a deal on reapportionment may be near.
Restaurant owners are planning to push to
revive the tip credit for the state's minimum wage, reports Michael Kinsman in the Union-Trib. "Restaurant owners have failed in attempts to get a separate minimum wage for tipped workers since a tip credit was eliminated in the 1970s, and it's unclear whether they can overcome opposition this time.'"
"'
The purpose of the minimum wage is not to give somebody earning $25 an hour a $2-an-hour raise,' said
Chris Cramer, president of Karl Strauss Brewing Co., which operates six restaurants in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties in addition to its beer-brewing business."
Labor unions, however, see it differently.
"'We just believe that everyone working in California should be paid a livable wage, and that includes restaurant workers,' said
Angie Wei, legislative director for the California Labor Federation. 'Tips are not a guaranteed wage, and we shouldn't let employers pay workers below the minimum wage because someone chooses to reward servers for their efforts.'"
Meanwhile, "Citing the risks exposed by Hurricane Katrina, a group of Assembly Democrats
unveiled legislation Wednesday that could
block some development in flood-prone areas and require homeowners living on flood plains to have flood insurance," reports Steve Lawrence for the AP.
Finally, one Roundup reader points out that a middle school in Los Angeles will be
renamed for the late defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran, and wonders "will the school mascot be renamed to the White Ford Broncos?"