"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
asked the federal government Tuesday for disaster aid because of an ongoing cold snap that has destroyed nearly $1 billion worth of California citrus, and industry officials said shoppers will feel the sting through higher prices for oranges, lemons and other produce.
The governor declared a state of emergency in 10 counties, including Kern, because of continuing freezing cold temperatures.
Visiting a Fresno orange grove, Schwarzenegger said he was asking the U.S. government for disaster status, which would allow California to seek aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration to offset losses to growers and other businesses.
'This is not just about the crop this year. It could also have a devastating effect next year,' Schwarzenegger said. 'My administration will make sure that we do everything we can to help the farmers and workers get through this.'"
From our
Kinder, Gentler Execution Files, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office
has given itself a May 15 deadline to upgrade the state's lethal injection procedure, guaranteeing continuation of a moratorium on executions in California at least through the first half of 2007," reports Claire Cooper in the Bee.
"The target date was set forth Tuesday in court papers that
also proposed a judicial order allowing the state to develop its new lethal injection protocol in secret.
Set for a hearing March 9 in San Jose federal court, the secrecy motion said, "There is no question the review of the lethal injection protocol will require frank debate and candid consideration of policy alternatives" by corrections officials, and that secrecy will protect the public from confusion.
Two of the opposition lawyers,
Richard Steinken and
John Grele, said that they will oppose the secrecy request. Steinken noted that when former Florida Gov.
Jeb Bush ordered a review of that state's lethal injection protocol last month, after an apparently botched execution, he ordered the revision commission to meet in public.
Stephen Burns, The Bee's counsel, said that The Bee, along with the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, also were "looking into the possibility of intervening to oppose the governor's motion." The three news organizations were involved in earlier lethal injection proceedings to assure public access to information."
Dan Walters outlines the major areas of
dissent over the governor's health care plan.
"Employers, taxpayer watchdog groups and health care providers are howling about the $5.5 billion in new levies on payrolls and revenue streams that make up the financial core of the proposal.
Republican lawmakers not only complain about the levies, but are equally disturbed that the governor insists that they are not taxes and, therefore, could deny GOP legislators a decisive role, since non-tax revenues don't need a two-thirds vote.
Consumer advocates and those for the poor are perturbed about the plan's requirement that every individual carry health insurance, regardless of whether his or her employer provides group coverage.
Conservatives in and out of the Legislature are screaming about Schwarzenegger's overt inclusion of the state's 2 million illegal immigrants in the coverage plan -- an inclusion he says is dictated by the fact that hospitals must, under law, treat them anyway, often without compensation. But were he to bar illegal immigrants from coverage, it would touch off equally vehement opposition on the left."
Walters continues with three more smaller conflicts and concludes "And so it goes. If these and many other conflicts can be resolved and a final product emerges that is workable, it will be a political miracle."
As if to underscore Walters' point, check out this story from the Chronicle's Greg Lucas. "Trying to forge a consensus among dozens of powerful special interests, the Legislature will begin work next week stitching together a plan to extend health care coverage to 5 million uninsured Californians."
That was the opening paragraph to a story Lucas wrote in 1990.
Clea Benson covers a new report that
argues the state's not adequately supporting foster youth. "California provides foster youth with less than 5 percent of the financial support that average parents spend on their young adult children, according to a report released Tuesday by a San Diego-based advocacy group.
A lack of assistance with tuition, rent and other necessities is one of the reasons many former foster youth become homeless or unemployed, the report by the Children's Advocacy Institute said.
'They are legally our children,' said
Robert Fellmeth, director of the institute, which is affiliated with the University of San Diego School of Law. "They are your children, public officials. ... And how you treat them is the proper measure of your devotion to family values.'"
Meanwhile, from an
Emissions Update. "A federal judge on Tuesday
postponed the trial over a lawsuit seeking to block a California law that would implement the world's toughest vehicle-emission standards," reports Samantha Young for the AP.
"U.S. District Judge
Anthony Ishii also ordered the California Air Resources Board to delay enforcing tailpipe-emission standards for greenhouse gases. The case had been scheduled to go to trial Jan. 30.
In his order, Ishii said it was best to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a related global warming case in which auto manufacturers have raised identical issues.
'It's a logical thing to do,' said
David Doniger, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is helping the state defend the regulations. "The Supreme Court has the very same issue in front of it. We should wait to see what the highest court in the land is going to say.'"
The Register's Martin Wisckol
checks on accusations that former Assemblyman Tom Umberg is a carpetbagger. "Supervisory candidate
Tom Umberg has owned a comfortable Villa Park home – five bedrooms and a swimming pool – since 1995.
But that's not officially home. Since 2003, Umberg has been registered to vote in two successive one-bedroom condos in Santa Ana.
Welcome to the residency game.
Umberg's Villa Park home is not in the supervisory district he wants to represent. It's also not in the Assembly district he was elected to serve in 2004. Or in the state Senate district for which he launched a failed bid last year. So he's rented condos in the district.
That rubs some the wrong way. They call Umberg a carpetbagger or question whether he lives in the district at all. State Sen.
Lou Correa, who beat Umberg in the Senate primary and whose vacated supervisor seat Umberg hopes to win, is among those with reservations.
'Everybody seems to think that they can move into central Orange County and they can run for office,' said Correa, who has not endorsed a candidate. '
But there are plenty of qualified individuals living in central Orange County that can run for office.'
'I think it is a nonissue,' said veteran consultant
Dave Gilliard, who's representing Umberg opponent
Janet Nguyen. '
Central Orange County has a history of carpetbagging. There are many better reasons to oppose Umberg.'"
Harrison Sheppard reports on
new GOP efforts to break up LAUSD. "While Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa's bid to reform Los Angeles Unified remains stalled in court, a new effort to break up the district is expected to be launched today in the state Legislature.
Sen.
George Runner, R-Lancaster, and Assemblyman
Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, plan to introduce a bill that would reorganize the LAUSD into about 15 districts of no more than 50,000 students each."
Ahhh...business for fourteen more lobbyists.
Finally, from our
Stoner Chimpanezee Files, we bring you
the story of Judy the Chimp. "The 120-pound primate,
Judy, escaped yesterday into a service area when a zookeeper opened a door to her sleeping quarters, unaware the animal was still inside.
"Judy's keepers tried to woo Judy back into her cage, she rummaged through a refrigerator where chimp snacks are stored. She opened kitchen cupboards, pulled out juice and soft drinks and took a swig from bottles she managed to open.
Keeper
Ann Rademacher says Judy went into the bathroom, picked up a toilet brush and cleaned the toilet. Rademacher says the 37-year-old Judy was a house pet before the zoo acquired her in 1988, so she may have been familiar with housekeeping chores. Judy wrung out a sponge and scrubbed down the fridge.
It took a couple of tries, but the zoo sedated the chimp, who fell asleep on top of the refrigerator with half a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread she had pulled out of the freezer."