"California state and local governments would no longer be able to seize a home to make way for private development
under an assemblyman's proposal Monday to change the state's eminent domain law," reports John Hill in the Bee.
"Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 by Assemblyman
Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, would also prevent a government from taking a small business, unless it was part of a plan to get rid of blight and the business was given a chance to participate.
"'These measures would be the first of their kind in California,' De La Torre said at a press conference.
"Critics immediately denounced the proposal as little more than window dressing, an 5 or fewer employees under its protections.
"Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, unveiled the latter on Monday, declaring it to be "comprehensive and fair." Both are questionable characterizations since it's very limited and unfair on its face by treating different kinds of property differently. A large multifamily project with just one owner-occupied unit would be protected from seizure, for example, while another occupied by renters could be seized."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to ease prison overcrowding by sending convicts out of state
has been allowed to proceed while a state appellate court weighs a legal challenge to it," writes the LAT's Nancy Vogel.
"Prison officials have said they intend to transfer 5,000 inmates to out-of-state prisons by the end of the year. Transfers will resume next month, said Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Bill Sessa.
"Relocating prisoners is a key element of Schwarzenegger's plan to show a federal judge that the state is moving aggressively to ease overcrowding.
After the prison guards union challenged the plan, a "Sacramento County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the prison guards in late February, saying that overcrowding is not justification for suspension of civil service rules that prohibit the use of private employees for jobs normally done by public workers.
"The Schwarzenegger administration appealed and won a temporary stay Friday from the 3rd District Court of Appeal pending its final decision, which could take a year or longer."
The
president of California was in Utah yesterday,
blasting the Bush administration, and signing a treaty with the land-locked nation of Utah," reports the Salt Lake Tribune's Judy Fahys.
"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Utah Gov.
Jon Huntsman Jr. delivered
a sharp rebuke to Washington on Monday for doing too little to tackle climate change.
"They said federal inaction drove governors to create the 'Western Regional Climate Action Initiative,' a pact involving six states and the Canadian province of British Columbia that is aimed at cutting the pollution blamed for speeding up global warming. Schwarzenegger came to Salt Lake City on Monday to jointly announce, with Huntsman, that Utah is joining the partnership.
"With Utah making the commitment, 'I know that other states can't be far behind,' said the California governor,
a Republican whose state is credited with having the nation's most progressive policies to reduce climate change."
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reports the governor's
plan to privatize the state lottery may violate some compacts with California Indian tribes.
"The reason has largely to do with technology and its ability to blur the lines between what were once distinct formats. Any private lottery provider would want to expand revenues, critics say--and one of the California best ways of doing so would be to role out "instant lottery" gaming machines that increasingly resemble the machines one might find in a casino.
"'Technology now allows you to play lottery games on devices that look and feel and play like traditional slot machines,' said
Howard Dickstein, an attorney who represents the California Tribal Business Alliance. 'It becomes almost indistinguishable from a player's point of view.'"
The Bay Area
freeway damaged in a tanker fire is set to reopen, the Chronicle reports. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that the portion of the MacArthur Maze damaged in a spectacular tanker fire last month will be completed Thursday night and the freeway will reopen for the Friday morning commute.
"Thanks to hard, around-the-clock work of Caltrans and C.C. Myers, our local partners and businesses, Bay Area motorists can once again travel through this busy interchange," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Just in time for the holiday weekend, this roadway will be open in 26 days from when the accident occurred."
From our
Smelt-a of the Delta Files, we at the Roundup pride ourselves in recognizing a big environmental fight when we see one. And somehow we feel like we may be hearing more of this story from the Chron's Patrick Hoge about a
fight over pumping water from the Delta.
"
A rare delta fish that recently almost triggered a shutdown of the state's major water system has plummeted in number, bringing it perilously close to extinction, state and federal experts warn.
"Spring trawls aimed at measuring the size of the delta smelt's juvenile population found just 25 fish, the smallest number ever recorded and 93 percent fewer than the previous year. In most trawls, biologists caught no smelt at all.
"That has alarmed state and federal
fish experts, who say the state should significantly cut the use of giant pumps that export water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for use by 24 million people and farmers. Some environmental groups have likened the Tracy-area pumps to huge vacuum cleaners that cause water to flow upstream, sucking the fish into the pumps or stranding them in areas where they are vulnerable to predators.
"
Top officials with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration agreed Monday that the survey data from the Delta Smelt Working Group were extremely serious, and said pumping had been slowed."
And finally, from our
Munchies Melee Files, "It was a big enough bummer for
Kenneth Affolter when he was sentenced to more than five years in prison for making pot-laced treats and soft drinks. Now
he faces the wrath of a candy giant.
"The Hershey Co. has sued Affolter, 40, for
giving his marijuana goodies names like Stoney Rancher, Rasta Reese's and Keef Kat. Each came in packaging similar to Hershey's Jolly Rancher, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kat candies, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Hershey's suit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in San Jose, accuses Affolter of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition. The company is seeking $100,000 in damages."