"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders thus far
have failed to strike a compromise on shoring up California's dwindling water supplies -- despite threats of a dramatically slowed spigot to Southern California and warnings that winter storms could be disappointing," reports Michael Gardner in the Union-Tribune.
"Talks to place a $10.7 billion water bond measure on the Feb. 5 ballot produced little progress yesterday, just four weeks before a federal court order goes into effect cutting deliveries south out of the Sacramento delta, potentially by a third.
"
Closed-door negotiations were adjourned after the governor and leaders struggled for more than an hour about how to resolve differences tied to storage, a canal to deliver water to Southern California and who would control the flow of money to approved projects.
"The Legislature was originally planning to take up the water bond and health reform measures this week, but there is nothing to vote on.
"The governor and leaders parted ways without resuming their quest for a $14 billion comprehensive health care reform package, which included greatly expanded coverage and tax increases. They appear somewhat more optimistic about a water-bond agreement.
"'It's getting late in the game, but there's still time,' said Senate President Pro Tempore
Don Perata, D-Oakland, who crafted one of the proposed water bonds."
The Merc News's Steven Harmon
looks at one of the sources of money defending term limits.
"The group, U.S. Term Limits, spends considerable effort and money around the country trying to fend off attempts to weaken term-limits laws, such as Prop. 93. And the group tries to do so while steering clear of the limelight, which is precisely how
Howard "Howie" Rich prefers it.
"Rich, a wealthy Libertarian New York real estate developer who is the founder and chairman of U.S. Term Limits, has been a stealthy operator in the growing field of ballot-initiative politics, and in making use of the most unregulated political entities - non-profit organizations.
"Critics complain that Rich and his colleagues are abusing the initiative process by using their non-profit status to hide the identity of a handful of wealthy conservative businessmen and large corporations pursuing various anti-government causes aimed at freeing industry from regulations and taxes.
"He's even inspired a Web site -
Howierichexposed.com - focused exclusively on tracking his political movements.
Kristina Wilfore, executive director at the liberal, union-funded Washington, D.C.-based Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, maintains the Web site."
"A sub-unit of the state corrections agency
is giving short shrift to a key rehabilitation component of a $7.9 billion plan to unclog California's prisons, legislative leaders have charged," writes the Bee's Andy Furillo.
"In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the lawmakers said they fear that in doling out cash for county jails, the Correctional Standards Authority won't be giving enough weight to counties also willing to locate rehabilitation-heavy 're-entry' centers within their jurisdictions.
"The multi-billion Assembly Bill 900 said that "funding preference" for the jails should be given to the counties that agreed to site re-entry prisons.
"'We want to call your attention to this serious concern and hope that you will also contact CSA and express concern,' said the Nov. 16 letter to Schwarzenegger signed by state Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata of Oakland, Assembly Speaker
Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, Sen.
Mike Machado of Linden and Assemblyman
Jose Solorio of Santa Ana, all of them Democrats.
"Their letter drew support Monday from the Governor's Office. In a prepared statement, gubernatorial spokesman
Bill Maile said Schwarzenegger 'believes strongly that new funding for jails should be linked directly to re-entry facilities as laid out in Assembly Bill 900.'"
Jessica's law, meet Murphy's Law. "Law enforcement leaders who pushed for a ballot initiative requiring sex offenders in California to be tracked by satellite for life
are now saying that the sweeping surveillance program voters endorsed is not feasible and is unlikely to be fully implemented for years, if ever," reports Michael Rothfield in the Times.
"Under the measure, approved overwhelmingly a year ago, sex offenders must be strapped with global positioning system devices that can record their whereabouts even after they finish parole and leave the criminal justice system.
"Despite their qualms, law enforcement groups contend that the benefits of Proposition 83, popularly known as Jessica's Law, outweigh its problems, and they insist that many of the flaws can be fixed. But in interviews and testimony to a state board, they have cited complications with almost every aspect of the provision requiring lifetime monitoring.
"The difficulties include the impracticality of tracking sex offenders who no longer must report to parole or probation officers, the lack of any penalty for those who refuse to cooperate with monitoring and the question of whether such widespread tracking is effective in protecting the public.
"The biggest issue, however, is that the law does not specify which agency or government should monitor felony sex offenders -- and shoulder hundreds of millions of dollars a year in related costs."
Dan Weintraub
argues against changing term limits without changing redistricting.
"During [the campaign against Proposition 77], Senate Leader
Don Perata and Assembly Speaker
Fabian Nunez said they supported the concept of an independent commission and promised voters that they would put a new measure on the ballot that lacked the flaws they saw in the proposal backed by [
Steve] Poizner and Schwarzenegger.
"But the legislative leaders broke that promise. Instead, they crafted Proposition 93, which would save their jobs by extending their terms and the terms of dozens of other sitting legislators. Given a chance to present the voters with a coherent package of election law changes that, taken together, would have improved the way we elect and retain members of the Legislature, they failed.
"
Bottom line: Term limits reform is a good idea, but without reform of the way district lines are drawn, it could make a bad system even worse."
"A Southern California toll road agency has an unusual offer for the state:
$100 million for park upkeep in exchange for a toll road extension," writes Judy Lin in the Bee.
"Officials with the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, a government agency operating a small network of investor-built toll roads in Orange County, say the money would help California extend its lease of a beach park and improve other camp sites. They say the money, which is one-fourth of the state parks system's annual operating budget, would greatly help California in lean fiscal times.
"But environmental opponents -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's brother-in-law
Bobby Shriver among them -- worry that the 16-mile extension would harm endangered species, destroy park land and compromise wave action at one of the state's most popular surfing spots."
And from our
Bachelor, No More Files, "Assemblyman
Lloyd Levine and KCRA-TV journalist
Edie Lambert are getting hitched.
"The Van Nuys Democrat popped the question Thursday to his longtime lady friend
during a flight from Sacramento to Seattle, where the couple spent Thanksgiving visiting relatives from both families."
"'They're engaged and they're incredibly happy,' said
Alex Traverso, Levine's spokesman. No date for the wedding was announced."
And it looks like
Toe-Tappin' Larry Craig isn't the only member of Congress to plead to an incident in an airport. Local
air rage expert and San Diego Congressman Bob Filner."entered a plea to head off further legal action over
an altercation in August with a Washington airport baggage clerk.
"At a hearing in the General District Court of Loudon County, Va., the San Diego Democrat entered what is known as an Alford plea after prosecutors reduced the charge from misdemeanor assault and battery to trespassing. The plea, which is similar to a no contest plea, means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that sufficient evidence exists for a conviction. A court hearing to answer the charges had been set for Dec. 4."