Will today be the day
the health care plan is taken off life support? The Chron's Tom Chorneau previews the Senate Health Committee's vote.
"A yearlong legislative effort to overhaul California's estimated $190 billion health care system and provide coverage for millions of uninsured residents is likely to die quietly today, barring a dramatic intervention from state Senate leader
Don Perata.
"Although the bill has the support of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, it has stalled before the state Senate's Health Committee, where it appears to be at least one vote short of passage."
Some yahoo in the LA Times opines about
what the demise of the health care plan, combined with the demise of Proposition 93, would mean for the current legislative leadership.
"It's not often that you see political power disappear right before your very eyes.
"But watching the California Legislature in action last week felt like watching the end of an era -- and bearing witness to the creation of a power vacuum. In a political ballet that played out over several days, the prospects for two seemingly unrelated but intimately connected political issues -- a healthcare reform bill and a change in the state's term-limits law -- withered simultaneously. And as their fortunes sank, so did the power of the current legislative leadership."
The U-T's Michael Gardner
finds an area of the budget that Democrats and Republicans agree -- 48 state parks will not be closed.
"Sen.
Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, is confident lawmakers will block park closures.
"'I don't know if it's necessary if we're creative in our thinking,' he said. 'Closing them is a painful idea that people probably won't support.'
"Park supporters are treating Schwarzenegger's threat seriously, scrambling to find alternatives.
"
Among those: charge more for vehicle registration and then reward motorists with a few free admission days."
Matier and Ross look at
the price of protection. "Five years ago, during Gray Davis' last year in office, the CHP spent $14.4 million providing security to the governor and six other constitutional officers, plus state appeals and Supreme Court judges and building grounds. Last year, the total was $37.6 million, documents show.
Hey, California people! Get ready for all those comparisons to Florida. And we're not just talking about the weather or the natural disasters. John Wildermuth looks at
the long Tuesday night ahead, thanks to Debra Bowen.
"New state rules severely limiting the use of touch-screen voting machines in California have left many counties scrambling to prepare for elections using paper ballots. Napa, Santa Clara and about 20 other counties will have to move from their all-electronic systems for the first time in years.
"'We're estimating that it's going to be 6 a.m. Wednesday before we get all the precinct votes counted,' said
Elma Rosas, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County registrar of voters. "
Our goal is to have 90 percent of the votes counted by Friday afternoon."
The San Diego Union-Tribune's Sherry Saavedra takes a look at
the community college initiative on the February ballot.
"At a time when higher education funding is once again in jeopardy, one proposition on the Feb. 5 ballot seeks to reduce community college course fees, limit future fee increases and boost funding for the nation's largest public higher education system.
"Hardly anyone disputes that the 109 public community colleges in California are underfunded, but this initiative underscores disagreement over the right time and the right way to fix that. The state's two largest teachers unions are divided over Proposition 92, as are business groups.
"The formula for Proposition 98 calculates a minimum level of annual state financial support for both kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools and community colleges combined based on changes in the economy and K-12 attendance.
"
Proposition 92 would make two important changes: It would split the guarantee into two parts, one for K-12 and one for community colleges. The measure then would calculate the new funding level for community colleges based on growth in the young-adult population, which is expected to rise in the next few years, rather than K-12 attendance, which is expected to decline, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office."
LAT's Christian Berthelsen and Stuart Pfeifer uncover
Mike Carona's free legal advice.
"Jones Day, the fourth-largest law firm in the United States, with 2,300 lawyers worldwide and estimated annual revenue of $1.3 billion, has agreed to represent Carona on a pro bono basis. Based in Cleveland, the elite firm represents more than half the companies that constitute the Fortune 500.
"Though not unheard of, the case -- defending an allegedly corrupt sheriff who is making about $200,000 a year in retirement -- is unusual by pro bono standards. Typically, pro bono work involves providing legal services to society's most vulnerable -- the indigent, the homeless, the infirm.
And rather than corruption or graft, the cases more often concern discrimination and evictions.
"'For us, that wouldn't be a typical pro bono client,' said Esther F. Lardent, president and chief executive of the Pro Bono Institute at Georgetown University Law Center. 'When we talk about modest means, we're typically talking about someone with significantly lower income.'"
Patrick McGreevey takes a look at the June ballot, and
the fight between Propositions 98 and 99.
"
More than 100 owners and operators of apartment buildings and mobile home parks spent nearly $2 million to put an initiative on the June 3 ballot to phase out California's rent control laws. About 1.2 million people statewide are covered by such laws.
"Los Angeles, which has 626,600 rent-controlled residential units, could be affected more than any other city if the measure passes.
"Big financial backers of the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which gave $100,000 to the effort and lent the campaign $200,000; the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Issues PAC, which contributed $150,000; and the Apartment Owners Assn. Political Action Committee, which put in $100,000."
And finally, from our
All in the Family Files,
A grandmother, her daughter and some of her grandchildren tried to steal $900 worth of merchandise from a Target store in Lodi, 35 miles south of Sacramento, police Officer Misty Smith said.
"The family's alleged shoplifting spree earlier this week was captured by surveillance video, which police say showed them cutting open boxes and hiding MP3 players, digital cameras, DVDs, jewelry and sports equipment in purses, bags and a backpack.
"An 8-year-old and a 5-year-old were among the family members detained.
"
The 5-year-old actually had a pack of gum. A small item but we could see where her life was heading because she thinks more than likely this is a normal way of life, this is what you do," said
Dale Eubanks of the Lodi police."