Three questions we'll know the answers to by the end of the day...or tomorrow...or Thursday:
1. Will
Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow and give
Fabian Nuñez six more years as Speaker?
2. Are four tribes with a governor kicker a stronger hand than
two tribes, a pair of race tracks and a union?
3. Will
Ron Paul, M.D. finally
emerge from the shadows or will he go away quietly?
"With California poised to play a pivotal role in today's highly competitive Super Tuesday presidential contests,
a record 8.9 million primary voters are projected to participate statewide, according to the Field Poll," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"The election has energized voters because it is the first presidential primary since 1952 in which no incumbent or sitting vice president is running for the White House and neither major party has yet to settle on its nominee."
Really? We thought it was
all because of Prop. 91.
"Democratic registrants, typically more fickle participants than Republicans, are likely to vote in greater numbers than usual this year, Field Poll Director
Mark DiCamillo said.
"'The turnout (percentage) among Democrats will be about equal to the turnout among Republicans, which almost never happens,' he said. 'You've got this very exciting race, and you have these candidates on the Democratic side who are very well liked by the Democratic electorate. If there's a problem, it's, 'Which one do I like most?' '"
The UT's Craig Gustafson explains
why tonight may be a long night. "The county signed a $31 million deal in 2003 to bring touch-screen electronic voting to the people, a decision that five years later has
brought nothing but instability to the voting process.
Disputes over the touch-screen machines and the company that made them has forced the county to revert to tried-and-true paper ballots time and again.
"To lower costs for the $11 million primary and eliminate security questions, the county plans to count ballots at the registrar headquarters rather than having a scanner at each polling place, as has been the norm. That decision by Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler could lead to voter frustration as results from elsewhere in the nation tick across TV screens.
"'It's going to make it slow,' Seiler said.
"
The reason for the delay in results is restrictions placed on the use of electronic voting machines by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen that force 20 counties, including San Diego, to use paper ballots."
The governor
was in San Diego campaigning for the tribal compacts.
The U-T's Angelica Martinez writes: "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town Monday calling on voters to support propositions 94 through 97 in Tuesday's election. If approved, they would see four Southern California Indian tribes pay higher gaming revenues to the state in return for being allowed to significantly expand their casinos."
"Schwarzenegger was surrounded by about two dozen local supporters at Monday's news conference at a paramedic training center in Kearny Mesa. He told voters that the new revenue would help pay for the state's education, health care costs and public safety.
"'
We have a budget crisis and this would be very important money for the state of California,' Schwarzenegger said. '
It's exactly the Vegas casinos that put money into this to fight us because they are not benefiting from this (revenue).'
"Schwarzenegger said the agreements won't solve the state's budget problems but would help with the state's needs, and promised more negotiations with other tribes.
"'
This is just the beginning,' he said. 'There are very many other gaming tribes that are out there that will be negotiating with us. I think there are many more millions of dollars coming to the state of California.'"
In other words, for those political consultants that didn't get a cut of the action this time, you just might get dealt in to the next round.
Judy Lin reports that the "The Legislature's lawyers have concluded that Proposition 58, invoked for the first time by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this year to help deal with the state's projected $14.5 billion budget shortfall,
could let lawmakers sidestep punishment if they fail to agree on budget solutions.
Shocking.
"In a letter to Assemblyman
Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, the Office of the Legislative Counsel wrote that lawmakers don't have to submit a balanced budget in order to "address" the state's fiscal emergency. The letter said the Legislature could continue its policy work and recess for up to 10 days even after a 45-day deadline to address the state's fiscal emergency has passed.
"Spitzer said that's not what voters intended when they passed Proposition 58. 'You must put down all your work and completely focus on the budget,' he said."
Even if we're not done coloring yet?
"It's also unclear what could happen if the governor finds the Legislature's proposal unacceptable.
"Administration officials are reluctant to speculate about what might happen if the Legislature fails to shave more than $800 million off the current budget – or come up with its own cuts.
"'We're not going to get into speculation on a hypothetical,' said
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the governor. 'The Legislature has a plan before it from the governor that addresses the emergency he declared on Jan. 10. I think the Legislature understands the gravity of the situation.'"
Meanwhile, for those of you that have been working on campaigns and are employment-free today,
have patience with EDD, which is overloaded with unemployment claims.
The Bee's John Hill reports: "Unemployment benefits are a lifeline to those who have lost their jobs, but some recent callers to the toll-free number of the state department that oversees payments have heard that line go dead.
"The Employment Development Department, faced with a 14 percent increase in claims, is having a hard time keeping up with calls from unemployed workers, spokeswoman
Loree Levy said."
The LAT's Jordan Rau reports on
delays in enforcing a 2002 law that was aimed at limiting the time patients waited for HMO approval of treatment.
"The Schwarzenegger administration's enactment of the new rules, which the law required by January 2004, has not been prompt. The Department of Managed Health Care did not release its proposed rules until 2007.
"When HMOs and doctors groups objected to them, the department scrapped the rules in favor of ones that let health plans come up with their own methods of complying with the law. The plans have to submit their guidelines in October, and the department will review them.
"Consumer advocates charge that the way the department is putting the law into action controverts the promise six years ago from [
Daniel] Zingale, who is now a senior advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and chief of staff for Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver."
"In one of the region's great environmental showdowns, the California Coastal Commission
is set to decide Wednesday whether to approve a controversial toll road through San Onofre State Beach -- a popular park filled with endangered species, old Indian sites and famous surf spots," reports Dan Weikel in the Times.
"The dispute over the proposed Foothill South tollway in southern Orange County has mushroomed into a statewide conflict over where to draw the line between protecting the environment and building highways to ease traffic congestion.
"Supporters of the planned six-lane turnpike contend that the road is needed to accommodate development and take some of the burden off Interstate 5, one of the most heavily traveled corridors between Los Angeles and San Diego. They assert that no better alternative exists and that substantial steps would be taken to protect the environment.
"Opponents argue that if the toll road is built, it would be the largest project of its type put through a state park. San Onofre would be permanently scarred, they say, and the road's approval could open the door for other significant encroachments on park land statewide, such as utilities, rail lines and desalination plants."
Aren't we
closing San Onofre anyway?
Finally, from our
Ay, Caramba! Files who knew that
Bart Simpson was a Scientologist?
"Voice artist
Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Simpson's character Bart, last week donated $10 Million to the Church of Scientology, said to be almost double that of actor
Tom Cruise."
Ah, but can she do
this?