"Assemblywoman
Karen Bass captured the speakership Wednesday night following a round of closed-door meetings and the intervention of current speaker Fabian Nunez," reports Capitol Weekly.
Bass's selection is expected to be formalized today with a vote on the Assembly floor.
"Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat and the Assembly's majority leader, received a majority of support in the Democratic caucus to win the job. Nunez engineered the deal that put her over the top. Several legislators, including some who had hoped to be speaker themselves, announced as they left the meeting that Bass had won.
That's good news for Democrats who put the three-week long speakership battle to an end, and for Bass, who by all accounts is one of the most competent and likable legislators in the Capitol.
But not everyone is smiling. It does, for example,
put an end to Greg Lucas's bid for speaker.
But "with Bass and Sacramento Democrat
Darrell Steinberg, who will be the next Senate leader, in control, it places the Capitol in the hands of two Democrats who have long fought for those without much political voice. Steinberg has been a champion of mental health issues, and Bass has championed children in the foster care system, and those transitioning out of the system."
Capitol Weekly reports that
the passage of an initiative on the June ballot could mean big bucks for the new owner of the LA Times.
"A company run by
Sam Zell, the new chairman of the Los Angeles Times’ corporate parent,
stands to gain up to $15 million if an eminent domain initiative on the June ballot is approved by California voters.
"The initiative, Proposition 98, would repeal rent control ordinances across California, which could lead to a boon for Zell.
"Zell, the Tribune Co. chairman, is also chairman of Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc., a Chicago-based company that owns more than 112,000 residential units across the United States and Canada. The company’s 28 properties in California include a dozen rent-controlled mobile home parks.
"But Proposition 98 would phase out those rent-control laws. And that could lead to a windfall over time for Zell and his company, according to documents that Equity Lifestyle has filed with the Security and Exchange Commission.
"
Equity Lifestyles has contributed $50,000 to the Yes on 98 campaign, according to documents at the secretary of state’s office.
"The Times will take an editorial position on the initiative closer to Election Day and will not consult Zell or take his role in the campaign into account, said
Jim Newton, the Times’ editorial page editor.
“
We do intend to make an endorsement in the Proposition 98 race, and we will come to our position as we do with other ballot propositions. The decision will be made by the editorial board,” he said, “but we will not include Zell in that conversation. We will not consider his role in the campaign or any of his financial interests.”
"The state's prison watchdog
issued a report Wednesday recommending that the federal office overseeing state prison health care rein in its staff salaries and make sure reimbursement expenses are legitimate," writes Andy Furillo in the Bee.
"In analyzing $33 million the receiver's office spent on itself over a 15-month period, the Office of the Inspector General criticized the salaries of 12 staffers paid more than the state corrections secretary and noted that receivership employees on occasion failed to turn in the original receipts on their travel reimbursements.
"Inspector General
Matt Cate's
report listed a $740 dinner at a Sacramento steakhouse visited by former receiver Robert Sillen as one expenditure that lacked an original receipt.
"Sillen, ousted from the receivership last month by U.S. District Judge
Thelton Henderson, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"His replacement,
J. Clark Kelso, said in a response to the OIG that he expects to cut his internal budget by $4 million this fiscal year. Kelso said he agrees with the OIG's recommendations and that
only eight of his staffers are now making more than corrections secretary Jim Tilton's annual salary of $225,000."
"A federal appeals court Wednesday
rejected a state regulation that reduced emissions from ships, dealing a blow to California's attempt to combat one of the major sources of smog-forming pollution in the Los Angeles region," writes Marla Cone in the Times.
"The ruling means that the state must seek federal approval before imposing pollution limits on the thousands of cargo ships, cruise ships and other marine vessels that visit its ports.
"The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that California's new regulation is preempted by federal law. The Clean Air Act allows California to set its own standards for various vehicles and engines if it receives waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The state argued that in this case it didn't technically need a waiver, but the judges disagreed."
The Merc News's Mike Zapler
surveys the scaled-down health care bills introduced following the failure of the plan crafted by the governor and speaker. "One bill is meant to help guide anyone trying to make sense of the dizzying combinations of deductibles, co-pays and premiums in choosing a health plan. The measure, SB 1522, sponsored by Sen.
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, would simplify the process. Insurers would have to offer five "benchmark" plans, with easy-to-follow benefits and costs, so a person could make "apples-to-apples" comparisons from one insurance company to the next.
"In a similar vein, Assemblyman
Felipe Fuentes, D-Arleta, has a bill to help people measure what they're getting in return for hefty hospital and doctor bills. The bill, AB 2967, would create a "transparency" committee that would collect medical data to gauge the performance of hospitals and doctors treating certain illnesses, relative to what they charge.
"At least three bills target a practice that's received widespread attention in recent months - insurance companies that retroactively cancel a patient's coverage, often only after the person gets sick. Some insurers have defended so-called "rescissions" by claiming that patients lied about their health condition in their applications.
"Assemblyman
Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, came up with this answer in AB 1945: Require health carriers to get approval from state regulators before canceling policies. Another bill, AB 1150, by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-El Segundo, would bar insurance firms from rewarding bonuses to executives based on how many insurance policies they rescind.
"Finally, state Sen.
Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, is proposing legislation that would require insurers providing group plans to spend at least 85 percent of medical payments on patient care, with the rest for administrative costs and profits."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
request for a new team to plan rerouting of water away from the delta via a peripheral canal has ignited opposition in the Legislature," writes Mike Taugher in the Merc News.
"Three key lawmakers on Wednesday angrily accused the governor of inflaming rivalries and threatened to halt negotiations over a multibillion-dollar water bond.
"'
Launching a peripheral canal without addressing ecosystem, water quality, structure and governance simply enflames old sectional passions and suspicions,' the three senators wrote. '
It moves us in the exact opposite direction from a comprehensive water policy.'
"The letter was signed by Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata, D-Oakland, his successor as Senate leader Sen.
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Sen.
Michael Machado, D-Linden. The showdown comes as lawmakers and the administration face off over whether the Department of Water Resources already has the legal authority to build the canal."
"Nearly two dozen employees of the state Board of Equalization have sued the tax agency and its director for
allegedly concealing health-threatening mold growth in its N Street headquarters," reports Mary Lynne Vellinga in the Bee.
"In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court, 23 present and former BOE employees allege they have suffered a variety of ill health effects – including respiratory problems, flulike symptoms, headaches, rashes and fatigue – because of exposure to mold in the building.
"The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering.
"'We're seeking significant damages for these individuals for the (mold) exposure and the injuries and diseases it has caused,' attorney Anthony Perez said Wednesday."
Ralph Drollinger made headlines again this week for
suggesting that Jesus is disgusted with legislators, because they are not proper Christians.
Sandy Harrison has
his own memories of Drollinger that he shares with Captiol Weekly readers.
"UCLA basketball fans from the 1970s remember him for a much earlier ongoing controversy and one final spectacular shining moment of redemption. In those days it was Drollinger who was getting disapproved of, but for his basketball playing, not his religion.
"The 7-foot Drollinger began the 1974–’75 season as the Bruins’ center, and to say the least, he was not a fan favorite. In the prior decade, UCLA’s centers had included
Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton, arguably the two greatest in college basketball history.
"Drollinger’s play was far below their class, and Bruin fans let him know it, relentlessly.
He was cruelly jeered on the court, and calls for his benching by fans and media grew ever louder.
"Drollinger was regulated to the bench until the national championship game of 1975. "Throughout the game UCLA would open leads and then Kentucky would rally, but each time Drollinger would grab a key rebound or sink a clutch shot to rebuff the drive. The win capped an amazing run of 10 championships in 12 years, and the Bruins clearly could not have done it without Ralph Drollinger."