CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reports on
a controversial, coastal legal fight that has wound its way to Sacramento.
"Senator
Leland Yee, D-San Mateo, has dropped his co-authorship of a bill that would help finalize a settlement between the city of Half Moon Bay and a developer who won a $36.8 million judgment against the city.
"
The ongoing dispute between the city and the developer shines light on a political battle that has been going on for years in the small beachfront community 30 miles south of San Francisco, and is being closely watched by cities around the state. The judgement threatens the power of local city councils and planning commissions to use environmental reasons to try to slow or stop development.
Speaking of environmental reasons, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
played politics with parks Monday, using Sacramento County's treasured jewel of the American River Parkway as a backdrop to boost a bill to make it easier for volunteers to keep them clean and green," reports Andy Furillo in the Bee.
"Almost immediately afterward, the governor found himself jabbed by another prong in the politics of the parklands. Barely an hour after his appearance underneath the budding oaks by the banks of the river, some 200 protesters descended on the Capitol to implore Schwarzenegger to recant on his proposed budget cuts that would close 48 parks in the state system.
"Schwarzenegger's support for volunteerism in the parks at the same time he is seeking to close four dozen of the state's finest came as a curiosity to some west steps protesters.
"'I just question the juxtaposition of promoting volunteerism on one end and a proposal that would affect volunteerism on the other end,' said
Michele Luna, executive director of Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, a Sonoma County group that provides 350 volunteers to work at three state parks, two of which are slated for closure under the governor's budget. 'It doesn't quite make sense.'
"Gubernatorial spokesman
Aaron McLear said there was nothing inconsistent about the governor's push for volunteerism while advocating the closures."
In fact, if we can replace all the employees with volunteers, think how much money we'd save!
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that his administration
is working with UCLA Medical Center to plug confidentiality breaches that have allowed unauthorized personnel to view records of celebrity patients, including his wife,
Maria Shriver," reports the Bee's Andy Furillo.
"'This kind of practice has been happening all over the state, wherever there's celebrities involved,' Schwarzenegger said in response to a reporter's question.
"His comments followed a story in the Los Angeles Times, which reported Monday that a UCLA hospital employee viewed electronic patient records on Shriver and 31 other celebrities. Records on celebrities such as
Britney Spears and
Farrah Fawcett also have been improperly viewed by hospital employees, with the information later appearing in tabloid newspapers, the Times reported.
"The governor said his health and human services secretary,
Kim Belshe, is working with UCLA officials to get a handle on the problem. Belshe told the Times that the disclosure of confidential information on the celebrities 'appears to be a pattern of repeated violations.'"
The LAT's Evan Halper reports that the governor
said that his own medical records were accessed as well.
Meanwhile, Margot Roosevelt reports in the Times on the
debate over whether the alternative energy ballot measure will help or hurt California's environmental progress.
"University of Phoenix founder
John Sperling and his son, Peter, are backing a ballot initiative that would force the state to more than quadruple its production of solar, wind and other alternative energy sources by 2025.
"But the state's major alternative-energy companies and environmental groups say the Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008 is poorly drafted and riddled with loopholes, and they plan to oppose it.
"'
It could slam the brakes on renewable energy development in the state,' asserts a letter signed by the California Solar Energy Industries Assn., the American Wind Energy Assn., labor unions and environmentalists.
"'John Sperling is genuinely well-intentioned and wants to do something about global warming,' said
Ralph Cavanagh, an expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council who met with the 87-year-old billionaire. '
But the initiative was put together by people who didn't know what they were doing.'"
Dan Walters
eulogizes former Assemblyman Joe Schell.
"Shell adhered to the golden rule of politics that "what goes around comes around." And what happened in 1982 was a case in point.
"The Southern California Republican political hierarchy wanted Lt. Gov.
Mike Curb to run for governor that year and had seemingly cleared the field. Shell, however, had an ax to grind. The same Southern California businessmen had tried to prevent Shell from running for governor in 1962 because they wanted former Vice President Richard Nixon to challenge Pat Brown, Jerry Brown's father. Shell, then the Republican leader of the Assembly, ran anyway, only to lose to Nixon in the primary.
"Shell didn't like it that the party bosses had pushed Curb, an inexperienced record producer, into the lieutenant governorship in 1978, and he didn't like it when they promoted Curb's run for governor in 1982. So Shell went out and got his own candidate, old friend
George Deukmejian, who by then was California's attorney general.
"Shell began beating the drums for Deukmejian, who had been noticeably reluctant to run, and arranged for Deukmejian to be showered with pledges of support when he visited Bakersfield to inaugurate Shell's wife, Mary, as the city's mayor."
"Despite its problems, a state
board that licenses chiropractors should have its full budget restored, a Senate committee decided Monday," writes John Hill in the Bee.
"The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to give $1.5 million to the Board of Chiropractic Examiners. That move, if approved by both houses, would restore the board's original budget of $3 million, cut in half last year in a dispute between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers over the board's future.
"'It means everything,' board executive director Brian Stiger said of the committee's action.
"When the money comes through, Stiger said, the board will be able to go ahead with 20 disciplinary cases pending with the attorney general's office. It can rehire staff it was forced to lay off, starting with those who review complaints against chiropractors."
"The state of California
has a tax bill it would like to discuss with O.J. Simpson," reports the AP.
"The Franchise Tax Board said Monday that the former football star owes the state $1.5 million in back state income taxes. Simpson made the state's list of 250 top tax debtors for the second year in a row."
Finally, a solution to our budget woes. Make OJ pay his tax bills!
"The board is required to post a list of the top income tax and corporate tax scofflaws each year on its Web site after notifying them that their names will appear if they do not agree to pay their back taxes in full or in installments.
"Tax liabilities that are under appeal, involved in litigation, in bankruptcy proceedings or under consideration for a settlement are not included on the list.
"Simpson ranks 15th on the list this year. He was 33rd in 2007, the first year the board posted the names."
Save California. Squeeze The Juice.