"Six months after the decision was made, Darrell Steinberg – a former labor lawyer and unabashed liberal – was formally elected Senate president pro tem Thursday in a unanimous voice vote by his colleagues."
But even though he's now been elected twice, doesn't mean he gets to take over yet.
"In the longest legislative transition in modern California history, the Sacramento Democrat won't assume office until Nov. 30 – one day before current Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, is termed out of office."
Brett Favre's transition into retirement has been longer than this.
"Steinberg, who will become the first lawmaker from
Sacramento to run the Senate since 1883, said he was "not uncomfortable" with the protracted baton exchange."
At least they exchanged the baton, something the U.S.
track and field team is having a helluva time doing
in the Bird's Nest.
"'This is the way the caucus and Sen. Perata and I wanted
to handle this, and I'm very comfortable with it,' Steinberg, 48, said in an interview before the Senate vote."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday that the budget deadlock could last for several more weeks, a delay that would force him to call a special election," reports Matthew Yi in the Chron.
...bringing visions of dough to political consultants' heads. Reserve your Roundup advertising space today!
"Two significant pieces of his budget require voter
approval, and many state lawmakers consider Sunday
to be the drop-dead deadline for placing new measures on the ballot
for the November election.
"A budget deal after Sunday would mean the governor
would have to put his budget measures - calling for budget overhauls and for borrowing against
future lottery sales - to voters in a special election later this year or
next year.
"'We can have a special election. ... I prefer to put
it on this ballot, but you always have to go for the
next best thing. You can't always have it exactly your way,' he said Thursday.
"The last special election in California was in 2005 and cost the state about $50 million, according to Kate Folmar, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen."
But for meaningful budget reform, that's a bargain, right?
Dan Walters writes that, despite the rhetoric, GOP-supported spending plays a major part in the budget gap.
The Bee sits down with the governor, who defends his decision to call for a sales tax increase and shows his frustration about the budget impasse .
Bee:
"Do you think legislators should continue to vote on
bills upstairs and have tributes to (termed-out) members?"
Governor: "Look, I'm not trying to tell them what to do up there because,
you know, I'm trying to act as the grown-up in the budget negotiations here. They have to figure out how they're going to handle it and how they're going to do everything. I have made strong recommendations
14 days ago that I was disappointed that they came back
from their vacation or recess and went about with the
bills rather than going about with the budget and all
sitting down and all trying to figure out in their
caucuses how to move this forward. I don't have the power to go and say, 'Stop, and let's lock the building and just spend time on the budget.' I wish I had that power. It would be wonderful because
then the budget would be done quicker."
"Trying to keep pace with advances in technology, a
divided state Senate approved a measure Thursday that would outlaw text
messaging by motorists in California.
"'Texting while driving is so obviously unsafe that it's hard to believe anyone would attempt it, yet everyday
observation suggests there are an awful lot of folks
who do,' said Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), who wrote SB 28. The measure now goes to the governor, who has said
he will not sign any bills until the Legislature approves
a budget.
Just wondering, is emailing the same as texting?
"The bill was approved on a 25-14 vote, with heavy opposition from Republicans who see
the legislation as unnecessary interference in personal
behavior. Only two Republicans voted for the measure.
"'There is already sufficient law that can be applied
if someone is driving while distracted,' said Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster), who voted against the bill. 'We don't need a law for everything a driver does. The next
one is going to be you can't drive while you are eating a hamburger.'"
Quick...you still have time for a gut-and-amend!
"The California Supreme Court made it easier Thursday for prison inmates to win parole
despite a governor's objections, ruling that a woman who fatally shot and stabbed
another woman with a potato peeler should remain free," report Maura Dolan and Michael Rothfeld in the Times.
"The 4 to 3 ruling, written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, could affect nearly 1,000 parole cases now on appeal. Lawyers on both sides
said it was the first time in recent history that the
state high court ruled in favor of a prisoner in a
parole case.
"The decision upheld the release of Sandra Davis Lawrence, who spent nearly 24 years in prison for shooting and stabbing her lover's wife in a jealous rage. The state parole board had
approved her release four times since 1993, but three governors, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
overturned the board's decisions.
"In denying her parole, Schwarzenegger cited the "shockingly vicious" attack and Lawrence's use of various aliases to avoid arrest for 11 years after the murder.
"An appeals court said Schwarzenegger's denial was not supported by evidence that she remained
dangerous.
"In Thursday's ruling, George said there was "overwhelming" evidence of Lawrence's rehabilitation while in prison and her suitability
for parole. She earned two degrees in prison, learned
trades that included plumbing and data processing,
was president of the inmates' Toastmasters Club, worked as a library porter and
tennis coach, cofounded a tutoring program and remained
discipline free. She apologized repeatedly for her
crime.
"The court said decisions on whether to grant parole
to prisoners who received life sentences should be
based on whether the inmate would pose a danger to
the public if released. The court's action marks a departure from a 2002 ruling, which held that the crime itself could justify
denial."
"Controversy surrounding a powerful Los Angeles labor
leader threatened Thursday to alter the landscape beneath
the county's hottest political race,
which has been fueled by record amounts of union spending," write Garrett Therolf and David Zahniser in the Times.
"Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors candidate Bernard C. Parks, who trailed in the June primary, challenged opponent
Mark Ridley-Thomas to return more than $4.5 million raised on his behalf by a labor alliance that
included beleaguered union leader Tyrone Freeman.
"Parks, a Los Angeles city councilman, also noted that
county officials have accused Freeman's local of raising more than $5 million in illegitimate union dues from low-wage home healthcare workers, a charge that union attorneys
have flatly denied.
"'Mr. Ridley-Thomas, how do you feel about benefiting from the money
of people who are hovering just above the poverty line?' Parks said. 'Give the money back to the people who need it most.'
"Steve Barkan, a political consultant for Ridley-Thomas, called Parks' request "silly" and countered that Parks should return donations that
he received from contractors doing business with the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he is
a board member."
"Workers in cherry pickers and a crane-suspended basket cut down tree limbs and plucked out supplies of tree-sitters Thursday as UC Berkeley officials tried to
end a 21-month standoff next to Cal's Memorial Stadium, but the four protesters defiantly
refused to leave their lofty redwood perch," writes the Chron's Charles Burress.
"The developments came as a judge is expected to rule
soon whether to lift an order barring the campus from
cutting down the redwood and 43 other trees in the stadium grove to build an athletic
training center.
"Protesters in varying numbers have been sitting in
the trees since Dec. 1, 2006, saying they will not leave unless UC spares the grove.
"'If they want me down, they will have to drag me down,' a tree-sitter who goes by the name Huckleberry told reporters via a cell phone powered by a solar
panel attached to the redwood. He spoke from the protesters' highest platform, which appeared to be at least 80 feet high on the top of the tree.
"Perched in two cherry pickers, workers from a private
firm hired by the campus trimmed 22 branches from the redwood and four other branches
from two live oaks about 50 or 60 yards away, said campus spokesman Dan Mogulof."
And in Switzerland, a giant inflatable piece of dog poop has taken down a power line.
"This giant inflatable faeces (actually a sculpture by the American artist Paul McCarthy) broke free from its moorings at a modern art museum in Switzerland before bringing down a power line.
"The artwork, named 'Complex Sh*t', was lifted by a sudden gust of wind from its home at the Paul Klee centre in the city of Berne.
As big as a house, the gigantic inflatable eventually came to rest 200 yards away in the grounds of a children's home."
Wow, we just don't know where to begin.
"Museum authorities said the work had an automatic safety device that was supposed to make it deflate in the event of a storm - but it failed to operate."