"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants California's air-pollution fighters to delay a new rule that requires thousands of gas stations to beef up their pump nozzles so that less fuel vapor escapes into the atmosphere when drivers fill their tanks. The governor also asked the Legislature for a "one-year enforcement holiday" for the stations," reports John Howard in Capitol Weekly.
"The new rule, scheduled to take effect Wednesday, requires
the nozzles to block 98 percent of fuel vapor, up from the current regulation
of 95 percent.
"But the Republican governor late Friday asked Air Resources
Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols - an appointee of the governor -- to postpone the regulation by six months or a year
because "significantly more time is needed before it can be
successfully enforced without significant negative
effects on our state economy."
"At the same time, Schwarzenegger asked legislative
leaders to approve urgency legislation by the end of
the month to help provide financial assistance for
gas station owners and to authorize a "one-year enforcement holiday" in which "station owners shall not be shut down of fined if they
have not installed these systems, so long as they have
shown a good-faith effort to comply."
"The legislation would supersede any action taken by
the air board."
"Strong demand for California bonds will allow the state to spend $2.7 billion on public works projects delayed during the
recent state budget impasse, officials said Monday," writes E.J. Schultz in the Fresno Bee.
"More than 5,000 projects were delayed or shut down this winter when
officials could not sell bonds because of the state
budget deficit and tight credit markets.
"The situation improved last week when investors purchased
$6.5 billion in bonds, exceeding expectations by more than
$2 billion. But "it may take a year or so" to sell enough bonds to restart all of the delayed
projects, said Department of Finance Director Mike Genest."
Greg Lucas analyses how the state will be spending all the money from the latest round of bond sales .
"The record purchase of $6.5 billion in state bonds during the week of March 23 will allow California to continue, restart or begin construction on hundreds of public works projects, Schwarzenegger administration officials said March 30.
"Of the $6.5 billion in bond proceeds – the largest transaction of its kind in the nation’s history — $3.8 billion will be used to address state cash flow needs, one of the functions of the Pooled Money Investment Account in which the bond proceeds are deposited.
In addition to smoothing the state’s cash flow spikes and troughs, the account also loans money to public works projects financed through bond sales so construction can continue will waiting for additional bond revenue in the future."
"A. Jerrold "Jerry" Perenchio, former chair of the largest Spanish-language media company in the United States, has donated $1.5 million to back two May special election measures," posts Peter Hecht on Capitol Alert.
"Perenchio's donated the money to the Budget Reform Now committee, which calls for "yes" votes on Propositions 1A and 1C.
"Proposition 1A would impose state spending restrictions, establish
a "rainy day" fund for budget shortages and extend tax increases
for two years. Proposition 1C allows the state to borrow $5 billion against future profits of a revamped state
lottery.
"It is the second time that Perenchio, former head of
Univision Communications Inc., has spent big bucks
to help the ballot agenda of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In 2005, he donated $1.5 million to back Schwarzenegger special election initiatives,
including measures to change how legislative districts
are drawn and how teachers are awarded tenure. The
governor's initiatives all lost."
The Bee's E.J. Schultz writes that Darrell Steinberg is authorizing a card check bill for farmworkers who wouldn't be covered by the
bill being debated in Washington.
"Senate Bill 789 would give workers the option of bypassing the secret-ballot elections. Instead, they could sign representation
cards. If a majority signed up, the state would certify
the new bargaining unit.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed similar "card check" bills the last two years, pleasing farm leaders who
fiercely lobbied against the proposals.
"Steinberg, D-Sacramento, hopes the federal debate will bring new
momentum to the state effort.
"The bill is 'a priority for me,' he said. 'I believe that the farmworkers of California should
have the right to organize without so many roadblocks
in the way.'"
"A federal judge will rule by Tuesday on a request by former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona to throw out his felony conviction," the OC Register reports.
"Carona appeared today before U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford for a post-trial hearing. He was flanked by two attorneys and accompanied by his wife, Deborah Carona, who had once faced charges in the case.
"Carona — once the county’s highest ranking law enforcement officer — was convicted in January of witness tampering for attempting to convince his former assistant sheriff, Don Haidl, to lie to a grand jury that was investigating the Sheriff’s Department. He was acquitted of conspiracy, mail fraud and one other count of witness tampering.
"If the judge decides that the conviction holds, Carona will be sentenced April 27. A federal probation report recommends Carona be incarcerated for 78 months in prison, according to a recent government motion.
The LAT's Patrick McGreevy looks at Jeff Denham's continued calls for the sale of state property.
"The state owns about 6.7 million acres of real property, including more than
22,000 structures, according to State Auditor Elaine Howle.
"In her review last week, Howle said there should be
one office overseeing decisions on which properties
are surplus, but legislation proposed to accomplish
that has stalled in the past. There is also little
incentive for state agencies to sell their property
because the proceeds typically go toward paying off
state bonds rather than into agency coffers, she said.
"Howle holds up one agency as a model for change: Last year, 476 surplus Caltrans properties worth $162 million were sold, she said.
"Denham revived the idea of selling the 85-year-old Coliseum, which has not been home to a professional
NFL team since the mid-1990s. The Coliseum and adjacent Sports Arena could fetch
the state $400 million, according to an analysis by the independent
Legislative Analyst's Office.
"'Ineffective oversight and local infighting' have plagued the property, which has 'fallen into disrepair and has lost several major tenants,' Denham writes in his proposal, SB 29."
"The state corrections department wrongly spent $1.3 million on unemployment benefits over two years for
employees fired for misconduct, according to a report released Monday by an outside
monitor," writes Michael Rothfeld in the Times.
"A correctional officer who was fired after being arrested
in a hit-and-run incident while driving drunk and refusing to cooperate
with the California Highway Patrol received the maximum
benefit of $11,700 for six months, according to Inspector General David Shaw.
"Another prison guard who received the same benefit
had been involved in a narcotics transaction in Tulare
County, possessed a banned assault rifle and was affiliated
with a prison gang, Shaw said. That officer was fired
for "inexcusable neglect of duty, insubordination, dishonesty,
willful disobedience and other failure of good behavior."
"The Office of the Inspector General found that a third
employee of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
received $9,875 in unemployment after she lost her job for failing
to appear at work for 132 days -- roughly six months -- over a 15-month period.
"In all, 186 of the 1,045 employees fired between 2006 and 2008 received unemployment benefits."
"An Oakland man was convicted Monday in two high-profile Oakland crimes, the carjacking of former state Senate leader Don Perata and a gas-station robbery and shooting less than two weeks later
in which a stray bullet paralyzed a 10-year-old boy practicing piano across the street," reports Henry Lee in the Chron.
"Jared Adams, 26, shook his head as the verdict was read in the Oakland
courtroom of Judge Larry Goodman of Alameda County Superior Court. Adams will be sentenced
May 27 and could face up to 25 years to life in prison on a litany of felony charges,
including attempted murder, carjacking, assault with
a firearm, robbery, evading police and weapons enhancements."
And it looks like the ARB will not be regulating the color of your car. At least not yet. The LAT's Martin Zimmerman reports, "The California Air Resources Board said...it has no plans “at this time” to regulate car paint as part of a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — and never intended to outlaw black cars in the first place.
"'We are by no means interested in banning or restricting car colors,' CARB spokesman Stanley Young said."
And finally, a source no less reliable than the Sun reports, " A sex-starved woman has undergone a painful two-hour operation to remove a giant pine cone."
We don't get it. Remove it from where?
"Surgeons have revealed embarrassed spinster Mirjana Gavaric is recovering after getting steamy with the seedy item in the Serbian capital, Belgrade."
"Dr Sava Bojovic explained: 'She was lonely and she took a pine cone from a tree and unfortunately it got stuck and she needed surgery to get it out.'"