Well, Happy New Year everybody. The Roundup begins it's fifth year today in much the same way we began welcoming our fourth -- with big old budget deficits. This week, the Legislature is back in town. Gov. Schwarzenegger gives his State of the State address Wednesday. And Friday, Schwarzenegger unveils his final budget, before immediately trying to change the subject.
But that's going to be hard to do. Especially after the big victory public employee unions won in court last week.
The Wall St. Journal's Stu Woo reports, "Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch on Thursday ruled that Mr. Schwarzenegger abused his discretion with two executive orders, which placed more than 200,000 state employees on unpaid furloughs three days a month. The union that challenged the furloughs estimated that 30,000 to 50,000 workers were affected by the judge's ruling, most of them represented by unions.
"The governor's office said it would appeal the ruling and would ask the judge to stay the order during that process. Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which filed the suit, said it planned to argue against the stay and seek back pay for the workers affected by the orders."
Andrew Macintosh and Steve Wiegand report the victory may be a pyrrhic one for state workers.
"Tens of thousands of state workers began the new year Friday unsure whether to be happy about the prospect of a bigger paycheck in 2010 – or fear the prospect of a pink slip.
"The uncertainty emanates from decisions handed down Thursday in three cases challenging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision last year to furlough about 200,000 state workers three days a month – tantamount to a 14 percent pay cut.
"While the rulings were hailed by leaders of state worker unions as a positive step to end the furloughs, they also expressed fear that if the courts ultimately decide the governor lacks the legal authority to furlough them, the alternative could be worse: massive layoffs.
"I won't even begin to guess," said Yvonne Walker, president of Local 1000 of the Service Employees International Union, one of the unions that prevailed before Judge Roesch. "At the very least, the governor's behavior has been unpredictable."
Something tells us we haven't heard the last of this one...
Maybe those mass layoffs are what Dan Walters had in mind when he called on Schwarzenegger to "man up."
"How does one reconcile, for example, his very first act as governor, reducing taxes on automobiles by billions of dollars, with his plea to voters, soon afterward, to borrow $15 billion to rescue the state from imminent insolvency – while simultaneously touting a supposed spending limit that, as everyone in the Capitol knew, was worthless?
"Schwarzenegger squandered the momentum that his election and the recall of his hapless predecessor, Gray Davis, had generated. It signaled to many that despite all of his tough talk about balancing the state budget, he didn't really want to make the unpopular decisions that the task required.
"Schwarzenegger had a very brief window of opportunity to set a new tone of fiscal responsibility, and he blew it. He not only didn't balance the budget when the economy was soaring – being much more willing to spend rather than save – but he has often used cynical bookkeeping gimmicks and phantom revenue to close deficits, hoping against hope that a new economic surge would solve his problem painlessly."
Michael Rothfeld looks at Schwarzenegger the Quacker.
"No self-respecting politician wants to be one. The phrase itself
is
utterly demeaning. But with a year left in office,
there are signs that
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has begun his transformation
into a lame
duck.
"This status, defined by the weakness of a politician
whose term will soon expire, may be difficult to swallow
for a former
Mr. Universe known to legions of moviegoers for vanquishing
opponents
as Hercules, Conan and the Terminator. Even as a pregnant
man in
"Junior," Schwarzenegger reflected a particular kind
of strength.But
legislators have already begun sensing that as a lame
duck he is easy
prey and openly disregard some of his wishes. Members
of his staff have
steadily been quitting, and replacements are hard to
come by.
Schwarzenegger
himself has stopped curtailing his famous mischievous streak. More of
all this seems inevitable in the year ahead."
Aw, shucks. Guess the Jerry Brown Whoopee Cushion for the State of the State is out of the question this year?
California Watch launches this week, with a look at how county parties are used to skirt campaign finance limits.
"The strategy has been used for years but drew attention recently when the California Fair Political Practices Commission levied a combined $49,000 in fines against Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, and the Fresno County Republican Central Committee following an unusual pattern of donations that was brought to light in October," Chase Davis reports.
"In one case, a single donor gave more than $300,000 in one day to 10 Democratic county committees from Humboldt to San Diego counties. Those committees proceeded to make large contributions to high-profile Democratic Assembly and Senate races at different times in the days leading up to the election. In another case, a Modesto assemblyman made contributions to two Republican committees, which quickly turned around and contributed large amounts to the assemblyman's brother, who was campaigning for a seat in a nearby district."
John Ellis reports Bill Jones may take a shot at Congress. "Former Assembly Republican Leader and two-term Secretary of State Bill Jones is seriously considering a congressional run, according to a person intimately involved in the decision-making process.
Hmmm, we wonder who that would be...
"Jones is looking at the 19th Congressional District seat, which runs from Fresno north through Madera, Mariposa and Tuolumne counties to the eastern fringes of Modesto and Stanislaus County. The incumbent, Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, announced last week that he is stepping down at the end of this term as his wife battles ovarian cancer."
Back to the budget for just a sec. Wyatt Buchanan says once again, state lawmakers are looking East to help us out of our budget deficit. And not because they're praying toward Mecca.
"Just don't call it a bailout. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he plans to head to the nation's capital "early and often" seeking federal assistance. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger already has put the federal government on notice that he wants billions he says the state is owed. And outgoing Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los Angeles County), said she would head east as soon as this month.
"It is not just cash that California wants. Schwarzenegger is calling for permanent changes to the formula that determines the amount of money the federal government contributes to Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, noting that the state is among the lowest in the country in reimbursement rates. He also wants money for the costs of providing special education in schools and incarcerating illegal immigrants, both unfunded federal mandates.
"Steinberg said he wants a "dynamic partnership" between the federal government and the states, led by California, to spend money for infrastructure."
And finally, if you're planning on a trip to New York this winter, beware of falling moose heads. One diner learned the hard way, reports the Associated Press. "A Web designer says she was struck by the decor at a New York City restaurant — when it fell on her head. Raina Kumra says in a negligence lawsuit filed last week that a 150-pound stuffed moose head with 3-foot-wide antlers plummeted off a wall at the Scandinavian-themed White Slab Palace and hit her. She says she suffered a concussion and other injuries."