With this weekend's drama in Washington winding up with a big victory for President Obama, Dan Weintraub takes a look at what the new health care plan may mean for you.
"Most likely you will not be affected much at all for many years, despite all the fury unfolding in Washington and across the nation. In the long run, the effects could be more profound.
The bill does a lot of things, but most of them can be divided into two major categories. It tightens regulation of the insurance industry. And it expands access to care for the poor and for low-income working people.
"Congress and the president, mindful of the costs and also the political implications, have front-loaded the insurance regulations, which are popular with the middle-class and independent voters, and saved the public care expansions for later. Still, if you have insurance now, especially if you have it through work, you probably will not see much if any change in that coverage."
Seema Mehta reports Tom Cambell will get some much-needed conservative cred today when he gets an endorsement from former GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon.
"It's a very difficult time economically," Simon said in a web ad created by the Campbell campaign. "Every time has its own issues, and right now, it's economic issues that are clearly most important. ... He stands for fiscal restraint."
"That's really why I endorsed him, because he's really strong fiscally and he's very strong with respect to free markets, you know, which are important to me," Simon said. "We don't agree on some of the other issues, you know, some of the social issues. But, you know, you're never going to agree with someone on everything. I think he's someone who is unafraid to stand up and make his views known."
Chase Davis looks at the selective access to Jerry Brown's gubernatorial records.
"Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has quietly granted access to at least three people who requested to dig through more than 2,000 boxes of records documenting his two terms as governor, from 1975 to 1983, California Watch has learned.
"New America Foundation fellow and former LA Times reporter Joe Mathews documented his approval process in a blog post last week. The others who requested and received approval are Peter Scheer, of the California First Amendment Coalition, and a student at the University of Southern California, where the records are housed.
"The records are available to the public only with Brown's written permission, although Dace Taube, a USC librarian overseeing the collection said that to her knowledge, "He's never turned anyone down."
Meanwhile, Brown's buddies Level the Playing Field are hoping their creepy little Meg-a-Tar goes viral.
The LAT reports, "The ad itself is a bit, well, creepy,
with an animated Meg Whitman -- a creation the group calls "Meg-a-Tar" - talking about Whitman's use of a private jet while
at EBay. The ad is part of the group's effort to paint
Whitman as an out-of-touch elitist who is trying to "put a buy it now button"
on the governor's race.
"The new approach by Level the Playing Field 2010, a labor union-backed independent group hoping to help Jerry Brown
become the state's next governor, underscores the increasing
difficulty of reaching voters through traditional means,
in the era of TiVo and other DVR devices which allow
viewers to skip campaign commercials.
"It also shows the increased importance of the viral
video -- videos that never make it to broadcast television
like the Demon Sheep ad or the anti-Barbara Boxer "Hot Air" video that live only on the
Internet. Level the Playing Field plans to air the
Meg-a-Tar ad with small, targeted buys on cable television
across the state, but is hoping viral buzz will lead
to more, and cheaper, exposure."
How long will the media be complicit is serving as
de facto megaphone for these candiadtes and interst
groups? Here's a hint. You can watch the ad here.
Michael Rothfeld looks at the state emplyee who made more than $450,000 per year.
"After its president was ousted in a scandal, California's
government-run insurance company hired Janet Frank to clean up
the
mess, offering her a salary and benefits far beyond
the reach of most
state workers.
"As the new president of California's largest
provider of workers' compensation coverage, the insurance
industry
veteran received a $450,000 annual salary plus a signing bonus of
nearly $140,000 to help her move from Colorado, employment records
obtained by The Times show.
"For her first 2 1/2 months on the
job, starting in 2007, she was paid a $40,000 performance bonus by the
insurer, a hybrid public-private company known as State Fund, which
serves as a safety net for businesses. She was paid
a $153,000 bonus
for 2008. This month, she received last year's bonus: $142,500. Citing
confidentiality, company officials declined to say
what performance
goals Frank had met."
Congressman Pete Stark wrote a letter to those inquiring about his health.
"The good news is, that after months in the hospital last year, there is no more pneumonia. Unfortunately, my lung capacity was diminished and for a while I need to use supplemental oxygen to operate at 100%.
"So don’t panic if you see me with a little plastic tube at my nose. It’s a bit inconvenient, but it works."
And finally, more sad news to report. Barry Nestande, brother of Assemblyman Brian Nestande and chief of staff to former Sen. John Benoit, died Friday while at the gym. He was just 49. Nestande is survived by his wife Marrilee, and his children Tyson, 21 and Brett, 5.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Nestande family.