Looks like we're entering the next phase.
Labor unions have pledged millions to a new effort to boost Jerry Brown's campaign. "An independent expenditure committee aimed at boosting Jerry Brown's campaign for governor is taking shape, with three major donors in the labor movement signing on as co-chairmen.
"The heads of the State Building Trades Assn., California Professional Firefighters and Service Employees International Union all have joined California Working Families 2010 as co-chairmen. They have each made a "significant" pledge to the committee, according to committee spokesman Roger Salazar. Businessman Ron Burkle has also "pledged resources" to the campaign, Salazar said
CalBuzz reports the three union heads have each pledged $1 million as a down payment for the committee. "California Working Families will be using micro-targeting technology developed by the Obama presidential campaign and expanded on by the Labor Federation’s Committee for Working Families. The technology makes it possible, Pulaski said, “to identify non-union voters who share our values” in ex-urban areas, places where there are few unions and weak Democratic parties."
Quick reminder: Today is election day in Glendale and Riverside, with two legislative seats up for grabs. In Los Angeles County, Nayiri Nahabedian and Mike Gatto head a field to replace Paul Krekorian. And in Riverside, Assemblyman Bill Emmerson and former Assemblyman Russ Bogh square off to replace John Benoit
From our Political Schitzophrenia Files, "Two years ago, Haim Saban gave $200,000 to a ballot measure to change the way legislative districts are drawn. Now, he's given $2 million to the effort to repeal the very measure that he helped pass in November 2008.
"Saban, who made his fortune in the entertainment industry as the producer of the children's show "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," gave $2 million to the Yes on Fair committee, which is seeking to repeal Proposition 11. That measure, passed in 2008, took the power of drawing legislative districts out of the hands of the Legislature and gave it instead to a new, independent commission.
"Why the change of heart? Saban's office had no immediate comment on his apparently contradictory political donations."
Of course, theories and conspiracies abound...
An effort to repeal Proposition 8 has failed to qualify for the November ballot. Wyatt Buchanan reports, "Backers of an initiative to repeal Proposition 8, the California ban on same-sex marriage, have failed to gather enough signatures to place it on the ballot in November.
"The supporters say they will try to qualify the measure for the November 2012 election.
"Gay rights activists had been split on whether to push such a measure this year or in 2012. The largest groups supported waiting for the next presidential election. Those supporting a vote this year said the division hampered their fundraising and volunteer efforts."
Mercury Insurance violated state laws by potentially
overcharging
thousands of customers, the Department of Insurance has ruled. "Mercury Insurance
Group violated state laws meant to regulate how
coverage is priced and sold and, as a result, overcharged
perhaps
thousands of Californians for homeowner and automobile
insurance, the
state Department of Insurance said Monday.
The state's
fourth-largest auto insurer failed to ensure drivers were
not charged
more after accidents in which they were not at fault,
and refused to
cover bartenders, artists and others unless they met
stricter
underwriting standards than other customers, a state
investigation
alleges."
Patrick McGreevy reports San Diego Republican Assemblyman
Nathan Fletcher wants tougher penalties for sex crimes against minors. "People convicted of sex crimes against minors would
face longer prison
sentences and more time on parole under a proposal
made Monday in
response to the slaying of 17-year-old Chelsea King in San Diego County.
The man charged with killing the Poway High School
student had been on
parole until 2008, after serving five years in prison for molesting
a
13-year-old girl.
"These offenders cannot be rehabilitated," said Brent King, Chelsea's
father, at an emotional Capitol news conference."They
do not deserve a second chance," he said.
Here's a free business tip from your friends at The Roundup. When the economy goes south, it's always good to have a monopoly. The state's Prison Industry Authority has figured that one out, reports Jim Sanders.
"California prisoners, unlike law-abiding citizens, have a guaranteed market for the products they make behind bars: State agencies are required by law to buy them even if private workers can make them cheaper or better.
"That monopoly is coming under fire as the state's shaky economy sparks widespread layoffs.The sale of prison goods and services has grown into a $234 million annual industry. Many small-business owners say they can beat the Prison Industry Authority, potentially saving millions, and that taxpayers deserve open competition based on cost.
"Everything should be on a level playing field – and the winner takes the bid," said Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California."
And finally, apparently karma doesn't apply to drunk people. Or does it? We can't figure out which in this story from the Associated Press.
"A man has been charged with driving drunk and hitting the car of a retired Maryland judge who once spared him jail time in previous drunk driving case. The suspect, 45, was scheduled to be in court Wednesday to face trial on eight charges related to the August crash where he hit a car being driven by retired Montgomery County District Judge Edwin Collier. Collier, 86, and his wife Ellen Collier, 82, were both injured in the crash.
"Collier presided over a case in 1998 in which police charged the man with drunk driving after an officer saw his car idling in a parking lot and gave him a sobriety test. He pleaded guilty in that case, and Collier spared him jail time, even though the man had been arrested on drunk driving charges twice in three months."
So much for learning your lesson.