The numbers are in, offering reaffirmation of something that many already felt: The Golden State is losing its luster. The New York Times' Jennifer Medina tells the tale.
"Perhaps the legendary beaches here are losing their pull. California, once the very symbol of sun-drenched American growth, had a population increase of only 10 percent in the last decade, the slowest rise in the state’s history. And for the first time since California was became a state in 1850, it will not gain a Congressional seat."
"The population of the most-populous state continued to shift eastward, with inland Southern California counties showing the most explosive growth, according to Census Bureau figures released Tuesday. In Riverside County, the population grew by 42 percent, and in San Bernardino, a sprawling county just to the north, it is up 19 percent. The counties make up what is known as the Inland Empire, an area that has gone from orange groves to exurbia with a population in excess of four million — more than the city of Los Angeles."
One result of the latest census figures will be a dramatic shift of political power to the Central Valley and to minorities, reports the LAT's Seema Mehta.
"Political power will shift away from traditional strongholds such as Los Angeles and San Francisco and into the Inland Empire and Central Valley. Minorities, whose representation in the Legislature and the California congressional delegation has never matched their population numbers, could see increased opportunities to gain control of elected offices."
"The California state Legislature and the
congressional delegation are about to look a lot more
like California. You're
going to see districts that are much more likely to
elect minority candidates
and a huge shift from the coast inland," said Dan Schnur,
director of
USC's Unruh Institute of Politics."
Meanwhile, back in the Capitol, negotiations over the state budget continued to grind along. No dramatic breakthroughs, no major announcements, no discernible progress. Lots of posturing. In the background, if Brown's proposals are approved, the courts are waiting to step in.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Two of the high-profile issues in Gov. Brown’s fiscal proposals – the elimination of enterprise zones and abolishment of redevelopment agencies – are all but certain to wind up in state or federal court, and other budget pieces may prompt legal battles, too."
“Not only will we litigate, we will make sure the state does not see a penny of this money. Any sort of budget savings is illusory, and we are going to stop it,” said Marty Dakessian, an attorney with the lead law firm representing an enterprise zone coalition. The supporters of redevelopment agencies, led by the cities, are equally adamant."
Growing support for Gov. Brown's budget proposals is coming from -- of all places -- California's business community, which is not known for its enthusiastic support of Democratic governors. Steve Harmon of the Contra Costa Times reports.
"Guardino, SunPower CEO Tom Werner and Varian Medical Systems CEO Tim Guertin met with Brown at his office Tuesday. Later, Brown met with leaders of the Hispanic and Black chambers of commerce and the California Small Business Association as he continues to try to rally support among business leaders. "What we're urging (legislators) to do is make a strong deal that's true to your principles but calls for compromise and consensus," Guardino said. "Silicon Valley knows the art of the deal. There is a deal here.""
"It was just the latest in a series of endorsements from business leaders for Brown's budget, which includes $12.5 billion in spending reductions and a ballot measure asking voters for a five-year tax extension on purchases, income and vehicles."
Speaking of the budget, let's take a look at poker. The two are similar: Lots of sweating, lots of bluffing, lots of luck good and bad, and at the end of the night somebody is the high winner. The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt takes a look at online poker.
"These days, there is something else distinctly Californian — as Californian as Apple or Hewlett-Packard — about poker, particularly Texas Hold 'Em. It is an alluring game to play on a personal computer, with players brought together around a virtual table through the Internet."
"Gaming industry experts who track such things estimate that as many as 2 million Californians play online poker, making up about 60 percent of the U.S. market.They are doing so even though, since 2006, it has been illegal, immensely inconvenient and fraught with risk."
And now we turn to our "Sweet Baby James" file to learn about the struggle to save Nevada's cowboy poets. (You know, those are the guys who write epitaphs like, "Here Lies Lester Moore, He Was Quick On The Trigger But Slow On The Draw.") Anyway, Harry Reid has got their back.
"The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1 … eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts,” said Reid. “These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist.”
"Reid was attempting, of course, to criticize the spending proposal crafted by House Republicans that would cut $61 billion from the budget before he began praising the annual festival in his home state. The Senate majority leader also insisted Tuesday that he would do everything he could to schedule an up-or-down vote on H.R. 1 in order to force his GOP colleagues to take a position on the budget bill that Democrats argue includes "draconian" cuts."
Yahoo!