When it comes to running for office, fewer women are tossing their hats into the ring, at least in part because of other opportunities for well-educated women in business, education and the sciences.
From the LA Times' Kate Linthicum: "The number of women sworn in to Congress this year fell for the first time in 30 years, leaving women with just 16% of congressional seats."
"And the number of female lawmakers in state
capitals decreased by 81 this year, the largest percentage drop in decades."
"The prominence of women like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on the
national stage may give a false impression of the political influence women
wield and ease pressure on women to run for office. That could be especially
true in California, where both United States senators, several members of
Congress, the attorney general and secretary of state are women."
An increasing number of Americans support the right of gays to marry, according to a number of surveys -- a fact that may affect courts' decisions on gay marriage. The Times' Carol Williams has the story.
"The courts don't look to opinion polls when they decide cases, but shifts in popular sentiment can influence their thinking on evolving interpretations of civil rights, constitutional experts say…"
"In the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe vs. Wade
opinion on abortion rights, late Justice Harry Blackmun is said by historians
to have kept polling data in the case files and relied on it to help shape his
decision, said Loyola Law School professor Douglas NeJaime, an expert on sexual
orientation law."
"He and other legal analysts predict that by the
time the lawsuit brought against Proposition 8 by two
same-sex couples makes it way to the high court in 2013 or 2014, support for
same-sex marriage will have continued to increase among voters, creating a more
receptive environment if the justices decide that the initiative treads on
constitutional rights."
Speaking of rights, the rights of men in alimony and other disputes have long caught the attention of Sen. Rod Wright, a fact that doesn't please women's rights groups. The Bee's Dan Walters tells then tale.
"Nine years later, Wright is back in the Legislature and back with legislation that would change the rules governing alimony. Senate Bill 481 would require divorce court judges "to consider the extent to which income for support was already capitalized and paid to the other spouse in the division of community property, in order to avoid double counting the income when the result would be inequitable."
"Wright says it's aimed at "double-dipping" for ex-spouses receiving alimony, and if enacted, the bill could result in lower alimony payments. While Wright has support from the State Bar, he has drawn strong opposition from feminist groups, renewing their old conflict with him over rules of the divorce game."
"More importantly, perhaps, Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, also opposes the bill. Not surprisingly, the bill is stalled in her committee."
Meanwhile, back to the state's finances, lawmakers who try to use a loophole to avoid having their pay docked for every day the budget comes in late will find themselves facing an embittered public, notes the Times' George Skelton.
"If lawmakers pulled such a stunt, a citizens' initiative to send them home on very short rations and board up the legislative chambers for all but a few months a year would qualify for the ballot at record speed and pass overwhelmingly. That's my guess."
"And it would be another unfortunate move by the voters reacting to legislative intransigence and arrogance."
"A part-time Legislature would be a mistake for no other reason than it would breed more corruption. Who do you think would sign up most of these moonlighting politicians for part-time work? Special interests."
"But hopefully it won't come to that."
In yet another twist in th tale of AB 32, the court ruling that put the cap-and-trade piece on hold still allows most of the anti-greenhouse gas law to move forward unimpeded.
From Craig Miller in Climate Watch: "A "final" ruling from a Superior Court judge in San Francisco allows most implementation of the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act to go forward, except for the carbon trading plan known widely as "cap & trade." Regulators at the California Air Resources Board (ARB) will have to flesh out their prior assessment of alternatives to cap & trade that could also result in reducing the state's total greenhouse gas emissions."
"Analysis of those alternatives is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). While ARB officials still insist that their original work was adequate under the law, groups representing an "environmental justice" agenda had sued, claiming that alternatives had not been fully explored."
"Judge Ernest Goldsmith agreed, and previously issued a preliminary ruling that appeared to shut down all efforts toward implementation of the law. Some observers thought the ruling jeopardized even measures supported by separate legislation, such as the state's tailpipe emissions standards and renewable energy targets."
Forced by budget cuts to release inmates, the Los Angeless County correctional system is starting to look like a ghost town, reports the Times' Robert Faturechi.
"Amid
steep budget cuts, L.A. County jails have been forced to shed inmates in
droves, more than any other jail system in the nation. That drop is most
striking at the Castaic facility, where the Sheriff's Department has cut the
inmate count to the bare minimum needed to keep the lockup from falling into
disrepair."
"Soon, however, facilities like this one might again be bustling, as the state
considers moving inmates from its overcrowded prisons to county jails, a plan
Sheriff Lee Baca is betting could be a boon for his cash-strapped
department."
"But in recent months, jail time has felt a lot like summer camp for the
fortunate few who have served time at the nearly abandoned lockup."
And now we turn to our "Turn Off the Smoking Lamp" file to learn that New York City's tough anti-smoking law goes into effect tonight.
"Smokers will no longer be allowed to light up in pedestrian plazas like Times Square."
"Parks and beaches are off limits for smoking too."
"The Bloomberg administration says the ban will protect people from second-hand smoke and help keep parks and beaches clean. Violators could face a $50 fine."
Nobody to enforce it, though....