The final versions of the political districts for the 2012 elections are done, and final steps are votes today and on Aug. 15. Then come the inevitable lawsuits.
From Jim Miller in the Press Enterprise:"Democrats would outnumber Republicans by at least five percentage points in 51 Assembly, 26 Senate and 36 congressional districts in final draft remaps to be voted on today by the state's redistricting panel."
"In Inland Southern California, the final drafts are almost identical to "visualizations" put forward several days ago."
"There would still be the same number of "safe" Inland seats for each party that exist now. But the region's population growth entitles it to additional representation, and the new districts look to be more competitive at election time."
As for the lawsuits, here's the Bee's Jim Sanders:" Bracing for litigation, California's independent redistricting commission has decided to temporarily retain most of its key aides after acting on the state political districts it was formed to create."
"The 14-member commission is scheduled to take a tentative vote Friday on its new legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization maps. Final action is scheduled Aug. 15."
"The commission voted this week to retain its executive director, legal counsel, communications director, business manager, a computer expert, and two people to provide administrative support."
"Two other commission employees will work part-time: a budget officer and an assistant legal counsel."
Every few years, the battle over workers' compensation insurance hearts up the Capitol. The basic fight is between employers, who say they pay too much, and injured workers, who say they are getting shortchanged. Scattered around the battle field are doctors, insurance companies and others who are part of the sprawling system.
From the Bee's Dan Walters: "The WCIRB's report says that during 2010, insurers' operating expenses, payments to injured workers and medical care outstripped premium income by $1.5 billion, lending credence to their pleas for premium boosts."
"With Democrat Jerry Brown now governor, Democrat Dave Jones now insurance commissioner and Democrats controlling both legislative houses, there are new moves to effect change and put pressure on Brown to undo the much-criticized administrative rules."
"At the same time, however, business groups contend that raising employers' costs will impede recovery from recession and discourage rehiring the million-plus workers who have lost jobs."
"Although California's workers' comp costs have dropped sharply since 2004, they're still fifth highest in the nation, according to an Oregon state agency's study, and a third higher than the national median."
The University of California got a careful look from the state auditor, who said the sprawling university system doesn't adequately explain its operations to the public, spends more on some students than others and has a $1 billion fund for miscellaneous issues.
From the Chronicle's Jill Tucker: "The University of California should justify to the public why it spends thousands of dollars more per student at four of its 10 campuses and also do a better job of explaining how it spends more than $1 billion it allots annually to "miscellaneous services," state auditors said Thursday."
"The audit found no major malfeasance in the university system's budgeting or spending, but noted a lack of transparency in the way it handles its finances that could erode public trust."
"For example, $6 billion was budgeted for the UC president's office over five years, all of it falling under a line-item category called miscellaneous services."
"Without offering specific detail, there is no way for the public to know what the money is used for, even if the purpose is for legitimate expenses such as office furniture, food, travel or the hiring of consultants, the report said. And that could lead to confusion and mistrust, the auditors said."
And from our "Vote Early, Vote Often" file comes the tale of a new way to encourage people to vote -- give them marijuana. Not everybody was high on the idea.
"Your Healthy Choice Clinic of Lansing, Mich., had been offering a half gram on its website ahead of a vote for city council seats and after the council approved capping the number of medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits and setting a $1,000 application fee."
"Clinic owner Shekina Pena earlier said she wasn't trying to buy votes."
"We really got to fight to get the voters out there because the polls are showing there's 4-5,000 people in Lansing that are patients or caregivers," she told NBC affiliate WILX TV. "So we need those 4-5,000 people to come forth to the polls and vote for whomever they feel is in support of what they want for access."
"We let them know how we feel, we don't tell them who to vote for," she added. "We definitely want to support the ones (city council members) who are supporting us." On Wednesday, the state's attorney general, at the prodding of a state senator, said he was looking into whether the clinic crossed a legal line."
It would work in California, though...