The troubled saga of California's $43 billion high-speed rail plan has taken a new twist, with the agency itself saying that private investors will be skittish about investing in the huge public works project until after it's up and running. Sounds like a Joseph Heller novel.
From Ralph Vartabedian in the LA Times: "Investors may not be willing to back the state's bullet train project until after it begins operating, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said in a letter to key legislators, an acknowledgment that again raises serious questions about how the $43-billion construction cost will be paid over the next decade."
"The letter gives a preview of the authority's upcoming business plan, a critical document that is supposed to address long-standing concerns that it lacks a credible blueprint for building and operating the system. Even supporters of the Southern California-to-San Francisco system have said the previous business plans were unrealistic in their estimates of construction costs and ridership numbers, among other things."
"The business plan is expected to be filed Nov. 1; it and a related funding plan must be approved by the Legislature before the state can issue any of the $9 billion voters approved for the project in a 2008 bond measure. The Legislature has a 60-day window to approve the plans and then begin committing the state to bonds that would take several decades to pay off."
The pace and extent of fundraising point to hotly contested primaries in June, including the much watched matchup between Howard Berman and Brad Sherman.
From the LAT's Jean Merl and Richard Simon: "Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) — who will face off against Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) in what many political experts believe could become the most expensive House race in history — brought in more than $800,000 between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to documents posted on the FEC website over the weekend. Berman reported having about $2.25 million in his treasury and has more fundraisers scheduled, including a Nov. 10 dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel hosted by entertainment moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen."
"We are just getting started," said Michael Berman, who is running his brother's reelection campaign."
"Sherman raised $151,000 during the latest reporting period, but had more than $3.7 million in his war chest because he had been stockpiling funds for about four years in anticipation of a tough reelection challenge, his campaign said."
Speaking of fundraising, allegations of losses continue to mount in the KInde Durkee accounting scandal, with Reps. Linda and Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, reporting collective losses of some $450,000.
From AP's Kevin Freking: "California lawmakers who employed a treasurer facing federal embezzlement charges reported some steep financial losses to their campaigns, with Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez taking the hardest hit of $322,000."
"Sanchez was among the hundreds of Democratic candidates and committees in California who used Kinde Durkee as their treasurer. Federal prosecutors have accused Durkee of siphoning nearly $700,000 from a California assemblyman, but the case took on more significance when she told authorities she had misappropriated money from other Democratic lawmakers over the years."
"Sanchez' sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, also employed Durkee and reported a $125,000 loss. This past weekend, her campaign reported the missing money to the Federal Election Commission as an "adjustment for embezzled funds." Another California Democrat, Rep. Susan Davis, reported that $160,000 was missing and used the same description."
Typically, there's a rush to buy California bonds when they go on the market, but this time the initial demand was lackluster. Tom Petruno in the LA Times has the story.
"Individual investors on Monday placed orders for about 14% of a $1.8-billion sale of tax-free bonds by California, a relatively low turnout for a state debt sale."
"Treasurer Bill Lockyer said the state’s brokerage network took in $250 million in orders on the first day of a two-day retail sale period, when the state gives preference to individuals over institutions."
"By contrast, Lockyer had $459 million in orders on the first day of last month’s bond sale. That was about 18% of the total offering of $2.5 billion in securities."
Meanwhile,. In an unusual scope of practice issue, veterinarians and pet owners are squaring off over pet plaque and how to take care of it.
From Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly: "Brushing a dog’s teeth probably isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. But a group of pet-grooming services are snarling over an effort by a statewide group of veterinarians to monopolize the use of dental picks for dogs and cats."
"It’s the latest in a class of battles that has long been fought in state politics — the “scope of practice” rules that determine who is allowed to do what under state law."
"The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) is trying to get “scalers” added to the list of tools that can only be used on animals by a licensed veterinarian. A scaler is really nothing more than a dental pick — a slim piece of metal typically about six inches long — optimized for the shape of dog or cat’s teeth. They’re available online and in pet supply stores for prices starting around $3. Anybody can use one on their own pet legally."
