The upwardly spiraling student fees at the University of California and the California State University are off the table -- at least for now. The rulers of both institutions made the decisions in the wake of voters' passage of Proposition 30, which provided new tax revenue for education.
From the LAT's Carla Rivera: "California's two public university systems retreated from various tuition hikes as Gov. Jerry Brown suggested the moves would be ill-timed coming just a week after voters approved a tax increase for education."
"California State University trustees postponed action Tuesday on a plan to impose new student fees and University of California regents also agreed to shelve a proposal, scheduled for a vote Wednesday, to add supplemental fees to some professional degree programs."
"Cal State's "incentive" fees were designed to encourage students to graduate more quickly, freeing space for new students. But Brown, who attended the meeting of the governing board in Long Beach, said the plan needed more study. The governor also plans to attend the regents' meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday in a kind of victory lap for his Proposition 30 tax measure."
Today's the day that a critical piece of California's anti-greenhoue emissions law actually becomes a reality: An auction to sell or trade millions of dollars worth of pollution allowances gets under way.
From the OC Register's Pat Brennan: "The first "auction" of carbon credits is scheduled for Wednesday – despite a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the California Chamber of Commerce that seeks a court ruling to invalidate such auctions. The program itself is set to begin Jan. 1."
"Some 360 manufacturers, utilities and other businesses are expected to take part, representing nearly 600 facilities across the state."
"The cap-and-trade market is part of the state's controversial 2006 climate-change law, AB 32, which also includes low-carbon fuel standards and promotion of renewable energy projects."
That problem of expense acccountability at the Port of Oakland is getting worse: There now may be hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable expenses.
From the Chronicle's Matier & Ross, who broke the original story: "An in-house audit at the Port of Oakland suggests that executives at the public agency racked up $400,000 to $800,000 in travel and other expenses that were either improper or of a questionable nature, according to a source who was briefed on the report."
"So far, port officials have declined to make the months-old report public, first citing legal concerns, then saying it was incomplete."
"I'm as frustrated as anyone else about all of this, but we felt we needed to expand the report and ask more questions," said Gilda Gonzales, president of the Port Commission board.
Port Executive Director Omar Benjamin was the first to fall as a result of questionable spending. He "retired" Monday after it became public that he had attended a $4,500 party in 2008 at a Houston strip club that the port paid for."
Gov. Jerry Brown, hoping to bring stability to the scandal-plagued state Parks and Recreation Department, picked a former Marine Corps general to run the place.
From the Mercury News' Paul Rogers: "Seeking to restore public confidence in an agency hit by mismanagement and financial controversy, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday named a retired Marine Corps general and former captain of the San Jose State University football team as state parks director."
"Major Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, 63, is scheduled to be sworn in Friday..."
"Jackson, a resident of Fallbrook, in San Diego County near Camp Pendleton, retired last year after a 36-year career in the Marines. In his final assignment, he served as commanding general, Marine Corps Installations West, supervising Marine Corps bases across California and the Southwest. During that command, Jackson oversaw administration, finances, military, construction and energy programs at bases like Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms, along with 13,000 employees and more than 60,000 Marines and sailors."
A new audit of the state's unemployment program shows that it has problems delivering benefits in a timely way.
From the Bee's Jon Ortiz: "California takes more time to process initial unemployment claims than 40 other states, according to a new state audit of the Employment Development Department, as high-tech and telephone problems continue to plague the system."
"For the quarter ending June 30, 2012, the department made 78 percent of initial payments within 14 days. The federal government considers 87 percent of initial benefits issued within 14 days to be acceptable. "The audit notes that unemployment fell in California from 12.3 percent in June 2010 to 10.4 percent in August 2012 and that initial claims dropped from 296,000 to 209,000."
"Although the State's unemployment rate has declined since 2010, the department still faces challenges in meeting acceptable timeliness levels," State Auditor Elaine Howle said in the report."
And from our "Rest in Peace" file we say goodbye to Walt Zeboski, a great photographer for many years for the AP in Sacramento and a friend.
"Company records show Zeboski was hired as a permanent AP employee in 1966 and that his photography career spanned more than three decades, mainly in Sacramento. He covered four California governors, including Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown and George Deukmejian, as well as countless political power players in the state Legislature."
"In 1980, he covered all aspects of Reagan's life on the presidential campaign trail, including a stop in Philadelphia for a fundraiser for then-U.S. Senate candidate Arlen Specter. Zeboski also captured quiet moments of Reagan and his wife, Nancy, on horseback at their ranch north of Santa Barbara and aboard a campaign plane."
He served as photo editor when colleague Slava "Sal" Veder snapped an image of POWs arriving at Travis Air Force Base from Vietnam as part of "Operation Homecoming" in 1973. The image of a beaming young woman, arms widespread, greeting her father won the Pulitzer Prize."
