If the poet John Milton were still around, he'd likely be telling Congress, "You're ignorance almost subdues my patience." And he'd be right, too, as California and the rest of the nation brace for yet another federal budget debacle.
From the LAT's Ricardo Lopez and Richard Simon: "California's defense industry is bracing for a $3.2-billion hit with the federal budget cuts that are expected to take effect Friday."
"But myriad other federally funded programs also are threatened, and the combined effect is expected to slow the momentum that California's economy has been building over the last year."
"As the state braces for pain from so-called sequestration, there are warnings of long delays at airport security checkpoints, potential slowdowns in cargo movement at harbors and cutbacks to programs, including meals for seniors and projects to combat neighborhood blight."
Lefty Democrats aren't the only ones who support gay marriage: Lots of Republicans have publicly signed up, too.
From the NYT's Sheryl Gay Stolberg: "Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.|"
"The document will be submitted this week to the Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike down Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act."
"The Proposition 8 case already has a powerful conservative supporter: Theodore B. Olson, the former solicitor general under Mr. Bush and one of the suit’s two lead lawyers. The amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief is being filed with Mr. Olson’s blessing. It argues, as he does, that same-sex marriage promotes family values by allowing children of gay couples to grow up in two-parent homes, and that it advances conservative values of “limited government and maximizing individual freedom.”
It's not over till it's over: The oyster shuckers of Drakes Bay got a reprieve, at least temporarily.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "A federal appeals court granted a reprieve Monday to an oyster farm that challenged the federal government's refusal to renew its lease at Point Reyes National Seashore, site of a proposed marine wilderness."
"Drakes Bay Oyster Co. has raised "serious legal questions" about the Interior Department's action, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court also said the company and its employees would suffer hardships by having to shut down while the case was pending."
"The court's injunction allows the company to stay at least until mid-May, when a different panel will hear its appeal of a judge's ruling in the government's favor. Monday's order was issued by Judges Alfred Goodwin, Kim Wardlaw and Mary Murguia."
The head of Yahoo has ordered workers to stop telecommuting, a move that has raised quite a brouhaha from company employees.
From the Mercury News' Brandon Bailey: "CEO Marissa Mayer's decision to order telecommuting employees back to the office has sparked a passionate debate over the increasingly common practice of working from home. "Criticism from some workers, especially working parents, portrayed Mayer as abandoning a modern, enlightened approach to helping employees juggle conflicting demands."
"Supporters said she may have reason to shake things up at the once-vaunted Internet company, which earned a reputation in recent years for falling behind in both innovation and competition."
"The firestorm ignited Friday when Yahoo's human resources chief sent a memo announcing that all employees will be asked to work in company offices starting in June. The memo quickly leaked to a prominent tech news blog, All Things D."
And from our "Top Gear" file comes word that Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors, the makers of that snappy electric car, are rethinking their strategy after a New York Times review left their latest model in the dust.
From Reuters' Nicholas Groom: "Tesla Motors's (TSLA) top brass, including Chief Executive Elon Musk, this week are considering a strategy to recoup market value and boost demand after a critical review of the automaker's Model S sedan in New York Times this month."
"Musk says that Tesla has lost about $100 million in sales and canceled orders due to the Times story, which said the sedan ran out of battery power sooner than promised during a chilly winter test drive from Washington D.C. to Boston."
We have seen a few hundred cancellations that are due to the NYT piece and slightly lowered demand in the U.S. Northeast region," Musk told Reuters in an email."
