In the blink of an eye, CalSTRS' pension debt has soared -- because of a change in the way the numbers are counted.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "New government accounting rules will more than double the pension debt reported by CalSTRS, boosting an “unfunded liability” that is now about $71 billion to a newly calculated “Net Pension Liability” of $166.9 billion."
"The CalSTRS board was told last week that it’s unclear whether the new liability figure will be reported by the state or spread among school districts, where more than doubling current debt might lower credit ratings and drive up borrowing costs."
"If the “Net Pension Liability” is distributed among employers, the reported total debt of a typical small-enrollment school district might jump from $21 million to $49 million and the debt of a typical large district from $280 million to $728 million."
The years-long dispute between California and Nevada over environmental regulation at Lake Tahoe appears to have ended with Nevada getting what it wants -- looser rules on development at the lake.
From the LAT's Julie Cart: "The passage of the California bill was the final step that ended years of hard bargaining over future development in the region. A revised plan will allow higher density and taller structures — the sort of glitzy development that California sought to curtail when it entered into a joint planning compact with Nevada four decades ago and created the Tahoe planning agency."
"After the regional plan was adopted late last year, Nevada's fiercely anti-regulation forces pushed for still more changes. They pressured California to submit by threatening — for the seventh time — to withdraw from the compact."
"The maneuver was political brinkmanship, playing on California's fears about what would happen on the Nevada side of the lake without the planning compact. It worked."
With crime in Oakland on the rise and the resources of the police department on the decline, residents are hiring private security companies to provide protection.
From the Chronicle's Will Kane: "Although it looks the part, the Ford Crown Victoria isn't actually a police car, and the man behind the wheel is no cop. He's one of dozens of private security officers hired by residents across Oakland to supplement - if not replace - a depleted, overwhelmed police force."
"As burglaries, home invasions, carjackings and assaults creep into Oakland neighborhoods less accustomed to crime, residents have built fences, armed alarms and installed security cameras."
"And now, in greater numbers, they're hiring private security patrols."
To gain political clout, Republicans in California have figured out they need to come up with a relevant immigration reform policy. A freshman senator is taking a leading role.
From Capitol Weekly's Samantha Gallegos: "Instead, Senate newbie Vidak sent a separate letter on his own, addressed to all of California’s congressional members not solely the GOP, urging bipartisan effort for immigration reform."
“California is home to many immigrants and they make important contributions to our economy, particularly in agricultural areas like the Central Valley,” said Vidak in a letter to the California Congressional Delegation. “I am asking that you quickly come to a consensus and immediately enact meaningful immigration reform. The future prosperity of California depends on it.”
“California is America only faster,” said Dan Schnur, formerly a Republican Party strategist who is now director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. “This represents a huge shift from the early to mid 1990s, national political leaders can learn from California’s lessons in order to resolve the issue in Washington.”
The Bay Bridge, legendary for its traffic jams, is experiencing a new kind of traffic snarl -- on the bike path.
From the Chronicle's Carolyn Jones: "The new Bay Bridge is seeing a new kind of traffic jam: bikes, roller skates, strollers, dogs, scooters and a whole lot of gawkers."
"Thousands have been flocking to the span's bicycle/pedestrian path, which has become one of the Bay Area's hottest attractions since it opened Sept. 3. Crowds are so thick that the two entrances are experiencing a sort of two-wheeled gridlock that almost requires its own FasTrak lanes."
"It's pretty great - it's gorgeous out there," said Joy Wu, a scientist from San Leandro who rode across the new path Sunday with her husband and daughter. "You can see the old bridge, the new bridge, the ocean, Treasure Island, the Oakland cranes. ... It was crowded, but everyone was very courteous."
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