Rail pass

Gov. Brown plans to take $250 million  from  California's cap-and-trade auction proceeds and spend it on the bullet-train project, a move that is raising the hackles of project foes and others whe believe the project is starting to stall.

From the Chronicle's Melody Gutierrez: "Gov. Jerry Brown will propose spending nearly a third of $850 million in cap-and-trade revenue California expects to collect in the next fiscal year on the embattled high-speed-rail project, according to officials with knowledge of the governor's budget proposal, which is to be publicly released Friday."

"A bulk of the money will be used to fund programs that assist poor families in making their homes more energy efficient, reduce catastrophic wildfires through forest management and other efforts to fight climate change."

The Legislature returned Monday to floor sessions in Sacrmento, and right out  of the box popped up an unusual bill to block the state from cooperating with the National Security Agency.

From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "A former military prosecutor, a Democrat, and a conservative San Diego-area, a Republican, are jointly authoring legislation that would bar the state — and private companies that do business with the state, including utilities — from helping the NSA collect so-called “metadata” or electronic data on Californians without a warrant. The bill, SB 828, introduced Monday, was authored by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Long Beach, and Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine."

"The prohibition would extend to public universities that receive state funding from doing NSA research."

"The measure stems from disclosures from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about the U.S. government’s collection of vast troves of electronic data on its hundreds of millions of people, including U.S. citizens. A panel appointed by President Obama has called for an overhaul of the system. Among other things, reports based on the Snowden documents have shown repeated privacy violations and the  gathering of sensitive data from private Internet companies."

Speaking of lawmakers, they pledged fiscal prudence as they awaited word on the 2014-15 state budget.

From the AP's Juliet Williams: "Members of the Assembly and Senate appeared jovial during their opening sessions, but many were looking ahead to Friday, when Gov. Jerry Brown releases his budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts in July."

"The independent Legislative Analyst's Office is projecting a $3.2 billion surplus, the first one in years, and many Democratic constituencies have their eye on the money after years of cuts to state programs. Several Democratic lawmakers already are advocating for higher spending on certain programs, although the party's leadership is preaching a more conservative approach."

There is much room for improvement in the way California cares for its children, ranging from health care to education ton to welfare, according to Children Now, an advocacy group.

From the Contra Costa Times' Theresa Harrington: "The organization rated the state in 27 categories. Overall, the state scored mostly average or below on the 2014 California Children's Report Card, with six Bs, eight Cs and 13 Ds. In each area, Children Now outlined a "Pro-Kid Policy Agenda" aimed at helping the state do better."

"California's top grade was a B+ for health insurance, based on an increase in public insurance that has helped offset the decline in employer-based insurance programs. But even in this area, the state could improve."

"Although more than 738,0000 uninsured children in California are eligible for public coverage, 78 percent of them are not enrolled, the report shows. Children Now suggests that the state should provide every child with affordable, comprehensive health insurance."

Beleaguered Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, whose department has gone through an array of problems including a federal criminal suit against deputies for misconduct, plans to retire.

From the LAT's Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard: "Baca's decision comes a month after federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against 18 current and former sheriff's deputies accused of beating jail inmates and visitors, trying to intimidate an FBI agent and other crimes following an investigation of corruption inside the nation's largest jail system."

"The timing of his announcement remains unclear. But it was confirmed by multiple sources, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity."

Jerry Brown had a good month in December, raising $1.7 million for his reelection campaign during the final week of the year, nearly half of it from labor interests. That brings his total campaign coffer to $17 million.

From the Bee's David Siders: "Donations from labor unions accounted for nearly half of the total, and the Democratic State Central Committee of California continued with its largess. The committee, which as a political party is not subject to contribution limits, donated $300,000 to Brown, increasing its total contribution for the year to $2.7 million."

"Brown has not yet said if he will seek re-election, but he is widely expected to run. The Democratic governor has now raised nearly $17 million for the campaign, while his Republican challengers have failed to raise even a fraction of that amount."

And from our "Just Another Day Doing the Laundry" file comes a story of, believe it or not, olive oil.

"Emergency workers in Australia have rescued a naked man who got stuck in a washing machine by greasing him up with olive oil."

"Police officers in Mooroopna, northern Victoria, said the man was trying to play a prank on his partner by hiding in the top-loading appliance when he found he was unable to get out."

When help was required it seems that emergency crews were only too happy to respond, with police, firefighters, workers from the volunteer-based State Emergency Service and even members of the Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad arriving on the scene."

"It took rescuers around 20 minutes to free the man from the machine using oil to lubricate his skin."

Baby oil would have been faster ...