Jerry Brown delivered his 12th state of the state address -- a record for a California governor -- and his speech was marked more by what he didn't say than what he said.
From the LAT's George Skelton: "Until the election year blows over, Gov. Jerry Brown is stationary — in a crouch, protecting himself politically, satisfied with the status quo.
In his 30th year in elective office — 12th as governor, after failing in three bids for the presidency and one for the U.S. Senate, and growing up watching his politician father — Brown is instinctively cautious when running the campaign trail. Even if this time it seems a no-sweat jaunt. There'll be no tripping over potholes.
That was the take-away from Wednesday's State of the State address to the Legislature, an annual feel-good pageant that includes all statewide elected officials and the California Supreme Court.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Gov. Brown said today that California, facing an unprecedented drought, needs to “make investments in safe drinking water” and that “recycling, expanded storage and serious groundwater management must all be part of the mix.” But the governor did not endorse multibillion-dollar bond plans to build water infrastructure projects."
"The governor in his annual state of the state message said that “we need regulators to rebalance water rules and enable voluntary transfers of water,” a reference to his proposed consolidation of the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project to expedite the movement of water across the state, under the authority of the State Water Resources Control Board."
"The governor, speaking to a joint session of the Legislature and ranking state officials, did not mention the $11.14 billion water infrastructure bond on the November ballot, but he did call for investment in water projects similar to those included in the bond. That bond currently is under review in the Legislature with rival proposals to reduce it to $6.5 billion or less."
Toni Atkins, a San Diego Assemblywoman, has been chosen as the next speaker of the Assembly -- the first time anyone from San Diego has held the post.
From the U-T's Michael Gardner: "San Diego’s Toni Atkins on Wednesday was elected as the next Assembly speaker — a powerful post that will put her in the position to directly negotiate compromises with Gov. Jerry Brown as the state confronts complex and controversial issues from the budget to the drought to education."
Atkins’ elevation is groundbreaking in three ways: She will become the first Assembly speaker from San Diego, the first lesbian to hold the gavel and the third woman to do so.
Atkins, a Democrat who is in her fourth year in the Assembly, will take control in the spring, replacing outgoing Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles. Pérez will be termed-out and is running for state controller."
Neel Kashkari, a Republican, is running against Jerry Brown this year for the governorship. But who is he?
From Capitol Public Raido's Ben Adler: "He’s never held elected office. He’s not a household name. To the extent he is known, it’s for running the politically unpopular federal bank bailout program. And he’s the man many California Republicans are counting on to rescue their party. He is Neel Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury official under Presidents Bush and Obama. And as of Tuesday, he’s running for governor of California."
"Neel Kashkari is challenging a popular Democratic governor with a $17 million campaign war chest – as a Republican in one of the bluest states in the nation. Why?"
“If I saw a deep bench of talented Republicans who were going to do that, I’d go help them," Kashkari said. "But I don’t see it. And so if no one else is gonna do it, then I’m gonna go do it. I’m gonna go charge up this hill and fight to turn the state around and give middle class families a fair chance – and we’re gonna break the cycle of poverty.”
Speaking of San Diego, a political corruption case has been expanded to include the arrest of a local lobbyist.
From the U-T's Craig Gustafson: "The corruption case involving a Mexican businessman trying to illegally influence San Diego elections widened Wednesday as a City Hall lobbyist was added to the conspiracy charges and politicians rushed to return campaign contributions from those tainted by the scandal."
"Marco Polo Cortes, 44, was arrested on a warrant Tuesday in Little Italy and appeared before a federal judge Wednesday on charges that he conspired to finance political campaigns with funds from an illegal foreign source. He faces up to five years in prison."
"Also charged in a similar complaint released a day earlier are Ravneet Singh, owner of a Washington, D.C.-based campaign-services firm, and Ernesto Encinas, a former San Diego police detective who retired in 2009."
And from our "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" file comes word that men have more trouble remembering things than women.
"There are gender differences in memory, Norwegian scientists say, and men have more problems than women do in remembering dates, faces or conversations."
"Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, as part of a large national population health study, asked 48,000 people nine questions about how well they think they remember."
"When asked how often they had problems remembering things, whether they had problems with remembering names and dates, if they could remember what they did one year ago and if they were able to remember details from conversations, men reported the most problems for eight out of nine questions, the researchers said."
What's my name and why am I here .... ?
