Ron Calderon announced last night, in the midst of the Academy Awards, that he would be taking a paid leave of absence from the state office.
Capitol Weekly’s John Howard reports: “State Sen. Ron Calderon, under federal indictment on two dozen corruption charges that include taking nearly $100,000 in bribes, will take a leave of absence from the Senate while he fights the allegations.”
“Calderon, 56, a Montebello Democrat, will continue to receive his $95,000-a-year salary. He requested the leave and it was granted by Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.”
What does Calderon’s absence mean for Democrats in the Legislature?
John Myers reports for News10: “Two of the most closely watched issues in the final six months of the legislative session will both, if anything's going to gel, require supermajority votes: a water bond and a constitutional amendment to boost the state's budget reserve process. Both will require at least 54 votes in the Assembly and 27 votes in the Senate to make their way to a vote of the electorate.”
“How would either of these be shaped with the new need to court Republican senators? Is that kind of bipartisan threshold simply too high?”
For the first time, California’s cities and police chiefs support regulating the state’s medical marijuana industry.
Peter Hecht reports in the Sacramento Bee: “The bill the organizations are backing, Senate Bill 1262 by Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, would put the Department of Public Health in charge of licensing medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivators in cooperation with local governments.”
“It is the first time the police chiefs and the League of Cities have come to the table at all,” said Don Duncan, California director for Americans for Safe Access, a national organization advocating for people who use medical marijuana. “Up until now, they’ve opposed everything.
Gov. Jerry Brown on this week’s Meet the Press said California should be cautious about making weed recreationally legal.
Dave Siders in the Sacramento Bee: “Expressing reservations about legalizing marijuana for recreational use, Brown said a great nation requires a more alert citizenry “than some of the potheads might be able to put together.” Washington and Colorado have legalized the drug, and a recent Field Poll found majority support for legalization in California.”
“Not from Brown.”
Brown is bringing back redevelopment by repackaging existing infrastructure financing districts.
John Howard reports in the Press Democrat: “Brown wants to add to that list urban “infill” development, affordable housing, development to encourage use of public transportation and former military bases, and what his office calls “necessary consumer services.”
“Many of the additions overlap with projects once carried out by redevelopment agencies, first authorized by the state after World War II to combat urban decay and blight.”
Additional fees for Cal State students is causing an uproar on campuses across the state.
Carla Rivera reports in the Los Angeles Times: "The "success fees" are a relatively recent phenomenon that troubles many opponents, who argue that students shouldn't have to pay extra for instructional programs that should be included in tuition. The most recent proposals also flout promises made to lawmakers and the governor to freeze costs in return for additional state funding, they contend."
"The charges "might be a way for campuses to do an end-run around the tuition freeze, and we want to make sure the system is still truly affordable," said Miles Nevin, executive director of the California State Student Assn."
Fresno County was a Republican stronghold in recent decades, but the tides are changing.
John Ellis reports in the Fresno Bee: “Then something happened: Democrats clawed out of a registration deficit nearly 25,000 voters deep. By the middle of 2010, they had retaken the lead they had relinquished in 2000. In the latest numbers from the Secretary of State's Office, the Democratic Party registration lead had grown to almost 8,000 voters.”
“But it's one thing to register Democrats and quite another to translate the registration advantage into election wins.”
Desperate farmers are turning to desperate—scientists say foolish—measures to locate underground water.
Jason Dearen reports for the Associated Press: “While both state and federal water scientists disapprove of dowsing, California "witchers" are busy as farmers seek to drill more groundwater wells due to the state's record drought that persists despite recent rain.”
“The nation's fourth-largest wine maker, Bronco Wine Co., says it uses dowsers on its 40,000 acres of California vineyards, and dozens of smaller farmers and homeowners looking for wells on their property also pay for dowsers. Nationwide, the American Society of Dowsers, Inc. boasts dozens of local chapters, which meet annually at a conference.”
