After months of anticipation, Governor Jerry Brown will unveil his state budget this morning at 10AM. (Watch live at the CalChannel here). Jim Miller and David Siders offer their preview at the Sacramento Bee.
“Gov. Jerry Brown plans to propose a $113.3 billion general fund state budget Friday that holds fast in response to the University of California’s threat to raise tuition unless the state gives the university system more money…”
“The spending plan is expected to reopen a persistent conflict between Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature over how much money to spend on health and human services programs cut during the recession. Brown’s budget includes more money to cover increased caseloads, but no significant spending for new social service programs.”
Despite a marked improvement from the tight-belted lows of just a few years ago, the state’s budget is now feeling the pinch of rising healthcare costs.
Chris Megerian reports at the Los Angeles Times, “Enrollment in the state's healthcare program for the poor, known as Medi-Cal, has exploded by 50% since President Obama's signature law took effect. Although the federal government picks up most of the tab, state costs have also been growing, and faster than expected.
“Meanwhile, the annual bill for healthcare for public retirees — a benefit promised decades ago — has more than doubled in the last decade. Current and retired workers have accumulated $71.8 billion in healthcare benefits as of June last year, and the state has set aside almost nothing to cover the costs.”
Yesterday’s surprise announcement from Senator Barbara Boxer that she would not seek reelection in 2016 set off a flurry of speculation on just who will throw their hats in the ring. KQED’s John Myers looks at what will happen in the 403 days between now and election day 2016, Seema Mehta and Michael Finnegan look at potential candidates in the Los Angeles Times, and Capitol Weekly’s Samantha Gallegos notes that two of the most talked-about contenders are consulted by the same firm: SCN Strategies. Meanwhile, Politico says that whoever steps up may have to run against Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer.
(Grabs popcorn.)
It seems like ancient news already, but it was only Tuesday that Governor Brown attended the groundbreaking for California’s High Speed Rail. Reporter Robin Acarian compares the groundbreaking for the nascent bullet train project to “a christening for a baby that's still an embryo in a Petri dish.” From the Los Angeles Times:
“As exciting as it is to think about whizzing between Los Angeles and San Francisco in two or three hours, we are still many years away from riding on a high-speed train.
“How many years?
“Let me put it this way: If you were in kindergarten right now, you would be able to expect to take your first ride on a bullet train about the time you were declaring your college major.”
And, it’s Friday – time to look at who was Singin’ the Golden State Blues this week. Our first thought was of the unknown newsie who lost out on the scoop of the month– Barbara Boxer’s announcement that she will not seek reelection – to her grandson, Zach. That Zach couldn’t be bothered to wear long pants in the announcement video really adds insult to injury – we just can’t picture Mark Barabak conducting that interview in a pair of OP board shorts.
But, there was someone who had an even worse week. It’s bad when your restaurant gets black-carded for roaches. It’s worse when your landlord won’t let you reopen without “a chance to talk.” It’s worse still when your landlord is the California Legislature and then the Sacramento Bee reports the story for all to see. That’s what happened to Griselda Barajas, owner of Griselda’s World Café in the basement of the capitol, this week. From Jim Miller at the Bee:
“The Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee has contracted with Barajas to operate the cafeteria since at least 2007, [Debra] Gravert said. Under the month-to-month agreement, Barajas pays 0.5 percent of total gross sales to the state. It was unknown Wednesday how much money that entails.
“Gravert said she has heard grumbling about the cafe’s offerings. ‘I think everyone’s grown weary of the same fare every day,’ she said.
“If Barajas and the state part ways, Gravert said she will propose wholesale improvements to the aging basement facility. ‘If we’re going to put another cafeteria down there, I want to avoid any of those problems in the future,’ she said.”
Ouch.
