Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign on Monday, and then headed out to the Central Valley on what the LA Times calls a ‘listening tour.’ Sounds to us like someone who’s running for something. Michael Finnegan and Kurtis Lee:
“On Tuesday, just hours after the crowd of Clinton donors clears out of his house, Villaraigosa plans to travel to Bakersfield and Visalia. He'll visit Fresno on Wednesday.
“The stops follow several other trips he has taken to the Central Valley in recent months to meet farmers, field hands, business and labor leaders, environmentalists and prominent Latinos. He has also been to the Salinas and Coachella valleys…
“The visits familiarize Villaraigosa with agriculture, water and other issues that governors – and would-be governors – need to master. They also give him a chance to expand the statewide political network he began building as state Assembly speaker from 1998 to 2000….
“In a telephone interview, Villaraigosa declined to discuss the upcoming governor’s race, but said: ‘I’d be honored to serve again if I thought my service could make a difference.’”
And speaking of Fresno and ambitious pols, look who else has been spending time in the hometown of the Chicken Pie Shack. John Ellis, Fresno Bee:
“On Tuesday, [Secretary of State Alex Padilla] also made his second visit in the past month to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony at the Fresno Convention Center — a place filled with potential new voters.
“So much for rumblings that the ambitious Padilla sees his current job as a placeholder or stepping stone to a higher office such as governor or U.S. senator. Asked during a Fresno Bee Editorial Board meeting Tuesday about his future political plans, Padilla name checked his former boss, current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“’You know what she tells me?’ he said. ‘Do a good job where you are, and let the future take care of itself.’”
As legislators returned to work for the final month of the session, bills that some (like the Governor) say don’t fit the current special sessions, are being brought back. From Patrick McGreevy and Chris Megerian at the LAT:
“[Governor Brown] could get much more than he bargained for as lawmakers from both parties seize an opportunity to push a raft of tangential and even unrelated measures. Some would not provide a single dollar toward the governor’s objectives of filling potholes and boosting money for healthcare programs.
“On Tuesday, backers reintroduced a stalled proposal to let doctors help terminally ill patients end their own lives by prescribing lethal doses of drugs. Other lawmakers are trying to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 and rein in the use of electronic cigarettes — measures that did not fly in the regular legislative session.”
While Democrats throwing a mish-mash of legislation into the special session pot may be a nuisance for Brown, GOP intransigence on taxes could be a bigger problem. A month ago, Senate Republican leader Bob Huff offered hope that his troops might consider increased taxes to repair infrastructure – as of Monday, he says no dice. Allen Young, Sacramento Business Journal:
“Senate minority leader Bob Huff said on Monday there was no support among Senate Republicans for raising taxes to fund highway and road repairs.
“The comment came as legislators returned to Sacramento on their first day back from summer recess. In May, Gov. Jerry Brown called a special session on transportation to address a projected $59 billion backlog in deferred maintenance.
“Less then a month ago, Huff said that some Senate Republicans were open to negotiating a tax or fee increase if Democrats first agreed to redirecting existing public dollars into infrastructure. In a status update, Huff said negotiations were not off to a productive start.
“’They haven’t offered us a deal. They haven’t offered us anything,’ said Bill Bird, a spokesman for Sen. Bob Huff, a San Dimas Republican.
“’We’ve been clear on our messaging. (Democrats have) got to make these reforms,’ Bird said. ‘It’s clear they are not giving us the reforms. They are saying they want new taxes.’”
One of the big bills – maybe the biggest – remaining this year is SB350, Kevin de Leon’s bill to put into law Governor Brown’s climate change goals. Anthony York notes that the bill puts Brown at odds with the state’s oil industry, with which he has so far enjoyed an unlikely alliance. From the Grizzly Bear Project:
“Gov. Jerry Brown navigated the perilous political waters of his third term as governor in large part by playing nice with the oil industry. On issues from fracking to taxes, Brown’s engagement with companies like Chevron and Occidental Petroleum shaped his public policies and contributed to his political success.
“Now, as lawmakers return for one more month of legislative action, the measure of Brown’s year in Sacramento and the cornerstone of his political legacy may depend on the governor’s ability to outmuscle Big Oil over the course of the next four weeks.
“In his January inaugural address, Brown set out ambitious environmental goals for California, including a new benchmark to increase the electricity the state receives from renewable sources. Brown also said he wants the state to cut petroleum use in vehicles by 50% by the year 2030.”
UC Davis researchers studying the impacts of the drought predict that California agriculture will suffer nearly $2 billion in losses this year. From Ellen Knickmeyer, AP:
“The biggest chunk of that cost will come from the fallowing of 542,000 acres that lack water for irrigation, the study said. That's about one-fifth more land than drought forced out of production last year, researchers noted.
“Agriculture, water and economic experts at the university stressed the extent to which farmers in California — the country's leading agriculture state — are relying on groundwater pumping to make up for dwindling stores of water in state rivers, creeks, reservoirs and snowpack….
“The drought will hit farm workers as well as farm owners in 2015, costing 10,100 seasonal farm jobs, the study said. Agriculture overall employs more than 400,000 workers in California.”
The California Public Utilities Commission has recommended launch of a $2 million investigation into PG&E’s safety standards. Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle:
The state Public Utilities Commission said it would consider a staff plan at its Aug. 27 meeting to hire a consultant who would look at whether PG&E’s ‘organizational culture and governance prioritize safety.’ The consultant’s investigation and report would be paid out of PG&E shareholders’ money…
“The utilities commission said the safety audit would provide a ‘deeper review of PG&E’s and PG&E Corp.’s organizational culture, governance, and operations, and the systemic issues identified by the National Transportation Safety Board.’ In 2011, the board blamed PG&E’s ‘organizational failure’ and lax safety efforts for the San Bruno blast.”
Jessica Hice has a nice profile of former Montana farmboy, now Sac State president, Robert Nelsen at Capitol Weekly.
Sure, Donald Trump may be whomping his GOP rivals in the polls right now, but the experts say he’s a longshot at best. Who are these ‘experts,’ you ask? The oddsmakers at Paddy Power, the Irish betting site. From The Hill:
“Forget Donald Trump. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination, according to Paddy Power, the Irish betting site.
“Trump trails Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Paddy Power’s rankings, though Trump might be the better bet. At 9-2 odds, a $100 bet on Trump would win $450.
“Bush’s odds are 6-4, meaning a $100 bet would return just $150. At 4-1, a $100 bet on Walker would pay $400.
“A few long-shots could be worth consideration. Paddy Power’s odds on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) winning the nomination are 25-1.
“To put that in perspective, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who isn’t running for president, is at 40-1. (Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is in the race, is also at 40-1. Fellow White House hopefuls Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and former New York Gov. George Pataki are at 66-1.)”
