With less than 24 hours left in the fiscal year, it
looks increasingly unlikely that a budget accord will be reached. While there were rumors circulating yesterday that pro tem
Don Perata had found the two Republican votes, leading Perata to say that he was going to lock down the chamber for the long weekend,
no movement is evident in the Assembly. "'I can't tell you that I have one single Republican vote in the Assembly for this budget,' said Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles."
Most observers think that neither house is likely to be locked down tomorrow, when former Assembly Speaker
Antonio Villaraigosa is sworn in as L.A.'s mayor. The
swearing in is at 9:30 a.m., basically requiring members to leave tonight. For the clock-watchers, the last Southwest flight to the L.A. area tonight is the 9:25 to LAX.
Alas, you may be able to catch that E.R. rerun.
Steve Westly seized the opportunity, and talked to reporters about the impact of a budget impasse. "'This is a big problem,' Westly said. 'It will create real hardships, and they will only increase as the summer goes on.'"
And give the controller more chances to talk about the falling sky.
Yes, as the mercury flirts with 100 here in Sacramento, the budget squabbling continues, down-ticket officers jockey for camera position, and
Jamie Court tees off on the Legislature. "'These guys in Sacramento can't do anything on time except cash their paychecks and per diems,' Court said."
Anyone else ever feel like we're watching reruns of news?
The Bee gets a quote from the governor's spokesman
Rob Stutzman, explaining why
the governor wants a link between the budget and a compromise budget reform ballot measure. "'If the Democrats want to move a budget that takes one-time revenue and spends it on ongoing programs, the only way the governor can feel comfortable doing that is if he knows he has the reform in place to give midyear cut authority to a governor,' Stutzman said."
Wait, didn't the governor say last week that he
didn't want to link the budget talks to his ballot initiatives?
The latest Field Poll has some good news, and some bad news for the governor. The good news: The poll centers on a hypothetical match-up that will never happen. The bad news: In that hypothetical match-up, Schwarzenegger would lose a head-to-head match-up with Sen.
Dianne Feinstein by 30 points. Feinstein also wins a head-to-head with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 56-38. You can download the entire poll
here.Enter the Roundup's Latest Contest!Speaking of things that will apparently never happen, the governor was busy yesterday, sending out press releases having nothing to do with the goings-on in Sacramento. The governor
praised the Supreme Court's ruling on illegal file-sharing. Then he
blasted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for it's rejection of the call to have a new category for "Best Stunt Coordinator."
But fear not, governor. We at the Roundup have heard your plea, and have created the
Roundup's First Annual Award for Best Political Stunt.
Send us your nominations.He did however,
call an election to fill the vacancy created in the
53rd Assembly District by the death of Mike Gordon. The primary will be on Sept. 13. If no one candidate receives 50 percent, the top vote-getter from each party will head to a run-off on Nov. 8, the same day as the statewide special election.
From our
If the heel doesn't fit, you must acquit files: Last week, we updated you on the courtroom drama of the trial against the woman who allegedly assaulted
George Plescia staffer
Shaun Flanigan. Flanigan was a floor whip at the Republican National Convention, charged with maintaining order, and became the whipping boy when he confronted Code Pink activist
June Brashares as she unfurled an anti-Bush banner and began yelling during Bush's keynote address. Upon not-so-gently escorting her out of the convention hall, Flanigan caught a nice gash in his shin, requiring stitches.
The jury has spoken, and found Brushares
not guilty of assault.
And while we typically only focus on California news, we did want to make sure our readers knew that
terrorism has been ruled out in the tiger attack of Sigfried and Roy's
Roy Horn. The Chicago Tribune reports: " there was no proof that someone in the audience, or a terrorist, sprayed it with a
behavior-altering scent, or that it was unhinged by a woman with a beehive."
And in case you missed it,
Political Pulse announced the acquisition of Capitol Weekly. The Weekly will be redesigned and its editorial content will include a lot more coverage of California politics. (Don't worry, we're
still going to publish everyone's salary.) Look for a revamped Web presence, which will include The Roundup, later this summer when the newspaper is relaunched.
