Today is traditionally the busiest day for travel in the United States, and one of the slowest days for California political news. But, before the long weekend, we wanted one last chance to wake up early even though only a few of you are reading this and those of you that are reading this have another seven and a half hours to kill with nothing else to do.
After reading The Roundup, you can build
online virtual cities, stare at
optical illusions, pop
virtual bubblewrap, fight with other users for letters in
this word game, or still play with the Capitol Weekly
salary search engine.
Capitol Weekly reports that Mark Wyland has
dropped out of the race to succeed embattled Congressman
Randy "Duke" Cunningham. He will instead run for the senate seat held by
Bill Morrow, who is now the leading candidate for the congressional seat.
Wyland was considered a strong contender, if not the front-runner, for the Congressional seat. He is not expected to face any serious opposition for the Senate seat.
"'Mark thinks he can get more done right now in California.," said Wyland's chief of staff
Duane Dichiara. 'California needs reform, and he's been a voice for reform, and wants to see that through.'"
Dan Walters
takes a look at the race for governor one year out. "While Schwarzenegger may be damaged, none of his announced or potential challengers is, at this point, more than a political blank slate, waiting to be defined.
"Angelides, the most likely Democratic nominee, has positioned himself as the anti-Schwarzenegger, which is a good tactic for getting the Democratic nomination. Even when Schwarzenegger was enjoying sky-high popularity, Angelides was a sharp-tongued critic. But as the Field Poll indicates,
he has a very indistinct image in the larger voting public, and as he advocates billions of dollars in new taxes, he risks being defined as a tax-and-spend liberal in a state whose voters are not particularly keen on expanding government."
California is getting
both Browner and grayer, according to a new report from the California Budget Project. John Myers reports "by 2020, California's
single largest ethnic group will be Latino... 43% of the population, versus 33.7% Caucasian, 12.7% Asian, and 6.7% African American. The shift appears to be the culmination of a trend that's been shaping up over the last few decades.
"One third of the Latino population in 2020 will be under the age of 20, a larger percentage of young citizens than any other single ethnicity. California will also become more "gray", with a whopping
71% increase in citizens over the age of 65 between 2000 and 2020."
The Bee's Nancy Weaver Teichert says the report finds
California's aging population is going to strain the state's finances.
Jackie Speier opines in the Merc News that
fee increases are hurting the University of California. "Government isn't defined by how well it pays its bills but by how it protects our future. It's easy to dismiss tuition increases today, but so much harder to deal with the consequences tomorrow."
"
You separate the leaders from the followers by how willing they are to sell out the next generation."
And Reuters
reports on a a Southern California man named
Michael Fisk, who lives on
Dicks Street in West Hollywood, has gone to city hall to get the road's name changed -- saying that its slang meaning has made life difficult for homeowners."
"'Since we moved in four years ago its just become such a hassle,' Fisk said. 'It's embarrassing. Something definitely needs to be changed.
I realise that it's a man's name, but words change meaning, and this one has.'"
So, you move to Dicks Street in West Hollywood, and
then complain about the name?
After all the talk about nurse staffing ratios, California hospitals are
having a hard time finding nurses to fill existing jobs. "Competition to hire nurses in California is so intense that some headhunters routinely make cold calls to nursing stations at rival hospitals, desperate for recruits. Others are sending out direct-mail pitches that read like time-share come-ons. Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, for example, offers nurses a $200 gift card just to come in and take a look around."
Santa Cruz voters may be considering a ballot measure in November 2006 to
raise the local minimum wage to $9.25, $2.50 higher than the state average.
"A coalition of labor and community groups calling itself the Working Alliance for a Just Economy, or WAJE, hopes to begin circulating petitions for the measure in mid-December, said
Nora Hochman, spokeswoman of the group."
"'You have a low-wage workforce that cannot afford to keep living here and serving the community,' Hochman said. 'To be a responsible employer, you must pay responsible wages.'"
In other news, the Roundup's corporate headquarters is considering a move to Santa Cruz effective November 2006.
