The Union-Trib fills in the gap between Thanksgiving and New Year's with
their look at the proposed bond said to be forthcoming from the governor's office.
And though the bond has not been proposed yet, Mike Gardner offers a sketch of how the next six months may go. "Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders might for the first time demand
user fees to help pay down new construction debt rather than squeeze programs financed by the general taxpayer. Shippers might be called on to subsidize truck-only freeway lanes, and developers and farmers could be tapped for levee repairs. But any proposal to impose fees will be resisted by tax-wary and debt-conscious Republicans in the Legislature. A revolt could put enough pressure on the governor to
pare down the bond package and discard targeted surcharges."
Have we really become that predictable?
Speaking of predictable, a new PPIC poll shows that while special election voters were unhappy with the current state of affairs in Sacramento,
their love for the initiative process is undying. "Voters who participated in last month's special election are deeply disgruntled with the job politicians are doing and continue to support the initiative process as a way to solve the state's problems."
"'They were sending a message that they don't like the way the Legislature and the governor are working together,' [PPIC's
Mark Baldassare] said. 'Their message is that politicians better go back to the drawing board, or they'll be sending more messages next year.'"
But the survey found "Nearly
two-thirds said the initiative process needs to be changed. More voters now say the system needs to be changed than did before the special election."
With legislators and their staff scrambling to come up with ideas for the next 3,000 bills to be introduced after the new year, the Bee's Jim Sanders describes how
ordinary citizens can become the force behind new laws.
"In a Capitol dominated by 1,108 lobbyists and hordes of special-interest groups, a person with a unique idea and no financial backing often gets lost in the shuffle - but not always."
"'If it's a creative bill and it sort of strikes people's fancy, it can go all the way without much support,' said
Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. 'But obviously it takes a legislator being able to work on it and push it.'"
Amid the casualties in the
Duke Cunningham scandal is, apparently, San Diego's moniker. The SoCal city has
relinquished its claim as 'America's Finest City' since Cunningham's departure from Congress.
"'We couldn't stake that claim anymore,' said
Gina Lew, the city's director of public and media affairs. 'We were taking too many hits.'"
"The San Diego Union-Tribune recently asked readers to coin a new slogan, saying 'America's Finest' had turned 'creaky.' Among the nearly 500 responses: 'Scandalicious,' 'An Eruption of Corruption,' 'All Major Unmarked Bills Accepted Here,' and 'Bunglers by the Bay.'
From
Da Mayor and Da Lobster Files, Matier and Ross report "comedian
Will Durst and ex-Mayor
Willie Brown are about to
debut on a new morning drive talk show on the Quake (KQKE 960 AM).
The duo, neither of whom has held a regular radio gig before, will be joined by longtime Bay Area rock radio host
Paul Wells, a.k.a. "The Lobster."
Jackie Speier wants to change the role of lieutenant governor
on her way to the governor's office, writes Rebekah Gordon in the San Mateo County Times. "In an editorial meeting with The Times on Friday,
Speier said she would 'absolutely' consider a run for governor when the time is right."
"'I don't think the electorate in California is quite ready for woman governor,' she said."
"Until then, she wants the duties of the lieutenant governor to include being the 'guardian of education,' the overseer of the state Senate, and an advocate for consumer protection. Looking out for consumers is a cause, she said, 'that is near and dear to my heart.'"
The Merc offers its legislative preview with a look at
Sally Lieber's mail-order bride bill. "Her bill, AB 634, would force international marriage brokers based in California to be licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs and their owners undergo criminal background checks. The proposed law would also order matchmaking agencies to teach brides (referred to as 'foreign recruits' in the bill) how to call police, find domestic violence shelters and file restraining orders.
A similar federal bill is working its way through Congress.
From our
Don't Flash the Talking Monkey files: "Two women who had taken care of Koko, a gorilla who communicates with humans by sign language, have settled a lawsuit charging the president of its sanctuary
urged them to show their breasts to the ape, a lawyer said on Thursday."
"
Nancy Alperin and
Kendra Keller had sued the Woodside, California-based Gorilla Foundation, claiming its president had pressed them to bare their breasts for Koko to help bond with the gorilla."
"The two said foundation President
Francine Patterson would interpret hand movements by Koko as a demand to see human nipples. They declined and were later
fired in an act of retaliation for not indulging what the lawsuit called Koko's 'nipple fetish.'"
Finally, from our less titillating workplace, today is
pay-raise day for state lawmakers, whose annual salary will go to $110,880. Fourteen legislators declined to accept the pay hike.
"'I didn't feel right accepting the raise at a time when there was a state budget deficit,' Assemblywoman
Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, said Friday. 'I felt I needed to set an example for fiscal prudence.'"
For employees of the other 106 legislators, lunch is on the boss today.
Or, if you're a UC Davis fan, today's a day for
Stanford fans to take you to lunch--again.
