Insurance commish
John Garamendi went under the knife yesterday to repair a faulty heart valve, writes Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"
Byron Tucker, communications director for the commissioner, said Monday night after the surgery that it was a '100 percent success' and the doctors anticipate a '100 percent recovery.'"
"Garamendi's candidacy in the June Democratic primary to replace termed-out Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is not expected to be affected."
Phil Angelides yesterday proposed
using the state's pension funds to address infrastructure needs, writes Aaron Davis in the Merc News. "Specifically, Angelides
called on the state's public employee pension systems to invest up to $15 billion, or 5 percent of their portfolios, to build bridges, tunnels, energy transmission lines and other projects. The pension systems could then collect tolls and fees from users to glean a stable, long-term return of 6 to 8 percent, Angelides estimated."
"The treasurer said the financing plan would supplement, not replace, infrastructure bonds the governor and legislature might put before voters in November. Regardless, Angelides' move allows him to begin campaigning on the topic, which polls show is widely popular among voters, as he runs neck and neck with Controller
Steve Westly for the Democratic nomination."
In a statement, Westly criticized Angelides's plan to "privatize the state’s infrastructure," saying he "has serious concerns about turning our state’s public bridges and roads over to private companies or developers."
The Bee's Peter Hecht
looks at the education proposals for the two would-be Democratic nominees, which were presented yesterday at the Education Trust-West convention in Los Angeles. "
Steve Westly, the state controller, promised to raise K-12 funding by changing the payout formula for the California Lottery to offer a smaller percentage in prizes for lottery ticket buyers and a larger share of revenues for schools."
"
Phil Angelides, the state treasurer, sold his plan to tax high-income earners and close corporate tax loopholes to pay for training and recruiting more teachers for public schools as well as rolling back student fee increases at the University of California and California State University systems."
"Angelides also chided both Westly and Republican Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who say they don't support a tax increase, for being in denial over how to fund education."
Martin Wisckol writes in the Register that
Tom Harman's record on
illegal immigration has emerged as a leading issue in the race for
Senate District 35.
"
Diane Harkey, opponent and fellow Republican, presses relentlessly on the issue. With Harman largely matching her position for position, there remain two issues where they part ways."
"And Harman is sticking to his guns. City-run day-labor centers are not the illegal-immigrant magnets that Harkey portrays them as, he says. And illegal immigrants seeking legal status should get in-state tuition rates if they've graduated from high school here."
"'It's very easy for her to make extreme promises,' he said. 'She's singled out two votes of the thousands of votes I've cast. (Those two votes) are not really at the heart of the issue. She's trying to cast herself as the champion against illegal immigration. I would propose that my feelings are equally as strong as hers.'"
While Harkey and Harman duke it out over immigration votes,
interest groups are waging an independent expenditure war, writes Jean Pasco in the Times.
"The
union representing the state's prison guards kicked in nearly $90,000 in recent days toward campaign mail praising Harman over the other Republican in the April 11 race for the 35th District seat, Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey."
"The
Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, another past supporter of Harman, spent $75,000 on campaign brochures critical of Harkey."
"The late spending for Harman was partly answered by two groups backing Harkey: the
Lincoln Club of Orange County, a GOP fund-raising group, and the
Alliance of Orange County Taxpayers, based in Tustin."
"The Lincoln Club spent $30,200, while the tax group pitched in $83,500 on anti-Harman mail."
ElectionTrack on AroundTheCapitol.com now includes
hourly updates of independent expenditures within districts.
School officials hope to curtail student walkouts and protests over the immigration reform bill under consideration in Washington by
cracking down on flags, writes Paul Eakins in the North County Times. "Oceanside Unified School District Superintendent
Ken Noonan said Monday he has banned all flags, patriotic clothing, face paint and placards on campuses because they became an emotional flashpoint for both protesters and non-protesting students."
"'All those items were contributing factors in last week's disturbances,' he said."
"In Escondido last week, Bear Valley Middle School Principal
Julie Rich also banned "flags, signs, symbols of any country" at the school to preserve campus safety, she said."
"An American Civil Liberties Union official said Monday that a flag ban "clearly" violates the First Amendment."
Meanwhile, as we were browsing for news this morning, we saw ads by the Civil Justice Association of California tempting us to "
See why Assemblyman Ron Calderon is a kid's best friend when it comes to education." Well, we clicked, and it's like one nice, happy greeting card that doesn't even urge us to support him in
Senate District 30.
The Chron's Greg Lucas
writes up the Ron Burkle divorce privacy bill making its way through the Legislature. "Burkle and the bill's author say the measure has nothing to do with the high-profile split but is intended to help prevent identity theft and protect sensitive financial information.
Opponents -- who include First Amendment advocates, judges and Burkle's ex-wife -- say the bill is unconstitutional and mirrors what Burkle seeks in court: to keep his assets secret.
But the bill is too little, too late for Dodgers pitcher
Derek Lowe, reports LA Observed. Lowe's
divorce records were posted online yesterday, and they include some embarrassing revelations about the pitcher's drinking. "
Trinka Lowe alleged in her deposition that the pitcher's agent, Scott Boras, suggested an "intervention" to deal with the player's drinking and told her the Red Sox did not re-sign Lowe after the 2004 season because of his alcohol problem. In his deposition, Derek Lowe acknowledged that the Red Sox thought he had a drinking issue but that he disagreed."
Speaking of bridesmaids, UCLA had to settle for
runner-up in the NCAA tourney, after getting trounced by Florida last night. What are you laughing at,
USC fans?
Finally, from our
Lima Bureau: "Candidates for Peru's Congress are
turning to everything from stripping to the buff to staging hunger strikes to win voters' attention, as a record 2,500 people vie for 120 seats on April 9.
"Candidate
Abelardo Gutierrez, a chronically overweight singer, has taken to parading through central Lima wearing only his underwear, with toenails painted the Peruvian national colors of red and white, winning him ample media coverage."
"Not to be outdone, three candidates this week went paragliding off Lima's coast despite a lack of wind to caution against 'jumping into the vacuum of populist politics.'"
"One of the candidates, Federico Tong, ended up tangled around a street lamp."
We're not exactly sure what the metaphor is here, but we're pretty sure it's not a good sign for Tong's candidacy.
Also from the story is some consolation for California's lawmakers who may be disappointed about legislative approval ratings. "Peru's current Congress, elected in 2001,
has an approval rating in the single digits and is widely viewed as corrupt. Peru elects its president and Congress on the same day, once every five years."
"Lawmakers are especially loathed because of their salaries, at $8,000 a month, considered unsuitably high in a country where half the population lives on $1.25 a day or less. Peru's minimum wage is $137 per month."
Where the Candidates AreGov Schwarzenegger will hold private meetings in Sacramento today.
Phil Angelides and Steve Westly have no public events scheduled.
