"The widening debate over California's prison crisis turned hostile Wednesday, as
a federal court monitor called a top aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a liar and said he would order the aide to testify under oath about the administration's relationship with the politically powerful guards union," writes Jenifer Warren in the Times.
"Special Master
John Hagar reiterated his view that the governor had abandoned reforms to appease the guards. He also said he intended to force the aide, Cabinet Secretary
Fred Aguiar, and Chief of Staff
Susan Kennedy to testify as part of his probe of the union's influence in the prison system."
"In extraordinarily blunt remarks,
Hagar said Kennedy appeared to be 'in the pocket' of the union, had traded favors with the group and had allowed its leaders unusual access to the governor's office."
"The governor's top lawyer,
Andrea Hoch, vigorously denied that the governor is either backpedaling or granting the union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., undue influence over prison management."
Andy Furillo writes in the Bee that
Hagar doesn't plan to leave his post. "'I might be here another 10 or 20 years," Hagar said from his seat at a conference table in Henderson's courtroom, to attorneys for the assorted parties circled around him. '
I'm not going away. As long as Judge Henderson is here, you're stuck with me.'"
Speaking of the pokey, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed a measure Wednesday that rewrites a voter-approved initiative to allow short-term jail sentences for drug offenders who fail to complete court-ordered treatment programs," reports the Bee's Laura Mecoy.
"
Senate Bill 1137 changes the provisions of Proposition 36, the 2000 initiative voters approved to require treatment instead of prison for certain nonviolent drug offenders."
However, the changes aren't being swallowed easily.
"The Drug Policy Alliance and the California Society of Addiction Medicine later Wednesday
filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court to overturn the new law, claiming it is unconstitutional to significantly amend Proposition 36 — approved by 61 percent of voters in November 2000 — without another popular vote," writes Josh Richman in the Oakland Tribune.
"Such a vote, presumably preceded by a costly and nasty campaign, could be inevitable: The new law specifies that if a court strikes down any part of it, the new law automatically will be put on the ballot in its entirety."
Capitol Weekly's Shane Goldmacher unveils
the man behind California's eminent domain initiative. In fact, New York developer
Howard Rich is the man behind more than a dozen eminent domain initiatives.
"The multimillionaire developer, and president of U.S. Term Limits, has bankrolled California's eminent-domain measure to the tune of $1.5 million. But the money is only one front in Rich's national crusade against eminent domain, an effort that spans more than a half-dozen states and millions of dollars.
"Through a web of organizations, Rich is backing eminent-domain initiatives in Arizona, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma and Washington with $4 million--though no state has received as much financial support as California. In each of these efforts, Rich himself is never disclosed as a major donor. Instead, he steers his contributions through nonprofit intermediaries, such as the Fund for Democracy, which he is using to finance California's Proposition 90 campaign."
He also reports on the so-called Jessica's Law measure which would
make San Francisco a virtually sex-offender free zone.
"If passed, the measure would prohibit convicted sex offenders from living within 2000 feet of any school or park where children play."
"In San Francisco, one of the nation's most densely populated cities, that leaves only a few square blocks as inhabitable for registered sex offenders. The largest areas that would remain open to past predators would be the airport region, downtown's industrial zones and cemetery-dense Colma--none of which contain much, if any, residential housing."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday
condemned one of the most prototypical Los Angeles driving practices — grasping a steering wheel with one hand and a cellphone with the other — and gave a strong boost to legislative efforts to outlaw hand-held mobile phones throughout California," reports Jordan Rau in the Times.
"During an online interview with a reporter broadcast over the Internet, Schwarzenegger called such driving distractions 'terrible' and 'inexcusable' and said: 'We have to see if the right way to go is through a bill or any other way,
but I think we must make sure that people don't use phones, because it not only endangers them but it endangers everyone else out there.'"
"Sen.
Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), the sponsor of
SB 1613, said he was encouraged by Schwarzenegger's comments. 'Anyone who drives a Hummer probably knows how important it is to keep control of your vehicle," he said in a telephone interview.'"
Could
the WTO help stop runaway film production? CW's Malcolm Maclachlan investigates. "The Film and Television Action Committee (FTAC) is gathering money to file a complaint with U.S. Trade Representative ambassador
Susan Schwab, alleging that film-industry subsidies paid by 20 other countries violates the terms of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Schwab represents the U.S. in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which administers the GATT."
"American trade negotiators long have railed against the subsidies that France has paid to maintain its own domestic film industry. But according to
Tim McHugh, executive director of the Studio City-based FTAC, these subsidies have changed in recent years, prompted by a 1999 decision by the Canadian government to open up subsidies and tax breaks to foreign producers as well."
George Skelton
praises the new book by Joel Klein. "The book focuses on presidential races, but it's equally apropos of gubernatorial politics in California."
"Klein writes: 'I am fed up with the insulting welter of sterilized speechifying, insipid photo ops, and idiotic advertising that passes for public discourse these days. I believe that American politics has become overly cautious, cynical, mechanistic, and bland; and I fear that the inanity and ugliness of postmodern public life has caused many Americans to lose the habits of citizenship.'"
Skelton writes: "Hopefully this will be a thoughtful contest for governor between two authentic statesmen who stand up boldly outside of the gutter, debating serious ideas and exciting voters. But maybe that's just a midsummer dream."
We'll put $20 down on the latter...
"The California Board of Education
took steps Wednesday to maintain business as usual in the wake of a political snub in which Democrats stripped its funding from the state's new budget," reports Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"The dispute stems from differing views over how best to educate students from immigrant families who are not proficient in English."
"
Kenneth Noonan, superintendent of the Oceanside Unified School District, was elected unanimously to serve as president of the 11-member state board, which helps set education policy."
Noonan replaces
Glee Johnson, who abruptly quit the board on June 30, the same day that Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget that did not include any money for the board's staff."
"The board also opted Wednesday to continue an informal financial arrangement designed to provide breathing room for Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to resolve the funding dispute."
Ed Mendel
continues the story in the Union-Tribune "'
We, the state board, are being punished for a vote that we cast that the governor agrees with,' said board member
Ruth Green of Santa Barbara. She said the 'lack of support for this board is the reason
Glee Johnson resigned.'"
"Board member
Joe Nunez of Stockton, a California Teachers Association official reappointed to the board by Schwarzenegger after leading the campaign that defeated the governor's 'Year of Reform' initiatives last year, said the governor should have resolved the issue before signing the budget."
"'With the budget signed, the leverage disappears,' Nunez said. '
What it does is it emboldens the Legislature to more mischief-making.'"
Right, so it's the governor's fault...
The Bee's Jim Wasserman looks at the
impact of passage of the transportation bond on the November ballot. "New highway and transit projects from the $19.9 billion transportation bond, the largest of the four on the ballot, could generate 520,000 jobs, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce calculation. The formula, cited by the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, holds that each $1 billion investment in highway and transit provides 26,000 jobs."
"When the bond money is combined with federal matching funds and existing resources, according to the Governor's Office, the state's transportation investment becomes $86.8 billion across 10 years -- fueling more than 2.2 million jobs."
"A $1-billion bond measure that would help provide housing for thousands of low-income residents and enable others to become first-time homeowners
is likely to appear on the Los Angeles ballot in November," reports the LAT's Duke Helfand.
"The proposed bond measure, which could contribute financing for about 1,000 new affordable housing units annually over the next decade, was endorsed unanimously Wednesday by the City Council."
If you don't live in Los Angeles or don't want to wait for the bond and still need housing, you might try getting a job with the University of California.
From our
Let There Be Light Files: "The University of California
has issued thousands of low-interest home loans to executives, faculty members and other selected employees but has refused to reveal who received the money," reports Todd Wallack in the Chron.
"That includes an unidentified UC Berkeley professor who received a
$250,000 home loan at one-half of 1 percent interest a year -- far less interest than any bank would demand. Another went to an unnamed UC Berkeley dean who got a
$203,500 loan at 1.28 percent a year. And dozens of other loans went to unidentified employees who usually wouldn't qualify for the loans -- because they aren't faculty members or top executives -- but were awarded as 'exceptions to policy.'"
"'It's the arrogance of the UC system,' said Sen.
Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat and member of the state Senate Education Committee. '
Sadly, despite all the promises of reforms, they are hoping they can wait the media and the legislators out and thumb their noses at the people.'"
Santa Cruz "residents unhappy with the way President
George W. Bush is leading the country
may have the opportunity to vote for his impeachment in November," reports Shanna McCord in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
"Such a vote, which a group of community activists is seeking to put on the Santa Cruz ballot Nov. 7, would do nothing to actually remove the president from office. Instead, supporters say it would be something more than an opinion poll that would send a message to Washington, D.C."
And get Santa Cruz back on the Drudge Report.
Congressman
Sam "Farr called the Santa Cruz ballot proposal "an exercise in futility" and said more energy should be spent getting Democrats elected to Congress."
"The ballot measure for Bush's impeachment '
won't mean a damn thing if the Democrats don't take back the House in November because right now Republicans control all the committees,' Farr said Wednesday. 'That's just the nature of majority rule in Washington, D.C.'"
From our
Miss Manners Files," police in England have a message for female club girls --
if you drink, make sure you wax. "A Suffolk police safety campaign magazine shows pictures of young women slumped on the ground next to messages urging them: 'If you've got it, don't flaunt it.'
'If you fall over or pass out, remember your skirt or dress may ride up,' the magazine says. '
You could show off more than you intended -- for all our sakes, please make sure you're wearing nice pants and that you've recently had a wax.'"
