"California
could see rolling blackouts today amid a blistering heat wave that has placed unprecedented demand on California's electrical grid."
"Energy officials say a Stage 3 power emergency could occur this afternoon, meaning rolling blackouts are possible to protect the larger power grid."
"Today will be the 'big Kahuna' of energy demand, said
Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for California's Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's power grid."
...not to mention the big Kahuna for Phil Angelides's campaign for governor.
Anyway, that electricity usage chart that provided so much fun during the
Gray Davis administration
is still available.
From our
Just Rubbing It In Files, the governor and the mayor of Los Angeles
joined each other for a political rally yesterday -- for Israel.
"Braving extreme heat, a crowd of Israel's supporters estimated at several thousand clogged Wilshire Boulevard, waving Israeli and American flags and cheering speakers who included Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa. Both lamented civilian casualties in Lebanon but expressed strong support for Israel."
"'We're all here to do one thing, and that is to support the state of Israel,' Schwarzenegger said, noting that he first traveled to Israel as a bodybuilder and has been back many times since. 'Any nation has the right to defend itself against terrorism.'"
"'We're here to affirm the basic truth that there can be no peace without security,' Villaraigosa said."
Meanwhile, "Things are getting mighty testy between California's new Golden Boys -- Mayors
Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and
Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles -- with the latest spat prompted by rumors that L.A. is making a grab for the 49ers."
"The flareup appears to have started when Villaraigosa, who is hoping to land an NFL team for his teamless town, made a passing comment to Niners boss
John York's son,
Jed York, at a meeting of league owners that the mayor hosted recently. Apparently, the comment was translated as a come-hither, and word of it quickly got back to Newsom."
"A senior Villaraigosa aide who asked not to be identified insisted that 'there was absolutely nothing' to the rumor that L.A. might make a play for the team -- but, nonetheless, confirmed that it had come up during a heated discussion between the two City Halls."
Of course, LA's non existant team has about the same chance of making the playoffs this year as the Niners do, but that's neither here nor there, we suppose.
The governor's team took advantage of the slow-news legislative recess time to start talking to reporters about Schwarzenegger's 2007 priorities. And now those efforts are bearing fruit. "Lowering health care costs and reducing the number of uninsured Californians will be top priorities for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007, if he wins his re-election fight this fall," reports Kate Folmar for the Merc News.
"With those goals in mind, the governor will
convene an invitation-only summit today to pick the brains of labor leaders, business executives and elected officials."
"The governor's staff says upfront that the gathering at the University of California-Los Angeles won't end with a comprehensive solution for the nearly 7 million Californians who lack health care. An announcement on children's health care is anticipated, though, they hint."
Actually, they did more than hint to the Times...
"Criticized for failing to offer substantial remedies for California's healthcare problems, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today
will propose installing new medical clinics in as many as 500 elementary schools, his aides said," report the LAT's Robert Salladay and Joe Mathews.
"The multimillion-dollar plan is related to an election-year decision by the Republican governor to embrace healthcare as an issue. Schwarzenegger's aides said he also hopes to propose ways to cut medical costs industrywide."
"'We have too many uninsured people in California,' Schwarzenegger said at a news conference Friday. 'There are still a lot of children uninsured.'"
From our daily "
I agree with what he's doing, but I was there first response: "On Sunday, state Treasurer
Phil Angelides, the Democratic nominee for governor, said he "welcomed the debate" with Schwarzenegger on healthcare.
But he said the governor has been absent on the issue and 'should be charged with political malpractice.'"
Dan Walters looks at the workers' comp battle that serves as fundraising momentum for both leading gubernatorial candidates, and particularly at the
trial lawyers who are limiting referrals to pro-Angelides docs. "The California Applicants Attorneys Association, whose members' fees were reduced along with benefits, has taken a leading role in raising money for Angelides and other Democrats. A recent fundraising appeal from association leaders called the upcoming election 'the most critical in memory for CAAA,' adding that 'if Arnold Schwarzenegger is tossed out of office, injured workers will be well-positioned to undo the damage caused by SB 899 (the 2003 reform bill).'"
"One prominent workers' comp attorney in Los Angeles,
Lawrence Stern, told
Marlena Garland, a public affairs adviser to medical groups, in a recent e-mail that 'we at CAAA have taken a pact not to support any doctor who has not contributed at least $2,500 to the elections,' adding that noncontributors 'have fed off the meat of our clients for too long (and) it is time they start paying something back … if necessary sell their Mercedes or not buy a new one for another year and help us get rid of Arnold. …'"
"Garland passed on the warning to her clients to 'encourage you to contribute to the Angelides campaign' and said last week, 'I passed it on because I'm paid to do that.'"
However, David Rockwell, CAAA's president, insists Stern's oblique threat is not organization policy and that he admonished Stern. "There is no such policy and we would never advocate anything like that," he said, adding that Stern "went overboard, obviously."
"Hoping to bolster a sagging California National Guard,
lawmakers are considering enticements ranging from college tuition assistance to membership in the state's retirement system," reports the Bee's Jim Sanders.
As if the promise of a vacation at the US-Mexico border wasn't enough...
"'We have to find ways to make it more attractive,' said Assemblyman
Joe Nation, a San Rafael Democrat who is chairman of the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee."
"'California's commitment to members of the National Guard is frankly embarrassing,' he said."
Who could oppose giving more benefits to troops?
"
Lorraine Krofchok, director of Grandmothers for Peace, said she is not familiar with the various Guard-related measures but warned that boosting troop strength simply would encourage endless fighting."
"'
If you keep on having volunteers willing to go and get killed, then you'll continue to have wars,' said Krofchok, of Elk Grove."
The OC Register's Martin Wiscol reports on the news that Flashreport's Jon Fleischman is
leaving OC County sheriff Mike Corona's office and venturing out on his own. "Fleischman announced last week that he'll be leaving Carona's payroll next month – while staying on as a reserve deputy – to spend more time on the Flash Report and to launch his own public affairs operation.
The Buzz has heard whispers that Fleischman is getting out of the sheriff's office before things get any worse for Carona. But we're partial to explanation that Fleischman is getting married later this year so wants to make more money for his family, and that he wants to make time to continue to grow his Web site."
And you might want to get on line now for that
new drivers license that you're going to need in 2008, reports the Chron's Lynda Gledhill. "All 22 million licensed California drivers will be required to go in person to a DMV office and prove their identity and address with three different documents before getting a new, federally approved state license.
The sheer size and scope of that task -- required by a federal law passed in the wake of Sept. 11 -- already has the state Department of Motor Vehicles worried about lines that would make current complaints about the agency's notoriously slow service seem trivial."
