After what can only be described as
a brutal day in the headlines for Camp Angelides yesterday, the Merc's Steve Harmon sketches out
the treasurer's path to victory. "Angelides must take full advantage of the opportunities: the prevailing negative sentiment toward Republicans nationally, the governor's inability to push through reform, the governor's sometimes tense relationship with conservatives, the disaffection Latinos have with the governor, and the likelihood that there may still be time to inform voters about their candidate and remake his image."
As Mayor Villaraigosa's plan to exert influence over LA schools moves through the Legislature, LAT's Howard Blume and Doug Smith look at
the arguments on both sides which have stretched the boundaries of truth.
"In asserting his case for control over city schools, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has presented a selective and sometimes misleading case to prove that the Los Angeles Unified School District is a failing system.
Villaraigosa and his team have focused on data that present Los Angeles Unified in the worst possible way, almost entirely discounting that the school system is improving faster academically than many other school districts and compared to California as a whole.
At the same time, the school district, playing defense, has emphasized accomplishments while glossing over shortcomings, including an overall academic standing that is well below average."
So where's the news?
Yesterday's main event was the
showdown between Villaraigosa and superintendent Roy Romer in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.
Harrison Sheppard reports: "There was at least one tense moment, when Romer said passage of the bill seemed a foregone conclusion and compared it to energy deregulation, saying it was being jammed through the Legislature quickly and could have unfortunate consequences.
'I've got to tell you, as a member who hasn't quite made up my mind, I find that somewhat insulting that you make the assumption that this is a foregone conclusion,' said committee member Sen.
Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield.
Florez added that he didn't see the analogy to deregulation and felt that the bill had had more public debate, including discussion in the media, than most bills that come before the committee.'I've been sitting on this committee and seen a lot of bills that you are in support of that moved a little too quickly for me,' Florez added.
Romer replied: 'Sir, I'm not trying to insult anybody. I'm just saying this is a process that reminds me of a bill being handled too quickly.'
Hey, if Florez won't say it, we will. Passage of this bill is a foregone conclusion. Anybody willing to put some money down on anything to the contrary, please see us after class.
With all this talk about LA schools, maybe someone should be concerned about Capistrano Unified"Orange County district attorney's investigators
raided the Capistrano Unified School District office Monday, seizing at least one computer and reviewing documents in the superintendent's office. They also handed out
grand jury subpoenas to an unspecified number of district employees.
The search follows more than a year of discord in the district, including an unsuccessful attempt to recall its seven trustees as well as allegations of fiscal mismanagement, conflict of interest and other wrongdoing."
Speaking of schools, today is the day the Department of Education is
scheduled to release statewide test scores. Floods of press releases to follow...
The Bee's Andy Furillo reports on another union of
public safety employees getting a pay raise.The union representing 6,700 California public safety employees reached an agreement with the state Monday that promises to increase salaries for game wardens, park rangers and Department of Justice special agents by 25 percent over four years.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Personnel Administration said the contract with the California Union of Safety Employees wasn't set to expire until next year, but that vacancy rates running anywhere from 18 percent to 30 percent in some public safety agencies pushed the state to get the tentative deal done now.
Prius owners beware. Looks like all those perks may soon be running out, according to the Chron's Michael Cabanatuan. "Bay Area drivers vacillating over whether to buy a hybrid car need to decide quickly if they hope to snag those coveted yellow stickers that give them access to carpool lanes.
And for those contemplating a hybrid Toyota -- including the popular Prius -- there's an added inducement: cash. Waiting until Oct. 1 to buy a Toyota Prius will cost you $1,575 in federal tax credits."
Looks like more bad news for the California Republican Congressional delegation. In a story broken by the LA Times over the weekend, looks like former Assemblyman and current Rep.
Gary Miller is the latest congressman to land in hot water."U.S. Rep. Gary Miller has
avoided paying millions of dollars in taxes on real estate deals under a tax break that protects people forced to sell their property, but officials dispute they ever made him sell his land, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Miller, R-Brea, sold 165 acres to Monrovia, a suburb about 10 miles east of Los Angeles, in 2002 for a
profit of more than $10 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"After the sale, he told the Internal Revenue Service and the state he was forced to sell under threat by the city of eminent domain, a process by which government agencies can force sales in the public interest."
Not sure about at the time of the sale, but it sure looks like there may be some public interest now...
