"Democrat
Lou Correa continued to close in on Republican
Lynn Daucher in the tight 34th state Senate District race, cutting her lead to 302 votes after Tuesday's tallies," reports Martin Wisckol in the Register.
"Daucher has 51,736 votes to Correa's 51,434, giving her a lead of 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent. Because ballots counted Tuesday came from batches that had previously favored Daucher overall, Republican officials were expecting to gain votes."
"There are about 1,500 absentee ballots left to count in the race. Registrar of Voters
Neal Kelley has updated the estimate of provisional ballots to be counted in the race to 6,000. About half of provisionals typically prove valid. Kelly hopes to finish the 34th Senate District tally by next Wednesday."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, expressing confidence this year's bipartisan cooperation will continue next year, said Tuesday the state should 'definitely' be able to
cut the ranks of the state's 6 million without health coverage by at least half," writes the Bee's Laura Mecoy.
"The governor said health care would be one of his administration's "main agendas" next year, along with improving school accountability, easing prison overcrowding and political reform."
"'We feel we shouldn't have 6 million people uninsured,' he said. 'We maybe cannot solve the whole problem, but we definitely can cut it in half and do something that really is impressive and show the rest of the nation that it can be done.'"
Meanwhile, "Schwarzenegger said he's already talking to lawmakers about working together to relieve overcrowding in the state's prisons."
"'We are going to go and take care of this problem of our prisons that are bursting,"'he said."
He said he's
'in synch' with state Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat who's become a legislative prison oversight specialist. He said he's already told the senator that 'everything should be on the table, and that I am open-minded about this.'"
Dan Walters writes that this year's much-touted bipartisan deals were low hanging fruit, and
bigger deals may not be so easy to pull together. "Yearning though they may be, it doesn't necessarily follow that the more difficult issues such as health care and prison reform lend themselves to political compromise. They involve massive amounts of money and powerful interest groups that are oblivious to the larger public interest and have the capacity to block enactment of anything not to their liking."
"The
limits to Schwarzenegger-style compromise are indicated in what happened after he and the Legislature fashioned a high-concept global warming bill whose serious provisions wouldn't take effect until his governorship is in the history books. After he had basked in the glow of extremely elaborate bill-signing ceremonies, Schwarzenegger's administration issued implementing procedures clearly aimed at placating a skeptical business community -- but they immediately drew fire from Democrats and environmentalists as undoing the deal they had made."
"
It's one thing to enact some sort of symbolic, feel-good, save-the-world measure, but when its provisions involve real money and bottom lines, other forces come into play."
And
this could make it really tough. The LAT's Evan Halper reports "as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares a landmark program to expand healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured residents,
economists say the state may not have the funds to pay for it. Although tax receipts rose this year, they say, California is once again on budget quicksand."
"'I'm at a loss to see how they are going to balance this budget,' said
Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. "
The state got bailed out last time around by a surprise revenue surge. That is unlikely to happen again.'"
Can't we pass a bond or something?
Meanwhile, it looks like
state workers may start paying more for parts of their health coverage, reports the Bee's Gilbert Chan. "Rejecting calls to spread out a looming jump in premiums, a state pension board panel on Tuesday endorsed
an average 33.6 percent increase in long-term care insurance rates for 170,000 government workers and retirees in California.
"The boost would help the giant California Public Employees' Retirement System establish a reserve and generate additional capital to cover a projected $600 million deficit over the next five to six decades."
The Merc News's Steven Harmon looks at
why the election failed to drum up voter turnout. "'Both major parties are struggling with turnout because of underlying demographic changes,' [PPIC director
Mark] Baldassare said. 'Voters don't come close to reflecting the ethnic, racial and economic demography of the state. And Democrats and Republicans show a lack of ability and interest in expanding the size and composition of the state's electorate.'"
"Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a D and the state Legislature a C-minus when it comes to supporting bills that bridge California's racial divide, according to a report card put out by an advocacy group Tuesday," reports Judy Lin in the Bee.
"Despite the governor's pledge to represent all Californians, authors of the 2006 racial equity report card gave him poor marks for vetoing bills to provide universal health insurance and allow separate textbooks for English learners. The Governor's Office called the report flawed."
"The report card called "Facing Race" was compiled by the Applied Research Center, a privately funded public policy institute headquartered in Oakland. The governor and the Legislature were graded on 20 bills addressing racial inequities in education, economic justice, health and civil rights."
"Rejecting calls to spread out a looming jump in premiums, a state pension board panel on Tuesday
endorsed an average 33.6 percent increase in long-term care insurance rates for 170,000 government workers and retirees in California," reports Gilbert Chan in the Bee.
"The boost would help the giant California Public Employees' Retirement System establish a reserve and generate additional capital to cover a projected $600 million deficit over the next five to six decades."
"If adopted today by the full CalPERS board, the move would be the second increase since 2003, when trustees boosted rates an average of 17 percent."
"'We're better off to get it (done) in one year. There is an additional cost every year if you don't bite this bullet,' said trustee
Tony Oliveira, a member of the fund's Health Benefits Committee."
The Times reports "State Sen.
Richard Alarcon said Tuesday that he was
'seriously looking' at running next year for the City Council 7th District seat he held from 1993 to 1999. Alarcon was elected Nov. 7 to the state Assembly but said he was surprised when voters relaxed term limits for the council, which would enable him to return. Alarcon also said that he moved last week into the 7th District."
From our
San Francisco Values Dept., "the [San Francisco] Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to
outlaw the use of plastic foam to-go containers by city restaurants and to effectively decriminalize the use, sale and cultivation of marijuana by adults," reports the Chron's Robert Selna.
"The food-container ordinance, introduced by Board of Supervisors President
Aaron Peskin, would apply to about 3,400 restaurants in San Francisco as well city facility food-service providers and vendors contracting with the city."
"If it receives likely approval on a second vote, the law would take effect June 1, 2007."
"'This is a long time coming,' Peskin said. 'It moves San Francisco toward environmental sustainability and helps to clean up our streets.'"
"The marijuana legislation was approved 8-3 on the first of two votes needed to become law."
"It would set nearly all crimes involving marijuana as the lowest law enforcement priority for city police. And, it would direct police to essentially ignore most marijuana offenses unless they involve minors, acts of violence, driving under the influence or the sale or distribution of pot on public property or within view of public property."
From our
San Francisco 49ers of Santa Clara Files: "California Sen.
Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday that if the San Francisco 49ers want to move to Silicon Valley
she'll fight to prevent them from using 'San Francisco' or '49ers' in the team name."
"'
When a team takes the name, and in this case the heritage, of a city it causes great consternation,' the former San Francisco mayor said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the anti-trust implications of the National Football League's new pay-TV package for Thursday and Saturday games."
"'
You can't move to Santa Clara and call yourself the 49ers,' added Feinstein, who intervened last week after 49ers owner
John York told Mayor
Gavin Newsom that he was breaking off negotiations over a new stadium at Candlestick Point in favor of pursuing a possible stadium deal in Santa Clara."
