"Sounding more like a motivational speaker than a politician, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday
urged Democrats and Republicans in Washington to put aside their partisan differences and get to work for the good of the country," writes Clea Benson in the Bee.
"The Republican governor told an audience at the National Press Club that Congress and the White House should follow the example of California, where Democrats and Republicans have recently worked together on environmental legislation and infrastructure issues.
"Schwarzenegger urged President Bush and Congress to move toward the political center. He also said they should just try to be friendly.
"'
How come Democrats and Republicans out here don't schmooze with each other?' he asked."
"Authority to draw California's political districts
would be stripped from the Legislature and given to an 11-member citizens commission under a proposed initiative unveiled Monday," writes Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"The measure, crafted by a coalition of political watchdog groups, is touted as a way to improve the democratic process by prohibiting lawmakers from drawing their own district boundaries.
"Attorney
Barry Fadem, spokesman for the groups, said the state's current process for drawing boundaries, a process known as redistricting, is 'rigged and needs to be fixed.'
"'
The status quo has turned democracy on its head,' Fadem said. '
Instead of voters choosing the politicians, politicians are choosing their voters.'"
Bob Salladay reports, "Democratic political consultant Steve Maviglio, whose boss Fabian Nunez is developing another redistricting scheme in the Legislature, described the newly introduced plan as
a "poor man's American Idol."
We thought American Idol was a poor man's American Idol...
"Calling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's healthcare plan a giveaway to insurers, Democratic lawmakers and some advocates
will renew their effort today to replace the entire industry in California with a government-run health plan," reports the LAT's Jordan Rau.
"Commonly called 'single-payer,' the proposal was approved by the Legislature last year but vetoed by Schwarzenegger. The measure has gained support over the last year as a rallying point against increasing frustration with the existing system and rising concerns about Schwarzenegger's plan. With the governor's opposition still firm, legislative leaders, including the bill's sponsor, admit that pushing the measure is an academic exercise this year, but one that they hope will become concrete down the road.
"'Politicians say they're serious about health reform, but most of their solutions are not,'
Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Assn., said in radio ads in support of the single-payer measure. Schwarzenegger's plan is 'not health reform, it's a windfall for big insurance companies.'"
Why don't nurses just schmooze with Gov. Schwarzenegger?
"A state appeals court
upheld California's $3 billion stem cell program Monday, rejecting lawsuits that have tied up funding for the nation's first such research project since voters approved it in 2004," reports Bob Egelko in the Chron.
"In a 3-0 ruling, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco denied claims by opponents of embryonic stem cell research that the agency established to distribute the money suffers from built-in conflicts of interest and a lack of state supervision.
"The ruling 'speeds the day when the will of 7 million voters can be fully realized,' said
Robert Klein, author of Proposition 71 and chairman of the funding board.
"Opponents said they will probably appeal to the state Supreme Court, which would have until June to decide whether to review the case. Denial of review would allow the state to start the sale of bonds, which remains on hold until all appeals are resolved and investors can be assured of repayment."
The Chron's Mark Martin reports, "Five Western states, including California, announced an agreement Monday to
create a regional effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger touted as illustrating 'the power of states to lead our nation addressing climate change.'
"But officials with the governors of the other states -- Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon -- indicated that they were not close to adopting the same kind of strong global-warming law that California has in place. The states have largely unenforceable goals to reduce greenhouse gases, and with Arizona and New Mexico still considering building the kind of high-polluting power plants that California forbids, it was unclear how much impact the agreement would have."
Meanwhile, "California Chief Justice
Ronald George called on lawmakers Monday to repair the state's crumbling courthouses, hire more judges and increase legal services for those who can't afford to hire lawyers.
"George, the leader of the nation's largest state court system, made the funding requests in his annual state-of-the-judiciary address before a joint session of the state Senate and Assembly.
"George urged the Legislature to approve new judgeships.
"'Since the late 1980s, the number of new judgeships created in California has lagged far behind the growth in population across our state -- especially in the fast-growing Central Valley ...,' George said.
"George also wants lawmakers to approve a $2 billion bond measure to rebuild and repair county courthouses. Many are cramped, dilapidated, and outdated in terms of security, fire and earthquake safety. Some have mold problems."
The AP reports that the commission doling out transportation bond funds
has had a change of heart after intense lobbying from elected officials and the governor.
"Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa and other local elected officials had protested a California Transportation Commission funding plan, released two weeks ago, that did not include money for a car pool lane on Interstate 405 or Interstate 5.
"Yesterday, the commission's executive director,
John F. Barna, signaled a change of heart.
"In a letter to commissioners, he called for spending $730 million on the Interstate 405 widening project and $387 million on Interstate 5 upgrades.
"'
We have reconsidered projects based on consultations with many regional agencies and Caltrans,' Barna wrote in the letter."
And some serious arm-twisting...
Meanwhile, OC
got coal in its stocking. "Orange County failed to garner any more transportation dollars after state officials appeared to cave to Los Angeles' demands to dole out $1.7 billion more in available state bond funds," report Brian Joseph and Ellyn Pak in the Register.
"Staff recommended no additional money for Orange County, while recommending $789 million more to Los Angeles, including $730 million for a proposed carpool lane on northbound Interstate 405.
"'We just don't understand why they would do that,' said
Carolyn Cavecche, chairwoman of Orange County Transportation Authority. 'It is unthinkable that they're going to allocate that money and not include an Orange County project.'"
Speaking of the OC, the Register's Peggy Lowe and Martin Wiscol give the latest on a
still-disputed supervisors race in Orange County. "Calling it "a lucky seven,"
Janet Nguyen was certified by the Registrar of Voters Office as the winner of a highly contested supervisor seat Monday by seven votes.
"Nguyen edged out her Little Saigon rival
Trung Nguyen to become the first Asian-American elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
"Janet Nguyen said she hopes to take her seat on the board today, but whether supervisors will allow her to fill the empty fifth seat just yet is questionable. Trung Nguyen's campaign believes the new outcome is not valid, saying the electronic ballots cast on Election Day were not properly recounted. His attorney,
Michael Schroeder, will try to persuade the board against certifying the election pending a legal challenge.
"Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAUSD Superintendent
David Brewer made a stop at Santee Eduucation Complex, just south of Downtown LA to talk about security concerns around the school.
"But just as officials were applauding their accomplishment, they got a fresh perspective on campus security problems when
their bus got tagged.
"While the crowded Metro bus carrying Brewer, Villaraigosa and a crowd of journalists was stopped at Washington Boulevard and Maple Avenue, an unidentified youth believed to be a Santee student dashed up and scrawled graffiti on a side window.
"As word of the incident rippled through the crowd,
Villaraigosa asked that the bus be stopped to catch the tagger. Officials soon thought better of the idea, and rather than create a traffic hazard at a busy intersection, pledged to identify and deal with the student today.
"Still, the mayor was heard to say that the boy should do "a lot of community service" after being caught."
What, no spanking?
