"The Legislature on Thursday passed a sweeping spending package to ease overcrowding in California prisons but
did not tackle several problems that experts say are driving the long-running crisis," reports Jenifer Warren in the Times.
"While lawmakers celebrated their vote to add 53,000 beds to the state corrections system and boost rehabilitation for inmates, critics beyond the Capitol worried that other ideas left out of the $7.4-billion deal might be sidelined for good.
"For example, the package
excluded any effort to deal with the state's discredited parole system. Also
omitted was a commission to review California's Byzantine sentencing laws.
"A third proposal that has drawn particularly high marks from criminologists —
to move 4,500 nonviolent female offenders out of prison to correctional centers near their homes — was missing from the agreement as well.
"'This is a deal about practical politics and beds,' said
Franklin Zimring, a professor and corrections expert at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. '
So it's going to satisfy the Sealy mattress company, and that's about it.'"
The Bee's Andy Furillo writes: "But it is still a
very open question whether the plan to add 53,000 beds to the state's prison and jail systems, tied to a strong rehabilitation component,
will gain favor with three federal judges who are considering population caps to relieve California's inmate overcrowding crisis.
"
Don Specter, the directing attorney of the San Rafael-based Prison Law Office, which is representing inmate plaintiffs in all three federal cases now pending in Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland, said he is prepared to argue that the package falls short.
"'
In my opinion, it doesn't change anything,' Specter said in a telephone interview.
"Specter said he will try to persuade U.S. District Court Judges
Lawrence Karlton,
Thelton Henderson and
Claudia Wilken in hearings scheduled for June that they still should convene three-judge panels to impose population caps. In spite of Thursday's votes, Specter said, the Legislature 'failed to provide any immediate relief for what the governor concedes is an emergency' and also "failed to implement any structural reform so that the prison overcrowding crisis will abate in the future.'"
"When
this weekend's California Democratic Party convention in San Diego was announced several months ago, it generated mild interest from Democratic presidential campaigns that were hearing rumors the state might hold an early primary election," reports John Maurelius in the Union-Tribune.
"'I remember getting some e-mails from some of the top campaigns: 'Is this serious?' ' recalled Bob
Mulholland, campaign strategist for state Democrats.
"Then on March 16, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made it official by signing the bill to move next year's California presidential primary to Feb. 5. With the stroke of a pen, what had been just one more option for campaign schedulers became a command performance.
"'It really picked up after the signing,' Mulholland said. 'Everybody wanted to come.'
Seven of the eight Democratic presidential hopefuls will address delegates to the three-day gathering that begins today at the San Diego Convention Center.
"They are Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Sen.
Barack Obama of Illinois, former Sen.
John Edwards of North Carolina, Sen.
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Rep.
Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, New Mexico Gov.
Bill Richardson and former Sen.
Mike Gravel of Alaska. Sen.
Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is banking his long-shot hopes on South Carolina,
is skipping San Diego to address that southern state's Democratic convention."
What? No Biden? California--dissed again.
"The state Senate approved legislation Thursday that would
require compensation packages for top executives of the state's university systems to be voted on in public. It would also mandate that all elements of compensation be fully disclosed.
"The bill, authored by Sen.
Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, closes a loophole that allowed the University of California regents and the trustees of the California State University system to give generous compensation and perks to top employees without public debate.
"The measure comes in the wake of analysis by The Chronicle that found as much as $4 million in perks and extra compensation paid over the past 10 years to departing CSU officials without public review.
"Yee said in a statement that his bill will 'bring much-needed sunshine' to the process and 'help restore public trust.'"
The Register's Brian Joseph
laments the lax public records law that covers the Legislature and governor. "While mayors and public works directors and even the secretary of state generally are forced to make their letters public, the governor and state lawmakers don't have to.
"The result: Telling information about who's trying to influence our top officials – and what those officials are saying in return – is completely hidden from public scrutiny.
"'Of course everyone can write to the governor and the Legislature,' said public information lawyer
Terry Francke of the government watchdog Californians Aware, 'but access to the correspondence can show you who had results.'"
"Young California drivers
wouldn't be allowed to talk on cell phones or type text messages while behind the wheel under a bill approved Thursday by the state Senate," writes the Bee's Judy Lin.
"Senate Bill 33 by Sen.
Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would ban drivers younger than 18 from using cell phones or any other mobile service devices, such as walkie-talkies, pagers and personal digital assistants. Violators would be assessed a $20 fine for the first offense and a $50 fine thereafter.
"'If we just ask these kids to wait a couple of years before picking up those devices, we can save thousands of lives,' Simitian said.
"The bill passed out of the upper house on a 21-14 vote. It now goes to the Assembly."
Thankfully, under the law, if you're old enough to buy smokes, you're old enough to read The Roundup on your Blackberry while driving.
