"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told hundreds of Latino journalists Wednesday that immigrants who want to learn English more quickly
should shun various forms of Spanish-language media," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"'
You've got to turn off the Spanish television set,' Schwarzenegger said at the 25th annual National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention, which included many who produce Spanish-language material.
"'
It's that simple. You've got to learn English,' he said. '
I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in trouble. But I know that when I came to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone.'"
The LAT's Louis Sahagun
continues the story: "He added: '
Even in the state capital, so many Latinos speak Spanish all the time.'
"
Sara Shakir, managing news producer of Radio Bilingue Inc., a national Latino public radio network based in Fresno, was among those who couldn't believe he would say that, given the audience.
"'Here he was, sitting in front of hundreds of journalists whose job it is to create information for people in the language they understand, and reflects their diversity and cultural heritage,' she said, 'and saying, 'Let's obliterate all that.' '
"
Cecilia Alvear, a former TV news producer, was only half kidding when she said, "What? And give up my telenovelas?" referring to Spanish-language soap operas. '
His message seems to be, 'Let's be monolingual,' ' Alvear said."
Capitol Weekly reports, "The Senate Rules committee is
holding up the confirmation of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's top labor negotiator in
an effort to kick-start contract negotiations between the state and the prison-guards union."The decision to delay a vote on David Gilb's confirmation as head of the state Department of Personnel Administration came after a three-hour hearing last week in which Gilb was grilled by Democrats and Republicans alike. Gilb must win Senate confirmation by July 1 or step down.
"In the end, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, who chairs the Rules Committee, told Gilb to return next Wednesday, June 20, when his nomination will be put to a vote.
"
But some of the harshest criticism, surprisingly, came from Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield. Ashburn was particularly miffed that negotiations seem headed toward a formal impasse."'
We don't have an agreement, and we're off into Never Never Land now as a result of your decision,' Ashburn said.
"At another point, Ashburn attacked Gilb for seeming to offer contradictory answers to some of the questions coming from the panel.
'My god, you're here for confirmation. You've got this major issue hanging over your head. Every word that you say is being analyzed. And now the explanation is, 'Oops, I made a mistake.' No wonder we can't get an agreement.'"
"The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions -- state deputy political director -- and
has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers," writes Carla Marinucci in the Chron.
"
Christopher Matthews, 35, a Canadian citizen, has worked for the state GOP as a campaign consultant since 2004. But he recently was hired as full-time deputy political director, with responsibility for handling campaign operations and information technology for the country's largest state Republican Party operation, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring confirmed in a telephone interview this week.
"In the nation's most populous state -- which has produced a roster of nationally known veteran political consultants -- '
it's insulting but also embarrassing ... to bring people from the outside who don't know the difference between Lodi and Lancaster ... and who can't even vote,' said
Karen Hanretty, a political commentator and former state GOP party spokeswoman."
Party chair
Ron "Nehring said he met Matthews while overseeing a campaign school in Calgary, Alberta, 'and when the recall started, Chris said he wanted to come down and be part of it.'
"Matthews spent a month as a volunteer and in 2004 began work as a paid consultant to the San Diego County Republican Central Committee, party officials said."
"Schwarzenegger told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday that a
state lawsuit over California's request to enforce its own vehicle-emissions controls 'now appears to be inevitable,'" writes Frank Davies in the Merc News.
"In 2005, the state officially sought a waiver under the Clean Air Act to enact its own regulations. EPA Administrator
Stephen Johnson said last week that he has not set a date for deciding whether to grant the request.
"At the same time, Johnson said he will not decide until late 2008 whether the EPA will come up with its own regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. In a letter to the EPA, Schwarzenegger interpreted that to mean that California faces a similar delay.
"In April, the governor began a 180-day process under the Clean Air Act notifying the EPA of the state's intent to sue in federal court if it does not receive the waiver. The state plans to sue when that period ends Oct. 22, Schwarzenegger said."
CW's John Howard reports on
an environmental showdown that has moved into the state budget battle. "A classic dispute before the Air Resources Board, pitting environmentalists against builders over a multibillion-dollar plan to cut diesel pollution, has gone beyond the confines of the ARB and is spilling over into the state budget and the highest levels of the Schwarzenegger administration.
"
Environmentalists have successfully pushed into the 2007-08 Senate budget version a provision that requires builders, with some exceptions, who win new infrastructure-construction contracts to use specially approved exhaust filters to block harmful diesel emissions. The language could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars--directly from the pockets of equipment owners."'The point here is to make sure the state is not subsidizing the use of high-polluting equipment in areas that are going to have a lot of impact on the public,' said Kathryn Phillips, an air-quality advocate for Environmental Defense. 'We think it makes sense that equipment used on bond-financed construction sites should be clean,' adding that language also proposes $20 million annually to defray the costs of modifying the equipment."
"Legislation by Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez to
increase fees on California motorists by nearly $167 million each year to pay for cleaner air breezed through the Assembly with little debate and even less fanfare," reports the Chron's Matthew Yi.
"The legislation, AB118, in part is Núñez's answer to voters' defeat in November of Proposition 87, a proposed $4 billion tax on oil production over a decade that the speaker supported as a way to jump-start development of environment-friendly fuels to replace gasoline.
"Prop. 87 arguably was the most contentious initiative on the ballot. Both sides -- primarily big oil versus Hollywood mogul
Stephen Bing -- spent a combined $156 million in television and radio ads that began months before the election.
"AB118, on the other hand, zipped through the Assembly on June 5 with less than two minutes of debate on a largely party-line vote of 48-29. The bill is now in the hands of the state Senate."
"Hoping to prevent tragedies such as the April slaughter at Virginia Tech in which a mentally ill gunman killed 32 students and teachers,
a state mental health commission will vote today on a four-year, $60 million initiative that would expand suicide and violence-prevention programs at schools and colleges across California," writes Judy Lin in the Bee.
"The proposal, which is expected to be approved by the 12-member Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, would provide peer-to-peer support, training and awareness in K-12 classrooms and public higher education institutions.
"'It shouldn't take a tragedy like Virginia Tech to compel action, but there can be a silver lining out of such a horrible tragedy,' said Sen.
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, author of Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act."
"After a decade of planning and an estimated $40 million spent, California's dream of 2 1/2-hour rail trips between San Francisco and Los Angeles
is stalled at the station this month -- and some say may never come true -- as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators tussle over funding," reports the Bee's Tony Bizjak.
"Schwarzenegger turned the project planning on its ear last month by proposing a minimalist $5.2 million budget next year for the High Speed Rail Authority.
"High-speed rail officials had asked for $103 million to do detailed engineering work and start buying land for the rail right of way.
"
Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the High Speed Rail Authority, contends the governor's proposal could be a death sentence for bullet trains in California.
"The project is for all practical purposes dead," he said. '
We might as well close shop. Having our office open serves no public purpose.'"
And finally, CW's Malcolm Maclachlan
looks at the mandatory pet spaying and neutering bill from an, er, unique angle.
"If anyone stands to gain financially from the AB 1634, California's mandatory spay-neuter bill, it's Gregg Miller. The Missouri-based inventor has sold nearly a
quarter-million pairs of Neuticles since late 1995. These are prosthetic testicles used to replace the real thing, mainly in dogs."The neuticles serve no medical purpose, but have caught on as a cosmetic fad among owners of neutered dogs.
"But while he stands to profit from the bill if it passes, Miller said he is still against the bill.
"'
If anyone knows testicles, after 13 years, I know testicles,' Miller said. 'If you neuter at four months, you're going to have some sickly, puny dogs running around California.'
"Miller sells about 20,000 pairs of neuticals per year. "He now sells them in several different sizes, ranging from cats and small dogs to big dogs and bulls. He's even made Neuticles for
prairie dogs, water buffalo, a rhesus monkey in Pocahontas, Ark., and lab rats at Louisiana State University.
