"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday
said he's open to a general tax increase to pay for health care for the uninsured, but will leave it to voters to decide," reports Aurelio Rojas in the Bee.
"The governor, who has adamantly opposed proposed tax hikes in the past, told a Capitol news conference, 'I never close the door on anything.'
"Schwarzenegger, who faces opposition from fellow Republicans in the Legislature who are uniformly against any new taxes,
said a 1 percent sales tax for health care proposed by the California Restaurant Association 'wasn't our idea.'"But, he said, it is '
very important that we look at all the different ideas that come from the outside and within the administration and then you put everything on the table in our discussions.'
"The governor said, however, that voters should ultimately decide whether they want their taxes raised.
"'I always like (and) feel comfortable with the idea that we do the funding mechanism through the people, through a ballot initiative,' the governor said."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that he
won't reconsider his decision to veto a bill legalizing gay marriage and will keep vetoing the measure as long as lawmakers send it to him," reports the AP.
"The Republican governor said he won't change his position unless voters overturn an anti-gay marriage initiative that Californians adopted in 2000.
"'
It would be wrong for the people to vote for something and for me to then overturn it,' Schwarzenegger said. 'So they can send this bill down as many times as they want, I won't do it.'
"The bill would redefine marriage as a civil contract between two people, but would still let religious groups refuse to sanction the unions."
"A federal judge in San Francisco
has thrown out a lawsuit that the state attorney general filed against the six largest automakers, in what had been billed as a novel attempt to hold the companies financially liable for global warming," writes the Chron's Henry Lee.
"The suit alleged that carmakers have damaged the state's natural resources and created a public nuisance by producing 'millions of vehicles that collectively emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide.' Those emissions required major expenses in firefighting and other areas, the suit said.
"But in a 24-page decision Monday, U.S. District Judge
Martin Jenkins said it would be inappropriate for the court to wade into the 'global warming thicket' as it pertained to interstate commerce and foreign policy - matters he said should be left to the political branches of government.
"'In this case, by seeking to impose damages for the defendant automakers' lawful worldwide sale of automobiles, plaintiff's nuisance claims sufficiently implicate the political branches' powers over interstate commerce and foreign policy,' Jenkins wrote."
"State legislation
to ban the butter-flavored chemical used in microwavable popcorn certainly seemed to have the necessary votes to pass out of the state Senate last Tuesday, reports the Bee's Shane Goldmacher.
"For eight minutes, the bill had received a majority of support in both the state Assembly and Senate. It was all but headed for the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, the bill made a U-turn, thanks to a deft parliamentary maneuver by a Republican senator that left the majority Democrats outflanked and the legislation stalled until 2008.
"The chemical in question, diacetyl, has been linked to lung disease in popcorn plant workers. In recent weeks, the first report surfaced of a consumer potentially contracting bronchiolitis obliterans, better known as "popcorn lung," from the fumes of microwaving popcorn.
"'
We were all of a sudden confronted with a vote that was 20-20, which meant that it could be broken by the lieutenant governor, and I just was not comfortable with (that),' said
[George] Runner, who originally voted against the bill. So Runner says he switched his vote to break the tie, passing the measure by a razor-thin margin, 21-19.
"Why? Because as a supporter of the measure, Runner could ask for 'reconsideration' or a revote -- and he did less than 10 minutes later."
And, after the vote was expunged, it wasn't voted on again...
Fees at CSU schools may be going up, but
executives are getting a hefty payhike, reports the Chron's Jim Doyle.
"The governing board of the California State University system is poised to award pay increases averaging 11.8 percent to Chancellor Charles Reed, his four chief deputies and 23 campus presidents as part of a plan to significantly boost their salaries over the next few years.
"The Board of Trustees meets today and Wednesday in Long Beach, and chairwoman
Roberta Achtenberg has signaled her
intent to raise the executive salaries about 46 percent over the next four years."
"Physician-assisted suicide advocates - unable to pass legislation and short on cash to push a statewide ballot initiative -
will announce today the creation of a consultation service to offer information to the terminally ill and even provide volunteers for those who would like someone to be present when committing suicide," writes Steve Geissinger in the Merc News.
"'Volunteers will neither provide nor administer the means for aid in dying,' said The Rev.
John Brooke, a United Church of Christ minister from Cotati and one of the organizers of the new End of Life Consultation Service. "We will not break or defy the law."
"But
Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, part of an opposition coalition, said it sounded like formation of 'California death squads' to him.
"Thomasson, pointing to laws against suicide, called for an investigation by authorities once the consultation service begins.
"Representatives of the new End of Life Consultation Service say they will advise the terminally ill on how to better access pain treatment and end-of-life care. Clergy and trained volunteer counselors also will advise the terminally ill against violent suicide, instead helping identify a path to a peaceful death."
And it looks like the new
Donald Bren School of Law has a new dean after all.
"UC Irvine's chancellor tried to salvage the reputation of his fledgling law school Monday by announcing that he had reinstated
Erwin Chemerinsky as its founding dean, but his own troubles persisted as faculty members continued to question why he had sacked the liberal scholar and contemplated taking action against their university's leader.
"According to Chemerinsky, [Chancellor
Michael] Drake had said he was pulling back the job offer because of pressure from conservatives over his outspoken liberal politics. The chancellor denied it."
For those of you unfamiliar with Bren or Chemerinsky, just so you can appreciate the irony, it would be sort of like Sean Hannity being named dean of the Lenny Bruce school of communications.As the eminent domain wars continue outside the Capitol,
the woman who runs the Capitol basement cafeteria won her battle to get her restaurant back, after it was seized using eminent domain.
"
Texas Mexican, a popular Sacramento Downtown restaurant and catering business for more than 15 years, will reopen the doors at its original location near 8th and K Streets after being forced to shut down by the City's Redevelopment Agency last year," according to a press release sent out yesterday.
"The restaurant is slated to open in Mid-November in time for the Holiday season. 'We are coming back--pass the word!' Griselda said.
And if you thought California lawmakers filed frivolous lawsuits, take a look at Nebraska, where
a legislator has filed a suit against God.
"State Sen.
Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
"
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused 'widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants.'"
"He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty."
