"Backers of referendum drives to block casino expansions for four of California's richest gambling tribes
said Monday that they have delivered some 700,000 signatures for each of four proposed ballot measures," reports Peter Hecht in the Bee.
"
Al Lundeen, a spokesman for the coalition seeking to repeal the gambling agreements, said the last signatures were submitted Monday to meet a filing deadline for the Feb. 5 ballot. Some 433,971 valid signatures of registered voters are required to qualify each referendum.
"The referendum drives, bankrolled by the Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows horse racing tracks, the UNITE HERE union and the United Auburn and Pala Indian tribes, seek to stop four major Southern California casino tribes from adding a total of up to 17,000 slot machines."
"With lawmakers
unable to reach a compromise on a water bond, voters might be faced with two separate measures in November 2008 -- a Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger-backed plan that emphasizes dams and a Democratic plan that does not," reports E.J. Schultz in the Bee.
That should ensure passage of both!
"Authors of the competing water legislation raised the possibility of dueling initiatives Monday, acknowledging that the prospects of a bipartisan deal are fading.
"'We would hope we would continue to work over the next few days and find some middle ground here,' said Sen.
Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, author of the governor's proposal. But 'it's hard to see (how) we'd be able to do that.'
"His bill -- which would have put a $9.1 billion bond measure on the Feb. 5 ballot --
was defeated Monday by the Democratic-controlled Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. Instead, the committee passed a competing bill by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland."Asked if he could get the needed two GOP votes to pass the full Senate, Perata said, 'Honestly, I don't think so.'
"Even if it ekes past the Senate, the bill faces an even stiffer challenge in the Assembly, where Republicans have pledged to vote against it.
"
If the bill fails, Perata said he would pursue an outside ballot initiative because 'I will not let all this work go to waste.'"
We don't often read the editorial pages for The Roundup, but there really isn't that much news out there. The LA Times editorial board
piles on the speaker this morning in an editorial entitled Fess Up, Fabian.
"By providing details on his expenditures [on food, travel, and wine using campaign funds], the speaker can put an end to speculation that his actions were anything other than in the best interests of California. Failure to do that simply enhances the perception that the Legislature is working for shadowy special interests who can afford to gather in France around an expensive bottle of Bordeaux."
Don't any other legislators have questionable spending reports, or is it just the speaker?
Well, Dan Walters joins the piling on today, and
expands his criticism to include Don Perata.
"Perata already had a somewhat tarnished image from a years-long federal investigation into his actions as an Alameda County supervisor and state legislator, which appeared to favor certain interests and his personal financial dealings with those interests. Then last May, the East Bay Express, a local newspaper, published a very lengthy series of articles about his finances, including details of how his campaign funds were spent on what the newspaper called a "lavish lifestyle" that included hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on high-dollar meals, liquor, hotels and other merchandise and services."
If [the] left loves the legislative leaders' discomfiture, so do those on their right who oppose their measure to ease up on term limits. The Times story, the YouTube clip and other material are perfect campaign fodder for the California Term Limits Defense Fund, which had already filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission about Perata's spending and says it will file another about Núñez.
"The
relationship between the California State Employees Association and its largest affiliate figures to improve as a result of balloting that took place over the weekend in San Jose," writes the Bee's Andy Furillo.
"
Dave Hart, supported by the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, won the election for the CSEA presidency over incumbent
J.J. Jelincic. Sunday's vote among the delegates to the CSEA general council favored Hart, 539-438.
"SEIU 1000 won another victory over the weekend when the delegates approved bylaw changes that will shift power from CSEA to the affiliates. The voice vote by the delegates gave the affiliates greater degrees of autonomy long sought by SEIU 1000.
"'I think it's a new day in CSEA,' said SEIU 1000 President
Jim Hard. 'The combination of the election of Dave Hart ... and the package of bylaw improvements is going to make it very easy to work with all of the affiliates inside the association.'"
"In a move to head off election fraud, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed legislation Monday requiring county registrars to send a card to voters notifying them when papers have been filed to change their party affiliation," reports Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"Assemblyman
Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) wrote the bill after a controversy last year in which workers were paid to register new Republicans in Orange County. Later, 279 voters complained that their party affiliation had been changed without their consent.
"Voters already are notified whenever they are registered or re-registered. The notices include party affiliation but don't specifically indicate whether it has changed.
"The new law also allows the secretary of state and county elections officials to develop a better system for addressing voters' complaints of their party affiliation being changed without their knowledge."
The governor declared
a state of emergency in San Diego yesterday in the wake of a
La Jolla landslide that caused nearly $50 million in damages.
The AP reports, "The declaration clears the way for the state transportation agency to request federal assistance for cleanup and reconstruction.
"
City officials said the slide caused more than $25 million in damage to roads and public utilities. Private property losses were estimated at $22 million."
"Last week's landslide shut residents out of 111 homes overnight. Six homes that were destroyed or severely damaged remain off-limits to residents. People living in a seventh home were allowed back in with public safety escorts but will not be allowed to stay overnight."
From our
Out of His Tree Files, "Berkeley tree-sitter and former mayoral candidate
Zachary Running Wolf climbed out of the Memorial Stadium oak grove Monday to launch a recall of Mayor Tom Bates, whom he described as too conservative for the city.
Running Wolf, 44, said Bates should be recalled because of his crackdown on homelessness and his support for the University of California and high-density housing.
And from our
Oh, What a Feeling Files, "Police responded to a woman's complaint on Friday that
a naked man was repeatedly driving by in a van and masturbating.
"The woman gave police the license plate number, and records showed
the van belonged to Spokane Police Officer Sherilyn Redmon. Redmon said she left the van at a Chrysler dealership for servicing."
As it turns out, looks like more than the van got servicing...
