"Republican lawmakers Thursday rejected a $7 billion plan to add 10,000 new health care beds to California's prison system, an action Democrats predicted will lead to early
inmate releases and a gaping new budget hole," reports Andy Furillo in the Bee.
"The plan, conceived by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
federal receiver J. Clark Kelso, was intended to help the state provide constitutional
levels of health care to prisoners in two federal class-action cases.
"It called for the state to issue $6.9 billion in bonds to build the 10,000 beds.
"Kelso, who has judicial authority to address the problem,
said in a letter Thursday that he will get the money
with or without lawmakers' approval – even if it means taking it directly from California's already cash-strapped budget.
"He said he needs $70 million out of the general fund "immediately," another $3.43 billion in the 2008-09 fiscal year, $2 billion in 2009-10 and $1.5 billion in 2010-11.
"'In order to correct the health care related unconstitutional
conditions which plague California's prisons, the receiver requires immediate access to
these funds to effectuate timely and cost-effective remedial action,' Kelso said in the letter.
"Republicans said they needed to shoot down Senate Bill
1665 because it represented only a partial solution to
California's prison overcrowding crisis."
"Conservative groups that want the state Supreme Court
to delay same-sex marriages in California until voters decide whether
to reinstate a ban on those marriages in November ran into opposition Thursday from Attorney General
Jerry Brown, whose office defended the ban in court, writes the
Chron's Bob Egelko.
"A week after the 4-3 ruling striking down the law that allowed only opposite-sex couples to marry, Brown's office urged the court to let its ruling take effect
in 30 days, as scheduled, despite the possibility that it
would be undone later by a ballot measure.
"'It is time for these proceedings to end,' said Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general, in a court filing.
Now that the court has decided that gay and lesbian
couples have the right to marry, he said, they are
entitled to 'an effective declaration of their constitutional rights,
one that is implemented by government without unjustified
delay.'
"Under the current schedule, county clerks' offices across the state will start issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples on June 17. But conservative religious and legal organizations
have asked the court to reconsider the ruling and suspend
its effect until the Nov. 3 election, when a state constitutional amendment to
prohibit same-sex marriages is likely to be on the ballot.
"'The people of California have a constitutional right
to vote on marriage, and we trust the high court will
respect the democratic process,' said attorney Glen Lavy of the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed a request
for a stay Wednesday on behalf of the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund, sponsor of a previous
ballot measure banning same-sex marriage."
Meanwhile, with the Chron's website redesign yesterday, we missed these results
of the Field Poll.
The Chron's Charles Burress reports: "In the battle over two state propositions on Tuesday's ballot that would restrict government seizure of
private property, nearly a majority of California voters support the
more limited Proposition 99 while giving thumbs down to Proposition 98, which would abolish rent control, according to a
Field Poll released today.
"A survey of 660 likely voters conducted May 17-26 found 48 percent favoring Prop. 99, with 30 percent opposed and 22 percent undecided, according to the poll results.
Those supporting Prop. 98 stood at 33 percent, with 43 percent opposed and 24 percent undecided.
"Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said he'd give Prop. 99 a better than even chance of passing. He noted that
it still lacks the needed majority of voters and that
most undecided voters end up voting no on state propositions,
but he said that he nevertheless expects enough undecided
voters to vote yes."
And it looks like our troops are finally coming from -- from border patrol. The U-T's Leslie Berestein reports, "After two years spent supporting the Border
Patrol, performing jobs that have included surveillance,
air
transportation, building and fixing border fence and
repairing roads,
the National Guard begins pulling out Sunday, with
the last of the
personnel leaving in July
"Their work was part of a Bush administration
project dubbed Operation Jump Start, begun with the
idea that the
National Guard's assistance with nonenforcement jobs would allow the
Border Patrol to use more of its agents for patrol
while it went about
boosting its staff to 18,000.
"As many as 6,000 guardsmen, some just back home
from overseas deployment, volunteered along the southern
border the
first year, with about 1,200 of those in California. Their numbers were
halved last year as the operation wound down."
"Already barred from lighting up in restaurants, theaters
and the office, Californians may also be banned from smoking in their apartments under a proposal passed by the state Senate on Thursday," report Patrick McGreevy and Nancy Vogel in the Times.
"The measure would allow landlords to prohibit smoking
in apartment buildings they own to protect nonsmoking
tenants from secondhand smoke.
"The legislation is among a slew of worker protection
and consumer protection bills that advanced this week
in the state Legislature, including bids to restrict
lead in lipstick and toys, require nutritional information
on restaurant menus, protect workers from discipline
for using marijuana for medical purposes and bar dentists
from arranging credit for patients while they are under
the influence of anesthesia.
"In a year when the state is wrestling with a huge budget
deficit, the Legislature has largely shelved non-urgent bills that add to state costs in favor of those
that help consumers and whose costs are absorbed by
the private sector.
"'This year, consumer protection bills are getting an
added emphasis, given the limitations presented by
the budget,' said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima).
"Padilla is the author of SB 1598, which would permit landlords to impose the smoking
ban. California already prohibits smoking in many public
places, including playgrounds, concert halls and some
beaches."
In other sausage factory news, "California's massive public employees pension system could help
secure financial futures for millions of private workers under legislation approved Thursday by the Assembly.
"The measure, Assembly Bill 2940, calls for the California Public Employees' Retirement System to oversee a separate and voluntary
investment program for private workers.
"No other state operates such a system, which is designed
to assist 6 million Californians – 41 percent of the state's work force – whose employers do not offer a pension or retirement
plan.
"'This is a golden opportunity for all working Californians,' said Assemblyman Kevin de León, a Los Angeles Democrat who proposed the bill.
"Opponents counter that the state has no business competing
with private industry. "Trust me, there is nothing innovative about the idea
of letting government take over when the private sector
is perfectly capable,' said Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia."
The Assembly and Senate both passed bills that would limit new home construction
in high-risk fire zones.
The Press-Enterprise's Jim Miller reports, " Motivated by
recent disastrous Southern California fires, the measures
-- one in the
state Senate, the other in the Assembly -- mark the most significant
attempt by lawmakers to push for the same type of state
oversight of
building in fire-prone wildland that exists for building in places with
questionable water supplies or flood risk.
"Gov. Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the
legislation.
Given Thursday's action, it is likely that at least one of the measures
will make it to the governor's desk before lawmakers adjourn Aug. 31.
"Schwarzenegger
is likely to face intense lobbying to veto the legislation.
The
California Chamber of Commerce has classified one of
the bills, AB
2447, as a "job killer." The building industry, foresters and local
government groups also oppose the measures.
Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, the author of the bill, said
the state is spending too much money providing fire-protection services
for homes that never should have been allowed in the
first place."
From our Beyond the Taco Truck Files, now that he doesn't have to spend time watching over the classroom, speaker
emeritus Fabian Núñez writes an op-ed in the Bee urging the Legislature to consider the
governor's lottery plan.
"Given the bad choices before us, the governor's lottery plan deserves consideration and improvement,
rather than instant dismissal. We don't have that luxury. The governor's lottery plan is a lot like one of those temporary
spare tires. It isn't as pretty as it could be, it's not designed to last forever and you have to be careful
with how you go forward with it. But used properly,
it can prevent damage and get you to the place where
long-term repairs can be made. That's what California needs right now."
Spare tire? Sounds more like the classic first marriage.
"The fight between John Benoit and Russ Bogh, who once sat a few feet apart in the Assembly and
rarely differed on issues, has grown so acrimonious
that they are practically accusing one another of criminal
acts, writes the LAT's Nancy Vogel.
"The battle has escalated with a flurry of attack ads
aired against Benoit by a group called Desert Taxpayers
for Truth, which has not fully revealed its donors
or organizers. Benoit, in turn, has filled voters' mailboxes with brochures that accuse Bogh of using
his office to help his family business.
"The men are vying to fill a state Senate seat held
by Jim Battin (R-La Quinta), who will be ousted in December by term limits. The
primary election winner is practically guaranteed a
seat in November because Republican voters dominate
the 37th Senate District, which covers half of Riverside
County.
"'They both want the job so badly they're willing to be nasty trying to get it,' said David Peters, 41, an algebra teacher and school board member from Hemet
who is the third Republican in the race. He advocates
laws to increase disclosures to home buyers about their
financial obligations.
"Bogh, 38, served six years in the Assembly but was forced by
term limits to leave in 2006. He once directed the Inland Empire office for former
Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and now works as a vice
president for his family's business, Bogh Construction.
"Benoit, 56, worked for more than three decades in law enforcement
and retired in 2000 as a California Highway Patrol captain. His Assembly
term will end in December."
Speaking of nasty races, we nominate this ad for the top hit pieces of the
campaign.
For those YouTube-challenged readers, the basic point of the ad is that
Assembly candidate Isadore Hall loves child molesters and has transformed your neighbor
into one. Or something like that.
That ad, like many of the nastiest hits, was done with
independent expenditure money. The Chron's John Wildermuth reports that IEs are now doing most of the dirty work for campaigns
up and down the state.
"Mailboxes across the Bay Area
and throughout the state are being stuffed full of
nasty mailers taking
final sharp jabs at candidates up for office in Tuesday's primary
election.
"But most of the multicolored attack pieces aren't from candidates
taking on their opponents by name. They are bought
and paid for by
special interests that use independent expenditure
committees to do the
dirty work for the candidates they support.
"Voters don't like candidates who go negative, but they tend to
remember those attacks, so campaigns try to find someone
else to be the
bad guy, said Dan Schnur, a GOP political analyst with
a long history
in California politics.
"'In a presidential campaign, you get your running mate
to take the
low road, while in state races, you rely on the IE's,' he said. 'But
it's the same idea, with the candidates trying to protect
themselves
from voter backlash.'
"The California Teachers
Association and other education groups charged that
a new independent
expenditure television ad unfairly reports that Assemblyman Mark Leno,
a candidate for a state Senate seat representing Marin
County and parts
of San Francisco and Sonoma County, joined with Republicans
in 2004 to
cut school spending.
"'It's a cheap shot and teachers were shocked,' said Larry Allen, a
CTA board member. 'We supported that cut as the best deal we could get
and endorsed Leno. But the ad leads people in a certain
way.'"
The file on former Orange County Sheriff Mike Corona
keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. The LAT's Stuart Pfeiffer and Christine Hanley report, "Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona talked
to a former top
assistant about "cleansing" the department's reserve-deputy files of
information he did not want federal prosecutors to
find, the government
alleges in a court filing Thursday.
"The filing came in response to U.S. District Judge
Andrew J. Guilford's
request that prosecutors provide more specific details
about one of the
witness-tampering charges in Carona's upcoming corruption trial.
"The court filing alleges Carona and former Assistant
Sheriff Donald
Haidl discussed doctoring files from the department's reserve program.
"Carona was indicted in October on charges he sold access
to his
office for cash and gifts and that he tampered with
potential
witnesses. He has pleaded not guilty and vowed to prove
his innocence
at trial."
And finally, a woman in Japan has given 'coming out of the closet' a whole new meaning.
The AP reports, "A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year
was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when
food mysteriously
began disappearing.
"Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top
compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing,
police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya
town said Friday.
"The woman told police she had no place to live and
first sneaked into the man's house about a year ago when he left it unlocked.
She had moved a mattress into the small closet space
and even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman
'neat and clean.'"
