"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday declared a drought emergency in nine Central Valley
counties from Sacramento to Kern, ordering state agencies to carry out creative water
deliveries to help," reports Matt Weiser in the Bee.
"The counties, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley,
have been hard-hit by the drought and the situation is expected to
worsen. Thursday's announcement follows the governor's statewide drought declaration last week, the first
since 1991.
"Fresno County has already reported impacts of $73 million to its farm sector, while Kern has measured
a $100 million hit, said Lester Snow, director of the state
Department of Water Resources. No data were available
for Sacramento County.
"The emergency order directs DWR and the state Water
Resources Control Board to expedite water transfers
between agencies. The state Office of Emergency Services
was directed to use disaster funds to help local agencies
drill new wells or improve existing wells.
"DWR will also work with private landowners to divert
well water into the California Aqueduct. For example,
Westlands Water District may pump well water from the
north end of its 60-mile-long territory to serve farmers at its southern end
who have lost access to canal water."
"Opponents of same-sex marriage asked the California Court of Appeal today to put on
hold a ruling that permits gays to marry next week, a move that supporters of the ruling quickly belittled
as frivolous and certain to fail," reports Maura Dolan in the Times.
"The California Supreme Court, which approved same-sex nuptials in a historic ruling May 15, already has refused to delay the effective date of
its decision. Opponents wanted the court to postpone
the ruling's effect until after a November ballot initiative to
limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. The ruling becomes law June 16 at 5 p.m.
"The 1st District Court of Appeal, which had ruled 2-1 against same-sex marriage, is bound by the Supreme Court's decision.
OK, we're confused. Since when can a state appeals court hear
an appeal of a Supreme Court decision?
"San Francisco City Atty., whose office helped litigate
the marriage case, called the petition 'beyond frivolous . . . absurd.'
"'I am not aware of a process that enables parties to
effectively appeal a higher court ruling to a lower
court,' Herrera said.
So, we're not the only ones...
"But Liberty Counsel, the group that filed the petition
on behalf of sponsors of the November marriage initiative,
said the Court of Appeal procedurally regains the case
on June 16 and could issue a stay."
Meanwhile, the Bee reports that gay couples may rush down the aisle between June 16 and the November election, the U-T writes the bio on Supreme Court chief Ronald George, who wrote the decision and faces confirmation in
two years.
"how did a jurist, appointed and promoted by
law-and-order Republican governors, create a legacy of expanding
civil
rights for gays and abortion rights for girls?
Reluctantly.
“The hot-button issues come to our court and they come up on
the political track before voters,” he said, in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “We don't duck those issues, but we don't seek them out either.”
Meanwhile, the Times reports that the Kern County
clerk is under attack for her decision to halt all marriage
ceremonies in her office.
The LAT's Patrick McGreevy writes that the days of free tickets for politicians may be coming
to an end.
"The grinch who would restrict the freebies going to
politicians is Ross Johnson, a former Orange County
state senator who some would say has turned against
his kind since he became chairman of the state Fair
Political Practices Commission.
"On Thursday, Johnson sided with the commission staff
on a proposal to limit free tickets for officials to
cases in which their attendance at an event serves
a legitimate public purpose. The gifts should be curtailed,
Johnson said.
"That set politicians howling. The Rose Parade tickets
are "reasonable," objected the city attorney for Pasadena. Angels tickets
used by the Anaheim mayor do not provide undue influence,
said the top lawyer for the Orange County city.
"Johnson is unpersuaded.
"'These are gifts that are going to elected officials
and others in these communities, and I think the public
is largely unaware of that,' he said. 'There not only are situations that I would consider
to be abusive today; the potential for far greater abuse is there as well.'"
"Even a sour economy and a budget shortfall can't put a serious crimp on California state government
hiring, according to a Sacramento Bee analysis of payroll
databases," writes John Hill in the Bee.
"The reasons are as varied as the government's many missions.
"The Department of Water Resources is hiring for bond
programs approved by voters two years ago.
"Health Care Services is employing information technology
workers instead of letting contracts to private companies.
"The state's pension system, meanwhile, hired customer service
workers to handle the growing workload from other state
workers ready to retire.
"The end result: the number of permanent, full-time state workers grew from 195,000 in January 2007 to 206,000 last month, according to an analysis of payroll databases
provided by the state controller's office. The numbers do not include higher education."
"Six prominent political figures and elected officials,
including retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), have canceled commencement speeches at three UC campuses
because of a continuing labor dispute, university officials and union leaders said Thursday," reports Richard Paddock in the Times.
"The six Democrats, including former President Clinton and former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, canceled their appearances to show support for 20,000 healthcare and service employees who have been working
at UC campuses for many months without a contract.
"'I am disappointed that I will not be able to be a commencement
speaker, but I won't cross the picket line,' said Clark, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate
who was scheduled to speak at UCLA. "The students who are graduating, along with their parents
who support them, should be congratulated on their
achievement. My hope is this will come to a resolution
very soon."
"The workers, members of the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, say they are
paid 25% less than workers who hold similar jobs at community
colleges and private hospitals. UC and the union have
been negotiating a new contract since last year without
success, and the union has voted to strike if its demands
are not met."
Greg Lucas celebrates the convening of the budget conference committee.
"It’s a laborious
and often-tedious job reconciling the budget prepared by the
Senate
with that of the Assembly and then turning it into
one document. It’s
task that won’t be completed within the next three days, let alone
three weeks, perhaps three months.
"Although he has
insisted he won’t raise taxes, the GOP governor was surprisingly silent
when legislative Democrats unveiled their premised-on-tax-increases
pseudo budgets.
"Schwarzenegger’s
GOP predecessor, Pete Wilson, would have unleashed
a torrent of
invective, called Democrats to heel and shown his GOP
allies he wasn’t
caving in.
"Schwarzenegger’s
silence contributes to the length of time it will take
before the
conference committee completes its work. The sooner
the governor
signals a proposal is unacceptable, the sooner Democrats
abandon it and
try something else."
From our JibJab to Sucker Punch Files, our award for
most creative use of video goes to the Workers' Comp Executive newsletter, which took advantage of some free online software to take
a shot at the chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee.
The video was used to make a point about SB 1145, a bill which has "had a relatively easy ride through the both houses
despite serious
flaws in the open meeting provisions that will do little
to keep the
scandal plagued carrier honest," they write.
The item then invites readers to "see the tap dance State Workers Compensation Fund Jeannie
Cain performed with Senator Mike Machado while creating
the legislation."
The guv and guvette land on the front page of the New York Times for their differing
political views.
"The lawn of their Brentwood home has dueling campaign
signs. The
breakfast table has become a casual debating society.
Ms. Shriver is
even threatening to bring a life-size cutout of her preferred candidate
into the house, something the governor has seen her
do in other
elections. “When one of the candidates screws up,” Mr. Schwarzenegger
said of the cutouts, “the kids carry them outside.”
Could you imagine if every disagreement you had with
your spouse was front-page news?
"“Clearly we made out better as a party,” said Emily DeRose, the spokeswoman for the Arizona
Democratic Party,
who is newly married to a Republican supporter of Mr.
McCain. “I love
Maria Shriver, I read her book, and I just really admire
her. Him,
well, I like his movies.”
And from our Personal Responsibility Files, Reuters
reports, "Thousands of problem gamblers in Canada
have launched a $3.5 billion class action
lawsuit in Ontario, saying they were allowed into provincially
run casinos despite signing up for a program that should have
denied them entry.
"According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp's website, the
suit was filed earlier this week in Toronto, claiming the
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. did not fully enforce a "self
exclusion" program that allows problem gamblers to ban
themselves from casinos."
One has to wonder just what these people would do with
the money if they somehow win this case...
