"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's bombshell plan to slash the pay of state workers
and lay off thousands of other employees to ease a
looming cash shortage brought on by the state's budget impasse faces the same obstacle that arose five years ago during
a state fiscal crisis: a state controller unwilling to cooperate," writes Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"While the governor is poised to order the cuts on Monday,
state Controller John Chiang, who is responsible for disbursing state workers' paychecks, said Thursday that he will refuse to go
along with the governor, setting up a political standoff
and a possible legal fight.
"'The authority to issue people's paychecks is mine. I have both constitutional and
statutory authority,' said Chiang, a Democrat. 'Frankly, (the governor) is just trying to make me do something that's improper and illegal.'"
And that, dear reader, is how a governor can make an
invisible politician and political job relevant.
"But the Republican administration maintained that Schwarzenegger
has the legal right to invoke such a controversial
plan, under which the pay of about 200,000 state workers would be reduced to the federal minimum
wage of $6.55 an hour. Once a new budget is passed, the workers' pay would be restored along with back wages.
"'We are on firm legal standing,' said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor. 'But if (the controller) wants to challenge the state Constitution and a state
Supreme Court decision, he has the right to do that.'"
"State workers chanted Thursday outside the Capitol to assail Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to pay 200,000 state employees the federal minimum wage until a budget is signed, providing some of the most
compelling budget-related scenes of angry Californians this year," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"It may have been what the governor wanted all along,
even if they shouted his name in disgust.
"The governor's draft executive order to withhold a portion of state
workers' pay, obtained Wednesday by The Bee, has generated
public attention for the state's budget situation in a way that months of Schwarzenegger
town halls never could.
"Whether Schwarzenegger's attempt to up the ante will prove effective is another
question. The logic he's employing goes something like this: If more people feel pain from a prolonged budget delay,
lawmakers will be pressured – or shamed – into compromise.
"'When a president does this, they call it the 'Washington Monument strategy,' ' said Dan Schnur, new director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics
at the University of Southern California and a former
GOP strategist. 'The idea is that if the American public sees the Washington
Monument being shut down because of a budget stalemate,
people are going to be a lot more upset because the
consequences are so visible. We don't have a Washington Monument here, so this is the next
best thing.'"
The Bee's John Hill talks to retired annuitants and part-time state workers that would be laid off under the governor's plan.
Dan Walters doesn't think the governor's threat helps matters.
"Any budget that would be passed quickly would, more
than likely, be another get-out-of-town budget loaded with accounting gimmicks and up-front and back-door borrowing that would not truly close the deficit.
Schwarzenegger insists he doesn't want that kind of budget, that he wants a permanent
solution, including "budget reform" that would include a spending cap and a reserve to
cushion future revenue shortfalls.
"That's a bitter pill for Democrats and their pro-spending allies to swallow, just as Republicans aren't willing to drink the political Kool-aid of new taxes. It's a big, fat mess, but the governor doesn't help solve it by threatening to jerk the financial
props out from under tens of thousands of state workers.
He merely reinforces his already strong reputation
for ineffective bluster."
"Backers of a November initiative to ban same-sex marriage in California plan to tell voters in the
state ballot pamphlet that the constitutional amendment
would protect children as young as kindergarten age
from being taught in school about the virtues of gay
and lesbian matrimony," reports Bob Egelko in the Chron.
"'If the gay marriage ruling is not overturned, teachers
will be required to teach young children there is no
difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage,' supporters of Proposition 8 said in ballot arguments that went on public display
this week at the secretary of state's office.
"It's all nonsense and scare tactics, opponents of the
measure said Thursday. Steve Smith, strategist for the No on 8 campaign, said opponents of the measure will decide
by next week whether to sue, which is the only way
a ballot argument can be changed before the election.
"The argument represents an attempt by opponents of
same-sex marriage to open a new front in the Prop. 8 campaign, although the interplay between gay rights
and educational standards in California has surfaced
before. Religious conservatives have sued in federal
court to overturn a state law that took effect this
year prohibiting public schools from discriminating
because of sexual orientation or identity."
"California regulators adopted the world's toughest pollution rules for oceangoing vessels Thursday, vowing to improve the health of coastal residents
and opening a new front in a long battle with the international
shipping industry," reports the LAT's Margot Roosevelt.
"The rules, which take effect in 2009, would require ships within 24 nautical miles of California to burn low-sulfur diesel instead of the tar-like sludge known as bunker fuel. About 2,000 vessels would be affected, including container ships,
oil tankers and cruise ships.
"California's new regulation will have a global effect: 43% of all marine freight imported into the United States,
much of it from Asia, moves through the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach.
"California 'needs to act now,' Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said. 'We've known for years that a large percentage of onshore
pollution comes from activities in the water. Our ports
need to expand and modernize, but the adjacent communities
are not willing to tolerate the health risks.'"
"Solo drivers would be able to a pay a toll for the privilege of
using carpool lanes to speed their commutes on a dozen highways from
the South Bay to Sonoma and east under a plan approved
Wednesday by Bay Area transportation officials," reports Rachel Gordon in the Chron.
"The system would be phased in over nearly two decades,
starting in late 2010 or early 2011, and the first pilot projects would open on two congested
corridors: southbound Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade and both directions of Interstate
580 between Livermore and the I-680 interchange, according to the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission, a regional planning and funding agency,
which is coordinating the plan.
"Eventually, the toll-lane network would be expanded to cover nearly 800 of the region's 1,200 miles of freeway lanes.
"The price of the tolls hasn't been decided, but it could start out at a couple
of dimes per mile. Motorists would use FasTrak transponders
to pay.
"The region-wide project along segments of 12 highways would cost an estimated $3.7 billion to build. Officials anticipate the system
will generate more than $6 billion in 25 years - enough money to cover the project's expenses and produce additional cash for other roadway
and transit improvements."
And finally, from our Something's Fishy Files, The Times of London reports, "In an effort to produce the
most delicious sushi in the world, Japanese tuna are to be given acupuncture.
"The company in Osaka that patented the technique claimed
that calm tuna
thrashed about less in their death throes. Once the
fish have received the
brief treatment the blood becomes purer and the flesh
has a better flavour,
Toshiro Urabe, the president of the Osakana Planning
Company, said."
