The Bee's Andy Furillo drew the short straw and reads Props. 5, 6 and 9 so you don't have to.
"Together, Propositions 5, 6 and 9 cover 115 pages, would change scores
of laws and would affect billions of dollars in state
spending.
"On Nov. 4, voters will decide whether to drastically change
the way the state prosecutes drug addicts and the lower-level property crimes they commit, to the tune of diverting
an estimated 18,000 offenders from prison into treatment programs. That's the basic thrust of Proposition 5.
"They're also being asked to give local law enforcement more
money, protect what funds they already get, and toughen
laws aimed at street gang members, methamphetamine
cookers and serious ex-cons who possess guns in public. Those are the basics
of Proposition 6.
"The third measure seeks to put victims at or near the
center of the entire criminal justice process and give
them a constitutional right to participate in plea
bargaining and parole decisions. It also wants to make
life-term inmates wait 15 years between parole hearings, stop early inmate releases
and have counties build tent jails to handle inmate
overflow. That's Proposition 9.
"Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, whose office opposes Propositions 5 and 9 and has deep reservations about Proposition 6, said the ballot campaigns represent criminal justice
policy-making at its worst.
"'It only takes $2 million or $3 million to put any nice-sounding piece of junk into the constitution,' Cooley said."
The Chron's John Wildermuth breaks down the careful arguments used by each side
in the Prop. 8 debate.
"The question of same-sex marriage splits Californians, forcing both campaigns
to tiptoe through a political minefield in an attempt
to avoid angering the swing voters each side needs
to win Nov. 4.
"While a Field Poll last month showed only 38 percent of likely voters backing Proposition 8, with 55 percent opposed, those figures may not reflect how
Californians feel about same-sex marriage. A Field Poll in May, for example, found
that 51 percent of registered voters opposed giving same-sex couples the right to wed.
"'If Californians were forced into a straight-up vote on same-sex marriage, we win,' said Jeff Flint, a political consultant for the Prop. 8 campaign.
"But that's not what's on the ballot. Prop. 8 would overturn the California Supreme Court's ruling in May that gave same-sex couples the right to marry, and the measure asks
voters to change the state Constitution to bar such
nuptials.
"'Californians won't be willing to take away rights the government already
has granted,' said Steve Smith, consultant for the opposition campaign. 'These are folks who are our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, people just like you and me.'"
Meanwhile, the Bee's Aurelio Rojas gives the treatment to the pro-Prop 8 and anti-Prop 8 teevee ads.
Speaking of the ads, Matier and Ross write: "Looks like the Yes on Proposition 8 ad that features San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declaring same-sex marriage is here to stay, "like it or not," has hit a legal - if not political - snag down in Southern California.
"Newsom's bit is fine - but apparently not the part where Pepperdine University
law Professor Richard Peterson warns that, if same-sex marriages remain on the books, people could be
sued over personal beliefs, churches could lose their
tax exemptions, and gay marriage could be "taught in public schools."
"A number of alumni who saw the ad contacted the university
president's office to protest what appeared to be Pepperdine's own endorsement of Prop. 8, which would violate its tax-exempt status. The university is affiliated with the
Churches of Christ.
"University spokesman Jerry Derloshon said that was
never the intention, and last week campus executives
fired off a letter to the Yes on 8 campaign asking that it remove the crawler identifying
Peterson as a Pepperdine professor.
"Late Friday, the campaign said the ad was being revised."
Dan Walters uses the hot food-cold food example to argue for an overhaul of the state's tax system.
"A sandwich shop in downtown Sacramento has been offering
some footlong "subs" for a bargain price of $5, but when a customer orders one of the hot items on
the list, the counter person quickly warns the patron
that the cost will be $5.39 because of sales tax.
"It's a tiny illustration of a big problem – the arbitrary complexity of California's tax laws. Cold foods ordered to go are not taxable,
but are taxed if eaten on the premises, while hot food
is taxable regardless of where it's consumed.
"Cold food is taxable if it's part of a combo deal that includes a hot food, a
cup of coffee, for example, and if the patron orders
a cold sandwich and a carbonated soda, the drink is
taxable. But if the beverage is ice tea or some other
uncarbonated drink, it's not taxable.
"This is the simplest version of the food tax dichotomy.
The Board of Equalization publishes a whole booklet
explaining to food vendors when food is taxable and
when not. The hot vs. cold distinction even touched
off a fierce lobbying battle a few years ago when theaters
got popcorn shifted from taxable to untaxable, contending
that it was cold by the time customers reached their
seats."
The Bee's reports: "When court-appointed receiver Clark Kelso first demanded that the
state pay $8 billion for prison health care upgrades, GOP Sen.
Jeff
Denham asked, "Is Clark Kelso out of his mind?" Today, we begin to find
out. A federal court will hear Kelso's request for contempt citations
against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller John Chiang over
failure to come up with the cash."
The LAT's George Skelton writes that the legislative session wasn't a complete waste.
"The No. 1 example was Sen. Darrell Steinberg's steering into law his sweeping "smart growth" proposal to control suburban sprawl, build homes closer
to downtown and reduce commuter driving, thus decreasing
climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Two more wonky bills will launch an effort by the state
to regulate chemicals linked to cancer and other deadly
ailments. The measures by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) apparently are the most comprehensive anti-toxic, consumer protection laws in the country.
"Schwarzenegger reluctantly signed a modest, but much-needed, bill by Senate Leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) to use $842 million in bond funds previously approved by voters
for a variety of water facility fix-ups, including improved flood control."
And then there was the Loni Hancock bill that would
allow candidates for secretary of state to apply for
public financing -- paid for by a new tax on lobbyists.
"The governor's staff didn't much care for it, but Schwarzenegger eagerly signed
a bill that could lead to California's first public financing system for a state political
race. The governor considers himself a reformer. And
this is reform -- removing special-interest money from politicians' campaigns."
"Authorities expanded their search
for the brother of Democratic
U.S. Reps. Loretta and Linda Sanchez and his girlfriend after they went
missing in a possible boating accident four days ago," the LAT's Tami Abdollah reports.
"Investigators believe the 26-foot Bayliner pleasure boat carrying Henry
Sanchez, 51, and Penny Avlia, 48, may have collided with a barge early
Thursday after leaving Alamitos Bay near Long Beach
en route to Santa
Catalina Island, said Coast Guard Ensign Stephanie
Young."
And though her career in journalism may be on hold,
Maria Shriver is apparently moonlighting as a matchmaker.
"Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzeneggers wife Marie Shriver
has turned
into a dating coach for her husbands single actor pal
Tom Arnold.
Arnold has been single since splitting with his third
wife Shelby
Roos, and Shriver has taken the responsibility of fixing
him up with
her friends.
“I went into a year off, which she suggested, to work
on myself.
Then she set me up on a date with one of her friends," said Arnold.
“When your friends set you up, you really know what
they think of
you - and evidently my friends think I”m old and fat, he added.
