"In the 1970s, hardened felons tried to deter juvenile delinquents
from lives of crime through "Scared Straight" presentations in which they portrayed prison life
in all its brutal unpleasantness," write Jordan Rau and Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"On Monday, California's top fiscal officers attempted to deliver a similar
jolt to state legislators who have yet to address a
$28-billion projected budget gap."
We like to think of it more like showing Red Asphalt to teenagers in driver's ed.
"In a rare joint session of the Assembly and state Senate,
the treasurer and controller, along with the senior
fiscal advisors to the Legislature and Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's administration, depicted the dismal consequences
of a continued budget impasse between legislative Democrats
and Republicans."
"California state coffers are so dangerously short of
cash that $5 billion in public works projects will grind to a halt within two
weeks unless there is a fast solution to the budget crisis,
state Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned legislators Monday," report Steve Weigand and Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"Thousands of layoffs could result from delaying construction
of projects ranging from school buildings to highway
improvements, Lockyer said in a rare joint session
of the Senate and Assembly to discuss the fiscal crisis.
"'Our ability to give our struggling economy a much-needed shot in the arm will be lost,' Lockyer said.
"Lockyer and other top state officials warned that the
state's projected $27.8 billion revenue shortfall over two years will worsen
quickly without timely passage of a balanced, no-gimmicks budget.
"Tossing around words like "dire" and "catastrophic," fiscal officials described a spiraling fiscal downfall
that threatens to prevent the sale of billions in bonds
and leave the state too cash-strapped by March to pay all its bills."
The Chron's Matthew Yi reports:
"Three other state officials - Controller John Chiang, Department of Finance Director Mike Genest and nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor - echoed a similar doom-and-gloom prognosis for the state.
"Genest said the state's projected deficit will likely be larger when Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger announces his budget proposal
in January.
"'Failure to act now - we'll be creating a financial disaster,' Genest said.
"Chiang, whose office is responsible for making payments
for the state, said California's pool of special funds for internal borrowing is down
to $4 billion and the state could run out of cash by mid-March.
"He said the state's revenue in November came in about $500 million less than expected, continuing to compound
California's fiscal crisis."
Wiegand and Sanders continue:
"Asked what was accomplished by the joint session, Senate
Republican leader Dave Cogdill said, 'Not a lot in my opinion.'
"We certainly understand the urgency," Cogdill said. "We just think we have to find a way to do it without
raising taxes."
"Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, said that if Monday's session
was designed to scare Republicans straight – or force concessions – it
didn't work.
"'We're hoping that it scared the other side straight,' he said."
Dan Walters summarizes the day.
"Afterward, the Legislature's partisan leaders pretty much parroted what they had
been saying for weeks – an indication that as the crisis deepens, the contending
factions see an opportunity to force each other into
retreat.
"While Democrats believe that the depth of the crisis
will compel Republicans to abandon their no-new-taxes position, GOP leaders believe that they can force
Democrats into giving ground on what they call "economic stimulus" – a list of pro-business measures, such as no longer requiring overtime
pay after eight hours of work, that Democrats and their
labor and environmental allies despise.
"It's also true, however, that the longer the stalemate
continues, the less effective pending tax and spending
cut proposals become, thereby heightening the crisis
– and that's not counting additional billions of deficit that
state officials now believe are certain to appear next
year."
"San Francisco's budget deficit for next year has grown to $575.6 million - equal to nearly half the city's discretionary spending account. It's a financial crisis Mayor Gavin Newsom called one of the worst the city has experienced since
the 1930s," writes the Chron's Heather Knight.
"Newsom will announce his plan for cutting up to $125 million from this year's $6.6 billion budget today, but gave few details about what
it will include.
"'This is nothing we've seen before,' he told The Chronicle. 'As difficult as these cuts will be, the real challenge
is in the next three, four, six months.'
"Today's announcement is expected to include proposals to
cancel police academy classes, lay off some high-paid attorneys and cut health services, including outpatient
treatment programs for the mentally ill and drug addicted."
"Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said Monday that Gerald Parksy, a longtime Republican political figure, will chair the tax commission she and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
formed in late October," writes Shane Goldmacher on Capitol Alert.
"The commission, according to the executive order Schwarzenegger
signed, will release a report on how to modernize California's tax structure on April 15, 2009.
"The commission has gotten off to a slow start, however.
"On October 30, Schwarzenegger said, "Speaker Bass and the Senate President pro Tem and I
will name 12 commission members in time for them to begin their
work in November."
"But as of yet no one has been officially named to the
commission. Bass said the names of the 12 commissioners would be released this Thursday.
"That will give the members just about five months to
design the overhaul of the state's tax structure."
"The opening volley was fired Monday in an appellate showdown
between California and a court-appointed receiver for prison health care who wants billions of the state's dollars to build new facilities for physically and
mentally ill inmates," reports Denny Walsh in the Bee.
"A San Francisco federal judge overstepped his bounds
in threatening sanctions against California's governor and controller if they don't cough up a $250 million down payment on an $8 billion construction project, Attorney General Jerry
Brown told the 9th U S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson declared in an Oct. 27 order that if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller
John Chiang do not transfer the funds to receiver J. Clark Kelso, they risk being held in contempt.
"But 11 days later, the appeals court granted the state's emergency motion to stay the order and asked for
expedited briefs from both sides on whether Henderson
exceeded his authority.
"In a brief, Brown argues the federal Prison Litigation
Reform Act of 1996 and the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of state sovereignty forbid Henderson's action."
"Some same-sex marriage supporters are urging people to "call in gay" Wednesday to show how much the country relies on gays and lesbians,
but others question whether it's wise to encourage skipping work given the nation's economic distress," reports the AP's Lisa Leff.
"Organizers of "Day Without a Gay" — scheduled to coincide with International Human Rights
Day and modeled after similar work stoppages by Latino
immigrants — also are encouraging people to perform volunteer work
and refrain from spending money.
"Sean Hetherington, a West Hollywood comedian and personal trainer, dreamed
up the idea with his boyfriend, Aaron Hartzler, after
reading online that a few angry gay-rights activists were calling for a daylong strike
to protest California voters' passage last month of Proposition 8, which reversed this year's state Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage.
"The couple thought it would be more effective and less
divisive if people were asked to perform community
service instead of staying home with their wallets
shut. Dozens of nonprofit agencies, from the National
Women's Law Center in Washington to a Methodist church in
Fresno collecting food for the homeless, have posted
opportunities for volunteers on the couple's Web site.
"'We are all for a boycott if that is what brings about
a sense of community for people,' said Hetherington, 30, who plans to spend Wednesday volunteering at an inner-city school. 'You can take away from the economy and give back in
other ways.'"
Meanwhile, the LA Times' parent company officially declared bankruptcy yesterday.
"There is a lot of blame to go around, and much of it
will be
directed at Sam Zell, the real estate baron whose knack
for buying when
everyone else is selling earned him a fit sobriquet
for the news
business these days: The Grave Dancer.
"Advertising is in a
free fall, and every newspaper is suffering. But Mr.
Zell literally
mortgaged the future of Tribune’s employees to pursue what one analyst,
Jack Newman, at the time called “a childhood fantasy.”
"Mr. Zell
financed much of his deal’s $13 billion of debt by borrowing against
part of the future of his employees’ pension plan and taking a huge tax
advantage. Tribune employees ended up with equity,
and now they will
probably be left with very little. (The good news: any pension money
put aside before the deal remains for the employees.)"
And speaking of financial dealings, it looks like former
Gov Gray Davis is raising campaign cash for his former
boss Jerry Brown,
according to Shane Goldmacher.
"Davis sent a note last week inviting donors to a reception
he is hosting at his home for Brown this Tuesday.
"'Jerry has done a great job as California's attorney general,' Davis
wrote to invitees. 'Please join us in supporting his re-election
campaign.'
"Donors are asked to give from $2,000 to the legal maximum of $12,000.
"Officially, the money raised must go toward Brown's reelection campaign for attorney general. But Brown,
who served two terms as governor before term limits
were
in place, is making noise about running for the state's top office
again. And any funds he raises for his reelection campaign
can easily
be transferred to a run for governor. Brown has already
stripped his
2010 campaign account title of any reference to attorney
general. It's
simply "Jerry Brown 2010."
And here's an idea we might want to import to California: breathalizers for politicians.
"Politicians in Australia's most populous state
could be breath-tested for alcohol before voting on laws after a series
of late-night incidents that have embarrassed the center-left
government.
"New South Wales state lawmaker
Andrew Fraser resigned from his conservative opposition
frontbench role
after shoving a female colleague in the wake of Christmas
party
celebrations.
"'Breath test this mob,' said a front page headline in Sydney's mass-selling Daily Telegraph newspaper. State police minister Matt Brown
was dumped from his portfolio in September after allegedly
"dirty"
dancing in his underwear over the chest of a female
colleague after a
drunken post-budget office party."
God forbid they ever try anything like that on the
legislative staff...
