California vs. Washington

Capitol Weekly compares the Washington stimulus talks to the California budget talks, and makes the link between the two.

"Gov. Schwarzenegger has a lot in common with President Barack Obama. Both are in the throes of negotiations for multi-billion dollar economic deals. Both are professed champions of the environment and job creation. And both, eventually, are going to need two Republican votes in the Senate to get anything done.

"And as Schwarzenegger stays locked in closed-door budget negotiations with legislative leaders, an eye is being cast to that parallel galaxy far, far away in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, a new PPIC poll makes it's own DC vs. Sacramento comparison. "California voters are enthusiastic about President Obama's plans for steering the country out of recession, but their faith in state government's ability to manage its finances and fix California's problems has tumbled, according to a new poll," reports Evan Halper in the Times.

"The survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that three in four Californians think the state is going in the wrong direction, a record high number. The budget problems have dragged the approval rating for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to 40% -- the level it reached after his politically disastrous special election in 2005. The Legislature has sunk to a 21% approval rating.

"Most respondents support raising some taxes to help ease the state's financial crisis. Schwarzenegger's proposals to temporarily increase the sales tax by 1.5 cents, hike vehicle license fees by $12 and raise alcohol taxes by roughly a nickel a drink were all supported by a majority, with the alcohol levy the most popular.

"And for the first time during the Schwarzenegger administration, a majority supports doing away with the requirement that two-thirds of the Legislature approve state budgets. That standard has allowed lawmakers in the minority Republican Party to routinely block spending plans."

...for fear of having their heads placed on sticks.  John and Ken are now asking website visitors to put Brian Nestande's head on a stick, where he would join Roy Ashburn, Abel Maldonado, Anthony Adams and Sam Blakeslee. 

Meanwhile, at the bargaining-in-public table, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he will dismiss state workers if a judge or employee unions block his plan to furlough thousands of workers two days a month beginning next week to save the cash-starved state $1.3 billion," report Wyatt Buchanan and Matthew Yi in the Chron.

"The matter goes to a Sacramento courtroom today, when the governor's administration will defend its furlough plan against challenges from several unions who have the support of State Controller John Chiang.

"In remarks to the Sacramento Press Club, Schwarzenegger said he does not want to dismiss workers but will if his furlough proposal does not go forward, and he called on unions to go along with the plan for workers to take off the first and third Fridays of the month without pay.

"'The fact of the matter is, in the end I have the authority as governor ... to lay off the amount of people necessary so we have savings,' Schwarzenegger said. 'That's what I will do, but I will leave it up to labor.'

"The governor came up with the furlough plan, which would amount to a 10 percent pay cut for 230,000 state workers, as part of his plan to fix the state's $42 billion budget deficit through June 2010. The furloughs are to begin Feb. 6."

The Bee's Dan Smith reports that delaying state tax refunds will disproportionately impact low-income Californians. 

"About 65 percent of the 10.1 million state refunds issued last year went to filers who claimed less than $50,000 in adjusted gross income, according to statistics provided by the Franchise Tax Board.

"And those taxpayers were even more likely to file early in the tax season: About 69 percent of the 3.3 million refunds processed last February went to filers in the under-$50,000 category.

"On Tuesday, state Controller John Chiang told the Franchise Tax Board to stop sending him requests for refunds because the state treasury would be unlikely to cover the checks."

The Bee's Kevin Yamamura writes:  "Schwarzenegger aides are negotiating daily with labor unions to compromise on ways to save money. Jim Zamora, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 95,000 state workers, said the governor has implied his layoff threat in the past but has never before been so blunt in public.

"Zamora said talks have been fruitful.

"'What we've been trying to do is come up with alternatives that avoid layoffs and mitigate furloughs as much as possible but still achieve his cost-saving goals,' Zamora said.

"The governor said Wednesday that while talks to close the state's $40 billion budget gap appear unproductive, he has sensed a "will to get this done" among legislative leaders."

George Skelton writes that leaders aren't preparing voters for the tax hikes and program cuts ahead.  "Schwarzenegger will need to do some sweet-talking and explaining to California citizens, who are about to be banged by two heavy shoes."  

"The state brought a new dimension Wednesday to the legal struggle over prison health care reform with a motion to get rid of the court-appointed receiver and his proposed $8 billion construction plan," reports Denny Walsh in the Bee.

"At a Capitol news conference, Attorney General Jerry Brown, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate and Department of Finance Director Michael Genest said the receiver, J. Clark Kelso, has done a lot of good things but is no longer needed.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in with a lengthy prepared statement backing them up. But his remarks at a Press Club luncheon were far more blunt.

"'The receiver will never get that money; that is important to know,' the governor said at the luncheon. 'Because I will not give it to him. I think the controller will not give it to him. And I don't think the legislators will give it to him.'"

Capitol Weekly profiles GOP freshman Nathan Fletcher. "Fletcher says he’s under no illusions about the hard choices ahead. While he stopped short of saying he would support a budget package with tax increases, Fletcher did talk about making “touch choices” in finding a budget compromise.

"And in a party that was just badly beaten in statewide and district elections, Fletcher is one of the California GOP’s shining lights. Fletcher is only 32-years old. He’s young and affable and has an impressive background.  As a member of the Marines, he served tours in Iraq and Eastern Africa – and comes from a political household. His wife, Mindy Tucker Fletcher, is a Bush and Schwarzenegger Administration veteran who now works as a consultant for Ogilvy Public Relations."

"And while AB 32 compliance may be a big deal in other parts of the state, folks in the North Coast have already rolled back their emissions to 1990 levels, reports CW's John Howard. 

"The apparent speed in complying with the new, still-unfinished law is as much circumstance as it is design, experts say, and many factors are cited. It also comes as a surprise to AB 32 watchers  -- and there are many in the Capitol – who see greenhouse gas reductions as happening later rather sooner.

"But the decreases in the North State are real now, due in part to the painful shrinkage of local economies.

"There has been a dramatic decline in the logging industry in an area that once depended mightily on timber harvesting. The result is that there is less wood processing, less burning of scrap, fewer industrial emissions, less electricity consumption and less timber-related activities, such as transport. A key rail line was lost in 1998, forcing some freight hauling onto the highways and resulting, apparently, in a slight increase in per-capita miles driven. The climate is cool most of the year, typically 45 to 65 degrees. Brisk breezes continually blow in from the ocean. The area is covered by trees that emit oxygen in vast quantities. Population growth is relatively flat, unlike surges in Southern California and the Central Valley." 

And CW's Malcolm Maclachlan catches up with a Capitol staffer who's moonlighted as a  documentary film maker . "last year, while serving as legislative director for Assemblyman Guy Houston, Keith Ochwat moonlighted managing a documentary project being filmed in China.

"While Ochwat spent long days staffing bills and long nights raising money and keeping track of expenses, his creative partner, Chris Rufo, was dodging the Chinese secret police.

"'You see the guy who is always hanging around your building,' Rufo said. 'When you leave, he leaves.'"

He must have learned that trick in the Capitol.

"Over nine months of filming, Rufo sought to slip the eyes of the authorities by growing facial hair, hiding behind buildings and jumping on and off of buses. He came back with the footage for “Diamond in the Dunes,” a documentary set in an area of western desert area of the country that was only conquered by the Chinese government in 1949."

And finally, from our Mother of the Year Files, "Deputies say Latoya Bradley had her four kids at Wal-Mart and showed one of them how to steal by hiding stuff under the other three kids sitting in the cart. Reports say the child did this and left the store but was caught. Deputies say that's when Bradley ran leaving her kids at the store."

Nice.