Capitol Weekly looks at the uneasy alliance between the governor and the teachers
union for this spring's special election.
"More than three years ago, the California Teachers
Association spearheaded the opposition against Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives. Among those measures
was Proposition 76, which sought to limit state spending.
"Now, CTA is deeply invested in the passage of the governor's new
spending cap proposal. That's because the measure that guarantees the
$8 billion in school payments -- Proposition 1B on the May 19 ballot --
can only be enacted if the spending limit plan -- Proposition 1A -- is
also approved by voters."
There's also a handy-dandy primer on Proposition 98...
"Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the top Democratic choice for governor next year,
a new Field Poll of California voters shows, but Antonio Villaraigosa, the newly re-elected mayor of Los Angeles, is a surprisingly strong
contender if the senator stays in Washington," reports the Chron's John Wildermuth.
"Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former two-term governor, takes the top spot if Feinstein is out
of the race but holds only a 26 percent to 22 percent lead over Villaraigosa, who easily won a second
four-year term as mayor Tuesday.
"On the Republican side of the race to replace termed-out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman holds a 21 percent to 18 percent edge over former Silicon Valley Rep. Tom Campbell, and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner runs third with 7 percent. A whopping 54 percent of GOP voters remain undecided."
Here's the poll.
However, Villaraigosa's close showing on Tuesday night is believed by some to be a liability if he runs for
the state's top office.
The Times's Zahniser and Willon write:
"With nine little-known challengers running against him, Villaraigosa
secured 55.6% of the vote on election night -- a solid win but hardly a blowout. Those numbers were
a clear message from voters, said City Controller Laura
Chick: They want the mayor to focus more attention on his
job.
"'It doesn't take a rocket scientist to analyze the results and
figure out that if you're an incumbent mayor running for your second and last
term, and . . . you're running against unfunded, unknown opponents, 55% is not an overwhelming mandate from the public," said Chick, who is being forced out by term limits.
"The election was a mixed bag for the mayor in other
ways. His ally, City Councilman Jack Weiss, was forced
into a runoff in the race for city attorney. His push
for the solar energy plan known as Measure B stumbled
despite a flood of 30-second television commercials that featured the mayor
as the sole salesman. And Measure E, a plan to give
taxpayer subsidies to businesses, was defeated despite
support from Villaraigosa and Police Chief William
J. Bratton."
"Supporters of same-sex marriage marched from the Castro district to the state Supreme
Court on the eve of a hearing to decide the fate of Proposition
8 - the controversial amendment to the state Constitution
that bans marriages of two men or two women," reports Meredith May in the Chron.
"The state Supreme Court will hear arguments today on
the validity of California's ban on same-sex marriage, which voters approved in November after
an emotionally charged campaign.
You can watch the arguments on CalChannel, although they're already warning that the server will quickly reach
its limit (as it did during budget deliberations).
"A ruling is due within 90 days of the hearing.
"The crowd, bundled against the chill, carried signs
reading, "We All Deserve the Freedom To Marry," and "Down with Prop. 8!" as they marched along Market Street. The peaceful
protest stretched for two city blocks past stopped
Muni street cars while police held back traffic at
the intersections.
"The group made their way to City Hall, where a pianist
and singer entertained the crowd with love songs. Some
of the participants planned to camp out in the Civic
Center Plaza to be there for the hearing."
Protestors also marched in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose.
The Chron's legal beagle Bob Egelko looks into what the court will be considering.
Capitol Weekly continues it's look at the Assembly Freshman with a profile of Democrat
Jerry Hill. "Meet Assemblyman Jerry Hill. Former County Supervisor,
Air Board Member, Professor, Pool Cleaner, Magician,
licensed pilot, and practitioner of Goju Kan Karate
- not the typical resume for a new member of the state
Assembly.
"But the freshman San Mateo Democrat says all of the
things in his personal and professional background
have helped prepare him for his new job as a California
legislator.
"His work in health care and with children also helps
Hill keep up on one of his hobbies - magic. 'I got interested in magic
in 1975,' Hill explains. 'I was watching TV and I came across Marshall
Brodine's magic kit.'
"Brodine was better known as Wizzo the Wizard, a magician
clown on Bozo's Circus and The Bozo Show from 1968 through the early 1990s.
"Hill says he bought Brodine's magic kit back in the mid-1970s, and has been dabbling in magic ever since.
"'I still do tricks for friends, kids' birthdays, things like that,' he
says. 'And at the Ronald McDonald House Christmas show for
kids.'
"Hill says he still orders new tricks, but doesn't have any in his Capitol office - yet."
CW's John Howard looks at how the Legislature will dole out stimulus funds.
"Legislative leaders are expecting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
to call a special session of the Legislature to begin
doling out billions in federal stimulus dollars expected
to begin pouring into California within weeks.
"State lawmakers and the governor are jockeying for
position to take the lead role in making sure that
California gets the maximum amount possible from $787 billion in federal stimulus money.
"But experts inside and outside the Capitol agree that
nobody is really sure who's getting what - at least, not yet - because of the sheer magnitude of the funding."
Speaking of, don't expect much relief from the stimulation.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Department of Finance estimated Wednesday that California
will not receive enough federal stimulus money to avoid
higher personal income taxes and deeper cuts in social services," reports the Bee's Kevin Yamamura.
"Officials said California will fall $2 billion short of the $10 billion threshold the state must receive to eliminate
$1.8 billion in additional income tax increases and $948 million in further spending cuts negotiated as part
of the budget deal Schwarzenegger signed Feb. 20.
"Under a quirk of the budget deal, lawmakers and the
governor made $2.7 billion in tax increases and spending cuts contingent
on how much money comes in from Washington. The budget
agreement holds state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, and state Finance Director Mike Genest, a Republican, responsible for determining by April
1 whether the state will receive $10 billion through the next fiscal year. It's not clear what happens if the two men can't agree."
"The fate of a corruption probe of former state Senate leader Don
Perata is in the hands of Sacramento federal prosecutors, although their counterparts in San Francisco declined
to pursue charges," reports Denny Walsh in the Bee.
"Sacramento prosecutors say they opened the case at
the request of the FBI.
"Perata and his attorney have mounted a furious counteroffensive.
"His attorneys say the takeover violates a series of
deals between them and the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco without which the statute
of limitations would have run out. The deals – called tolling agreements – stopped the clock while the parties were in discussions.
"Those agreements do not extend to the Sacramento U.S.
attorney's office and the statute of limitations now precludes
prosecution, the defense attorneys insist.
"Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown of Sacramento disagrees. 'It is our view that the tolling agreement was between
defense counsel and the United States and was not specifically
limited to the (San Francisco-based) Northern District of California,' he said in an interview Wednesday. "If a case is charged in this district, the defense
will presumably be free to litigate that issue.'"
On an interesting note, Brown was the top lobbyist
for the California District Attorneys Association before
going to the U.S. attorney's office...
George Skelton looks at the dilemma many interest groups find themselves
in with Proposition 1A.
"Prop. 1-A strategists are in a tough spot. A new Field Poll
on Tuesday showed how vulnerable the measure is on
taxes. Initially, 57% of likely voters said they supported 1-A. But when told that the measure extends the tax increases,
support dropped to 34%.
"Conservatives, however, may want to look at Prop. 1-A this way: It could well be their last chance in the foreseeable
future to impose spending controls on Sacramento.
"Liberals who loathe a spending cap must weigh whether
they really want to surrender two years worth of tax
hikes.
"It's basic compromise."
"A legislative committee Wednesday gave fast-track approval to a bill to funnel $839 million in federal stimulus money into California's insolvent unemployment insurance fund, but the benefits may not help California's 1.9 million jobless before late next year," writes the LAT's Marc Lifsher.
"The Employment Development Department, which sends
out unemployment benefit checks, said it needed 18 months to modernize its 3-decade-old computer system. Without the upgrade, it won't be able to meet an Obama administration mandate to
change eligibility criteria so that people who lost
low-wage jobs could qualify for benefits.
"Unemployment benefits range from $65 to $475 a week.
"'The computer system puts a barrier in front of us,' Steffanie A. Watkins, assistant secretary of the California Labor and Workforce
Development Agency, said at a hearing of the Assembly
Insurance Committee.
"The bill, AB 23X3 by Assemblyman Joe Coto (D-San Jose), would make changes in state law that would allow
some low-wage jobless Californians to qualify for unemployment
benefits, a move that would make the state eligible
for $839 million in federal stimulus money."
And finally, from our Everything I need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Files, "Children rated as impulsive by their kindergarten teachers
appear more likely to begin gambling behaviors like
playing cards or placing bets before they hit middle school, Canadian
researchers said on Monday.
"The study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine is the first to show gambling among children this
young, said Linda Pagani, who led the study at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the Universite de Montreal.
"The question has always been, 'What comes before adolescent gambling?'" Pagani said in a telephone interview."
Um, baby gambling?
