"Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger, in the midst of a tough
political fight to sell his budget-balancing package to voters on May 19, is the star attraction at an April 8 fundraiser to benefit GOP Assemblyman Anthony Adams - one of the few legislative Republicans to back the
governor," reports Capitol Weekly.
"Adams, under threat of a recall drive by some elements
in his own party, received statewide attention after
conservative radio hosts excoriated Adams for his votes.
However, Adams, 38, reportedly has received endorsements for his 2010 reelection from all the members of the Assembly GOP
caucus.
"At least four of the Republicans in both houses who
voted for the budget all have been threatened with
recall.
"Schwarzenegger has vowed to support those who supported
his budget. The two-year spending plan, which is already out of whack,
covered a $41 billion shortage through a mix of cuts and taxes.
"'The governor looks forward to helping Assemblyman Adams
raise the funds he needs and supports him, and believes
he is a person who puts California ahead of his own
personal ambition,' said Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman
Julie Soderlund."
Meanwhile, the governor seems to be succeeding in keeping away opposition to
the May 19 ballot package.
"It's a bit more than two months - nine weeks, as of today - before the May 19 special election and opponents of six budget-related measures have yet to put their money where
their mouths are," reports the Chron's John Wildermuth.
"None of the groups complaining about how the budget
measures will either beggar California taxpayers or
slash the state's safety net has anted up to fight. As of Monday, there's no listed opposition to anything on the ballot.
"That's great news for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the
Legislature's Democratic leaders, who would be delighted if no
one else mentioned the election until after the vote
count."
"Students and staff from colleges across the state marched from West Sacramento to the state Capitol on
Monday, protesting budget cuts and proposed fee increases
at California's universities," reports Laurel Rosenhall in the Bee.
"With bullhorns, drums and hand-painted signs, they complained that shrinking state
funding is causing the number of courses to be reduced
at community colleges and limiting the number of students
who can get into universities.
"'I'm concerned that as the economy continues to change,
it's so important that my generation is educated,' said Tim Snyder, 23, a student at California State University, Sacramento.
'Students are being denied because there's no room. Classes are already filled.'
"The Legislature's most recent budget deal cuts about $680 million from California's universities and about $40 million from community colleges. About $510 million of that may be reimbursed by federal funds.
Because of the cuts, California State University campuses
will accept 10,000 fewer students next year, while the University of
California is cutting freshman enrollment by 2,300.
"The budget also calls for UC and CSU students to pay
10 percent higher fees next school year. University officials
will decide on those proposals in May."
Dan Walters writes: "It was not exactly a protest, although some speakers
complained about college budget hits. It was more a
collective fear that higher education would lose in
the budget jousting.
"Its timing was either very good or very bad, coming
just a few days after the Legislature's budget analyst, Mac Taylor, reported that the state
faces another $8 billion hole in its budget.
"As a matter of fact, higher education fared very well
in the February budget deal aimed at closing a $40 billion deficit that included billions of dollars
in new taxes and hefty spending reductions everywhere
else."
Yes, but that was February.
"The state's fiscal travails are not over, certainly, and the
colleges may take more hits. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
and legislators are bending over backward to minimize
the impact on colleges, so Monday's gathering should have been a celebration of gratitude."
Meanwhile, today's rally is on behalf of the union-sponsored federal Employee Free Choice Act, better known as "card-check."
The Bee's Peter Hecht writes, "To labor groups, it is the most significant showdown
in a
generation over the rights of workers and the expansion
of the middle
class. To employer advocates, it is a threat to free
commerce and the
sanctity of the secret ballot."
SEIU will also lead a protest against the so-called "trigger cuts" as finance chief Mike Genest and Treasurer Bill Lockyer meet to determine whether or not the state received
enough federal stimulus dollars to avoid certain tax
increases and spending cuts.
A Lockyer spokesman says no decision on the trigger
is expected today, but it will be made before April
1.
"A lawyer for the state, citing "dramatic improvements" in state prisons, asked a federal judge Monday to end a receiver's control of California's prison healthcare system," reports Maura Dolan in the Times.
"Paul Mello, representing the state, told U.S. District Judge
Thelton Henderson that there has been a "virtual elimination of alleged preventable deaths" due to shoddy prison health services.
"'Circumstances have changed,' Mello said.
"But James J. Brosnahan, representing the receiver Henderson appointed to
overhaul prison medical care, said the state had no
"end game" for completing reforms and warned that lives remained
at risk.
"The state's attempt to take back control of the prison health
system follows months of concerted criticism by Atty.
Gen. Jerry Brown, who contends the receivership is wasting taxpayer
money, and a motion filed by the receiver, J. Clark Kelso, demanding the state release money for prison hospital
construction."
"California's recession has not stopped lawmakers from proposing nearly two
dozen bills that would dip into taxpayers' pocketbooks for causes from trauma care to domestic violence," reports the Bee's Jim Sanders.
"The measures would affect millions of Californians
in ways ranging from legalizing and regulating marijuana
to charging for shopper carry-out bags or requiring sterilization of pet cats that
roam.
"Most of the Democrat-driven proposals target specific groups of people,
such as millionaires, pornography buyers, teenage drivers,
motorcycle owners, cigarette smokers or liquor drinkers.
"The goal typically is to alter risky behavior, reduce
pollution or to raise money for education, roads, shelters,
emergency services or other vital services in a cash-strapped state.
"'It's other people's money and they can dream up every single good cause
in the world to justify the further rape of the California
taxpayer,' said Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association."
"Republican lawmakers on Monday rejected the state's first federal stimulus-related bill to extend unemployment benefits by 20 weeks," reports the AP's Judy Lin.
"The bill, which fell short by one vote in the Assembly,
would have pulled as much as $3 billion from the federal government. Lawmakers were
expected to take up the bill again soon.
"A second bill to ease eligibility was passed on a simple
majority and will move along a slower legislative track.
"Democrats accused Republicans of hampering California's economic recovery efforts by refusing to support
a no-brainer bill to draw billions of dollars from the federal
government.
"California has to make certain changes to its unemployment
program in order to qualify for as much as $3.8 billion in federal stimulus money. Democrats said
that unless changes are passed soon, nearly 300,000 Californians will start losing their unemployment
benefits beginning April 12.
Republicans, however, said they could not vote on bills
that contained language they had not read. Assembly
Minority Leader Mike Villines, R-Clovis, accused Democrats of jamming through legislation
late in the day to 'score political points.'"
"Assembly Democrats balked at a resolution to honor Tibet's spiritual leader and mark the 50th anniversary of his people's revolt against Chinese rule, and referred it to a
committee. In response, minority Republicans accused
them of buckling under to China's communist government," writes the LAT's Eric Bailey.
"The resolution's author, Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo), claimed that representatives of the Chinese consulate
in San Francisco had worked the Capitol hallways to
lobby against his measure -- and that the Democrats yielded to the pressure. He
released a letter that Consul General Gao Zhansheng sent to state lawmakers warning that the resolution
would damage U.S.-Chinese relations.
"Zhansheng's letter argues that Tibet was never an independent
country and that it was never invaded or occupied by
China. In fact, it says, the communist government had
pushed through reforms liberating Tibet from "feudal serfdom and theocratic rule."
"'As the world economy faces a grim situation, it is
all the more important for the most developed country
and the biggest developing country in the world to
cross the river in a common boat and proceed hand in
hand,' Zhansheng's letter concludes.
"Blakeslee called the letter a "shocking revisionist account of history," and pushed for a floor vote Monday afternoon."
Debate on the measure took up several hours, as cautious
Democrats balked at Speaker Karen Bass's request to refer the measure back to Rules Committee
where it could die an inconspicuous death.
Bass initially failed to get the 41 votes necessary to move the bill, and called a Democratic
caucus which lasted nearly two hours, before finally
getting the votes.
For those of you keeping score at home, that's Karen Bass 1, Dalai Lama 0.
And finally, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we bring you the story of the grave-digging leprechaun.
"At cemeteries, it's not uncommon for people to see him digging and ask,
'Have you found any gold yet?' Just the other day, people stopped him and asked if
they could take a picture. 'So, that's kind of fun,' he said.
"Contrary to the notion that all graves are 6 feet deep, Donnelly says his go down 5 feet.
"That way I can still get out of the hole,' he said. 'When people drive by, all they can see is my hat.'"
