"Californians with disabilities, their caregivers and
hospital
officials pleaded with top state finance officials Tuesday to
make sure
that enough federal stimulus funds are spent to avoid further cuts to
the neediest residents," the Chron's Matthew Yi reports.
"At issue is a provision in the recently enacted state
budget that
would avoid nearly $3 billion in spending cuts and tax increases if
California can apply at least $10 billion from Washington to the
state's general fund.
"The budget, enacted less than a month ago to close
a $41 billion
shortfall, directs state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and
Department of
Finance Director Mike Genest to make the final estimate
of federal
funding by April 1."
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura said it seemed clear where Lockyer and Genest were heading. "Two state fiscal leaders sounded skeptical Tuesday
that California will
receive at least $10 billion in direct budget relief, the amount
necessary to reduce state income taxes and social service
cuts under
the spending plan enacted last month."
KQED's John Myers has the money quote in his blog : "'We're trying to interpret statute that was written in
the middle of
the night,' Lockyer said at today's hearing, in reference to provisions
in the February budget deal. 'And frankly, either the Legislature wouldn't or couldn't do its job, and so now we're stuck with trying to do it.'
Dan Walters writes the conflict over the trigger could lead to a showdown
between education groups and service employee unions .
"Kurt Sjoberg, a Lockyer consultant, and Taylor have
suggested that the $10 billion mark could be reached by cutting state aid
to schools by an additional $3.6 billion, because falling state revenues would allow such a
reduction under the state constitution and then backfilling
the money with additional federal aid.
"'Adding
the $3.6 billion to the offset amount, coupled with the already
identified $8.22 billion in general fund relief, would increase the
offset to $11.82 billion,' Sjoberg wrote in an analysis released as the
hearing began. 'This would cause the trigger to be pulled since the
offset would then exceed $10 billion.'"
And the Merc's Mike Zapler looks at who would take the brunt of the new cuts."The program cuts
at issue would hit state universities, workers who
provide in-home care
to the elderly and the disabled, people on cash assistance
programs and
a host of medical benefits, including dental care,
for low-income
people enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Meanwhile, Gov. Schwarzenegger, Darrell Steinberg and Karen Bass
meet with the Bee editorial board to make the case
for the ballot initiatives.
"The Republican governor insisted that if voters approve
Proposition
1A, a long-term spending limit accompanied by temporary tax extensions,
California would never again face a budget problem
comparable to the
$40 billion deficit it grappled with this winter.
"He said that
because the state would sock away extra revenues in
good economic times
under Proposition 1A, it would have money to survive the bad deficit
years.
"This will never happen again with this
system," Schwarzenegger told The Bee's editorial board. "I think what
is important to the people, and the people that come
up to me on the
streets, is always, 'Did you fix this finally? Fix it, so you don't
have to come back all the time with this problem.' "
At least one person was not convinced.
"Former eBay Inc chief executive and California gubernatorial
candidate Meg Whitman came out on Tuesday against three measures on the state's May ballot that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says are urgently
needed to bolster the state's finances," reports Jim Christie for Reuters.
"Whitman and Schwarzenegger are both Republicans but
hold sharply opposing views about the three measures,
which California's celebrity governor and the state's Democrat-led legislature agreed to put to voters as part of
their state budget agreement last month to close a
$42 billion shortfall.
"The measures, which Schwarzenegger is pressing voters
to support, would impose a state spending cap while
extending tax increases in the budget agreement, allow
the state to borrow against its lottery revenues and
allow it to shift funds in voter-approved programs for other uses."
"Rep. Ellen Tauscher, of Alamo, is the Obama adminstration's pick for a key State Department post for arms control
issues," the Contra Costa Times' Mike Taugher reports.
"Tauscher
is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable members
of Congress on the
nation's nuclear arsenal and a moderate who walks a fine line
to
balance support for nuclear weapons research at the
Lawrence Livermore
Laboratory, which is in her district, and the demands
of peace
activists.
"'There is some skepticism among the nuclear control
and disarmament community,' said Christopher Paine, nuclear program
director for the environmental group Natural Resources
Defense Council."
And there is sure to be some serious jockeying back
here in California for the election to fill Tauscher's seat.
We'll just throw out a few names for laughs:
Joan Buchanan, Mark DeSaulnier, Tom Torlakson, Joe
Canciamilla, Guy Houston? Let the games begin...
"The hottest ticket for labor types this week was the
California Labor Federation's joint legislative conference dinner in Sacramento,
where former Rep. Hilda Solis -- fresh from her swearing-in as Labor secretary -- addressed a cheering crowd of nearly 1,000 people.
"Despite Monday night's hoopla, Solis never mentioned the event's big theme: the Employee Free Choice Act, a revision of federal
labor laws that unions have long sought. Instead, she
reminisced with the crowd about past fights and promised
to be an advocate for workers and for their right to
join labor unions.
"'This is where I learned how to fight and how to distinguish
right from wrong and help put the rights of working
class people above all others,' Solis said Monday night. 'The Labor Department is back in business to support
working and middle class people -- and, furthermore, we're going to enforce our labor laws.'
"The crowd responded with a standing ovation and the
signature clapping rhythm of the farm workers movement.
At one point, someone yelled out: 'I love you, Hilda.'"
Meanwhile, President Obama is holding a town-hall meeting at the Orange County Fairgrounds this afternoon.
The LAT's Tony Barboza reports: "The event, scheduled for 4 p.m., is part of the president's two-day tour through Southern California, which also includes
a town hall meeting in Los Angeles at the Miguel Contreras
Learning Complex, an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and a visit to an electric vehicle plant in Pomona."
The Register's Jennifer Muir and Niyaz Pirani describe the parking
lot scene where thousands showed up for a chance to get a ticket.
Further south, "San Diego State University has sold the naming rights of its sports arena to the
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, which operates a casino, an outlet center and other
businesses at its reservation 22 miles east of campus," reports Onell Soto in the U-T.
"Critics say the deal, apparently a first in the nation
for a university, could cross a line and hurt students,
who are particularly vulnerable to gambling problems.
"Beginning July 1, the 12,845-seat venue known as Cox Arena will be Viejas Arena.
The $6.9 million, 10-year deal includes a proviso against using the word
'casino' on signs and advertising or making any reference to
gambling.
"'We are always paying attention to those issues,' SDSU President Stephen Weber said of the gambling
tie. 'San Diego State is more than its athletic teams. Viejas
is more than its casino.'
"Viejas tribal leaders cheered yesterday as a curtain
unveiled the new name on the arena scoreboard.
"'It's a great opportunity for our children to see their
name up with San Diego State,' said Viejas Vice Chairman Robert Welch Jr. "
Don Perata was in court Tuesday, testifying against his confessed carjacker.
"Former state Senate leader Don Perata testified Tuesday
that he was
accosted by a man who pointed a handgun at him "gangster style" -
holding it sideways - and ordered him out of his state-issued Dodge
Charger in North Oakland.
"The assailant brandished the gun while fumbling with
a ski mask to
cover his face, prompting Perata to hope that the gunman
'wouldn't
confuse that movement with his trigger finger,' he told an Alameda
County Superior Court jury in Oakland.
"The defendant, Jared Adams, 26, is accused of carjacking Perata on
Dec. 29, 2007, as the politician waited at a light at 51st Street and
Shattuck Avenue. Police said Adams didn't recognize Perata and targeted
his Charger because of its 22-inch rims.
"The carjacker, not realizing it the car wasn't in gear, pushed the accelerator and the engine revved,
Perata said.
"For a quick second, I was going to go help him, but
I came to my
senses and didn't," he said under questioning by Nancy O'Malley, chief
assistant district attorney."
Could the San Francisco Chronicle team up with the
Mercury News to survive? The Merc's Pete Carey investigates. "In the
wake of massive cutbacks at the San Francisco Chronicle,
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi and current and former newspaper executives are discussing
a possibility that once seemed unthinkable: consolidation of the Bay
Area's daily newspapers.
"Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat,
ignited the public discussion Monday with a carefully
worded letter
urging the Department of Justice antitrust division
to look at the
"market realities" of competition in the digital age when reviewing
mergers or "other arrangements" of competing newspapers.
And finally, AP reports nobody is immune from the global economic slowdown.
"Sales in the French erotic industry have fallen as
the global economic crisis has driven consumers to
reduce their spending on sex toys, massage oils and
other kinky products, sector specialists say.
At "Big Eropolis," an erotic fair that opened on Friday near Paris and
bills itself as the biggest of its kind in the world,
attendance was
healthy but stall owners said customers were not spending
as much as in
previous years."
