"Assembly Speaker Karen Bass abruptly rescinded 5 percent pay increases for dozens of rank-and-file members of the Assembly staff, citing concerns
the pay raises might jeopardize the measures on the
May 19 ballot," reports Capitol Weekly.
"Bass, who is supporting Propositions 1A through 1F, said critics of the measures were using the April
1 raises to undermine support for the measures.
"The raises were causing "a distraction," Bass said. "I did not want that to happen, so I decided to pre-empt that by canceling the raises."
"Bass’ move comes in the wake of reports Tuesday that more
than 130 Democratic and Republican Assembly staffers received
5 percent raises, even as other state workers were being
forced to take pay cuts and furloughs.
"Bass says the Assembly is still on track to reduce
its overall operating budget, and has cut $38 billion from the operating budget “over the last two years.” And she said she was canceling the pay increases with
regret."
Also this week, Capitol Weekly publishes the second
installment of its list of Top 100 California political power brokers and difference
makers.
"California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who had declared himself a Democratic candidate for
governor, said Wednesday that he wants to "get to work" immediately to tackle the state's water, health care and education problems and has decided to run instead for the East Bay 10th District congressional seat now held by Rep. Ellen Tauscher," writes Carla Marinucci in the Chron.
It's a bit sad that to get to work on state issues, one
must give up the number two position in the state and
head 2,700 miles to DC to be one of 435 members of the House.
"Garamendi, accompanied by his wife, Patti, made the
announcement via Twitter following a tour of East Bay
Works, a Concord employment center, where he met with
professionals and workers who are seeking to upgrade
their skills and find new employment."
Okay, little twitter bird, meet Fonzi's shark.
That's enough 140-character campaign announcements.
"Afterward, he met with reporters to confirm that he
will seek the congressional seat, which represents
a district that stretches from Lafayette to near Sacramento,
as soon as it is vacated. Democrat Tauscher of Walnut
Creek has been tapped for a job in the State Department
as under secretary for arms security and is expected
to receive congressional approval as early as May.
"'I'm putting my gubernatorial campaign on the back burner
and moving to something that would give me the opportunity
to immediately engage in what is the most important
task at hand,' he said. 'Which is getting people back to work.'"
While John and Gavin are out tweeting, Jerry Brown is taking on 'one of the nation's largest banks' in a $1 billion securities fraud suit, according to a press release sent by the attorney general's office.
See, there's the new-fangled way of running for governor, and then there's the old-fashioned way....
"Days after a Republican congressman asked Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger to step down, Assembly Republican Leader
Mike Villines has a target on his back," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"Shawn Steel, a former California Republican Party chairman and
one of two representatives to the Republican National
Committee, on Wednesday told Rob Johnson of Modesto's KMPH 840 that he and other Republicans plan to ask Villines
to step down from his Capitol leadership post.
"Steel said Republicans are angry that Villines helped
approve billions in temporary taxes during the latest
budget agreement and that he is now advocating passage
of Proposition 1A, which contains a spending limit but also $16 billion in additional taxes.
"'We are definitely going to be going straight forward
and asking that he, after the election on May 19th, that he resigns, he steps down,' Steel said. 'It's embarrassing having a Republican supporting one of
the biggest tax increases in American history on a
state level. And he doesn't have good justification for it.'"
CW's John Howard reports on a potentially landmark meeting of the Air Resources
Board this morning.
"California is poised to approve a first-in-the-nation rule to cut carbon emissions from gasoline and
diesel fuels, including a crackdown on emissions resulting
from the production and distribution of alternative
fuels, such as ethanol. The dramatic new regulation
would curb greenhouse gases associated with the fuel,
from its inception to its combustion.
"The decision by the Air Resources Board, expected Thursday,
escalates the state’s attack on climate-changing greenhouse gases, and is all but certain to
serve as a national model as the Obama administration
develops a similar rule. The regulation is called the
Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, and stems from a
2007 executive order issued by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The governor said the LCFS “is an innovative action that will diversify our fuel
supplies and establish a vibrant market for cleaner-burning fuels.”
Could it be Bob Bobb vs. The Don in Oakland? The Chron's Christopher Heredia reports, "Robert Bobb, the man many hoped would return to Oakland
as its city
administrator, told The Chronicle Wednesday that he
is taking the steps
needed to run for mayor of Oakland in 2010.
"Oakland's city manager from 1997 to 2003, Bobb is now serving as emergency financial manager
for Detroit Public Schools.
'We're working on a plan of entry' into the mayor's race, he said. 'I do think that Oakland needs fresh executive leadership.'"
Ron Dellums is widely expected not to seek a second
term as mayor.
Meanwhile, Jerry Brown has authored a filing to the California Supreme Court
challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 209.
"Brown's opinion, which the court requested in considering
a lawsuit that two white-owned contractors brought against San Francisco, could
reopen the legal debate on Proposition 209. A federal appeals court upheld the measure in 1997, but the state's high court has never ruled on its validity.
"It could also become an issue in Brown's expected campaign next year for the Democratic nomination
for governor. Although Prop. 209 was approved by 54 percent of the voters, Brown's position might help him in his party's primary.
"The initiative banned race and sex preferences in state
and local government contracting, employment and education
programs. The San Francisco case involves a 2003 ordinance - now suspended by court order - that gave firms owned by minorities and women a 10 percent advantage in competitive bids."
"San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom took an Earth Day tour of a La Jolla biotech firm
Wednesday – donning a green tie for the occasion – on his first full day of campaigning after formally announcing
his candidacy this week for the 2010 California governor's race," reports Ronald Powell in the Union-Trib.
"Newsom visited Sapphire Energy, a company launched
in 2007 that is working to convert algae to an environmentally
friendly biofuel for use in autos and airliners.
"The 41-year-old Democrat, the youngest San Francisco mayor in a
century, touted his green credentials following the
tour that ended in a room where algae, as green as
pea soup, sat in agitating beakers and bubbled in long
cylindrical plastic bags.
"He said his city has reduced greenhouse gases, partially
blamed for global warming, by 6 percent below 1990 levels. It has aggressive environmental building standards,
a slew of solar projects, and is the first U.S. city
to ban plastic shopping bags in large supermarkets
and chain pharmacies."
Ed Mendel reports on a growing pension scandal that
could be headed to California.
"CalPERS and CalSTRS have invested several billion dollars
in a
private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, that is part
of a public
employees pension scandal in New York.
"Two associates of a former New York state comptroller,
Alan Hevesi,
were indicted for selling access to investments from
the New York State
Common Retirement Fund."
George Skelton writes that the complexity of Proposition 1A may be its downfall.
"Because of the linkage [to the tax hike extension], 1A is vulnerable to charges from the right that it is
a sneaky tax increase. And on the left, some major
labor groups -- the Service Employees International Union, the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
-- so detest government spending controls that they're opposing 1A even if its defeat would mean the loss of tax revenue.
"Another 1A side deal bought off the powerful California Teachers
Assn. The CTA was given Prop. 1B, which would restore $9.3 billion in school program cuts starting in 2011. But that's only if Prop. 1A also passes because it contains the repayment mechanism: the rainy day fund.
"So this was a classic case of the governor and Legislature
desperately crafting compromise budget-balancing measures that, in the predawn hours, could
be coerced and cajoled through the Legislature -- in a state that inanely requires a two-thirds majority for passage of money bills. It enabled
the lawmakers, for a fleeting moment on paper, to fill
a $42-billion deficit hole that soon began reemerging.
"But the product was not a prime-time package ready for the voters. The trade-offs that click inside a legislative chamber aren't always easy to explain outside the Capitol. Voters
tend to become confused or enraged."
"California's latest corrections chief moved closer to confirmation Wednesday, but only after state senators pressed him on why
so few inmates get schooling, training and counseling
to keep them out of trouble after release from prison," reports Susan Ferriss in the Bee.
"'A lot promises get made, and despite good intentions
they aren't always delivered,' said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee.
"The panel voted Wednesday to confirm Matthew Cate as secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation and sent his appointment to the full
Senate for a final vote. The vote came after Cate complied
with a request to submit a "benchmarks" report to members setting rehabilitation and education
goals.
"Steinberg called Cate "the right person for the job" but said the secretary would need 'a lot of help.'"
"A new bill before the California Legislature aims to improve the slipshod justice in the state's foster-care courts, part of ongoing reforms on behalf of thousands of
vulnerable children and their families," writes Karen de Sa in the Merc News.
"If signed into law, the bill sponsored by Assemblyman
Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, and the state's Judicial Council would enforce standards for juvenile
dependency attorneys that in most courts would seem
routine. Lawyers representing foster youth and parents
whose children have been taken from them by social
workers alleging abuse or neglect must meet with those
clients in advance of hearings. They must explain court
reports so that parents — the majority of whom are impoverished and poorly educated
— understand why their children were removed and how
to get them back.
"Finally, the lawyers must be personally familiar with
their clients, even those as young as 4 years old. Currently, routine practice in many of
the state's dependency courts is a whispered "Hi, I'm your attorney" on the way into the courtroom.
"'The stakes for children in the foster care system are
too high to relegate them to a second-class form of justice,' said Feuer, who is the current chair of the Assembly's judiciary committee."
And finally, from our Change You Can Believe In Files,
"Imagine $170,000. Now imagine that much in quarters and nickels and
dimes.
That's how much money Alexandria police say William J. Fell
stole,
canister by canister, from his job as a parking meter
repairman over
about a year.
"After becoming suspicious, police searched his Stafford
County home
last week. And hit the jackpot. They found much of
the booty there --
in a bucket, in rolls and in a cup, court documents
said."
How did he expect to carry that money down to the bank?
