We begin today with a political showdown over ... pomegranates? Capitol Weekly's John Howard explains.
"In the state Capitol, there always are rumors of "juice" bills. But here's a real juice bill.
"The issue is pomegranate juice, a tart, healthful beverage
rife with anti-oxidants and increasingly popular with the public.
About four out of five pomegranates are grown outside
the country. Of those grown in the U.S., most are grown
in California, where some 250 farmers produce commercial pomegranates
on some 35,000 acres, according to a Senate analysis. The yield is
worth about $75 million annually.
"There is no doubt that if this bill gets approved there
is going to be a turf war," said K.C. Pomering, a fifth-generation
pomegranate farmer in Madera. "The question is, do we really need
this?"
The largest producer and distributor of pomegranate
juice in the country is POM Wonderful, which is owned
by California billionaire Stewart Resnick, a significant
figure in California politics and the owner of Paramount
Farms, the Franklin Mint and Teleflora. Resnick is
a major donor to legislators of both major parties
and to political campaigns, including more than $197,000 in 2007-08.
POM Wonderful and a coalition called the Partnership
for Unadulterated, Real and Ethical Pomegranate Juice
want California to adopt stringent rules governing
the ability pomegranate-juice sellers to list their product as "100 percent pure."
There's also a provision that would not allow foreign-born pomegranates to receive health care, or attend
public schools. Oh wait...
We begin our daily budget death march with a little
something from our Hell No, She Won't Go files. "Budget negotiations broke down Monday when Assembly Speaker Karen Bass
refused to meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger because he is insisting
that a package of solutions to close the state's deficit include
long-term changes to reduce spending," the Chron's Matthew Yi reports.
"After skipping a budget negotiating session between
the governor and
legislative leaders on Monday morning, Bass, a Democrat
from Baldwin
Vista (Los Angeles County), told reporters she was tired of
Schwarzenegger's proposals, which she said were not likely to help
erase the state's $26.3 billion shortfall through June."
The speaker was not terribly impressed by this quote from the governor
in the New York Times Magazine over the weekend, either. "Schwarzenegger reclined deeply in his chair, lighted
an eight-inch
cigar and declared himself “perfectly fine,” despite the fiscal debacle
and personal heartsickness all around him. “Someone else might walk out
of here every day depressed, but I don’t walk out of here depressed,”
Schwarzenegger said. Whatever happens, “I will sit down in my Jacuzzi
tonight,” he said. “I’m going to lay back with a stogie.”
Meanwhile, California gets another Wall St. demotion. "
Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded California's long-term bond rating from A- to BBB, citing the state's failure to close its budget deficit last week and
its new reliance on IOUs to pay bills," the Bee's Kevin Yamamura reports.
"The announcement by the New York ratings house potentially
increases California's borrowing costs for public works projects and serves
as the latest benchmark of the state's deteriorating fiscal condition."
The Wall St. Journal reports some big banks don't want the state's IOUs.
"A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting
California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its
$26.3 billion annual budget gap.
"The development is the latest twist in California's struggle to deal
with the effects of the recession. After state leaders
failed to agree
on budget solutions last week, California began issuing
IOUs -- or
"individual registered warrants" -- to hundreds of thousands of
creditors. State Controller John Chiang said that without IOUs,
California would run out of cash by July's end.
"But now, if California continues to issue the IOUs,
creditors will
be forced to hold on to them until they mature on Oct.
2, or find other
banks to honor them. When the IOUs mature, holders
will be paid back
directly by the state at an annual 3.75% interest rate. Some banks
might also work with creditors to come up with an interim
solution,
such as extending them a line of credit, said
Beth Mills, a California
Bankers Association."
Looks like we have our next budget deadline then...
The San Jose Business Journal reports Democrats may
be out to kill a high-speed rail line between San Jose and San Francisco.
"Backers of plans to run high-speed rail in California say the
wording of the budget bill passed by the Legislature
threatens to cost
the state more than $1.3 billion in federal stimulus money.
"The wording in the budget-balancing bill that Gv. Arnold
Schwarzenegger says he will veto contains a line that
requires more
study of the part of the rail line that runs between
San Francisco and
San Jose.
"That stretch of the proposed route that would run high-speed trains
between San Francisco and Los Angeles has drawn opposition
from some
homeowners in wealthy communities along its route.
"Nobody was taking responsibility for inserting the
language in the
legislation needed to fix a $26.3 billion state budget deficit. It is
attached as a condition of the state spending $139 million to hire
staff and engineering firms."
Meanwhile, it looks like Carole Migden's wild ride finally has a price tag. The Chron's Henry Lee reports, "The state will pay $335,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman former
state Sen. Carole Migden rear-ended after a wild 30-mile drive in
Solano County, attorneys in the case said Monday.
"Several motorists called 911 after seeing the San Francisco Democrat
weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 80 and Highway 12 on May
18, 2007, in her state-issued Toyota Highlander hybrid sport utility
vehicle. At one point, Migden sideswiped a guardrail
on I-80 near
American Canyon Road.
"She's been on the phone and reading a book, doing about
80 miles
per hour," one driver said in his 911 call. "She's really scary."
Migden's drive came to an abrupt halt when she rear-ended a 2005
Honda sedan driven by Ellen Butawan, who was slowing
for a red signal
light at the intersection of Beck Avenue and Highway
12 in Fairfield,
the California Highway Patrol said.
And while Antonio Villarigosa is on vacation in South Africa, his city is bracing for the Michael Jackson memorial. "
At an early-morning briefing, top Los Angeles Police Department
brass unveiled what they called an unprecedented response
plan for
Michael Jackson's funeral," the LAT's Andrew Blankstein reports.
"LAPD Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger
addressed several hundred supervisors, who gathered
at a 3 a.m.
briefing in the gym of the Los Angeles Fire Academy
to prepare for the
event. He said deployment for past events, including
the 1984 Olympics,
"pale in comparison to what we have assembled today."
"Some
3,200 officers are expected to be deployed during the memorials.
He
told them that with 1 billion people expected to watch the public
memorial,
"literally, the eyes of the entire world will be on
this
place."
Hey, at least they won't be on Sacramento...
