Is Gavin running out of cash ? Matier and Ross report, "The biggest challenge facing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's run for governor is not who's running the campaign, but whether he has enough money
to keep the campaign going.
"Newsom, who has a full staff working the campaign,
has raised $2.8 million with only about $1.1 million left in the bank.
Meanwhile, Newsom's presumed major rival in the upcoming Democratic primary
- Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose only staff is wife Ann Gust -
has raised about $8 million, with roughly $7 million in the bank. And
that's before he's officially declared, giving him the ability to hit
up many donors - and for even bigger contributions.
"Granted, money doesn't always translate into winning, but it is
pretty obvious that "we need to do better on the fundraising front,"
said Newsom campaign consultant Garry South.
"Members
of the largest union representing state workers have authorized their
leaders today to launch a strike , although union officials said there
are no immediate plans to walk off the job," the LAT's Evan Halper reports.
“There is no strike planned at this time,” said union spokesman Jim
Zamora. “What we will be doing is holding a number of meetings
next
week to decide what our next step is.”
Balloting completed today gives leaders of Service
Employees Union
International Local 1000 -- which represents 95,000 state workers in
scores of government agencies including clerks at the
DMV, auditors at
the state tax board and healthcare professionals in
public hospitals --
the power to take job actions “up to and including a strike”.
The membership voted nearly 3 to 1 in favor of the authorization.
“This is about our contract,” said Yvonne Walker, president of the
union. “Whether it is through litigation, negotiations or any
other
actions that are necessary, we're in this for the long-haul to right
this wrong to our members.”
Union officials and the governor had reached a deal
on a new
contract in February, but the Legislature has yet to
ratify it. Since
that time, the governor ordered most state workers
to take off a third
day per month without pay. The furloughs have effectively
cut the pay
of those workers by nearly 15%. The budget recently signed by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger keep those furloughs in place until at least June
2010.
When lawmakers come back from recess, their likely
to adopt major changes in the state's prison and sentencing system . Democrats and the governor are already in agreement
on much of the changes. The Daily Bulletin's James Rufus Koren looks ahead at the prison fight
"Assemblyman Curt
Hagman, R-Walnut, vice chairman of the Assembly Public Safety
Committee, said Republicans want to make cuts to prison
programs, while
committee Chairman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, said he wants to save money
by granting some form of early release for elderly,
ill and non-violent
offenders.
"If someone is getting themselves ready to be released" -
by getting their GED, for instance - "and they have a good record,
there should be a way for them to earn their way to
early release,"
Arambula said, describing an option called earned discharge.
The state could also save by releasing inmates who
are elderly or sick and are taxing the prison health
care system.
"We would identify inmates who are the lowest risk," Arambula said. "We would exclude anybody with any sex-related offenses."
The Bee's Sam Stanton also looks at the prison plan.
The LAT's Jessica Garrison looks at how the budget cuts will impact redevelopment agencies.
"They've been battered by state budget cuts that are slated
to take
nearly $2.1 billion during the next two years. This could force
them to
abandon projects and maybe shut down entire agencies.
And the cuts come
at a time when many of the oldest and best-known redevelopment areas,
such as Bunker Hill in Los Angeles, are starting to
approach their
expiration dates.
"Some critics say it's time cities pared down their redevelopment
activities and let the property tax money that fuels
them go to schools
and counties to be spent on direct services. Los Angeles
County
officials estimate that their general fund loses about
$380 million in
diverted property taxes because of redevelopment efforts,
though
proponents said that figure is overstated.
"If the state Legislature were asked to directly appropriate
money for
local shopping centers or any of the other endless
private economic
development that local officials like, they would never
do it," said
former assemblyman and Sacramento mayor Phil Isenberg, who championed
redevelopment reform when he was in the Legislature.
"Because the
current state subsidy is mostly hidden, it continues.
. . . You have to
ask if it is worth the expenditure of massive state
funds to continue
the process."
And for those of you looking to keep up with your children,
or still sound culturally contemporary, the new UCLA slang dictionary is ready to hit the shelves.
"
The 160-page English-slanglish lexicon includes terms, definitions, parts of speech, sample sentences and notes on the etymology and origin
of new slang, Munro said.
The dictionary supplies such words and definitions
as "presh," which means cute or precious.
"Bromance" means a close platonic friendship. And "bellig" means drunk and belligerent.
"Eargasm" means, well, just what it sounds like.
Other terms or phrases include "fomo," or fear of missing out, "schwa" for wow; and "obama," meaning cool, as in "You so obama."
Hmmm, we may be showing our age, but we're guessing "obama" the adjective isn't going to catch on.
