Capitol Weekly reports progress in the water talks . But there's no deal yet.
"The
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission apparently
worked out water-rights language that had been a bone of contention
between the agency and the state, sources said. The East Bay Municipal
Utilities District, involved in similar negotiations, apparently was close to an agreement but no final accord had been reached.
"The Sierra Club of California posted a copy of that language here.
"Senate leader Darrell Steinberg is apparently going
to go ahead with the language. But in the past, similar
language has been strongly opposed
by major water players, including the Metropolitan
Water District and Westlands Water District. It was
unclear whether other consessions to those groups had
been made to secure a wider ranging compromise."
The Merc looks at what a final water deal might look like.
"Language of a sweeping
reform bill written after weeks of negotiations behind
closed doors is
expected to be released, aides to state Senate President
Pro Tem
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said Thursday.
"Whether it can win enough votes to pass is anybody's guess.
"This
is the most important state legislation related to
water in a
half-century," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association
of
California Water Agencies, a group that represents
many of the state's
urban water districts.
Bill Lockyer was the main event at yesterday' legislative hearing on government reform . Ed Mendel reports Lockyer had some blunt words for
the panel.
“It’s impossible for this Legislature to reform the pension
system,
and if we don’t it will bankrupt the state,” is the Lockyer quote
jotted down by one observer.
"In an interview later, the treasurer said his use of
the word
“bankrupt” was intended to be “provocative” and “theatrical,” which he
thought was probably understood by his audience.
“There were some folks who kind of winced from time
to time during my remarks,” he said.
"But the treasurer said the quote accurately reflects
his concern
about whether the retirement benefits promised public
employees are
affordable, particularly retiree health care.
Greg Lucas was not among those who were wincing.
"On October 22, in approximately 15
minutes of testimony before the Senate and Assembly
select committees
on Improving State Government, the former Attorney
General and Senate
president pro tempore said he was “Aristotelian” a “First Amendment
purist,” informed the committee that “politics is theater for ugly
people” and two-thirds of the bills passed by the Assembly are “junk.”
"In response to a question about
the negative impact of term limits, Lockyer suggested
replacing the
current process of electing legislators with picking
120 people by
lottery and giving them eight year terms after which
they would be
forever banished from state elected office."
E.J Schultz reports Assemblyman Danny GIlmore is weighing retirement.
"Hanford Republican Danny Gilmore said Thursday he might not run for
the Assembly again in 2010. And if he leaves, it could set up a
match-up that political junkies have been craving: Parra vs. Florez.
"Rumors
of his departure prompted Gilmore to issue a statement
saying that
while the filing deadline to run is not until March,
"I would probably
not seek reelection if I had to make that decision
today."
"If he
follows through on the move, the father of former Assembly Member
Nicole Parra might jump in to take on state Sen. Dean
Florez's mother,
Fran. That race would pit two political families that have
feuded for
years.
"If there aren't any serious challengers to [Fran Florez],
then he would seriously consider running against her," Nicole Parra
said of her father, Pete."
Is Carly Fiorina officially tip-toeing into the Senate race today?
Jim Sanders conducts an exit interview with Jack O'Connell.
"The San Luis Obispo resident, married father of one
grown daughter,
said he is proud of helping to reduce class sizes,
impose a high school
exit exam, restrict offshore oil drilling, lower the
voter threshold
for school bonds to 55 percent, and ban unleashed dogs from the open
cargo area of pickup trucks.
"O'Connell,
who was supported by only 2 percent of the respondents and trailed
Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom by wide margins in a gubernatorial
Field
Poll this month, discussed his reasons for not seeking
the state's
highest office and said he looks forward to spending
more time with his
wife, Doree, who survived brain cancer surgery in 2006."
"A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-Boy chair while drunk. A criminal complaint says 62-year-old Dennis LeRoy Anderson told police he left a bar in the northern Minnesota
town of Proctor on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers.
"Prosecutors
say Anderson's blood alcohol content was 0.29, more than three times
the legal limit, when he crashed into a parked vehicle
in August 2008.
He was not seriously injured.
"Police said the chair was powered by a converted lawnmower and had a stereo
and cup holders."
If they're impounding that ride, will someone in the Proctor
P.D. please let me know if and when it's going to be auctioned off?
Much obliged.
