Are we there yet?

The race to the top continues, with an apparent deal between the Senate and the Assembly, and presumably the governor.

The Chron's Marisa Lagos reports, "The California Legislature is poised to pass an education plan today that makes far-reaching changes to how public schools are governed, giving parents the power to transfer their kids out of failing schools and to force districts to overhaul bad schools.

"The dramatic changes to California's education policies have been debated for months. They are intended to make the state competitive for up to $700 million in federal dollars under President Obama's $4.3 billion Race to the Top program, which promises funding to states that embrace education policies outlined by the president by a Jan. 19 application deadline. Millions more dollars may also be at stake for the financially struggling state, as the Obama administration is expected to tie future education funding to some of his Race to the Top provisions.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special session of the Legislature in August to bring California in line with the requirements outlined by the Race to the Top. But the changes have been mired in politics, with Assembly Democrats supporting limited changes backed by the teacher's union and others. The governor threatened to veto an earlier bill by the Assembly that he said omitted the open-enrollment rule, and negotiations dragged on through December. This week, officials ultimately decided to break the open enrollment and parent trigger provisions into a separate bill from the rest of the proposed changes, though both bills are expected to pass today."

Schwarzenegger will talk about the legislation at a press conference with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

If Race to the Top fails to get your interest, check out the race for the 19th Congressional District. John Ellis reports, "Former Valley Rep. Richard Pombo will formally announce his comeback bid today, adding a major competitor to the race to replace retiring Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.

"A one-time chairman of the House Resources Committee, Pombo is a proven fundraiser who is admired by his fellow ranchers but loathed by environmentalists. His candidacy helps put the 19th Congressional District race on the national political stage.

"I've talked to a lot of people over the past week," Pombo said in an interview Monday. "A lot have been encouraging me to do this because of the situation we have in the Valley, what I have done in the past and what I could do now."

Laura Chick says the spending of federal stimulus money has been bogged down by people seeking the money. AP's Tom Verdin reports, "Dozens of construction projects funded with federal stimulus money are being delayed in California because the office that oversees historic preservation is overwhelmed with applications, the state's stimulus watchdog said Monday.

"In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Inspector General Laura Chick asked that more staff be made available to accelerate the review process. She said the backlog will grow because the bulk of stimulus money for public works projects is just beginning to flow to states. "This is trying to get the problem from getting worse," Chick said in an interview."

David Zanhizer reports on shake-ups in the Villaraigosa administration. "In the six months since he began his second term, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pushed out or reassigned at least half a dozen high-level city officials responsible for advancing his agenda on issues such as job creation, housing and the environment, according to records and interviews.

"The moves, carried out by the mayor's top two managers, Chief of Staff Jeff Carr and Chief Deputy Mayor Jay Carson, were designed to correct an acknowledged weakness of Villaraigosa's first term: a lack of follow-through on certain policy goals."

Despite efforts from Jose Solorio, the governor is going ahead with plans to sell the Orange County Fairgrounds. Brian Joseph reports, "

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave little indication that he would stop the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds when he met with Costa Mesa officials Monday morning, the officials said."He said they would debate it internally," shrugged City Councilwoman Katrina Foley after she and two other Costa Mesa officials met privately with the governor in his Capitol office.

"I'm not optimistic that it'll be called off," Mayor Allan Mansoor said.

More than 20 Orange County cities have signed on in support of Costa Mesa's efforts to stop the sale of the state-owned fairgrounds, which Costa Mesa officials fear could lead to a loss in jobs and businesses as well as endanger the fair as we know it. The governor, however, is planning to use the proceeds from the sale to help solve the state budget woes and, following their meeting with Schwarzenegger, Costa Mesa officials said it looks like he won't budge.

"He's desperate to find money to fix the huge hole in the state (budget)," said Foley, who met with the governor along with Mansoor and City Manager Allan Roeder. "We tired our best to persuade him to stop the sale and to talk to us about how we can still accomplish his goals of ridding the state of extra assets and finding a way to solve the state deficit."

Good luck with that. At this point, Schwarzenegger would probably seell one of his children to close the budget gap.

Joe Garifoli says California is bucking the national trend by contemplating loosening marijuana laws.

"The suburban "soccer moms" who are likely voters have told pollsters that the measure, which would give local governments the authority to tax and regulate the sale of cannabis to adults 21 or older, would provide a safer way for their adult children to buy pot.

"One of the scary things to some people is that their kids may be buying it from someone dangerous," said Ruth Bernstein, a pollster with EMC Research, an Oakland firm that has been doing polling and focus groups on behalf of the measure's proponents.