Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent another nasty note to Washington D.C. Wednesday, and Speaker Karen Bass was not impressed. Capitol Weekly reports, "
“We in the Legislature are used to that kind of talk
from the governor,” Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Tuesday. “I think
we’ve built a good working relationship with our congressional
delegation and the (Obama) administration, and I’m not sure why the
governor would come in throwing
punches at the people you want to help you.”
John Howard examines the governor's latest request
to loosen environmental regulations on a handful of specific
construction projects.
"The Schwarzenegger administration seeks to exempt some
100 major construction projects across the state – including private
developments – from California environmental laws. The plan, denounced
by environmentalists, would block the power of the
courts to review 25 projects each year from 2011 through 2014, and give
final authority over the projects to his
administration.
"The projects have not been identified publicly, but
potentially they could be worth hundreds of millions
of dollars – or more.
"The governor’s proposal is being put together separately from the
state budget, although ultimately it is likely to be
contained in a so-called “trailer bill” – legislation that accompanies the main budget bill
and reflects budget agreements reached between lawmakers
and the governor.
Tony Bizjak reports on the opposition to the governor's proposal to change the state's gas taxes.
"The net result, state finance officials estimate,
would be a
5-cent savings for consumers per gallon of gas in the
next year. A Bee
calculation based on this week's $3-per-gallon average in California
puts the savings at 7 cents a gallon. The complex
proposal – in the governor's 2010-2011 budget plan – is drawing sharp
opposition from transit advocates, and scrutiny from
public school
officials – both of whom will take a financial hit."
In Republicanland, Bob Dutton was officially crowned as the new GOP Senate
leader-elect, while Mimi Walters threw her hat into the ring against Bill Lockyer for state treasurer.
Tom Campbell is expected to make it official today, as he drops his gubernatorial bid and launches a new quest
for U.S. Senate.Josh Richman catches up with some Campbell backers
who have mixed feelings about the move.
"David Teece,
professor and director of the Center for Global Strategy
and Governance
at UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business – where Campbell used to be
dean – and his wife, Leigh, gave Campbell’s campaign $45,000 last
March. “My wife and I support him 100 percent no matter which public
position he’s running for,” Teece said this afternoon.
“One part of me is sad because I believe Tom is unquestionably
the
best person to be governor,” he said – a former state finance director,
state Senator and Congressman with detailed, extensive
knowledge of the
state’s fiscal woes. “To have him not be the next governor, to me, is a
great disappointment. The other candidates have one
thing he doesn’t,
which is a lot of money, but they don’t have the knowledge and
experience that he has in government … They don’t have, off the top of
their head, substantive answers.”
On a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court voted not to allow cameras in the courtroom for the Prop.
8 trial in San Francisco.
George Skelton says many of the arguments for Prop. 8 simply don't ring true.
"The notion that baby-making is the principal purpose of marriage in
21st century America is plain absurd. Let's just say
that upfront.
Arguably
it never has been the main reason for matrimony. Of
course, for some
people it has been and still is. But that doesn't make
it a universally
accepted concept."
It looks like tolls on Bay Area bridges are going up again. The Chron's Michael Cabanatuan reports, "A package
of toll increases that won initial approval Wednesday
would,
for the first time, charge carpools to cross state-owned bridges and
levy higher tolls for drivers who use the Bay Bridge
during its busiest
hours.
"The toll increases, designed to raise about $160 million a year, are
needed to pay for $750 million in seismic strengthening for the Antioch
and Dumbarton bridges, and to make up for declining bridge traffic and
toll revenue."
And finally, in our latest story about potential creative
budget solutions, we turn to Poland. "Poland's tax
office has levied a fine of 2.3 million zlotys ($820,000)
on an unemployed woman for failing to pay tax on income
worth at least
13.7 million zlotys she said she had earned as a prostitute.
"The woman told the tax office in the southern city
of Katowice that she had very "generous" customers.
We could call it the Charlie Sheen tax...
