With Jerry Brown and leading Democrats proffering a
grim picture of California's enormous budget deficit, a major target for cuts is public education. Just what everyone wanted to hear.
From Wyatt Buchanan in the Chronicle: "The Democrat called education and public safety the
pillars of a civilized society but warned that the
magnitude of the deficit problem facing California
is "unprecedented in my lifetime" and that the state
must prepare for drastic changes."
"I can't promise there won't be more cuts, because
there will be," he told a gathering of school administrators,
teachers union representatives and other public education
officials from across the state during a special budget
forum in Los Angeles."
A fish tale: The judge who imposed Delta pumping restrictions to
protect the local smelt, ruled differently yesterday. The LAT's Bettina Boxall has the story.
"A federal judge Tuesday threw out much-disputed delta smelt protections that have cut water
shipments to Southern California and the San Joaquin
Valley, finding that federal biologists failed to justify
aspects of the restrictions."
"But the ruling in a long-running legal battle was not a clear-cut victory for water contractors, who lost some of
their fundamental arguments against the pumping reductions."
Rep. John Garamendi -- there's a name we haven't heard in a while -- is loudly criticizing President Obama, reports the Bee's Rob Hotakainen.
"Garamendi, of Walnut Grove, says President Barack Obama is leading "a foolish war"
in Afghanistan. And he says many House Democrats aren't just frustrated, they're angry at Obama's latest
cooperation with the GOP on a tax plan that would continue across-the-board cuts signed into law by President George W. Bush."
"That tax policy that was started in 2001 and is now being proposed by our Republican colleagues
and our president is a continuation of the drift – excuse me, it's not a drift – a cascade of wealth from the middle class, from the
working men and women, to the wealthiest Americans,"
Garamendi said.
Meanwhile, California remains gripped by an economic
malaise, but you wouldn't know it to see all the high-end shoppers gobbling up luxury goodies, reports the LAT's Andrea Chang.
"Picking up a gift at Tiffany & Co. can easily set you back a month's rent, but here
it is on a Wednesday afternoon and more than two dozen
customers are packed around the jewelry cases at the
South Coast Plaza store, eyeing $8,000 watches and $5,000 diamond earrings."
"There's another crowd gathered at the Louis Vuitton
boutique nearby, where popular handbags like the $690 Speedy 30 are sold out. Over at Christian Louboutin, Lefty and
Cindy Novotny of Coto de Caza are walking out with
a pair of black leather pumps for their daughter. Price: $630."
Speaking of money, Gov.-elect Jerry Brown is charting a risky course if he hopes to jolt the
public into approving new taxes. So sayeth the Bee's Dan Walters.
"As Brown staged the second of his public budget talk
fests Tuesday, this one at UCLA and devoted to education, his doomsday strategy became
clearer, although one had to interpret his characteristically
elliptical allegories to see it."
"Brown said he'll propose a budget in January that
will be so shocking that those affected should read
about it while sitting down and hopes to conclude a
deal in the Legislature within 60 days. That's clearly aimed at having a special election in
May or June to give voters the choice of absorbing
drastic cuts in education and other major state programs
or reducing the impact, perhaps by half, by increasing
taxes."
The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt notes that the clock is already ticking on Brown's
first 100 days -- even though the governor-elect hasn't taken office yet.
"As Brown is already doing his best to make clear to
voters, there are only ugly solutions to the ongoing
state budget crisis. The least ugly alternative is
to include a tax increase to close at least a small
portion of the gap, and Brown repeatedly assured voters
during the campaign that he would sign off on no tax
increases without voter approval."
"Thus, it seems that another special election is in
the cards for California. Given the timetable, the only way to make that happen
is with a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. The door has long since
closed on the possibility of qualifying a ballot initiative
in time for a vote in June; as a practical matter, an initiative effort must be
launched at least a year in advance of an election."
And so we turn to our "Postman Always Rings Twice" file to learn about the mailman who delivered his
load naked. In Wisconsin. In the winter.
"A police report says the 52-year-old man told the woman he would deliver the mail in
the nude to her office in Whitefish Bay to make her
laugh. The report says that on December 4 he brought the mail wearing only a smile."
"The mail carrier was arrested for lewd and lascivious
behaviour several days later. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the man admitted delivering the mail naked was
a stupid thing to do."
He didn't get her stamp of approval...
