Jerry Brown is governor, again, and a competent professional
is back in the Capitol -- at least that's the feeling of most Democrats and
many Republicans. After taking the oath at the Memorial
Auditorium, he gave a sobering, soaring, get-ready-for-the-pain speech about the state budget and California's
future.
From the Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan: "California is facing a daunting budget deficit of
up to
$28 billion, which is nearly a third of the current general
fund, and Brown
promised a "tough budget for tough times. He will release his budget plan Monday."
"The year ahead will demand courage and
sacrifice," Brown said in a speech delivered to a few
thousand people who
attended his inauguration at Memorial Auditorium. "The
budget I propose
will assume that each of us who are elected to do the
people's business will
rise above ideology and partisan interest and find
what is required for the
good of California."
Geezer columnists Dan Walters of the Bee and George
Skelton of the LA Times have sat through inaugurations
before. Here's their take.
From Skelton: "More important, Gov. Jerry Brown strongly left the impression that he's not afraid to
follow that politically risky path. Perhaps the most
important moment of the 72-year-old repeat governor's speech was when he said: "At this stage of my life, I have not come here to
embrace delay or denial."
"That's just about all we've had in Sacramento for
the last decade or more: delay in taking the painful steps necessary for the
state to live within its means — a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases
— and denial that both are needed to fix the state's
ongoing deficit, now around $20 billion annually."
From Walters: "Brown's bluntly worded address, and the bare-bones inaugural ceremony itself, hit just the right
notes of serious purpose for a state mired in the deepest
recession since the Great Depression and an electorate
that holds its political officeholders in deep – and much justified – disdain."
"A traditional inaugural celebration would have been
gauche and counterproductive. "In this crisis, we simply have to learn to work together,
as Californians first, members of a political party
second," Brown said in his 16-minute inaugural speech."
Meanwhile, swearing-in ceremonies were going on throughout the state for
other officials elected on Nov. 2, including Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. After taking the oath, Jones immediately issued an
order requiring health care insurers to use at least
80 percent of their revenue to pay claims.
From the Times' Duke Helfand: "Jones' plan matches provisions in the new national
healthcare law. Jones said the emergency regulations
would enable him to
enforce the 80% spending requirement in the federal law at a time
when
congressional Republicans are trying to kill funding for
the measure."
"California now requires insurers to spend at least
70% of
revenue on policyholders' medical bills. A Democrat who served three terms in the state Assembly,
Jones said the
emergency regulations were "part of a larger effort
to implement national healthcare reform."
Back to the state budget: Brown's proposal -- reported in the Sacramento Bee -- to eliminate redevelopment agencies is causing shock
throughout state governments.
From the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat: "Sonoma County and each of its nine cities use the
agencies to funnel millions of dollars in property
taxes toward affordable
housing projects, the rehabilitation of commercial
strips and campaigns aimed
at boosting local businesses and tourism."
"But eliminating the hundreds of redevelopment
agencies statewide, many of which have existed for
decades, could free up
billions of dollars to help solve the state’s $25 billion budget deficit."
And now we leave the world of politics and open our
"Night Moves" file to learn that while you were out partying on
New Year's Eve, 10-year-old Kathryn Gray looked into the starry skies and discovered
a supernova. No kidding!
"Kathryn is the youngest
person ever to have discovered a stellar explosion,
the Royal Astronomical
Society of Canada says. Her find was confirmed by Arizona-based Canadian
amateur astronomer Jack Newton, who holds the record
for the discovery of the
most supernovas by an amateur in 2010, and Illinois-based amateur astronomer
Brian Tieman."
"Kathryn recounted her discovery in a matter-of-fact tone.
She was with her father at the computer at their home,
looking at nighttime
images of the sky that had been taken by a telescope in
Halifax and sent to her dad. A tiny white spot appeared just above a faraway galaxy.
The professionals call the galaxy UGC 3378 in the constellation of
Camelopardalis."
“We both noticed it,” said the young amateur astronomer,
the oldest of four children in the family. “It was a good possibility. So we
wrote it down on a piece of paper, so we could come
back and check on it.”
Go girl...
