Facing a budget of cuts and taxes, lawmakers started
the politically easy job first -- the cuts. They worked into the evening on the "trailer
bills" that carry the budget-linked deals and approved more than $7 billion in cuts.
From the Bee's Kevin Yamamura and Jim Sanders: "Lawmakers took their first bite out of Gov. Jerry
Brown's budget
Wednesday, cutting about $7.4 billion across state government and clearing a
significant share of the $26.6 billion deficit."
"But Democratic leaders, and Brown in particular, spent
much of the day behind closed doors in an unsuccessful
effort to persuade
reticent legislators to eliminate roughly 400 agencies that fund redevelopment
projects and save the state another $1.7 billion."
"Cities have mounted a fierce campaign to block the
proposal, fearful of losing control over billions of
dollars that would flow to
schools, counties and public safety instead of civic
projects."
Brown complains that GOP activists are thwarting the budget
process, although Brown's own labor allies are just as intransigent,
says the Times' George Skelton.
"It's
the red party menace, to twist ominous language from
the 1950s. It's menacing
our republican form of government, which calls for
elected representatives to
deliberate and decide."
"Republican right-wingers, who increasingly dominate the shrinking party
in
California, are threatening the political death penalty
for any GOP lawmaker
who compromises with Brown and dares vote to call a
special election on taxes."
"The state party, holding its spring convention this
weekend in Sacramento, will
consider a resolution that brands such Republican legislators
"traitorous" and pledges to "support efforts to recall
them from
office."
One anti-tax activist who is playing a role in California's budget negotiations
is Grover Norquist, the D.C.-based gadfly whose anti-tax pledge drew 30 signatories in Sacramento. Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders takes a look.
"Grover Norquist, the affable head of the Washington-based
Americans for Tax Reform, doesn't want Republicans
to negotiate with Democrats
to solve Washington's deficit problems or to cut a
deal to solve California's
budget shortfall. "I think golf and cocaine would (be) more constructive
ways to spend one's free time than negotiating with
Democrats on spending
restraint," Norquist recently told the Washington Post's
Ezra Klein."
"While many voters have never heard of Norquist, he
is a
major player in Washington. Most Republicans have signed
his organization's
"no new taxes" pledge. Ditto most GOP California lawmakers."
"Norquist considers a vote to put a measure that includes
a $14 billion tax-increase extension on the ballot to be a violation
of his
"no new taxes" pledge. Thus, from Washington, Norquist
has a big foot
on California budget talks."
Amid all the talk about public pensions and cuts, it's
nice to find people who are doing just fine -- even if they seem to be advocating for cutting pensions. Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan tells the tale.
"The consulting company hired by Republican lawmakers
known as the “GOP 5” to do research on reforming public employee pensions
signed a similar but much larger contract with a conservative
pension reform
group last month."
"The company, Capitol Matrix Consulting, is headed
by Mike Genest, who served as
finance director for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Matrix’s other two
principals, Brad Williams and Pete Schaafsma, also
are well-known in the
Capitol as top-level financial analysts."
"All three men, incidentally, have state pensions worth
more than $100,000 a
year — though Genest points out that he spent years working
for pension reform
when he was a capitol staffer and still “a long way from my own pension.”
Getting away from budget fights for just a moment, Capitol Weekly's Greg Lucas takes a look at the drought. That's right, the drought, according to an executive
order that was never rescinded.
"Believe it or not,
California is in a drought. Yes, a cursory glance at
the water level in the
state’s reservoirs and rivers - or simply a peek out any Sacramento window
during the past week – would certainly suggest otherwise. But the state is experiencing a drought, according
to Executive Order S-06-08."
"It says so in the 16th paragraph – right after all the paragraphs beginning
with “WHEREAS” describing the dire scope of water shortage. In that 16th paragraph, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaims
a “condition of
statewide drought.”
"The former governor then directs the state Department
of Water Resources to
“take immediate action to address the serious drought
conditions and water
delivery limitations that currently exist in California.” And then, in some
detail, Schwarzenegger enumerates those actions."
The swelling population of Southern California means
that those living in risky, fire-prone areas has increased dramatically during the last
decade, according to the latest census data.
From The Press-Enterprise's Jim Miller and Ben Goad: "The number of people living in Inland Southern
California's most fire-prone places increased by more 50 percent during the
past decade, last week's census figures show, with
tens of thousands of
additional residents in places where the state pays
for fire protection and
other services."
"Massive wildfires ripped through the region in 2003 and
2007, destroying hundreds of homes. More people living
in at-risk places also
can increase the risk of accidental fires; an estimated 94 percent of wildland
fires have human causes."
"In addition, the population growth has budget
implications for cash-strapped state and local governments."
And now we leave the tumult of the Capitol to peek
into our "Tower of Babble" file to find that, no, America's brand of English
isn't taking over the British language. Right on.
"Anyone who has ever taken a ride in an elevator or
ordered a regular coffee in a fast food restaurant
would be forgiven for thinking that Americanisms are
taking over the English language."
"But new research by linguistic experts at the British
Library has found that British English is alive and
well and is holding its own against its American rival."
"The study has found that many British English speakers
are refusing to use American pronunciations for everyday
words such as schedule, patriot and advertisement."
They have better TV, too...
