The leader of the California Teachers Association, the state's most powerful public-employee union, wants Jerry Brown to push for legislative approval of taxes without going to the electorate, as he promised during his campaign for governor last year. The move means Brown's political hot seat just got hotter.
From the Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan: "David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers
Association, said the union could have a harder time supporting an election
later in the year, which is what would have to happen if the governor were to
keep his campaign pledge."
"If the governor were to propose an election say in
September or November, it no longer becomes a question of extending the current
taxes," Sanchez said. "It then becomes a question of raising taxes,
which would be extremely more difficult and challenging (for) voters to
pass."
"The governor is facing mounting pressure to drop his
campaign pledge to put tax extensions and increases on the ballot. Sanchez's
statement carries weight because the teachers association is one of Brown's
most powerful labor allies and would presumably be a key source of funding for
any tax campaign."
Speaking of schools, Republicans are living in a fantasy land when they publicly declare that another $14 billion can be eliminated from the state budget without touching education, notes the Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt.
"The plain math of the situation indicates that
Republicans who are in denial are trying to insult our intelligence by
suggesting that somehow another $14 billion can be axed from the budget without
laying a glove on schools. "We don't have to cut education, don't have to cut
schools," state GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said last week."
"When Democrats assert otherwise, said Assemblywoman Diane
Harkey, R-Dana Point, "they're trying to create the most pain for everyone
so they will beg to have their taxes increased."
"As comforting as it might be to believe that lawmakers
could cut another $14 billion, on top of the $11 billion in noneducation cuts
they've already made, without touching the single largest component of state
spending is just plain fantasy."
There's more bad news for education: Fully two-thirds of the students fail to complete their studies at San Joaquin Valley community colleges, a grim statistic that has enormous economic and social implications for the region. Heather Somerville in the Fresno Bee tells the tale.
"A staggering number of community college students in the
San Joaquin Valley fail to complete their degrees, creating a work force that
is woefully unprepared and threatening the local economy, according to a new
report."
"The study by a higher education advocacy organization
found that 70% of degree-seeking community college students in the San Joaquin
Valley failed to complete a certificate or degree and had not transferred to a
four-year university six years after enrolling. Latino and African-American
students were most likely to be at risk of dropping out."
"Only about 25% completed a degree, certificate or
transfer, compared to more than one-third of white students, according to the
report. Just 14% of Latino students transferred to a four-year
university after six years, compared with 25% of white students."
Schools aren't only ones hurting: Federal action stripping money from California's fledgling hnigh-speed rail program threatens to derail the project, reports Mike Rosenberg in the San Jose Mercury News.
"In another swift blow to California's $43 billion
high-speed rail plan, federal officials Tuesday stripped all proposed funds for
the mega-project this year -- casting more doubt on the bullet train line's
extension into the Bay Area and Southern California."
"Officials in Washington had said Monday that President
Barack Obama and congressional leaders had cut this year's high-speed rail
budget from $2.5 to $1 billion during Friday's last-second deal to avert a
government shutdown. But on Tuesday, officials eliminated the final $1 billion,
essentially erasing all subsidies for local high-speed rail projects, including
California's 520-mile line from San Francisco to Los Angeles."
"It's still unclear if the funding could be restored in
the future, although the odds are stacked against bullet train backers.
Republican deficit hawks have targeted high-speed rail as an easy choice to cut
spending since being swept into office last November. And Obama, a huge bullet
train booster, was set Wednesday to lay out long-term plans to slash the
federal debt."
Vernon, the scandal-plagued industrial town south of Los Angeles with more businesses than people, is back in the news again. LAT's Marc Lifsher and Sam Allen report that disincorporating the city could push businesses away.
"In interviews with The Times, some longtime business
leaders acknowledged that they never sought to reform Vernon when it
periodically came under fire for the tight control maintained by its ruling
clique."
"Everybody loathed these people and hated the fact
it was a fiefdom.... Nobody liked it," said Rick Rollins, the controller
of Goldberg and Solovy Foods Inc. "Everybody had to hold their noses and
keep doing what we do" — running businesses."
"We don't have a vote," he added. "But if
we had, we certainly never would have voted for those people to retain their
lucrative positions." Whatever its failings as a civic institution, however,
Vernon is clearly a success when it comes to its business climate.
"Vernon
employers paid $4.5 billion in annual wages, and business activity in the city
produced $1.1 billion in taxable sales, according to a 2008 report from the Los
Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Vernon also accounted for 15.3% of
Los Angeles County's food industry employment, 10.7% of its apparel-related
jobs and 5.5% of furniture employment, the report found."
And now from our "Can't Buy Me Love" file, we find that you can buy you love -- or at least a first date. It's a robust economy at work.
"At least that's how it works on WhatsYourPrice.com, a new dating site that's trying to bring Adam Smith's rules
of capitalism to Cupid's world of romance."
"On the site, which went live a week ago, members who
label themselves "generous" flash dollar signs to bid for the chance
to take "attractive" members out on a date."
"The buying and selling of beautiful singles may sound an
awful lot like prostitution, but the site's founder, Brandon Wade, insists that
WhatsYourPrice is about paying for first dates, not paying for sex."
"If you look at the way charity events are held, you
have these firemen and beautiful prom kings and queens [up for bid]," he
said. "People are already doing this around the world, obviously for
charity, but a similar concept would apply here."
