Gov. Brown took his budget tour to the wilds of Newhall -- rock-ribbed Republican country that makes Orange County look liberal -- and found a burning question in the minds of the locals: Why won't he stand up to his allies in organized labor?
From the LAT's Anthony York: "Appearing before about 150
educators and law-enforcement leaders at Hart High School in Newhall, Brown
walked through his now-familiar PowerPoint presentation on the state's fiscal
woes, bemoaning the fierce partisanship that has paralyzed budget talks. Last
month's breakdown of negotiations, Brown told the invited audience, threatens
school and law enforcement funding around the state."
"We can't decide on the basics," Brown
said. "And the basics, of course, are public safety and education. These
are the ones that are on the chopping block."
"Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) looked
on as Republican Scott Wilk, a member of the Santa Clarita Community College
District board of trustees, said Brown and his fellow Democrats deserved part
of the blame for the deadlock."
"Brown has been criticized by
Republicans for an unwillingness to cross labor allies on key issues in budget
talks. This week, he took more heat over the terms of a new contract his
administration negotiated with the state's powerful prison guard union, a
strong Brown supporter."
Republicans took their own budget tour to the Inland Empire, demanding long-term fixes to resolve the budget mess that include lowering taxes and relaxing regulations on businesses.
From James Rufus Koren in the San Bernardino Sun: "Thursday's event was one of 20 forums the California
Republican Party has planned for the next several months. Called the California
Speaks Out tour, state party spokesman Mark Strandriff said the goal is to
reach out to Californians - not just in traditionally Republican areas like
Riverside, but in traditionally Democratic areas like Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Berkeley."
"Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders made their own
appearances in the area this month - Brown earlier this month and legislative
leaders early this week - but Thursday's Republican presentation was decidedly
different."
"While Democrats focused their recent presentations on the
coming year's budget and on the specific cuts they want to avoid by extending
tax rates, Thursday's forum was less budget-focused. Del Beccaro and Nestande
took questions on budget issues, as well as on Republican Party strategy and on
federal political issues."
PG&E chief Peter Darbee, under fire since a natural gas line explosion wiped out a San Bruno neighborhood last fall, is stepping down, effective April 30. He won't have a hard landing, however: His descent is being softened by a $34.6 million golden parachute. John Upton in the Bay Citizen has the story.
"A utility watchdog vowed to “fight tooth and nail” to
prevent ratepayers from paying for his lavish compensation package. “It’s
unfortunate that he still may try to soak ratepayers in retirement,” said Mindy
Spatt of The Utility Reform Network, said."
"Spatt promised TURN would push the California Public
Utilities Commission to make PG&E’s shareholders foot the bill instead."
"Assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), a fierce critic of
the CPUC whose district includes San Bruno, said it is "definitely worth
looking into" whether shareholders can be forced to pay for Darbee's
golden parachute."
"Californians for
Renewable Energy attorney Martin Homec, who worked for the CPUC for more than
20 years, said legal avenues exist to try to prevent PG&E from using
ratepayer money for Darbee's retirement package."
Meanwhile, PG&E told state regulators that it can't produce some of the documentation that investigators are demanding.
From the Chronicle's Jaxon Van Derbeken: "In a filing with the California Public Utilities
Commission, PG&E said it cannot satisfy a state order to come up with
"traceable, verifiable and complete" records on all 1,800-plus miles
of its pipeline in and around urban areas."
"The commission issued the order after it was revealed
that PG&E's records incorrectly described as seamless the San Bruno
pipeline that exploded Sept. 9, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes.
Federal metallurgists have concluded that the pipe failed at a seam weld, but
PG&E never conducted inspections that might have detected the problem weld."
"PG&E couldn't come up with records for more than 600
miles of gas transmission line by the state's March 15 deadline and has
proposed that it pay a $3 million fine while it produces additional
documentation by August. The utilities commission is still considering the
deal."
In Silicon Valley, top executives are pleased about the local economic turnaround but gloomy about the state of the state, notes Pete Carey in the Mercury News.
"More than half the CEOs of area companies who responded
to a survey by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group said they expect to hire
more employees this year. But they're worried about a number of policy issues,
including state budget gridlock and public employee pension costs."
"There's a huge concern about California as a state
and California's sustainability," said Carl Guardino, president and chief
executive of the group."
"The public policy group released its survey of its CEO
membership in advance of a Business Climate Summit on Friday in San Jose, which
features Gov. Jerry Brown and Facebook Chief
Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as panelists."
"A companion survey by Silicon Valley Bank of 375 U.S.
startup companies showed similar hiring plans and optimism about the economy,
while government regulation and difficulty raising money was said by many to be
stifling even better growth, especially in the biotech industry."
And finally, from our "Keeping Fit is Fun" file, comes the tale of the owners of a fitness center who say that working out naked will help ease the pain of the recession. About time someone figured that out.
"A gym in Spain's Basque region has come up with an
eye-catching way of battling the recession."
"It has begun offering naked workouts, for nudists."
"Easy Gym in Arrigorriaga is the first of its kind in
Spain, pioneering the peculiar practice of stripping while keeping fit."
"With the crisis we noticed there were fewer people
using the gym," owner Merche Laseca explained to the BBC. "I'm not a
nudist myself, though I have no problem with it. But this initiative is about
the money."
"The gym did its research before opting to chase the
nudist euro. It discovered that two local swimming pools already offered
popular monthly sessions for bathing in your birthday suit."
Hope they wipe off the equipment...
