State Controller John Chiang is poised to announce his decision on whether lawmakers will continue to draw their pay checks, even though there is no budget and the constitutional deadline has been passed. Yet another wrinkle in a budget battle that is shaping up as the most bizarre in the state's history.
A Q&A from the Bee's Kevin Yamamura: "Blocking pay may be on legal thin ice. Proposition 25 did
not explicitly say that a budget must be balanced in order to meet the pay
requirement. Past spending plans have met the Proposition 58 test with
plenty of gimmicks."
"Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento,
raised further legal issues Monday. He said a pay stoppage could violate the
separation of powers doctrine by giving the executive branch greater authority
over the legislative branch."
"Steinberg also said it could be a conflict of interest to
force lawmakers to compromise policy positions in order to get paid. Sen. Bob
Huff, R-Diamond Bar, agreed with the latter position."
"Chiang spokeswoman Hallye Jordan suggested last week that
the controller has "no authority to consider the validity of those
projections or expenditures, only that they pencil out." He may believe he
has to accept the Legislature's projections."
The attempt to abolish the cityhood of tiny Vernon and fold the scandal-plagued city into the jurisdiction of L.A. County reflects an unusual political struggle between organized labor and Assembly Speaker John Perez -- who himself came from organized labor. The Times' Sam Allen tells the tale.
"Assembly Speaker John Pérez began his career working for
a local painters union, then spent more than a decade as a political director
of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which recently
named him Person of the Year."
"As one of Sacramento's top Democrats, he's
considered a key advocate of organized labor."
"But as he pushes a plan to disband the troubled city of
Vernon, he's finding himself suddenly at odds with those traditional allies.
Maria Elena Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, is
siding with labor groups who argue that disincorporating the heavily industrial
city south of downtown could result in major job losses as businesses flee
higher taxes and more regulation under another government entity."
"Pérez's plan has garnered the support of many top Los
Angeles Democrats, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and
Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. But
the fissure in the traditional Democratic-labor coalition is likely to be a
central part of the debate as the disincorporation bill, AB 46, goes to the
state Senate this week."
Is Rep. Lynn Woolsey retiring and is Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom interested in her seat? For the first part, maybe; for the second, it's hard to imagine Newsom heading to the House -- at least right now.
From Joe Garofoli in the Chronicle: "We're getting the distinct feeling that something is up. Just got an
"advisory" that Rep. Lynn Woolsey will hold a press conference at her
home Monday in Petaluma "joined by Rep. Barbara Lee and friends and
family."
"Hmmm. Remember, back in December Woolsey's peeps told us
she was "thinking of" retiring and they'd let us know by June.
Tick...tock...tick..."
"All that Woolsey spokesperson Bart Acocella will say is:
"I can tell you that she will make an announcement on the 27th about her
future plans."
"Even with the state's new redistricting plan likely to create a
very-different looking 6th District, there's already a line forming to snag the
super-safe Democratic seat-for-life, starting with termed out Assemblyman Jared Huffman and activist and author Norman Solomon, Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams, state
Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane."
For people who are laid off in their 30s and 40s, the involuntary change in status can be traumatic. But for older workers, it can be a disaster known as "involuntary retirement."
From Kim Lamb Gregory in the Ventura County Star: "It's bad enough to be laid off in your 30s or 40s. For workers in their 50s or
60s, it can be much worse. Some give up looking and retire when they turn 62
and qualify for Social Security benefits, even though the payments will be
lower."
"We are witnessing the birth of a new class — the
involuntarily retired," said a report called "The Shattered
American Dream."
"The report, released in December by the Center for
Workforce Development at Rutgers University, was a follow-up to an August 2009
survey of those who had been unemployed in the previous year. The follow-up
showed that 62 percent of those respondents 55 or older were still unemployed
in November 2010, compared with 57 percent of those 35 to 54 and 47 percent of
those younger than 35."
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has always been one of Californians' favorite politicians, but enthusiasm for her is ebbing, according to a new Field Poll. The Bee's David Siders has the story.
"As Feinstein prepares to run for re-election next year, California voters are inclined to support her, 43 percent
to 39 percent, according to the poll."
"That four-point margin – the same as Feinstein posted in
a Field Poll earlier this year – is her smallest ever in a
pre-election year. First elected to the Senate in 1992, her margins of pre-election year support
ranged from 19 percentage points to 29 percentage points before, the poll said."
"Yet Feinstein's public approval rating remains favorable,
with 46 percent of voters approving of the job she is doing, according to the
poll. Thirty-one percent disapprove, and 23 percent have no opinion."
And from our "Swig Heil!" file comes the tale of Adolf Hitler's drinking glasses, which apparently were swiped years ago from his Berlin bunker and now are being auctioned off. Just what you need for your next dinner party.
"They are emblazoned with swastikas and etched with
Hitler's initials, so it's hard to imagine these glasses being used at any
dinner party you would want to attend."
"But for collectors of Nazi memorabilia, taste is rarely
an issue - and the set of four wine goblets believed to have belonged to the
Nazi leader are expected to fetch up to £8,000 at auction today."
"The glasses, below, also feature the eagle symbol of the
regime."
"Jonathan Humbert, of J P Humbert auctioneers in Towcester,
Northamptonshire, said: 'There is every chance that Adolf Hitler himself sipped
from these glasses. 'The late owner's son told me his father only dealt in
the finest military collectables and it was his understanding that this
glassware came from Hitler's Berlin bunker.”
