Gov. Brown, who seems to be getting more testy by the minute, took a look at the national and state political landscapes and doesn't like what he sees: Washington is a mess and resembles California in its political dysfunction.
From the AP's Judy Lin: "The Democratic governor said in a telephone interview that his attempts to negotiate a bipartisan state budget deal earlier this year were characterized by the same level of intransigence in the Republican Party that he observed in Congress."
"The governor signed a state spending plan last month based primarily on spending cuts after it was passed by majority Democrats without Republican support."
"Brown was unable to get GOP support for what he had hoped would be a balanced approach that would have addressed what had been a $26.6 billion deficit through spending cuts and a renewal of expiring tax increases. The temporary hikes to the personal income, sales and vehicle taxes had been enacted under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican."
"I found the same thing with California when I couldn't even get one Republican to vote to extend taxes that had been voted in by the previous governor and they just said, We'll be recalled. They basically said they're frozen in fear of Republican activists who they felt would recall them," Brown said."
He was'nt finished -- he had a few more things to say on the bleak outlook for the nation -- and California.
From Karen de Sa and Steve Harmon in the Mercury News: "In California, some of the most likely cuts include nutritional programs for low-income women and children, the federal portion of the controversial high-speed rail project, clean drinking water programs, and subsidies for farmers."
"Also potentially at risk are federally funded university research projects and military bases, policy-watchers said Tuesday after hastily reviewing the plan to cut national spending by $2.1 trillion over 10 years. None of the cuts have been specified; Congress will decide the first round of $917 billion in the coming months, and a deficit-reduction committee will take a second swipe at the budget later this year."
"In an interview Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown excoriated Republicans for their "obsessional" opposition to taxes and warned that because the congressional debt limit agreement lacks additional stimulus funds, "the economy will creep along instead of roaring back. How much pain will be felt at the state level is difficult to gauge, Brown said, but at stake are hundreds of billions of dollars in federal health programs, education, highways and other vital funds."
A study group headed by former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp delivered its long-awaited investigative report on the scandal-plagued town of Vernon. It found that the community needs to do more to restore public confidence.
In contrast, there's at least one group that appears to be delighted at the same dysfunction excoriated by Brown -- the Tea Party movement.
From the Chronicle's Joe Garofoli: "National Tea Party leaders in California were thrilled about one by-product of the political bloodbath over raising the federal debt ceiling: The fight showed that after two years of rabble-rousing from outside the Capitol, the Tea Party has real power to shape the debate in Washington."
"Their challenge now that President Obama has signed the debt limit law: Can the Tea Party transform its government-shrinking mantra into long-term power, or will it be a one-hit wonder?"
"They're not stopping to think about it. This month, Tea Partiers will storm town hall meetings of Republican and Democratic members of Congress and demand even more cuts. It's the same strategy Tea Party groups used two years ago to protest - and ultimately water down - the health care reform law when they burst on the national scene."
From Hector Becerra and Sam Allen in the LA Times: "Van de Kamp's review was launched in February as part of Vernon's effort to defeat AB 46, a bill in the state Legislature calling for the city to be disbanded. Supporters of it argue that Vernon, an industrial city with only 112 residents, is without an independent electorate and has been controlled for decades by a small group of individuals. Three top city officials have been convicted on public corruption charges in the last five years."
"Almost all of the residential units in Vernon are owned by the city, which has rented them, mostly to people with connections to the city government, at drastically subsidized rates. Critics have questioned how independent the electorate actually is given that the City Council is their landlord."
"Van de Kamp said he and his team were surprised to find how many of Vernon's residents had "direct connections" with officials at City Hall — 25 of the city's 62 registered voters."
Enough of all things political: Let's look into our "Only in Taft" file to learn about a readiness drill for armed robbery. What could possibly go wrong?
"The original plan was a simple exercise to let staff at the West Kern Water District practice what they had learned in training. But a last-minute change of plans left the four staffers thinking they had really been held up at gunpoint. It happened Friday morning at the offices of the water district in Taft."
An employee put on a mask and robbed the four women who work at the front desk. The man had a bag and a note claiming he had a gun and demanding money."
"It wasn't until after the man left that the women learned the robbery was fake."
"It was a good idea to begin with; it just got a little out of control and people got frightened, and I’m sorry about that," said West Kern Water District customer Sharlene Dunlap."
