As primary ballots continue to be counted, tight races for state controller and two congressional seats remain unresolved.
Carla Marinucci reports in the San Francisco Chronicle: “One week after the primary election, California's race for state controller remains a nail-biter, with Betty Yee having edged ahead of fellow Democrat John Pérez in the race for second place and a spot on the November ballot.”
“Both Yee, a member of the state Board of Equalization from San Francisco, and Pérez, an assemblyman from Los Angeles, have 21.7 percent of the vote from the June 3 primary. But Yee is 350 votes ahead of Pérez, with as many as 851,000 ballots still to be counted.”
Gov. Jerry Brown takes a jab at Apple’s Irish tax haven and in return he feels the wrath of an Irish media outlet.
Paige St. John reports for the LA Times: “"When you look at their tax returns, they're really an Irish company ... it's called creative accounting," Brown was quoted as saying.”
“The newspaper called it a "no-holds barred assault on fiscal policy" that drew "gasps" from his audience. The Irish Times reported the same remarks by Brown, but said they were received with "laughter" and noted that Brown went on to praise Irish innovation as well as comment on his own Irish ancestry.”
The Legislature is split on the governor’s proposal to suspend the ethics-training mandate on local governments.
Jim Miller reports in the Sacramento Bee: “The two houses have split on the issue. The Assembly rejected the governor's proposal, noting in a subcommittee report that the mandate's cost "is minimal and the risk may be significant that local governments could decrease transparency because of the statute being deleted."
“The Senate, though, accepted the governor's proposal. Now it's up to the Legislature's budget conference committee to reconcile the different versions. The conference committee has yet to act on the local ethics training mandate.”
State lawmakers vote to ban fundraising in the month prior to the end of session but they rejected a broader fundraising ban proposal.
Laurel Rosenhall reports in the Sacramento Bee: “Responding to an unusual spate of corruption allegations and the revelation that an in-house law enforcement officer had used drugs the night he was involved in a fatal off-duty shooting, the California State Senate passed new rules Monday that will create an ethics ombudsman, update the Senate's code of conduct and ban senators from collecting campaign checks during the last four weeks of the legislative session.”
“But the Senate also shot down a bill that sought a broader fundraising ban and passed a watered-down political ethics bill that lacks limits on lawmakers' travel paid for by interest groups who lobby them.”
Drivers should expect to see another bump at the pump to help fund the governor’s high-speed rail project.
Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross report in SF Gate: “Rough estimates have the gas money amounting to $2 billion to $3 billion a year, according to state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Senate's budget committee.”
“Brown wants a third of it to shore up funding for the proposed bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The rail project is facing a court challenge because it lacks a steady source of money.”
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer agreed to pay a $10,000 fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Laurel Rosenhall reports for the Sacramento Bee: “The Los Angeles Democrat accepted the loan from his girlfriend, Maria Ann Chachere, in December 2011, according to a proposed settlement he reached with the Fair Political Practices Commission. Jones-Sawyer deposited the money into his personal checking and then wrote a $50,000 check in his own name to his campaign committee, the agreement says.”
“The transaction amounts to two violations of the state's Political Reform Act, the settlement says -- first for accepting a political contribution above the $3,900 limit in effect that year, and second for hiding the source of the funds.”
Smart Car tippers are at it again in the Bay Area, this time turning over two vehicles.
Jay Barmann reports in SFist: “In the April incidents, the suspects were described as a "gang of hooded vandals," but it's unclear if this new round is the work of the same people.”
“As the Chronicle dutifully reports, "There's been no evidence of a common motive for the crimes." No, because it's just a funny thing to do while drunk, and the cars only weigh 1,600 pounds and look funny. Not that we are condoning this destructive and childish behavior, because we are not.”
