With the deadline to call a special election just a weekend away, the San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the governor's continuing efforts to overhaul the state pension program.
"The governor said this week that if he can't push a
pension overhaul through the Legislature, he will
place an initiative on the ballot next June." Public employee unions are still looking to hone their political message. "'The state's contribution as a percentage of the general fund is
about the same as it was a decade ago,' said J.J. Jelincic, president of the 96,000-member California State Employees Association."
Well, sort of. "The current pension contribution of $2.6 billion is a little more than 3 percent of the $82.3 billion general fund. A decade ago, the contribution was a little less than 2 percent, at $802 million from a $43 billion general fund.
We're no mathematicians, but if you go from "a little less than two percent" to "a little more than three percent" isn't that a little more than a 50 percent increase?
But generous benefits are not only for public employees. The Times digs some dirt on former CSU chancellor
Barry Munitz, and finds that
he's found the good life as head of the J. Paul Getty Trust. It seems that the famed trust has been pinching pennies after the decline of the stock market, and canned seven security managers in March 2003.
"Days after the security layoffs, trust Chief Executive Barry Munitz drove up the Getty Center's winding driveway in a new Porsche Cayenne. The
Getty paid $72,000 for the SUV. When ordering it, Munitz told an aide it should include the 'best possible sound system,' 'biggest possible sunroof' and 'power everything...'"
That
is a big hill to climb in Brentwood every day.
"Munitz's total compensation topped $1 million in 2003, placing him among the highest-paid foundation chiefs, museum directors and university presidents in the nation, according to published salary surveys and a Times review. That same year,
as the Getty eliminated raises for other employees, Munitz asked for an increase that brought his 2004 pay package to more than $1.2 million."
Sure beats his old gig, battling the California Faculty Association.
The Bee reports on the
resignation of state public health officer,
Richard Jackson. "Although Jackson told the state's key health officials he was leaving to be closer to his family in the Bay Area, sources close to him said his decision reflects his deep frustration with the Schwarzenegger administration."
Capitol reporters will take a special appreciation of this story, since the administration attempted to wheel Jackson before the press corps Tuesday and essentially, and we're paraphrasing here,
blame Democrats for the spread of West Nile Virus. After a bit of grilling from some reporters, most notably and effectively KQED's
John Myers, a visibly flustered Jackson stepped away from the microphone. Not many in that room appeared to be buying whatever the administration was selling that day.
Speaking of sales pitches, USA Today gets their
interview with the guv, and asks about the special election. ""What is going to happen if everything fails? Life goes on," Schwarzenegger said during a 45-minute interview Wednesday. "What do you think, I'm worried about that? I'm only thinking of one thing: victory for the people of California. ... I've done my trip to glorify myself, to do all my things, and to shine. I'm doing this because it gives me a chance to give something back."
We don't know if we should
draw conclusions from this, but Dan Weintraub
writes in his blog that the governor "confirmed last night that he will call a special election for this November and will issue the proclamation on Monday. He let the very obvious cat out the bag during
informal comments to cartoonists from around the nation gathered in Sacramento for their annual convention."
If he's breaking news at a cartoonist convention, there's no telling what will happen at his press conference at Disneyland today.
Dan Walters writes "Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose personal regard for those in uniform is well known, must step in and use the [California National] Guard's latest scandal - the apparently forced retirement of its commanding officer - as the
springboard for a long-needed shake-up."
Meanwhile, the governor is under fire by hospitals and health care advocacy groups for his support of
changes to how the state obtains federal reimbursement for indigent healthcare. "'We don't understand why Gov. Schwarzenegger is siding with the Bush administration, as opposed to California's hospital and healthcare community,' said
Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, an Oakland-based advocacy group. 'We fear that this not only shifts the risk and responsibility to the counties, but could lead to a ratcheting down of local healthcare services up to and including the closure of public hospitals.'"
We missed this item from the Bakersfield Californian editorial page yesterday. It seems that the
UFW is irate at Nicole Parra for taking a walk on a bill requiring farmers to provide access to cool water for their workers.
"Bristling over Parra's expressed doubts about the bill's targeting of agriculture, [UFW President
Arturo] Rodriguez wrote in a June 6 letter to Parra, "The state of California protects animals better than it protects farm workers. ... Too bad you didn't see fit to do something about it by voting for
AB 805."
Rodriguez also chided Parra for her
bill to legalize importing kangaroos and their hides, which are used by shoe makers. On the same day Parra argued against the farm worker heat bill, she argued on the Assembly floor for her kangaroo bill."
Kimberly Kindy takes a look at the director of an Orange County drug treatment center who has been accused of
hiring felons, one of whom raped a treatment center patient. The piece is the first in a two-part series "explores how this fragmented system allows people with a history of serious problems to keep working with vulnerable populations."
They say a Republican is a Democrat who's been robbed. But what do you call a Republican who's been robbed? How about Assembly Republican Leader? The Natomas home shared by Assemblymen
George Plescia, Rick Keene and Kevin McCarthy was robbed this week. Suits, a flat-screen television and the Republican leader's basketball shoes were among the items taken.
And finally, in bad news for gadget addicts and our mobile Roundup readers, the New York Times reports "Final talks in a
patent infringement lawsuit involving the popular BlackBerry e-mail messaging device have reached an impasse, the two companies involved said Thursday, raising the possibility that the
BlackBerry service could be banned from the United States market."
