"The checks had been on hold for nearly six
weeks, mostly because the department needed to reprogram
its
25-year-old computer system to process the extension. Claims for the
checks were filed automatically.
"New claim forms for the next set
of two-week checks were sent out Monday. The department is
still hoping
to get all checks mailed by next week, spokeswoman
Loree Levy said.
"The
rush to send the checks followed an order by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's Labor and Workforce Development Department.
Those
eligible for the latest extension are the state's longest-term
unemployed, those who have exhausted all 79 weeks of unemployment
insurance provided by the state and federal governments
since the
recession began."
Timm Herdt chimes in on the Race to the Top kerfuffle.
"There are 10,129 public schools in California, attended by about 6.3
million students. There are about 850 charter schools, attended by
about 200,000 students.
The current hang-up in Sacramento over accessing up to $700 million
in federal funds to improve education for these 6.5 million kids is
mostly about the 3 percent who attend charter schools.
"For all the bluster that has emanated in recent weeks
from Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, the controversy over
legislation to
bring California into compliance with federal Race
to the Top funding
guidelines is mostly about charter schools."
The Bee eulogizes two well-known Capitol insiders. Dan Walters remembers lobbyist Don Peterson.
"As influential as he became on behalf of local governments,
it was a shame that Don didn't become a state legislator.
He would
certainly have become a star player in the Capitol
as a get-it-done
moderate in the mold of other influential centrists
of the 1980s and
1990s such as Republican Ken Maddy or Democrat Walter Stiern.
"When
a Maddy, a Stiern or a Don Peterson dies, it's a sad reminder of all
that was once right about our political system – how it attracted some
of the state's best and brightest who were committed
to the state's
well-being – and how much it has deteriorated into a mindless,
unproductive game of personal and partisan posturing
and special
interest influence-peddling."
And Hudson Sangree notes the passing of Paul Gerowitz.
"Gerowitz, a Davis lawyer, was also a former legislative
director
for Protection and Advocacy, a disability rights group.
Gerowitz, who
served as counsel to the Assembly Public Safety Committee
and as the
first executive director of the California Attorneys
for Criminal
Justice, died recently from colon cancer. He was 60.
"He was a committed advocate but was known for his
thoughtful demeanor,
political acumen and ability to work with opposing
factions to craft
legislation. John
Burton, chairman of the state Democratic Party and former
president pro
tem of the state Senate, chaired the Assembly Public
Safety Committee
when Mr. Gerowitz worked there in the early 1990s.
"He was smart
and terrific," Burton said. "He worked with defense lawyers to
DAs to
victims. He was very respected and a good guy and professional
and
never took stuff personal."
