Only one shopping day left until the big May Revise.
And if you haven't secured your federal waiver yet,
well, you may be out of luck come Friday afternoon.
Shane Goldmacher and Evan Halper report Gov. Schwarzenegger's
revised budget plan is expected to propose dismantling many of the state's health programs,
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to present
a revised budget plan Friday that would dismantle some
of California's landmark healthcare programs after
efforts to scale them back have been reversed by federal
courts.
"The rulings, issued mostly over the last two years,
have already forced the state to unwind roughly $2.4 billion in cuts approved by the governor and Legislature
and have alarmed other financially strapped states
seeking ways to balance their budgets.
Schwarzenegger has lashed out at the federal judges,
saying they've been "going absolutely crazy" and accusing
them of interfering with the state's ability to get
its finances in order."
If you're looking for more clues about Friday's proposal,
just look back at the last week. Here's a hint: Don't be surprised if talks of pension reform and changing the state's governance
structure also get folded in to this year's budget talks.
Capitol Weekly reports, "
It began Friday when the state controller’s office released revenue figures that show cash for
April came in $3.5 billion below projections. Then, on Monday Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth unveiled his proposal for overhauling state pensions,
with Schwarzenegger adviser David Crane as his star witness. Sen. Darrell Steinberg accused Republicans of wanting to double the state’s deficit through tax cut proposals, while Assembly
Speaker John Perez saw some of his members pass $5 billion in tax increases.
"Taken together, the past week highlights both the
grim revenue picture the state faces and some of the
policy priorities and efforts to frame the budget discussions
currently underway inside the Capitol."
Rich Connell reports on a lawsuit that accuses Steve Poizner of being a "technology thief."
"The cover of his book says Poizner was "founder of
SnapTrack Inc., the inventor of mobile-phone GPS technology." But federal lawsuits have accused
the company, which made Poizner the bulk of his fortune,
of infringing on others' intellectual property.
One ongoing suit in federal court in San Diego, dealing
partly with the period when Poizner ran the company,
says it is seeking to "hold technology thieves responsible
for their wrongful conduct." Poizner is not a named
defendant, but the suit claims that as chief executive
officer he participated in discussions in which false
assurances were given that another company's intellectual
property would be protected.
"Poizner said neither he nor his firm ever infringed
on others' intellectual property. He suggested that
the suits aimed at his former company are typical of
some in the highly competitive technology field.
A federal judge has ordered
a delay in the election to replace Abel Maldonado.
"A federal judge Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order to halt
Monterey County from preparing to hold a June 22 special election to
fill the Senate district seat vacated when Abel Maldonado
became
lieutenant governor.
"U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel told both sides to prepare for a
hearing May 20 before a three-judge panel to determine whether to stop
the election on grounds that changes in the elections
procedures must be
cleared with the U.S. Department of Justice under
the Voting Rights
Act."
The Los Angeles city council voted Wednesday to ban most official travel to Arizona to protest that state's new immigration law.
Phil Willon reports, "Council members argued that a
new Arizona law, which will make it a
state crime to lack immigration papers and requires
police to determine
whether people they stop are in the country illegally,
would lead to
racial profiling and discrimination. The law takes
effect July 23.
"During a morning-long debate on the resolution, council members compared
Arizona's action to those of Nazi Germany and the
beginning of the
Holocaust, as well as the internment and deportation
of Japanese
Americans during World War II.
"Los Angeles is the second-largest city in this country, an immigrant
city, an international city. It needs to have its voice
heard," said
Councilman Ed Reyes, one of the resolution's sponsors.
"As an American, I
cannot go to Arizona today without a passport. If
I come across an
officer who's having a bad day and feels that the picture
on my ID is
not me, I can be … deported, no questions asked. That is not American."
And finally, from our Mother of the Year Files, AP reports, "An East Tennessee woman has been
charged with forcing
her 5-year-old son to smoke a cigarette. A Carter County deputy
told the Johnson City Press that a 24-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday night on charges of
child abuse and neglect, disorderly conduct and possession
of marijuana. A jail officer said the woman was being
held on a $12,500 bond. Jail records did not show if the woman hired
a lawyer.
Deputy Cory Tidwell said that in response to a complaint
by a witness he stopped the woman in a car and she
told him she she had forced her son to smoke a cigarette
because "she was teaching him not to smoke."
Clearly.
