The race to fill the 36th Congressional District seat formerly held by Jane Harman has turned into a tight contest: It will be days before the outcome is known and a demand for a recount is looming.
From Jean Merl in the LA Times: "The top finishers late Tuesday night were Los Angeles
City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and conservative businessman
Craig Huey, with 13,137 and 11,648 votes, respectively. But Secretary of State Debra Bowen trailed Huey by just 206
votes.
"A candidate has five days after the tally is completed to
seek a recount. Bowen on Wednesday asked supporters to help her raise money for
one if she does not prevail when this week's tally is finished. A candidate
seeking a recount must pay for it in advance, but the money is refunded if the
outcome changes."
"The runoff is set for July 12."
"Huey's strong showing surprised observers.
Democrats in the South Bay-based district have a nearly 18% registration edge,
and he was one of six Republicans on the
ballot. He pumped $500,000 of his own money into the campaign."
The voter-imposed penalty that lawmakers must have their pay docked for every day the budget is late will get its test this year -- and likely will have less impact on Republicans than Democrats. Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan has the story.
"That part of the initiative played well with
voters. The idea was to give legislators an incentive to get their work done on
time — since pay will not be restored retroactively. Each day that passes is a
day they won’t be paid."
"But it appears unlikely Prop. 25 will do little to get
Republican members to get behind a budget — because compared to their
Democratic counterparts, they don’t need the money."
"Take the GOP Senate Caucus. Of its 15 members, five are millionaires, according
to the Form 700 forms all elected officials file each year with the Fair
Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Another four are probably millionaires,
although that can’t be determined for certain because of the lack of detail
allowed by the forms."
Speaking of budgets, that $6.6 billion infusion of cash reflects a surge of income from capital gains paid by California's wealthiest taxpayers.
From John Howard in Capitol Weekly: "In reality, what’s on the mend is Wall Street: The surge of an estimated $6.6
billion in cash is being driven in large measure by California’s wealthiest
taxpayers who sold stock and other assets and paid income taxes on their
proceeds."
"It is a relatively small number of people, but they affect California’s
financial health disproportionately. The level of unemployment in the state and
the travails of the housing industry – two critical barometers of economic
health – are largely untouched by the state budget’s spending. Currently the
jobless rate is about 12 percent and the housing market is uncertain.
But the budget is affected dramatically by the income taxes paid by the
wealthy."
"Capital gains receipts were up by 60 percent in 2010 over the year before and
they likely will climb another 45 percent in 2011 – more than doubling in two
years – according to the Brown administration. Tax experts believe a Silicon
Valley resurgence is partly fueling the cash boon, but the increase appears to
be more widely spread than the cash bonanza of more than a decade ago."
And more on money: The outlook for the economy plays a crucial role in figuring out the buidget, but even exoperts differ on what that outlook is.
From Greg Lucas in Capitol Weekly: "Brown predicts the state won’t recover the jobs lost
during the recession until the fall of 2016 – 86 months after the recession’s
“end.”
"The unemployment rate will still be in double digits – 10.8 percent through
2012, declining only slightly from the 12.1 percent the budget says will be the
statewide average this year.
At the University of the Pacific’s Eberhardt School of Business in Stockton,
there’s less optimism."
"Their April 19 forecast predicts 11.4 percent unemployment statewide in 2012
and 10.5 percent in 2013."
"While the Bay Area shows stronger economic recovery, the Central Valley stays
in double-digit unemployment through 2014. Sacramento does the best at 10
percent with Merced falling from a current 18.1 percent unemployment rate to
16.1 percent in 2014."
The tale of Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child, grist for the media, gets a look from the Times' George Skelton.
"Out of office, Schwarzenegger harmed his family and
himself. His philandering may be entertaining to people, but it's not their
problem."
"However, Schwarzenegger's missteps as
California's top elected official badly screwed up the state's finances. It
affects us all — school kids, the needy, ordinary taxpayers. And that is
very much our problem..."
"Gov. Jerry Brown now is tackling one of the toughest political
jobs imaginable: trying to clean up the clutter of borrowing left behind by
Schwarzenegger."
"Brown
called it "a wall of debt" Monday in unveiling his revised budget
proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1."
And for those following the unfolding soap opera of la familia Schwarzenegger, it turns out his former housekeeper now lives in Bakersfield. Jason Kotowski of the Bakersfield Califlornian tells the tale.
"The woman named as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s one-time housekeeper-mistress bought
a home in Bakersfield last year and is living there, public records and
interviews with neighbors on Wednesday show..."
"Kern County property records show a Mildred P. Baena, who
is listed as a single woman, bought the home for $268,000 in June 2010. She
took out a mortgage for $219,224 with a 30-year term, the records show. Her
mortgage was notarized by a Ventura County notary."
"Records show the approximately 2,325-square-foot home was
built in 1994. It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a pool."
"Not surprisingly, the northwest Bakersfield cul-de-sac
off Noriega Road and Jewetta Avenue was inundated Wednesday with news trucks
and talking neighbors."
Finally, from our "Low Gear" file comes the tale of the single-vehicle car crash in which the driver went airborne through the branches of a tree.
"Alcohol was a factor in the
accident. Lavin was traveling northbound on Memorial Drive at a high rate of speed and
swerving in and out of traffic when she lost control of her car."
"Witnesses said
her vehicle struck the median, went airborne, crossed the southbound lane and
then rolled four times before landing in the front yard of a home in the 3600
block of Memorial Drive."
"Lavin was thrown from the car, likely through a
back window that was already broken, flew through the branches of a pine tree
and landed on the garage roof of the home."
Lavin climbed off the roof, with help from
bystanders, and tried walking away from the scene. Two Rivers Fire Department paramedics transported her
to Aurora Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
And you thought you had a tough day...
