Public employee unions, the target of pension bashers from Walnut Creek to San Diego, are pushing hard in the Capitol for legislation that gives protects their collective bargaining rights. CalPensions's Ed Mendel tells the tale.
"Having a Democrat in the governor’s office, who relied on
union contributions as he defeated a self-funded Republican who set a spending
record, gives labor leaders the option of seeking legislative relief for some
struggles with management."
"The American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO, is sponsoring at least a half dozen bills, most opposed in
lists of varying length by cities, counties, special districts, schools and
their statewide associations."
"A lobbyist for an employer group told a legislative
committee the issue in one bill should be resolved through collective
bargaining — a reminder that unions often say pension reform should be
bargained, not imposed statewide by legislation."
The latest budget was filled with cuts, but one of them really raised eyebrows: A $71 million hit to the Division of Law Enforcement which, it turns out, has plenty of staffers from a group that opposed Brown in the last election.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "The likely layoffs have sparked suspicions of political
chicanery and not without some justification: There is some very bad blood
here. The CSLEA, rejecting Brown’s overtures, last year endorsed
billionaire Republican Meg Whitman, Brown’s rival for governor. The fallout
over that endorsement included a taped voice mail of a Brown campaign worker
describing Whitman as a “whore.”
"That incident drew wide attention during the heat of the
rancorous gubernatorial campaign and figured in the televised debate last
October between Brown and Whitman. CSLEA also spent $1.6 million to boost
Whitman – which also rankled Brown."
"To some, speaking privately, Brown’s budget cut looked
like classic payback. “Why not? He’s got the budget cuts as cover,” said one
Democrat. “But how would you ever know for sure?”
California's stem cell agency rides first class on the taxpayer dime -- no surprise there -- but the latest example of executive pay raises the issue up a notch. The LA Times' Jack Dolan has the story.
"The 50-person grant-making body will pay a Los Angeles
investment banker $400,000 to serve as its new part-time board chairman,
pushing the combined salaries of its two top officials to nearly $1 million per
year."
"Santa Monica-based Saybrook Capital founder Jonathan
Thomas — chosen over a former cardiologist who was willing to take the job for
less than half the salary — said his pay is "reasonable" because he
has the background to help the agency raise the money it needs to survive.
"Without funding, everything else suffers," Thomas said."
"Voters approved a $3-billion ballot measure establishing the California
Institute for Regenerative Medicine in 2004. In a high-profile campaign,
proponents argued that embryonic stem cell research held the key to curing cancer, Alzheimer's, spinal cord injuries and other maladies."
The donors to a non-profit foundation controlled by the Latino Caucus in the Legislature aren't being disclosed, even though hundreds of thousands of dollars have been shunted to the group.
From the Bee's Jim Sanders: "More than $856,000 was donated to the Latino nonprofit
over a two-year period ending in 2008, including more than $706,000 that was
solicited by then-caucus leader Joe Coto, a San Jose Democratic assemblyman."
"Many of the biggest checks came from powerful Capitol
players, ranging from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association to
the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Since then, solicitations have continued – but disclosure
has stopped."
"Donors were not identified in 2009, 2010 or thus far this
year. Contributions totaled nearly $250,000 in 2009, the most recent year for
which tax records are publicly available.
Fundraising continues, however."
And from our "Jungle Tales" file comes the story of the wayward baboon, who escaped from a Six Flags park, went to the golf course and became something of an instant celebrity on Twitter.
"The baboon has not been identified, though the animals in
the Monkey Jungle are microchipped. Siebeneicher said the animal would need to
be very close to be identified by a chip reader. “It could be be identified if
you had a chip reader, but you’d need to have the [the baboon] in your
possession.”
"The first baboon sighting came Thursday, when a driver
said the animal was near Interstate 195, and later that day a woman said a
baboon was sitting on her back porch in Jackson. On Friday morning, two residents
in developments not far from the park reported a baboon was in their
neighborhoods."
