California
FEDS RAID OFFICES OF SEN. CALDERON AND LATINO CAUCUS–IS THERE CONNECTION TO NOGUEZ SCANDAL?
The Sacramento offices of Senator Ron Calderon and the California Latino Legislative Caucus were raided shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday evening by federal officials that included the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI. The sudden and extensive evidence-gathering operation immediately ignited speculation of a connection with alleged corruption by Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez. [...]
STATE SENATE PASSES BILL GIVING JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS OPTIONS IN CASES OF DRUG POSSESSION
Moving more quickly than even its supporters anticipated, the California State Senate has approved a bill to reform the state’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession. The Local Control in Sentencing Act (SB 649) was approved by a floor vote of 23-14 last Thursday (May 2), and next will be considered by the state Assembly. [...]
IS FOSTER NEGOTIATING AND TAKING ACTION ON SCIG RAIL YARD WITHOUT AUTHORITY?
Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, scrambling to broker settlement between Long Beach and Los Angeles, their ports and BNSF railroad over the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) railyard, indicates in an April 30 letter that several conversations with Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster lead him to “understand that the City of Long Beach has [...]
KARL ROVE TO CALIFORNIA GOP: “GET OFF YOUR ASS!”
[ This lead-and-link appears with the permission of the Sacramento Bee, in accordance with GreaterLongBeach.com policy, which is based upon respect for the work of journalists and a belief that the source of a story is part of that story. ] BY TOREY OOT / Sacramento Bee SACRAMENTO—In their latest effort to rebuild and rebrand, California Republicans [...]
STATE BAR SUSPENDS CERRITOS COUNCIL CANDIDATE FRANK YOKOHAMA
Cerritos City Council candidate Frank Aurelio Yokoyama has been suspended by the California State Bar from practicing law after he was cited for several violations, Los Cerritos Community Newspaper has learned. Yokoyama, 44, was suspended from practicing law on January 7, 2012 by Judge Richard A. Platel of the California State Bar Court. Court documents [...]
THIS IS 40: REMEMBERING BIRTH OF CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
It's been 40 years since California voters passed the proposition that created the Coastal Commission, establishing their right to regulate development, ensure public access and protect the state's coastline for future generations. Long Beach's Mel Nutter was there, and he remembers.
O’DONNELL: “IT DOESN’T MEAN I’M RUNNING … IT DOESN’T MEAN I’M NOT”
Long Beach City Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell has formed the "O'Donnell for Assembly 2014," but says it "doesn’t mean I’m running for the state assembly ... and it doesn’t mean I’m not.”
LUCILLE ROYBAL, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, REMEMBERED AS LATINA PIONEER
Lucille Beserra Roybal, the mother of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, died peacefully in her sleep Dec. 23, family members announced Wednesday. She was 95. A viewing is scheduled today from 3-8 p.m., with a Rosary at 6:30 p.m., at Calvary Mortuary Chapel and Cemetery in Los Angeles. The funeral Mass and interment will take place 11 [...]
PORTIONS OF LB WON’T HAVE A STATE SENATOR UNTIL DECEMBER 2014
LONG BEACH — Quick quiz: if you live in Belmont Shore or Los Altos east of Bellflower Blvd. — and maybe east of Clark Avenue — who’s your new state Senator? Answer: you don’t have a state Senator…and you won’t have one for the next two years. And a very small chunk of western West [...]
U.S. SENATOR DANIEL INOUYE DEAD AT 88
United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye, World War II veteran, Medal of Honor recipient and Hawaii’s senior Senator, passed away from respiratory complications at 5:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His wife Irene and his son Ken were at his side. Last rites were performed by Senate [...]
IMPLICATIONS IN U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION TO HEAR CALIFORNIA’S PROP 8
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday decided it will determine the constitutionality of two cases on marriage rights: California’s Proposition 8 and the federal government’s Defense of Marriage Act. Their decision, due no later than June 2013, could decide the validity of gay marriages in California, and possibly nationwide. Proposition 8, passed in November 2008, [...]
OBSCURE ‘ELECT NOGUEZ COMMITTEE’ DONATED TO LOCAL, STATE CAMPAIGN COFFERS
Los Cerritos Community Newspaper has found a campaign fund controlled by jailed Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez that was established in 2010 to donate contributions in the tens of thousands of dollars to some of the most powerful politicians in California including Governor Jerry Brown, State Controller John Chiang, at least two members of [...]
LA COUNTY OWES 47 CITIES; STATE DEMANDS $17.1M FROM CERRITOS
The California Supreme Court this week ruled that Los Angeles County improperly withheld more than $10 million in property tax administration fees. Monday’s decision comes from a lawsuit (City of Alhambra, et al. v. Los Angeles County) filed by 47 cities, including Long Beach, Lakewood and Signal Hill, challenging the fee on the grounds that [...]
LECOURS HQ: GARY DELONG ON THE UPS AND DOWNS OF HIS CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN
Do mailers make a difference for the undecided voter? With Election Day less than 24 hours away, journalist Michelle Lecours in a two-part Lecours HQ interview sat down with Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong to discuss his election campaign. DeLong, who represents the city’s 3rd District, is up against Sen. Alan Lowenthal to represent the [...]
ONE QUESTION … FOR CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE ALAN LOWENTHAL
Would your current run for Congress be an easier election---for example, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, a Democrat, has remained neutral---if you had voted differently on Redevelopment Agencies?
A RARE (AND WELCOME) GLIMPSE OF JAMES JOHNSON’S SEETHING, SCATHING SIDE
LB Councilmember James Johnson attended last year's public hearing on impacts of proposed Port of LA railyard at Silverado Park (above, center), and when he learned no hearing will be held in Long Beach on the project's new EIR ... well, we all learned something about James Johnson.
DELONG VS. LOWENTHAL DIGITAL DUEL IN THE LB-OC CONGRESSIONAL RACE
LONG BEACH– Councilman Gary DeLong’s Congressional campaign on Monday issued a release blasting Sen. Alan Lowenthal campaign’s in connection with actions by a “tracker” following the Oct. 5 League of Women Voters candidate forum at CSULB. A few hours later at mid-afternoon, the California Democratic Party released on YouTube.com video and audio of the encounter. [...]
FORMER CALIFORNIA LT GOVERNOR MERYVN DYMALLY PASSES AWAY
LOS ANGELES — Former California Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally has died at the age of 86. Dymally was a former California assemblyman, senator and lieutenant governor as well as a member of Congress. A former press secretary for the Democratic lawmaker said Dymally died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 86. Jasmine Cannick said Dymally’s [...]
GOV. BROWN PUSHES FOR EARLY SWITCH TO ‘WINTER BLEND’ GAS TO EASE PUMP PRICES
In an unusual Sunday action, Governor Jerry Brown today (Oct. 7) directed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) “to immediately take whatever steps are necessary” to make an early switch to “winter-blend” gasoline (which usually isn’t sold until after Oct. 31) in an effort to increase the state’s gasoline supply and lower guel prices. “Gas [...]
FORMER LBPD CHIEF BATTS EXPECTED TO BE BALTIMORE’S NEW POLICE COMMISSIONER
BALTIMORE, MD — Former Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts is expected to be named Baltimore’s new Police Commissioner, after being selected by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Batts devoted 27 years to Long Beach, rising through the ranks in LBPD to be named police chief in 2002. After seven years as LBPD chief, Batts’ career took [...]
LECOURS HQ: KNABE TALKS SEX TRAFFICKING, BUDGETS AND MED-POT
Michelle Lecours of LECOURS HQ recently spoke with Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. Knabe, whose 4th district encompasses Long Beach and the greater Los Angeles area, in a three-part interview discusses child sex trafficking — the center of his office’s recent anti-sex trafficking public awareness campaign – as well as fiscal budgets. He also [...]
RICHARDSON RESPONDS TO ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT
Long Beach Congresswoman Laura Richardson this morning spoke on the House floor to criticize the House Ethics Committee report about her ethical violations in office. The House formally adopted the bipartisan report and reprimanded Richardson for breaking seven laws, rules or standards of conduct for her improper use of House resources for campaign and personal [...]
LAURA RICHARDSON REPRIMANDED, FINED $10,000 BY HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE
Laura Richardson, whose meteoric rise from the Long Beach City Council to the State Assembly to the House of Representatives in less than a year left a vapor trail of controversy, has been reprimanded and fined by congressional ethics investigators.
BP OIL RECEIVED $1B IN PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION FROM NOGUEZ’S OFFICE
One of the world’s largest oil producers, BP (formerly British Petroleum), received more than $1 billion worth of property tax reductions during the tenure of embattled Los Angeles County Assessor John R. Noguez, Los Cerritos Community Newspaper has learned. British Petroleum, who owns and oversees a massive operation throughout Los Angeles County, had a major [...]
LECOURS HQ HEAD TO LEAD PBS SOCAL ELECTION COVERAGE
GreaterLongBeach.com contributor Michelle Lecours wears many hats. This week, she dons another. Lecours is a Signal Hill Tribune staff writer, political moderator and founder of LECOURS HQ, and the mind behind the Michelle Lecours Show. PBS SoCal this week named her as its senior interactive editor for the station’s 2012 online production “Checked and Balanced,” [...]
CSU MONEY MATTERS: PAY RAISES FOR TOP ADMINISTRATORS, 5% TUITION HIKE FOR STUDENTS
LONG BEACH — It’s going to be a busy Tuesday for trustees of the California State University system: in the same session, they will discuss raising tuition fees and hear out Chancellor Charles Reed’s request for the approval of pay raises for high-level administrators. Reed’s push for pay raises for more high level CSU administrators, [...]
LOWENTHALS’ TAX-BREAK-FOR-SHIPPERS BILL SWEEPS THROUGH SENATE, 37-0
The state Senate voted, 37-0, this morning to approve a measure authored by Alan and Bonnie Lowenthal that would continue permitting shippers to avoid paying California’s sales/use tax on a portion of the fuel they buy. SB 1243, sponsored by Senator Alan Lowenthal in the Senate, thus moves on to the Assembly, where the sponsor [...]
LOWENTHAL’S TAX-BREAK-FOR-SHIPPERS BILL ON TODAY’S STATE SENATE AGENDA
A bill by Long Beach state Senator Alan Lowenthal’s that would continue to free shippers from paying California’s sales/use tax on a portion of the fuel they buy for another 12 years—at an annual cost of between $92 million and $137.5 to the state—is on today’s agenda in Sacramento. LBReport.com will carry today’s state Senate floor session [...]
ALAN & BONNIE’S SALES TAX BREAK ON SHIPPING FUEL COULD COST CALIFORNIA BETWEEN $92 MILLION AND $137.5 MILLION
LBReport.com reports that the Alan and Bonnie Lowenthal bill—SB 1243, allowing shippers to continue buying a category of fuel without paying state sales tax for 12 years—would cost California between $92 million and $137.5 million annually, according to an analysis by the State Board of Equalization. Alan Lowenthal, termed out as Long Beach’s state senator [...]
KINDE DURKEE: THE QUESTION ISN’T IF SHE DID IT, BUT WHERE SHE PUT IT
BY AMANDA BECKER / RollCall.com Kinde Durkee’s plea of guilty Friday to five counts of mail fraud against her clients—translation, to embezzling more than $7 million from the campaign bank accounts of California political candidates—did not answer the question that’s been asked most since since she was arrested in September: Where did the money go? [...]
HOW IS PRISON REALIGNMENT WORKING AFTER 6 MONTHS? GET ANSWERS AT TONIGHT’S CORR MEETING
The Public Safety Realignment will be six months old on April 1, but please don’t feel like a fool if you’re confused. Since the California legislature put it into effect on Oct. 1, 2011, by passing Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109), the Realignment has produced far more questions than answers, and among the most common [...]
GREATER LB RADIO TONITE: FANYA BARUTI ON SUIT TO RESTORE 85,000 PRISONERS’ VOTING RIGHTS
Fanya Baruti of Long Beach, who discovered political activism while incarcerated and has made it his life’s work since his release, will cast light upon the greatest needs and obstacles facing our huge population of current and former prisoners—oh, and solutions, too—during his appearance tonight on Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga. The program [...]
LAWSUIT ASSERTS REALIGNED PRISON SYSTEM MEANS VOTING RIGHTS FOR 85,000
A suit filed in the Court of Appeal asserts that a law which deprives people in state prison of the right to vote should not be applied to people who are not in state prison. If the court agrees, more than 85,000 people could vote in the November election.
BELLFLOWER, NORWALK BECOME THEIR CITIES’ RDA SUCCESSOR AGENCIES
The cities of Bellflower and Norwalk have officially become successor agencies to their now-defunct redevelopment programs and are charged, under the law enacted through Assembly Bill X1 26,, with winding down redevelopment activities and paying off contractual and financial debt obligations of those projects. Both cities, as required, set up a payment plan to meet [...]
LOWENTHALS SEEK TO EXTEND SHIPPERS’ TAX BREAK AS CONSUMERS ASKED TO VOTE THEMSELVES AN INCREASE
State Senator Alan Lowenthal, finishing up his final term in Sacramento while campaigning for Congress in the newly drawn 47th district, has introduced a bill that would indefinitely extend a tax break he helped secure for the maritime industry in 2003—even as Governor Jerry Brown is asking Californians to vote themselves a sales tax increase [...]
CALIFORNIA’S NEW DISTRICTS SCARE OLD COOTS OUT OF CONGRESS
Veteran Representative Jerry Lewis of Redlands, the impeccably coiffed "dentured servant of the Inland Empire," was among three Republican congressmen from California who retired last week---consequences of the state's new redistricting process and plain, old age.
TODAY’S PEACE & JUSTICE SUMMIT CONSIDERS RE-ENTRY ISSUES OF EARLY-RELEASED PRISONERS
The Long Beach Community Peace & Justice Summit convenes this morning in the Seaside Ballroom of the Convention & Entertainment Center, where challenges and opportunities presented by the early release of perhaps 30,000 prisoners in California will be identified, discussed and, perhaps, even solved. Admission is free, and not only open to the public, but [...]
A GREATER CALIFORNIA: MIKE EVANS SEES IT GROWING IN YOUR FRONT YARD
California native plant expert and missionary Mike Evans---a sort of Johnny Appleseed to the salvia set---will share simple instructions (and very good reasons) for replacing a grass lawn with a garden of indigenous plants at 6:30 p.m. on November at the Groundwater Treatment Plant. The free event is co-sponsored by GreaterLongBeach.com and the Water Department.
FORMER LBPD CHIEF ANTHONY BATTS RESIGNS AS TOP COP IN OAKLAND
Anthony Batts, shown here with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, said he is considering a research position at Harvard University after resigning Tuesday as Oakland police chief. Batts resigned as Long Beach police chief in 2009 to take the top cop job in Oakland.In both jobs, Batts was frustrated by city council-imposed cuts to his force.
REDRAWN DISTRICT LINES DRAWING ATTENTION TO CALIFORNIA RACES
[Editor's Note: Kyle Trygstad of RollCall.com wrote this piece.] California has begun a new era of political theater that has caught the eye of both national parties as the decade-long drought of competitive Congressional elections comes to a close. Republicans could face a loss of as many as six seats because of the state’s new independent redistricting [...]
DO JUVENILE CONVICTS DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REDEMPTION?
After a long and passionate debate, the California Assembly still can't decide what to do about a bill that would give juveniles convicted of heinous crimes a chance to reduce their "life without possibility of parole" sentences by allowing them to submit petitions for sentence reconsiderations after serving 15 years.
LB COUNCIL MEMBER SCHIPSKE ELECTED SECRETARY OF STATE MEDICAL BOARD
The California Medical Board today elected Long Beach City Council member Gerrie Schipske as Secretary of the Board, as well as a member of the executive committee, during its quarterly meeting in Sacramento. News of Schipske’s election was disseminated via a press release from her 5th district council office. Schipske has been a member of [...]
STATE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION’S ETCHINGS PORTRAY LONG BEACH IN A MENAGE-A-TROIS, TIMES TWO
SACRAMENTO (via LBReport.com)—The latest tinkering by the California Redistricting Commission put parts of Long Beach into three state Senate districts and three Assembly districts—far from the unified representation for which local officials have been pleading. If ultimately adopted by the Commission and not changed further by possible litigation, these election district lines would determine how [...]
BROWN SIGNS BILLS ENDING REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DESPITE THREATENED LAWSUITS
Governor Jerry Brown today (June 28) signed multiple budget-related bills sent to him by Democrats holding majorities in the state Senate and Assembly that among other things eliminate local redevelopment agencies and direct resolution of their activities and create an alternative “voluntary” redevelopment program. Gov. Brown proposed phasing out local redevelopment agencies shortly after taking [...]
SEN. LOWENTHAL COAXES STYROFOAM BAN THROUGH STATE SENATE
State Senator Alan Lowenthal’s bill to ban styrofoam food containers in California—except in areas where at least 60 percent of them are recycled—has been approved by the state Senate and sent to the Assembly. Lowenthal’s legislation, SB 568, was stalled two votes short of passage Thursday morning after a pair of 19-14 roll call votes. [...]
WILL COUNCIL BACK LOWENTHAL BILL TO BAN POLYSTYRENE FOAM CONTAINERS?
Greater Long Beach-area state Senator Alan Lowenthal’s bill to ban polystyrene foam containers throughout California could reach the state Senate floor as early as today—but certainly before June 3—and the Long Beach City Council’s State Legislation Committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss whether to recommend full Council support of the measure. Fourth District [...]
CLOSING STATE PARKS: REAL POSSIBILITY OR REALLY GOOD BARGAINING CHIP?
The Governor's Mansion is among 70 California parks and historic buildings---one quarter of the state's total---that are threatened with closure because of budget cuts. Sad, but is it true? Or just an empty political tactic?
BULLET TRAIN’S NUMBERS BOMBED BY LEGISLATIVE ANALYSTS OFFICE
A high-speed rail system stretching from San Diego to San Francisco has been billed as an environmental godsend that will get people out of airliners and cars and still run free of taxpayer subsidies. The reality is considerably understated costs, unrealistic assumptions on financing, inadequate staff and lack of oversight from the Legislature.
CALDERON ACCUSED OF ‘DEGRADING’ COMMENTS ABOUT STATE CHIEF JUSTICE
California Assembly majority leader Charles Calderon, a Democrat who represents most of Downey in the state’s lower house, is accused of making “degrading and inappropriate” remarks about the personality, intelligence and physical attractiveness of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. Sen. Noreen Evans, a Democrat who represents Santa Rosa—and heads the Legislative Women’s [...]
HI-SPEED RAIL REGULATORS SPEAK SECRETLY AND CARRY A RUBBER STAMP
The committee established to review the immense ridership figures that have been projected for California's high-speed train system turns out to be just another expensive layer of self-endorsing bureacracy.
HI-SPEED TRAIN AGENCY UNHAPPY WITH ALAN LOWENTHAL’S BILL TO REIN IT IN
Long Beach state Senator Alan Lowenthal's bill 517 (SB 517) would place the High-Speed Rail Authority---which since its creation has operated pretty much on its own---under the direct control of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. The High-Speed Railers are, well, railing against it.
STATE’S JOBLESS FUND AS BROKE AS THOSE IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING
California’s disastrous unemployment rate drove the State Unemployment Fund into insolvency two years ago. It pays benefits today only because of federal loans and will have a $13.4-billion deficit by the end of this year. Failure to repay will cost California employers more than $6 billion in additional federal taxes in 2012.
LEGISLATION BY LAKEWOOD HIGH STUDENTS PASSES ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE
Leaders of Lakewood High's so-called Sacramento Seven---from right to left, Terrell Snead, Assemblyman Warren Furutani, Kaitlyn Miller and Brandon Perez---testify in favor of their bill, AB 1174, Wednesday afternoon before the California Assembly's Education Committee.
LAKEWOOD HIGH’S “SACRAMENTO SEVEN” TO TESTIFY IN CAPITOL BUILDING WEDNESDAY FOR THEIR ASSEMBLY BILL
Nearly eight months after 45 students in a Lakewood High School civics began their final year at the school by batting around ideas for a worthwhile senior project, seven of them will spend Wednesday in the state Capitol Building lobbying and testifying in favor of a bill they have proposed. The Sacramento Seven, they are [...]
STATE SENATE TO CONSIDER WIDENING THE PERSPECTIVE OF HISTORY CLASSES
A bill requiring California schools to widen the perspective of history classes so as to include the role and contributions of many ethnic groups, sexual orientations and persons with disabilities has been approved by the state Senate Judiciary Committee and will now be considered by the full Senate. Awkwardly acronymed the FAIR—that’s Fair, Accurate, Inclusive [...]
ADMINISTRATOR OF STATE COURTS’ $1.9-BILLION COMPUTER MESS RESIGNS
William Vickery, the longtime professional administrator of the California court system, has retired amid calls for his resignation due to severe problems with implementing a new computerized information system, reports the Sacramento Bee. The expensive problems with the system—and the resulting controversy—were extensively reported on GreaterLongBeach.com in February via a story by Katy Grimes of [...]
BILL BY LAKEWOOD HIGH CIVICS CLASS REACHES ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE
Lakewood High students who proposed AB 1174---which would prohibit adults from soliciting minor-aged children going to and from public schools---are raising money for an April 13 trip to Sacramento to testify before the Education Committee.
BY SAVING RDA, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS’ REPUTATION IS BROUGHT TO BLIGHT
Redevelopment Agencies are about everything Republicans claim to loath: bureaucracy, debt, abuses of property rights, big government, excessive land-use rules, subsidized housing and fiscal irresponsibility ... oh, and this oversized macrame thing that the Long Beach RDA erected downtown at a cost of $60,000.
BROWN’S LATEST BUDGET-CUTTING IDEA: WILL IT BRING BACK TOWN CRIERS?
The Governor suggests a one-year suspension of the 58-year-old Open Meeting Law, which requires governmental bodies to give adequate announcement of their meetings, post their agendas, meet in public and keep to those agendas. In other words, it's a pillar of California's modern democracy.
BIG GOVERNMENT’S GOT A BRAND NEW (REUSABLE SHOPPING) BAG
According to the bill, all reusable bags sold or distributed in California must be “made from a material that can be cleaned and disinfected,” must have “guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting” printed clearly on the bag and must “not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts.”
WARREN FURUTANI LAYS DOWN THE LAW-MAKING FOR LAKEWOOD STUDENTS
“Who’s got a vote? That’s what counts,” Assembly member Warren Furutani told a group of Lakewood High students during a strategy session for a bill they have introduced in Sacramento. "Other questions are important only to the extent that our answers will help us secure the votes of committee members that will get our bill to the floor.”
ALAN LOWENTHAL REVEALS SUPPORT FOR GOVERNOR’S PHASEOUT OF RDA’S
State Senator Alan Lowenthal told a combined meeting of the Senate and Assembly budget committees that he supports Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to phase out local Redevelopment agencies (RDA). Brown had presented his budget proposal to the committee and was still seated at the witness table when Lowenthal revealed his position. “I support your initiative [...]
NEW COURT COMPUTERS: $1.9 BILLION AND 26 STEPS TO OPEN A JUDGE’S CALENDAR
"It is slow, labor intensive, and does little that off-the-shelf programs could not have been modified to do for much less investment,” said one Superior Court judge. Another called the court computer system “idiotic,” “counter-intuitive,” and "so stupid that it isn’t compatible with Microsoft Word.”
RUNAWAY TRAINS: COST OF CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL ACCELERATING
Turns out bullet trains exhibit tremendous momentum before they even start running---before they’re even built, in fact. It builds from the interplay between the government agencies and officials that approve the projects and the corporations that build them and is extremely difficult for citizens groups to overcome.
A VALENTINE’S DAY PROTEST THAT ALL IN LOVE IS STILL NOT FAIR
The Center, Long Beach’s gay and lesbian community center, is joining with 10 other Los Angeles County gay and lesbian and equality groups on Valentine’s Day to hold what’s being called a Peaceful Protest for Marriage Equality at the East Los Angeles County Clerks office. The Feb. 14 event is part of a nationwide day [...]
POLL FINDS 66 PERCENT OF CALIFORNIANS SUPPORT BROWN’S RDA PHASEOUT
Nearly two-thirds of Californians—66 percent of adults, 63 percent of likely voters—favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to phase out local redevelopment agencies and enterprise zones so that state money can be freed up to maintain school funding, according to a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Released Jan. 26, the poll surveyed Californians’ [...]
BATTS WILL STAY AS OAKLAND CHIEF, BUT DOESN’T SOUND VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT
Anthony Batts, who resigned as chief of the Long Beach Police Department last year to sign a three-year contract as police chief in Oakland—then shocked that city this month by applying for police chief of the San Jose Police Department—learned Thursday that his latest dream-job-come true … well … didn’t. San Jose city manager Debra Figone picked [...]
WHAT WOULD A STRONGER COASTAL COMMISSION BE LIKE? IN A WORD, “FINE”
What's chilling about the proposal are the priorities of the Legislative Analysts Office. Never mind the impact of fines on Coastal Act enforcement, never mind the issue of whether a state agency ought to have this power---to the LAO, administering fines is first and foremost a matter of raising revenue.
LOSING RDA DOESN’T SCARE DOWNEY, BUT MAYOR COMPLAINS, ANYWAY
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget-cutting proposal to do away with redevelopment agencies has entrenched parties up in arms throughout California, but doesn’t scare Downey officials at all. Does it? Mayor Luis Marquez gave that brave impression to the Downey Patriot. He pointed out that Downey’s two project areas have a combined budget of $4.5 million and [...]
WHY THE REPUBLICAN SILENCE ON BROWN’S PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE RDA’S?
There’s mostly silence coming from Republican legislators on Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan proposal for eliminating redevelopment agencies. If Republicans don’t support a substantial structural cut such as eliminating redevelopment agencies, then what do they embrace as real reform?
ATTACK OF THE CALIFORNIA HAIR RESOURCES BOARD!
Maybe you didn’t know the California Air Resources Board (CARB)---created in 1967 to regulate pollution sources like trucks and automobiles---is also interested in hair-care products? It is ... and watch out, because it takes the responsibility very seriously.
THESE 10 FACTS MAY CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT CALIFORNIA
Welcome to California. It has the world's eighth-largest economy but personal incomes went down. Only New York's tax burden is significantly higher. Adult obesity has more than doubled in 20 years but the crime rate is at its lowest level in a half century. We like it here.
DRIVING CALIFORNIA: A HARDLY KNOWN HALF DOZEN WHO STEER OUR STATE
It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for nostalgic looks back and fond retrospectives on 2010’s most memorable events and personalities (this is due, in great part, to the fact that nearly everyone in the Capitol is on vacation, so virtually nothing is going on). So it wasn’t a surprise when I [...]
‘REVOLUTION’ OF PROP 25 WILL LIKELY LEAVE LEGISLATORS SPINNING IN PLACE
Most Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature don't think Prop 25 will translate into anything new. Despite its promise to end budgetary gridlock, they suspect Prop 25 will ultimately translate into the very same budget shambles we’ve been enduring for so long.
FURUTANI’S APPOINTMENT PUTS HIM AT CENTER OF PUBLIC PENSION ISSUE
Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani, whose 55th District cuts across multiple cities in Greater Long Beach, announced via press release today that he has been appointed chair of the Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security (PERSS) by Assembly Speaker John Perez. The committee’s jurisdiction includes oversight of the public retirement administration and investment strategy, [...]
THE PAPERWORK OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS MAY SOON BECOME A LOST ART
When California's Political Reform Act went into effect in 1974, slate mailers---colorful cards sent to voters listing endorsed candidates, many of whom paid to appear on the card---were a big deal. But in a couple years slate mailers will be dead, replaced by slates e-mailed directly to voters.
IS BULLET-TRAIN AUTHORITY INFLATING ITS RIDERSHIP PROJECTIONS?
The high-speed rail authority says that 117 million people will be riding the bullet train rails between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2030. That comes out to about 25 million trips a year. An opponent says these numbers strain the credulity of transportation industry observers.
SUJA LOWENTHAL IN SACRAMENTO BAGGING ON PLASTIC BAGS
Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal is among state and local elected officials and interest groups who took part in a midmorning press event today on the west steps of the California State Capitol building to, according to a press advisory, “highlight fast-moving local and statewide efforts to restrict the use of single-use bags.” The [...]
THIS THANKSGIVING, ONE MAN IS GRATEFUL FOR POLITICAL MAILERS
Richard Schlackman differs from the other couple-dozen members of the Political Reform Act task force in that he is an unabashed, unafraid defender of the political-consultant industry. Whenever someone suggested change that would in some way force disclosure of furing by those who make slate mailers, television ads or even robocalls, Schlackman was ready to brawl.
SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO BUYING CALIFORNIA’S ELECTIONS
After gaining a little perspective---the win by Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman, the loss of Prop 19, the win of local Measure D---I am no longer as freaked out about the Citizens United ruling as I first was. I don't necessarily correlate big campaign spending with winning elections. That does not mean I do not think there is reason for concern.
FROM SACBEE.COM: DEMOCRATIC PARTY URGES VOTERS TO ELECT SEN. JENNY OROPEZA, WHO DIED OCT. 20
The California Democratic Party is urging South Bay residents to vote for Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who died Oct. 20. SacBee.com, the online edition of the Sacramento Bee newspaper, reports that the party made the recommendation in a letter mailed to Democrats and decline-to-state voters. The letter includes the typed name of Secretary of State Debra [...]
IS FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION’S NEW TRANSPARENCY … FAIR?
"“The Public Records Act says we have to provide (documents) in the most expedient manner possible," says the FPPC's executive director, Roman Porter. "Everything we produce is a public document. I think, personally, the people of California have a right to know what this agency is doing.”
AFTER ALMOST 60 YEARS, ONLY 119 DAYS UNTIL FRED KOREMATSU DAY
January 30 will henceforth be known as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, which is a mouthful, but still doesn’t come close to describing the brave stand this American citizen of Japanese ancestry took during World War II in defense of the United States’ fundamental principles of freedom and fairness. Governor Arnold [...]
STATE SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATES AT FORUM IN DOWNEY TONIGHT AT 7 P.M.
The two candidates seeking to become the next California state superintendent of public instruction will take part in a candidate forum Wednesday in Downey. Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson will each take questions from a panel and give their take on issues facing K-12 education. They will also answer questions from the audience. The forum [...]
SENATE REDISTRICTING COULD DOUBLE YOUR REPRESENTATION—OR ELIMINATE IT
“We’re going to have a very strange situation where for two years some people won’t have a state senator,” one Democratic staffer said. “And then there will be some people who will have two senators. I have no idea how they will work that out.”
JOIN COASTAL CLEANUP DAY ALONG LOCAL SHORELINE SATURDAY MORNING
One of the most-successful traditions in the environmental movement enters its 26th year Saturday when thousands of volunteers descend upon shorelines up and down the state—including several spots in Long Beach—to participate in California Coastal Cleanup Day from 9 a.m. to noon. Since the program began in 1985, more than 800,000 Californians have removed more [...]
ANTHONY PIGNATARO: IF ROD WRIGHT IS A GONER, THERE GOES A RARE MODERATE
At a time of ideological polarization, Wright is as moderate as they come. When you look at his district, which stretches in a crooked arc from the poor areas of Inglewood and Compton through Long Beach and San Pedro to the rich Republican Palos Verdes Estates, this isn’t too surprising.
CAL-PERS’ LONG-TERM BENEFIT PLAN HAS HEALTH PROBLEMS OF ITS OWN
The long-term benefit plan run by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) isn't subject to public oversight, but available financial statements show that during the past few years it has accumulated sky-rocketing claims, massive investment losses and ballooning deficits, even in the face of three large premium hikes. Someone has called that a "ticking time bomb."
MEG WHITMAN’S BUREAUCRACY AS THICK AS THE STATE SHE WANTS TO GOVERN
There are a couple dangers in this arrangement. First, that the campaign has become unwieldy---much like what’s happened to California. Then there's the threat of insulation; if you’re insulated by the bureaucracy, how do you provide leadership?
DYSFUNCTION IN STATE AGENCY MAY PUT DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED AT RISK
This should sound familiar to many people. “(T)here is not really any communication between staff and upper management,” one employee said. “A lot of us are angry and hurt about the way the management seems to be unscathed by the budget, and yet they tell us to ‘hang in there,’ and they are ‘sorry’ we [...]
SHOULD COLLEGE STUDENTS GET FIVE EXTRA DAYS TO VOTE ON CAMPUS?
College kids are stressed out and have so little time because of exams and college life that they should be allowed an extra five days to vote on campus, according to legislators in the Senate and Assembly. A Senate bill authored by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, that would permit voting by mail drop off locations [...]
UPSIDE TO UNEMPLOYMENT: FEWER PEOPLE ARE DYING AT WORK
If the recession has a silver lining, it may be the decline in workplace deaths: Fatal job injuries were down 17 percent last year, in large part because Americans worked fewer hours, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, 4,340 workers died on the job in 2009, compared to 5,214 in 2008. The preliminary count [...]
PROP 21: CALIFORNIANS WILL VOTE ON ANOTHER HIKE IN STATE PARK FEES
A battle between supporters of state-funded parks and anti-tax groups has resumed in the legislature over an upcoming ballot initiative that would add $18 to every vehicle registered in the state, in order to fund state parks—this after California’s Department of Parks increased fees 100 percent in 2009. On Tuesday, the Senate Natural Resources and [...]
WHAT’S IN THOSE CALIFORNIA BULLET-TRAIN CONTRACTS—BESIDES A GAG ORDER?
All contractors hired by the California High-Speed Rail Authority to prepare environmental reports on the project are contractually prohibited from discussing their agreements with the media, according to a CalWatchdog investigation.
AT BIXBY PARK, A CAUTIOUS CELEBRATION OF A TENUOUS VICTORY
"As good as it feels today---and I hope all of us celebrate---this fight is going to go on a little longer," said Councilmember Robert Garcia. "Our excitement over this victory has to continue. But don’t ever forget how you felt when people stripped away our rights.”
PROP. 8 OVERTURNED BY JUDGE; RALLY FOR MARRIAGE RIGHTS AT BIXBY PARK TODAY AT 6 P.M.
United States District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, and supporters of marriage equality and social justice will rally at 6 o’clock this evening at Bixby Park—intersection of Broadway and Cherry Ave in Long Beach. Prop 8 (or the California Marriage Protection Act) was a ballot proposition and California constitutional amendment passed by voters in [...]
