July 11, 2012

Political Briefs

Top stories

California appeals court to review ballot change that put Jerry Brown’s measure on top – A California appellate court will examine whether Democratic lawmakers violated the state constitution by using a majority-vote budget bill to move Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative to the top of the November ballot.  Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article

Jerry Brown says California pension reform won’t be on November ballot – Gov. Jerry Brownhas backed away from his earlier call for legislators to put a pension-change measure on the November ballot, although the administration is continuing to push for statutory changes. Sacramento Bee article

State budget

California deficit $1 billion smaller, controller says – California ended its fiscal year with a shortfall that was $1 billion less than Governor Jerry Brown estimated in May, after the most-populous U.S. state collected more taxes and spent less in June than projected.  Bloomberg article

Next 10 updates budget challenge –  California has experienced large budget shortfalls for the last decade and faced a $15.7 billion dollar budget gap for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Budget solutions affect us all. Take the Challenge and decide how much should be spent on programs and where the money should come from.  Next 10 website

Valley politics

Will Michael Rubio pay a political price for his high-speed rail vote – In the end, state Sen. Michael Rubio felt comfortable enough to keep the state’s proposed high-speed rail project alive.  The Valley’s lone Democratic Party state senator last week voted to approve money for high-speed rail.  The question is: Will Rubio’s vote come back to haunt him when he seeks reelection or runs for another office?  Fresno Bee political notebook

Bike Bakersfield founder announces bid for council – A new candidate has emerged for the Ward 4 seat on the Bakersfield City Council.  Robert Smith announced Tuesday that he will run for the seat being vacated by David Couch, who was elected to the Kern County Board of Supervisors in June and will step down from the City Council in December.  Bakersfield Californian article

Statewide politics

Dan Walters:  Jerry Brown’s tax plan has a downside – Whatever its other attributes or deficiencies may be, Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase on the November ballot would make the state budget more dependent on personal income taxes and on the relative handful of wealthy Californians who pay most of those taxes.  Walters column in Sacramento Bee

Fresno Bee: November ballot will be filled with initiatives – Californians will have a full ballot in November when they cast votes for everything from the school board to the presidency. And don’t forget the 11 state propositions that include two competing tax-increase measures.  Fresno Bee editorial

Other areas

Dan Morain: Money flows in battle against health care reform – House Republicans today plan to take what for now will be a symbolic vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, as a national campaign group backed by Aetna Insurance attacks Democrats over their health care stand.  Morain column in Sacramento Bee

News Briefs

Top Issue:  Jobs and the Economy

Mass layoffs up, but jobless rate down in Valley – Large-scale layoffs claimed more than 600 jobs throughout the central San Joaquin Valley in the first half of 2012 — a faster pace than in either of the past two years. But, despite the Valley’s increase in mass downsizing, the average unemployment rate across the five-county region so far this year is down by almost a full percentage point from a year ago.   Fresno Bee article

San Bernardino opts for bankruptcy – San Bernardino became the third California city in two weeks to choose Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection with a City Council vote on Tuesday night.  The Southern California city of about 210,000 people will also become the second largest in the nation ever to file for bankruptcy.  AP article; LA Times article; Bloomberg article

Most Californians have a grim view of the economy, Field Poll finds – The recession ended three years ago and unemployment is falling – but try telling that to most Californians.  Despite evidence of a recovery, a resounding 88 percent of California voters believe the state’s economy is enduring “bad times,” according to the latest Field Poll.  Sacramento Bee article

Rail may temporarily cost Fresno County governments tax revenues – Fresno County governments stand to lose $2.8 million a year in property tax revenue after the state finishes buying land for high-speed rail, a new analysis says. The drop in tax revenue, though, is expected to be temporary.  Fresno Bee article

Sacramento Bee:  Will cities seize the opportunity of wage ruling? – In a landmark decision handed down last week, the state Supreme Court has ruled that charter cities in California that use their own money to build new fire stations, libraries, sewer systems or other municipal facilities can ignore the state’s prevailing wage law.  Sacramento Bee editorial

States face tough choices even as downturn ends – As state governments begin to emerge from the long downturn, many are grappling with a difficult choice: should they restore some of the services and jobs they were forced to eliminate in the recession or cut taxes in the hopes of bolstering their local economies?  New York Times article

Walmart hiring in Central Valley for smaller grocery-only stores – Wal-Mart’s new Neighborhood Market stores are coming soon to the Sacramento region, bringing even more competition for mainstream grocers already seeking concessions from union workers. Wal-Mart said Tuesday it has opened hiring centers for five Neighborhood Market stores – in Sacramento, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Stockton and Modesto – all scheduled to open in September. Altogether, they’ll employ 355.  Sacramento Bee article; Modesto Bee article

Save Mart, union reach tentative deal – In a major breakthrough after months of negotiations, Save Mart Supermarkets and its union workers reached a tentative agreement on a new contract late Tuesday, the union announced.  Sacramento Bee article

New-home market shows signs of revival in Sacramento region – First came signs of life in the resale housing market, with prices ticking upward and demand increasing in the first half of this year.  Now, Sacramento’s once-mighty new-home market appears to be stirring from its five-year coma.  Sacramento Bee article

Lodi officers agree to concessions – The Lodi Police Officers Association has agreed to a concessions package that will help the city maintain a balanced budget through December 2013.  The City Council on Tuesday approved the concessions agreement that includes a new spending cap on medical plans, requires officers to pay a staggered increase of their retirement fund contribution up to 9 percent of their salary, and creates a second tier of retirement benefits for new hires.   Stockton Record article

George Hostetter: Issues to think about prior to Nov. 6 – Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin signed the 2012-13 budget on July 3.  No vetoes.  That means the $232.7 million general fund budget includes money — $50,000 or so — to put a proposed amendment to the City Charter on the November ballot. The money is slated to come from the infrastructure budgets of several council members.  Something interesting is about to unfold.  Hostetter in Fresno Bee news blog

Modesto council approves plan to hand off Centre Plaza – City Council members gave approval Tuesday to negotiating an outsourcing contract for Modesto Centre Plaza, despite a wave of public sentiment for keeping the convention center under the city’s control.  Modesto Bee article

Accomplishments touted at Bakersfield State of the City – City leaders recapped their achievements over the last year and gave updates on Thomas Roads Improvement Program plans at the annual State of the City forum Tuesday.  Bakersfield Californian article; Bakersfield Californian editorial

Rural residents challenge Tulare County fee hikes – Tulare County Supervisors have raised sewer service rates in three rural communities and residents of four others are hoping they’ve managed to block their rate increases.  Visalia Times-Delta article

San Diego pension plan faces uncertain path – How exactly San Diego will implement a voter-approved pension overhaul remains uncertain as the city, its employee unions and a state agency wrestle in court over the best path forward.  U-T San Diego article

Santa Clara County employee fights against paying union dues – A pharmacist with Valley Medical Center has filed an unfair practice charge against Santa Clara County’s largest public employee union, saying it refused to honor his right to refrain from full dues-paying membership. San Jose Mercury News article

Chukchansi restructures $310 million debt – A new financing plan for the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino will push the payback on loans taken out by the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians to 2020.  Fresno Bee article

Payday loans the latest venture for Chukchansi tribe – Faced with declining casino revenues and massive IOUs, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians has embarked on a new moneymaking venture — payday loans.  Fresno Bee article

Top Stories

Is school hard enough? No way, new report says – Students and parents may complain often and loudly about the homework load these days, saying it has created a stressed-out generation. But a new report contends that is not so and that many students actually don’t do enough — or challenging enough — math and reading.  LA Times article

California’s bullet train faces new challenges after funding approval – As California secures the riches needed to start building a high-speed rail line, some longtime bitter foes of the bullet train are beginning to back off — yet from the courtroom to the boardroom, other opponents are preparing for one last shot at blocking the historic project.  San Jose Mercury News article

Agriculture/Water

Contra Costa rejects latest iteration of peripheral canal – Contra Costa County took an official “no” position on the contentious state and federal proposal to siphon Sacramento Delta water into central and Southern California through an underground tunnel.  Contra Costa Times article

After two years of La Nina, El Nino may be on the way – If you thought the first six months of the year were chock full of weird weather events, just wait — according to climate scientists there is an increasing likelihood that El Niño conditions will soon develop in the tropical Pacific Ocean. KQED Climate Watch

California headed for record almond crop – California is heading for a record almond harvest this fall.  A combination of nearly perfect weather and millions of healthy, robust honeybees is expected to yield 2.1 billion pounds of nuts, the biggest crop in history.  LA Times article; Bakersfield Californian article

Kings officials disappointed with water bond delay – Local officials expressed frustration after state lawmakers once again postponed putting an $11 billion water bond on the ballot for voter consideration.  Hanford Sentinel article

Riverdale dairy hosts History Channel’s ‘Top Gear’ – The 1,800-cow Rollin Valley Farms is used to a lot of activity. But the dairy was extra busy this week when the cast and crew of the popular History Channel television show “Top Gear” made a visit.  Fresno Bee article

Education

Dan Walters Daily:  Community colleges’ role about to change – Dan Walters says the role of California community colleges is about to change.  Dan Walters Daily in Sacramento Bee

Atwater board reinstates leader – School board trustees voted 3-2 Tuesday night to reinstate school Superintendent Melinda Hennes, but the ousted leader said later she needs to consult her attorney and board members before deciding whether to return.  Merced Sun-Star article

Kern college board to discuss the halting of federal loan program – Kern Community College District’s board on Thursday will vote to send out letters to Bakersfield College students advising them that BC will no longer offer federal loans because of high default rates starting July 2013. Bakersfield Californian article

Bakersfield Californian:  Education takes a couple more punches – California’s relentless march away from educational advancement and enrichment continues unabated, as two recent developments attest.  Bakersfield Californian editorial

Stockton Unified voters asked to pay more – With the pace of construction slowed by the struggling economy, Stockton Unified School District will ask homeowners in November to vote in support of a property tax increase that would allow the district to accelerate the speed with which it can complete a variety of building projects.  Stockton Record article

San Francisco City College trustees try to calm fears – A long, bright future is ahead for City College of San Francisco, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get there.  That was the message Tuesday from the school’s board and interim Chancellor Pamila Fisher, who met in public for the first time since last week’s revelation that the 90,000-student school is so poorly run that it could lose its accreditation and close next year.  San Francisco Chronicle article

Brown’s veto throws wrench into AVID college prep program – The national executive director of AVID, a successful college preparatory program for students in the middle, vowed Tuesday to continue a strong operation in California, in spite of Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto last month of $8.1 million in state funding for it.  EdSource article

State’s oldest private preschool loses visionary leader – To hundreds, if not thousands, of Stockton toddlers, she was simply “Miss Donna.”  To the staff at Snell’s Pre-Kindergarten School, California’s oldest privately owned preschool, Donna Johnson was the boss and the visionary. Stockton Record article

Energy/Environment

Merced Irrigation District agrees to pay $5 million – Merced Irrigation District officials have settled a federal lawsuit filed by Franklin-Beachwood residents whose properties were flooded in 2006, agreeing to pay them $5 million.  Merced Sun-Star article

Modesto Irrigation District sets aside extra $8.3 million for treatment plant – The Modesto Irrigation District board Tuesday added $8.31 million to the budget for its beleaguered water treatment plant expansion.  The 5-0 vote came over the objection of Modesto city officials, who disagree with the MID over how the extra costs should be handled.  Modesto Bee article

Health/Human Services

State lawmakers grapple with essential health benefits – The federal health care reform act requires most Americans to have health insurance by 2014. But what exactly will those insurance plans have to cover?  California’s Legislature is now grappling with that question, in the wake of last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the law.  Bay Citizen article

Legislation aims to crack down on illegal medical spas – Proposed legislation in California would increase penalties for illegally owning and operating medical spas, which in some cases are performing procedures without required medical supervision.  California Watch article

Bakersfield hospital transform concrete courtyard into healing garden – Starring, fragrant white jasmine. Shade-producing green leaves. Three towering panels of nature. What was once a stark, concrete courtyard between Mercy Southwest Hospital’s main building and its medical offices is now a flourishing garden meant to be therapeutic for patients.  Bakersfield Californian article

Land Use/Housing

Self-Help to build 30 new homes in Reedley – Self-Help Enterprises will bring some new life to a housing development in Reedley that never got off the ground.  The Visalia-based nonprofit housing agency plans to build 30 single family homes in the Presidential Estates development at Duff Avenue and Carolyn Lane.  Fresno Bee news blog

Transportation

New bullet train plan ‘mangled,’ perhaps illegal, ex-rail booster says – The compromise high-speed rail plan crafted by Gov. Jerry Brown and approved Friday is a “mangled” — and probably illegal — version of the project state voters enacted in a 2008 initiative, former California High Speed Rail Authority Chairman Quentin Kopp said.  California Watch article

Tulare County reaction to high-speed rail mixed – Local reaction to the vote that officially begins the project was mixed, with elected officials and citizens’ opinions all over the political spectrum.  Visalia Times-Delta article

Stockton Record: Headed for a train wreck – There will never be a perfect time to launch the largest public infrastructure project in the nation’s history. But there certainly are very imperfect times to make such a launch. This is one of them.  Stockton Record editorial

Public transportation survey shows flaws in Kern system – A report released Wednesday has finally put a number to how effective — or ineffective — public transportation is in Kern County.  While 71.1 percent of the jobs in Kern County are in neighborhoods with public transportation services, only 35 percent of workers can reach those jobs in under 90 minutes.  Bakersfield Californian article

Other Areas

Conway calls for full audit of developmental center police – The state Assembly’s Republican leader on Tuesday called for an exhaustive audit of the police force at California’s board-and-care institutions for the severely developmentally disabled. California Watch article

Federal judge upholds Sacramento curfew in Occupy lawsuit – The Occupy Sacramento movement, which was kicked out of Cesar Chavez Plaza during late night and early morning hours, challenged that action as unconstitutional in federal court. Now it has been kicked out of there, too.  Sacramento Bee article

Pinedale kids vent frustration over closed pool – With triple-digit temperatures scorching the region, Pinedale-area children would love to cool off in their community center’s swimming pool. But it’s been three years since the northwest Fresno neighborhood had a public pool for kids to jump into.  Fresno Bee article

Lois Henry: Gimme shelter: City and county are talking again – After all the hue and cry and termination of leases and launching a new warehouse “vision” for Animal Control, we’re apparently headed back to where we were about this time last year.  Henry column in Bakersfield Californian

Tulare courthouse cafeteria operator offered six-month lease – The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to offer Luis Medina, Jr. and his wife a six-month agreement to continue operating the cafeteria at the Tulare County Superior Courthouse in Visalia.  Visalia Times-Delta article; Visalia Times-Delta editorial

Police chiefs in California getting huge final paychecks – Some police chiefs in California are cashing in on city policies allowing unlimited accrual of sick and vacation time until they leave the post.  LA Times article

Balentine to take over as interim Modesto police chief – Modesto police Capt. Gene Balentine will be the interim police chief in Modesto when his boss, Mike Harden, retires early next month.Modesto Bee article

Turlock council approves contract for CopLink – City Council members Tuesday night took a couple of steps to improve public safety and help local agencies coordinate with their colleagues in surrounding areas.  Modesto Bee article

LA Skid Row cleanup nets nearly 5 tons of refuse – Los Angeles skid row cleanup was prompted by a county report citing public health dangers in the area. Now for a maintenance plan.  LA Times article

Michael Fitzgerald: Welcome to the U.S., but … – Today: “An alien of outstanding ability.” That is Uncle Sam’s phrase for foreigners who qualify to work in America on a high-status “O” visa. Like Dave Sweetnam, who came to Stockton from South Africa.  Stockton Record article

Ashton Kutcher company sues DMV over reality series – Ashton Kutcher’s production company Katalyst Media, Inc. has sued California’s Department of Motor Vehicles for breach of contract over a proposed reality show.  The show, “California DMV: Field Offices,” would have chronicled life working at the DMV.  Sacramento Bee article

Editorial Roundup

Bakersfield Californian – California’s relentless march away from educational advancement and enrichment continues unabated, as two recent developments attest; State of the City in Bakersfield is better than we thought.

Fresno Bee – November ballot will be filled with initiatives.

Merced Sun-Star – Middle-class tax cuts should stay.

Sacramento Bee – In a landmark decision handed down last week, the state Supreme Court has ruled that charter cities in California that use their own money to build new fire stations, libraries, sewer systems or other municipal facilities can ignore the state’s prevailing wage law.

Stockton Record – Voters may take out their anger over high-speed rail on needed tax increasesthis fall; Taking water bond off ballot provides a small bit of relief.

Visalia Times-Delta – Short-term restaurant agreement is right for now.