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| Analysis |
Peripheral Canal Is Best Strategy To Save Delta Ecosystem, Ensure Reliable Water Supply |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 07/17/2008 04:17 PM
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from the Public Policy Institute of California
http://www.ppic.org/main/pressrelease.asp?p=859
Peripheral Canal Is Best Strategy To Save Delta Ecosystem, Ensure Reliable Water Supply
State Leaders Urged to Chart Sustainable Future for Ailing Region
SAN FRANCISCO, California, July 17, 2008 -- Building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the most promising strategy to balance two critical policy goals: reviving a threatened ecosystem and ensuring a high-quality water supply for California’s residents. That is the central conclusion of a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Under current policy, water is drawn from the Sacramento River and sent south through the Delta to enormous pumps that deliver water to millions of households in the Bay Area and Southern California and millions of acres of Central Valley farmland. This approach, which disrupts the natural water flow, has threatened native fish and made the Delta attractive to invasive species. Furthermore, it is unsustainable. Projected sea level rise, crumbling ancient levees, larger floods, and high earthquake potential will inevitably result in a dramatically different Delta environment. This environment will have saltier water, which will be much more costly to treat for drinking and ultimately unusable for irrigation, the report says. |
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California Capitol Hill Bulletin -- July 11, 2008 |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 07/14/2008 11:38 AM
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California Institute for Federal Policy Research
California Capitol Hill Bulletin
Volume 15, Bulletin 20 -- July 11, 2008
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
House Passes Fire Bill As Wildfires Rage Across California
Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY 2009 Appropriation
Appropriations: Senate Panel Approves FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education Bill
House Education Committee Addresses the Impact of Rising Food Prices on School Nutrition
Senate Finance Committee Looks at Transportation Infrastructure Funding and Financing
House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Carbon Capture and Storage Early Deployment Act
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Report Released on U.S. Innovation System
Report Links Poor English Learner Scores With Poor Schools
California Budget Project Examines Spending Patterns for State’s School Districts
Friday A.M. RAND Briefing re the Impact of Increased Renewables Usage on Energy Expenditures and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
California Institute Analysis of Senate CJS Appropriations Available |
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California Capitol Hill Bulletin -- June 27, 2008 |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/29/2008 05:13 PM
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California Institute for Federal Policy Research
California Capitol Hill Bulletin
Volume 15, Bulletin 19 -- June 27, 2008
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Appropriations: Senate Appropriations Approves CJS Spending Bill
Appropriations: Homeland Spending Marked up in House Full Committee
Appropriations: House Panel Reports FY09 Commerce, Justice, Science Bill
Appropriations: House Transportation and Housing Subcommittee Marks Up FY 2009 Spending
Appropriations: Senate Panel Approves FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education Bill
Appropriations: House Subcommittee Passes Agriculture Bill; Full Committee Needs More Time
Resources: House Resources Confronts Quagga Mussels Threat
Intellectual Property: Senate Judiciary Links Consumers and Intellectual Property Protection
Education/Disability: House Ed & Labor Marks Up ADA Act, Other Bills
Resources: Houses Passes Several California Bills From Natural Resources Committee
Energy: House Agriculture Committee Reviews Trading in Energy Markets
Climate: House Energy and Commerce Committee Addresses Reducing Greenhouse Gases
Climate: California ARB Releases Cap-and-Trade Planning Document
Housing: Financial Services Investigates Affordable Housing Preservation
Immigration: California Receives $3.2 Million in Grants for REAL ID Act Demonstration Project
Defense: GAO Calls For Reopening of Air Force Refueling Tanker Contract Bidding
Briefing: PPIC Gives Capitol Hill Briefing re Immigrant Pathways to Legal Permanent Residence |
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GOP plan lets state get a grip on budget |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/18/2008 11:32 AM
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This story is taken from Sacbee / Opinion.
GOP plan lets state get a grip on budget
By Dave Cogdill and Mike Villines - Special to The Bee
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, June 18, 2008
As the Legislature considers many options to address California's $17 billion budget shortfall, it's clear that action must be taken to solve the state budget crisis not only for this year, but for future years. The time is now to enact true, meaningful budget reform that establishes a spending limit and creates a rainy-day reserve.
California's severe budget challenges can be traced to one simple thing – an out-of-control state budget system that allows the Legislature to spend more than we take in each year. During prosperous times, the current system allows politicians to spend all of our revenue, without requiring any saving for the future. During difficult budget times, auto-pilot spending forces the Legislature to continue spending even if we don't have enough money. This makes no sense. |
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PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA: Earl Warren: the independent (1/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/15/2008 07:53 PM
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from the Los Angeles Times | OPINION
PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is certainly not the first California governor to deal with budget issues. So did Earl Warren, Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson. The following four articles, commissioned by California Forward, a bipartisan group that seeks reform of the state budget process, show how these former governors balanced the books.
Earl Warren: the independent
The World War II-era Republican governor pushed hard for social progress -- even when it was expensive.
By Jim Newton
June 15, 2008
» Discuss Article It is both difficult and easy to imagine how Gov. Earl Warren would address California's present budget troubles -- difficult because Warren governed in a period of extraordinary growth, allowing him to preside over a vast expansion of state services without many setbacks; easy because few of Warren's successors have more closely emulated his leadership than the current occupant of the office.
Warren came into office soon after America's entry into World War II and initially presided over the dizzying reconstruction of its economy to war footing. That growth resulted in rapid increases in state tax revenue, allowing Warren to lower the top income tax bracket and reduce sales, bank and corporate taxes -- the first such cuts in California history. He also increased spending for education, corrections and other programs, and still logged a surplus, part of which was set aside for a "war catastrophe fund," to be used if, as many feared, California was attacked. |
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PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA: Pat Brown: the 'big-government man' (2/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/15/2008 07:49 PM
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from Los Angeles Times | OPINION
PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is certainly not the first California governor to deal with budget issues. So did Earl Warren, Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson. The following four articles, commissioned by California Forward, a bipartisan group that seeks reform of the state budget process, show how these former governors balanced the books.
Pat Brown: the 'big-government man'
The postwar Democrat governed at a time when even Republicans were not averse to new taxes.
By Ethan Rarick
June 15, 2008
» Discuss Article When Pat Brown took office in 1959, California's postwar population boom was roaring along full-throttle. The state was adding half a million people a year, and Brown had run for governor as the man who would provide for the multitudes.
During the campaign, numbers that might seem daunting -- the state needed to add 23 new classrooms every day just to keep up with the influx of students, for example -- had been held up as opportunities a Brown administration would seize.
But the state was broke. A soft economy had left the Capitol awash in red ink. The budget gap facing the new governor on inauguration day totaled almost a fifth of the state's general fund, a shortfall roughly comparable to today's. |
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PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA: Ronald Reagan: the pragmatist (3/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/15/2008 07:42 PM
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from the Los Angeles Times | OPINION
PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is certainly not the first California governor to deal with budget issues. So did Earl Warren, Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson. The following four articles, commissioned by California Forward, a bipartisan group that seeks reform of the state budget process, show how these former governors balanced the books.
Ronald Reagan: the pragmatist
The GOP governor closed a major deficit by trimming government and increasing taxes.
By Lou Cannon
June 15, 2008
» Discuss Article The tipoff that Gov. Ronald Reagan had a streak of pragmatism in him came soon after his inaugural speech on Jan. 2, 1967, in which he promised to "squeeze, cut and trim" the cost of state government to close a significant budget gap. Two days later, however, he told aides that all the cutting and trimming in the world might not suffice. A tax increase could be necessary, Reagan said, and, if so, he didn't want to wait "until everyone forgets that we did not cause the problem -- we only inherited it."
Reagan's comment reflected a practical side that would serve him well throughout his political careers in Sacramento and later in Washington. His rhetoric was often unsophisticated -- "There are simple answers, just not easy ones," he often said -- but his governance was more nuanced. This pleasantly surprised future Gov. George Deukmejian, then a freshman state senator whom Reagan chose to carry his tax bill. Deukmejian had campaigned with Reagan and considered him a fire-eater. "A lot of people, including me, thought he would be ideological," Deukmejian recalled years later. "We learned quickly that he was very practical." |
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PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA: Pete Wilson: the negotiator (4/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/15/2008 07:37 PM
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from the Los Angeles Times | OPINION
PAYING FOR CALIFORNIA
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is certainly not the first California governor to deal with budget issues. So did Earl Warren, Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson. The following four articles, commissioned by California Forward, a bipartisan group that seeks reform of the state budget process, show how these former governors balanced the books.
Pete Wilson: the negotiator
By working with Democrats and Republicans, the GOP governor closed a massive deficit with spending cuts and tax increases.
By Greg Lucas
June 15, 2008
» Discuss Article After the Cold War ended and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, California's aerospace-and-defense-heavy economy took a nose dive. One result was that, in 1991, Gov. Pete Wilson faced the worst budget shortfall in the state's history.
The revenue picture was especially glum. What had started as a revenue gap the size of one-seventh of the state's general fund steadily grew until, by May that year, it was the equivalent of one-third of the fund. |
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California Capitol Hill Bulletin -- June 13, 2008 |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/13/2008 11:16 AM
(Read: 13)
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California Institute for Federal Policy Research
California Capitol Hill Bulletin
Volume 15, Bulletin 18 -- June 13, 2008
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Appropriations: Homeland Security Funds Approved in House Subcommittee
Appropriations: House Subcommittee Approves CJS Spending Bill
Appropriations: House Appropriations Marks Up Interior and Environment Legislation for 2009
Health: Ways and Means Subcommittee Addresses Health Care Disparity
Immigration: Subcommittee Examines Employment Verification
Transportation: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hears Testimony on Infrastructure Investment
Immigration: House Panel Assesses Need For Skilled Worker Green Cards
Education: PPIC Releases Report on Predicting Success Rates in California High School Exit Exam
Elected Officials: New State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass Visits Washington To Discuss Budget Challenges
Biotech: California Healthcare Institute Hosts Briefing on Value of National Institutes of Health Funding
Immigration: ACLU and MALDEF Co-Host Briefing on Language Rights
Water: Drought Leads Governor To Proclaim State of Emergency for Much of Central Valley
Aerospace: CRB Study Examines States’ Incentives To Attract Aircraft and Defense Firms
2008 California State Society Annual Picnic: Saturday, June 21 |
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BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: How you, a Southland driver, can make my commute better (4/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/11/2008 10:54 AM
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From the Los Angeles Times | CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: How you, a Southland driver, can make my commute better (4/4)
Removing just a few vehicles can clear jammed lanes, but motorists cling to routine.
By Christopher Goffard and Dan Weikel
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
June 11, 2008
When Los Angeles traffic experts get depressed at the sorry state of the freeways, their minds sometimes drift to the improbable days of 1984, when the Olympic torch blazed through town and the city's sea of cars parted.
For more than a week, downtown and Westside freeways worked as their creators had intended, whisking drivers from place to place.
The respite from congestion was flickeringly brief, but many still ask: Can the experiment be repeated?
For the 16-day event, transportation agencies put aside turf wars. Employees carpooled or worked staggered hours or took vacations. Truckers shifted deliveries to off-hours. Construction projects were rescheduled. Arterial lanes were reserved for buses. Two-way streets became one-way streets. |
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BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: Cargo has L.A. traffic at a crawl, (3/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/11/2008 10:43 AM
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From the Los Angeles Times |CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: Cargo has L.A. traffic at a crawl, (3/4)
As trucks and trains haul a flood of foreign goods from Southern California ports, commuters fight for space with freight.
By Dan Weikel and Jeffrey L. Rabin
Times Staff Writers
June 10, 2008
Frank Schiavone fumed inside his Acura MDX, stuck behind the gates of a railroad crossing in downtown Riverside.
Five minutes went by, then 10. Schiavone, a Riverside councilman, wondered how late he would be for an appointment at City Hall as he stared at the freight cars double-stacked with shipping containers. Around him, hundreds of other motorists sat, engines idling, their plans on hold.
Twenty minutes passed before the freight train cleared the crossing.
Schiavone had been trapped yet again by America's enormous appetite for imported goods -- an increasingly common experience in his city, which is trisected by rail lines carrying about 125 trains a day. |
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BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: Letting gridlock loose on L.A. (2/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/09/2008 12:44 PM
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From the Los Angeles Times |CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: Letting gridlock loose on L.A. (2/4)
When approving developments, local officials have sidestepped laws meant to limit the effects on traffic.
By Jeffrey L. Rabin and Dan Weikel
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
June 9, 2008
When Santa Monica officials approved the massive Water Garden office complex, they predicted the project would generate thousands of good jobs and revive a once-tired industrial neighborhood.
They also predicted a lot of traffic.
Twenty years later, both predictions have come true. Just ask Aundraya Reliford.
Five days a week, Reliford, 32, rises at 5:45 a.m., drives 20 minutes to a train station seven miles from her home in Rialto, in San Bernardino County, and catches the 7:20 a.m. Metrolink to Los Angeles.
During the hour-and-20-minute ride, she reads, sleeps or stares out the window, watching miles of motorists stuck on the freeway. Then, she becomes one of them.
At Union Station, Reliford heads for a parking lot where she has left a second car. She ventures onto the freeways for the final 15-mile, hourlong journey to Santa Monica, where she manages library services for MTV Networks.
Elapsed time: two hours, 40 minutes -- on a good day.
In the afternoon, she does it all again, in reverse. |
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BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: L.A.'s commuters can't even go nowhere fast (1/4) |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/09/2008 12:39 PM
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From the Los Angeles Times | CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
BRAKE LIGHT BLUES: L.A.'s commuters can't even go nowhere fast (1/4)
A look at how your neighbors, in the next lane, juggle their lives and drives.
By Christopher Goffard: times staff writer
June 8, 2008
In this neighborhood, nobody knows your name.
There you are in the photograph above, crawling anonymously along a cheerless stretch of real estate known as the 110 Freeway at rush hour. The roads are slick with rain and cluttered with wrecks, and you've become a citizen of Stalled Nation, a community of the trapped. You're having a quintessential Los Angeles moment, partaking of a civic ritual more widespread than voting or church, one of the few universal experiences in this segmented, far-flung metropolis.
If you're seeking the city's ever-elusive center, it looks exactly like this. It's anywhere the tires are stopped dead, a thousand deep. As a motorist in Southern California, your average rush-hour speed has plunged from 26 miles per hour in 1980 to about half that today. High gas prices have thinned traffic in some places recently, but the improvement is unlikely to last. In L.A. and Orange counties, by one conservative estimate, you're now delayed by rush hours 72 hours a year, about double the time you were 25 years ago. |
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Side-by-side comparison of budget plans |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/06/2008 03:05 PM
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from SFgate.com, home of the San Francisco Chroncle
Side-by-side comparison of budget plans
Matthew Yi, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, June 6, 2008
Three weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, released his revised budget plan, the two houses of the Legislature are putting the finishing touches on their own versions of the state's spending plan.
With California facing a fiscal crisis, the governor declared last month that the state will face a $17.2 billion budget deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1. The projected gap includes $2 billion for reserves.
On Thursday, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles highlighted key provisions in the lower house's version of the budget, including tweaking the governor's idea to borrow against future lottery sales. The Senate has rejected the lottery proposal. |
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Capitalizing: A Nod to the Insiders |
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Posted by: mturnipseed on 06/01/2008 03:36 PM
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COMMENT FROM MICHAEL TURNIPSEED: "At a time when government was being derided as bloated and gridlocked, these mediators became the capital’s institutional memory and storehouse of arcane legislative expertise. They were necessary for enacting bills, advising lawmakers and politicians running for office, and brokering deals." WITH TERM LIMITS IN CALIFORNIA, WE TRUST THE BUREAUCRATS TO PROVIDE THESE FUCTIONS TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. SADLY, BUREUCRATS ARE NOT STATESMEN AND THERE ARE FEWER AND FEWER STATEMEN TODAY.
from the New York Times | WEEK IN REVIEW
Capitalizing: A Nod to the Insiders
By JILL ABRAMSON
June 1, 2008
As John McCain was purging Washington lobbyists from his campaign last month, Barack Obama fired up a withering put-down.
“It appears,” he said, “that John McCain is a creature of Washington.”
The two senators have been tripping over each other to distance themselves from the taint of Beltway insiderdom. Senator Obama has rules forbidding registered Washington lobbyists to contribute to his campaign. Senator McCain, in turn, has adopted a Rube Goldberg maze of conflict-of-interest guidelines to wall them off.
It is this year’s version of the post-Watergate gambit of running as a Washington outsider, which just about every presidential candidate, including incumbent presidents, has tried. Of course, the “shock” that lobbyists and other creatures of Washington are advising the candidates, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, smacks of Claude Rains’s casino roundups in “Casablanca.” |
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| Issues |
Created on 02/04/2003 10:24 AM by admin
Updated on 12/28/2006 11:16 AM by mturnipseed
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