DAS's 35th District News

Gov. Jerry Brown bounces Prop. 29 doctor from state panel

Fri, 11 May 2012 01:32:38 GMT

Under pressure from health advocates, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday removed a controversial physician from a state health board after she appeared in an industry-funded ad against a tobacco tax hike on the June ballot.

La Donna Porter, a physician at San Joaquin General Hospital, had served since 2005 on a state advisory panel of medical experts and scientists that identifies chemicals known to cause developmental or reproductive harm. She was an appointee of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Brown also took the opportunity to remove five other Schwarzenegger appointees from the panel, according to George Alexeeff, head of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which oversees the California Proposition 65 Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee.

That leaves two members standing: Ellen B. Gold and Hillary Klonoff-Cohen, both Democrats. Meanwhile, at least two of the people removed - Calvin J. Hobel and Carl Keen - are registered Republicans. A third appointee removed, Linda Roberts, works for the Chevron Research and Technology Company.

Brown press secretary Gil Duran offered little explanation, other than to suggest the governor has been making his way through the various appointees from the previous administration.

Duran did not directly refer to the Proposition 29 firestorm. But he said health advocate complaints and media investigations of Porter "certainly brought this board more attention than it usually gets. It brought it to the forefront."

Tobacco companies are spending heavily against Proposition 29, a measure that would raise taxes by $1 per pack of cigarettes and a comparable amount on other forms of tobacco. The initiative would raise $735 million annually for cancer and disease research, as well as smoking prevention.

Porter criticized Proposition 29 for establishing a new bureaucracy and potentially sending research money out of state. She previously appeared in a 2006 commercial against a different tobacco tax and was a health spokesperson for a pharmaceutical-backed initiative in 2005. Porter says she has not been paid for her advocacy.

The ad's statewide run is over after two weeks, but Porter was considered a powerful spokeswoman as an African-American doctor wearing a white smock in a physician's office. Initiative proponents seemed to be particularly upset at the ad's implication that the medical community opposes Proposition 29, and they have since launched their own commercials refuting that argument.

On Monday, Proposition 29 proponents called on Brown to remove Porter from the California Proposition 65 Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee. On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Proposition 29 backer, issued a separate letter calling on the governor to rescind the appointment.

In his letter, Newsom wrote, "Dr. Porter has demonstrated close, obvious and troubling ties to the tobacco industry and its marketing tactics."

Three GOP congressional hopefuls named NRCC 'Young Guns'

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:24:16 GMT

Three California Republicans running in targeted congressional races have been named "Young Guns" by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Ricky Gill, state Sen. Tony Strickland, and Assemblyman David Valadao were among the 12 candidates to reach the top status of the candidate recruitment and training program.

Gill is running against Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney in the Central Valley's 9th Congressional District, Strickland is vying for the open 26th Congressional District in Ventura County, and Valadao is seeking the open 21st Congressional District, also in the Central Valley.

NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions, a Texas congressman, praised the candidates for "leading the pack as Republicans continue to send a loud and clear message that we will hold Democrats accountable for their job-destroying agenda."

The program was founded before the 2008 election by California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

Human trafficking measure qualifies for California ballot

Thu, 10 May 2012 22:07:03 GMT

A California proposal aimed at curbing sex slavery and other forms of human trafficking has qualified for the November ballot.

The initiative increases penalties for human trafficking violations, upping the maximum sentence to 15 years to life in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million. It would also require that sex offenders, including people convicted of human trafficking crimes, report information about their online accounts, such as email addresses or social media pages.

Validity checks by county election officials showed that proponents submitted enough voter signatures to meet the 504,760 minimum for making it on the ballot, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said today.

The signature-gathering effort was funded with $1.4 million from Chris Kelly, a former Facebook chief privacy officer and 2010 Democratic attorney general candidate who lobbied unsuccessfully for legislation that would have created similar online identity reporting requirements for sex offenders.

The anti human trafficking initiative is the sixth measure to qualify for the November election. Upwards of a dozen measures, including three separate tax proposals, could make ultimately make it on the ballot.

California has more than quarter of U.S. foreign-born population

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:43:09 GMT

More than a quarter of Californians were born in another country, and those 10-plus million immigrant residents of the state also represent more than a quarter of the nation's foreign-born population, a new Census Bureau report reveals.

California's 25.4 percent of the nation's 40 million foreign-born residents is, by far, the largest concentration of any state, both numerically and proportionately. New York is a distant second with 10.8 percent, followed by Texas.

Nationally, 44 percent of the foreign born have become citizens. The report does not break citizenship down by state, but California's level of citizenship may be lower since Mexico is the state's major source of immigration and nationally, just 22.9 percent of Mexican-born immigrants are citizens.

Latinos, both immigrants and native-born, are now nearly 40 percent of California's population and are expected to become the state's largest ethnic group within a few years as the white population continues to decline. One factor, as the Census Bureau report indicates, is that immigrants have much higher birth rates than native-born Americans, in part because they tend to be younger and in part because they come from cultures that traditionally have high birth rates.

Steinberg expects 'news to be rough' in Jerry Brown's budget

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:29:58 GMT

Legislative Democrats are bracing for "more work on the cuts side" once Gov. Jerry Brown releases his revised budget next week, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters during a weekly q-and-a in his office.

"We all expect the news to be rough. That's no secret," the Sacramento Democrat said.

That will likely mean more steep cuts to the state's health and human services programs. An estimated $1.5 billion lawmakers had hoped to reserve for affordable housing programs is also "certainly a very ripe candidate" for use for general budget relief, he said.

"We have not shied away from doing what we have to do and we won't shy away now," he said. "But we will certainly fight to save more than we lose.'

When asked what areas he hopes to protect from future reductions, Steinberg cited CalWorks, the state's welfare-to-work program, as a top priority. He said studies showing correlation between cuts to those services and homelessness make the decision "one of those can you sleep at night kind of questions."

"I would do just about anything to avoid that cut," he said.

Brown's budget is expected to rely on up to $9 billion in revenues from his proposed initiative to temporarily raise income taxes for top earners and enact a quarter percent increase in the state sales tax, with a round of "trigger" cuts after the election if the November ballot measure fails. While the revenues at stake on the November ballot has grown since the governor's January budget proposal because of changes to the tax plan, Steinberg said he expects the triggers to still target K-12 schools, higher education and the courts.

"I don't see that the fundamentals will change even if the number changes," Steinberg said. "But you've got to make up for a bigger number."

PHOTO CREDIT: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, speaks at the Capitol Bureau on Jan. 20, 2011. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.

Jerry Brown mum on term-limit and tobacco-tax measures

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:12:07 GMT

Less than a month before California voters decide on tobacco-tax and term-limits initiatives, Gov. Jerry Brown remains unlikely to take a public position on either one.

The Democratic governor, who submitted signatures this morning for his November ballot measure to raise taxes, declined to discuss the ballot measures on the June 5 ballot.

"Focus, focus," he said, telling reporters he is "sticking to the measure that we're filing signatures for today."

Proposition 28 would alter legislative term limits, allowing lawmakers to serve 12 years either in one house or divided between the Assembly and Senate. Lawmakers are currently restricted to eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly.

Proposition 29 would impose an additional $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes to pay for cancer research and smoking cessation programs.

Brown's November initiative would raise income taxes on California's highest earners as well as the state sales tax rate.

"As governor, my responsibility is to balance the budget, protect our schools, protect public safety," he said today. "That's what I'm doing. I need to get this initiative passed, so that's my focus."

Philip Morris USA is among the most recent large contributors to Brown's re-election campaign, donating $26,000 last month.

PHOTO CAPTION: Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, delivers signatures for his ballot tax measure to the county registrar's office in Sacramento on Thursday, May 10, 2012. Sacramento Bee / Randall Benton.

Assembly OKs controversial bill on children's immunizations

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:06:53 GMT

The California Assembly approved legislation Thursday requiring parents to receive counseling about the risks and potential benefits of vaccinations to prevent communicable diseases before opting out of their children receiving the medicine.

The measure, Assembly Bill 2109, was approved by a vote of 44-19.

Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan of Sacramento, who crafted the measure, said it ensures that parents will make an informed decision without eliminating their right to opt out of immunizations for their children.

Pan, a pediatrician, characterized AB 2109 as a public safety measure that could reduce the spread of measles, mumps and pertussis.

If signed into law, Pan's bill would take effect in July 2013.

Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Marysville, criticized the bill as placing a new obstacle between parents and the right to opt out of immunizations.

"We have enough of a nanny state as it is," Logue said.

Under AB 2109, parents who exclude their children from immunization requirements would have to submit a statement, signed by themselves and their health care practitioner, that they received information about risks and benefits of the medicine.

Republican Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, a Fresno physician, said she could not support AB 2109 because it does not include Christian Science practitioners in its list of health-care professionals that can provide parents with the immunization information the bill requires.

AB 2109 now goes to the California Senate.

* Updated at 2:05 p.m. to add Assemblywoman Linda Halderman's opposition. PHOTO CREDIT: Cristian Vargas, 10, of Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood braces himself for an immunization shot at the Oak Park Neighborhood Multiservice Center on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. Sacramento Bee file, 2005 / Randall Benton.

VIDEO: Obama administration tells California it's time to vote on high-speed rail

Thu, 10 May 2012 20:52:35 GMT

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned the California Legislature today that the Obama administration will not wait until fall for a vote on high-speed rail, urging its approval in a budget vote next month.

"We need to make sure that the commitment is there to obligate the money," LaHood told reporters at the Capitol, where he was meeting with lawmakers and with Gov. Jerry Brown.

The state's commitment, LaHood said, will be demonstrated when lawmakers "put it in the budget and take a vote on it."

Brown and the California High-Speed Rail Authority want to start construction on a $68 billion rail project by early next year, proposing initially to use $2.6 billion in state rail bond funds and $3.3 billion in federal funds. Lawmakers considering allocating that money remain skeptical, however, and the Legislative Analyst's Office has recommended against it.

LaHood said he was at the Capitol to reiterate the Obama administration's commitment to high-speed rail, while "checking signals" in the Legislature.

He said the suggestion by some lawmakers that they may need more time to consider the proposal - perhaps pushing an up or down vote into the fall - is unacceptable.

"We want to make sure that our partners here understand what's at stake," he said. "We can't wait until the end of summer."

LaHood declined to say what the administration will do if the Legislature does delay, saying, "I'm going to operate on the assumption that people are going to act in good faith."

LaHood praised the Brown administration for a project redesign this year that dramatically reduced its price, from $98 billion.

"My message to the Assembly, to the leadership, is that we need to make sure that there's a continued, strong commitment on the part of the Assembly, as reflected in their budget," he said.

The nonpartisan LAO has criticized the project for its reliance in future years on uncertain federal funding. State Sen. Joe Simitian, the Palo Alto Democrat who chairs the budget subcommittee considering high-speed rail, has said the administration's recent changes to the project would likely require more time to consider beyond when the state budget is adopted next month.

VIDEO: Jerry Brown submits tax signatures

Thu, 10 May 2012 20:00:19 GMT

A week after announcing that he had collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign to pass the measure appeared this morning to take shape.

The Democratic governor, appearing at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters to submit the first of about 1.5 million signatures collected statewide, was accompanied by political consultant Ace Smith, whose company, SCN Strategies, will run the campaign.

Smith managed Brown's bid for attorney general in 2006, and SCN oversaw California Attorney General Kamala Harris' run in 2010.

Brown proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

"It's balanced, it's fair and it will take a major step forward in putting California in a very solid position," Brown said, leaning into a podium outside the registrar's office flanked by boxes of signatures and about two dozen supporters. "We are facing a world that is full of economic uncertainties, but with this tax measure, and with the cuts that I'll be proposing on Monday, California will put itself in a very, very strong position."

Brown is expected to propose further spending reductions in a revised budget proposal on Monday. He declined to discuss his proposal in detail but said it "will be a difficult day in Sacramento."

Brown was joined at the press conference by his wife and special counsel, Anne Gust Brown, and his dog, Sutter. Following his brief remarks, Brown said to his supporters, "That's it? All right guys, let's get 'em filed."

Billionaire will give $20 million for corporate tax hike initiative

Thu, 10 May 2012 19:13:36 GMT

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer will donate $20 million toward an initiative that would raise $1 billion annually from multi-state corporations for green building projects and the state budget, proponents said today.

That brings Steyer's contributions to $21.9 million so far in the campaign, one of the highest amounts ever by one individual for a California initiative effort. Steyer is an environmentalist who founded San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management in 1986. Forbes magazine lists his net worth at $1.3 billion as of March.

Only one contributor in recent memory gave more to a statewide initiative: real estate heir and businessman Stephen Bing, who gave $48.6 million to Proposition 87 in 2006, according to state records. The failed effort would have raised taxes on oil production for alternative energy projects.

Steyer has formed a coalition of environmental groups that dubs itself the "Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole." The committee filed signatures last week to put their initiative on the ballot.

The proposal would require all companies in California to calculate their corporate income tax based solely on their proportion of sales in the state. Under a tax law change pushed by Republicans as part of the 2009 budget compromise for temporary tax hikes, corporations won the ability to choose between the sales-based tax formula or a separate equation that also considers employees and property.

The latter formula is more beneficial to out-of-state firms who can lower their tax rate because they have relatively few employees or property in the state. California is one of only two states that allows companies to choose their tax formula.

Large business groups who oppose the measure say it would cost jobs in the state. But California-based biotech firms have lobbied for the change because they say they are at a competitive disadvantage compared to companies based elsewhere.

The proposal would raise an estimated $1 billion a year, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. For the first five years, half of the money would go toward energy efficiency projects in buildings and the other half would help the state's general fund, including schools.

PHOTO: Tom Steyer, 2011. Courtesy of Tom Steyer

Facebook passwords private, Assembly decides in passing bill

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:38:17 GMT

Without a dissenting vote, the California Assembly passed legislation Thursday that would bar employers from requiring their workers or job seekers to provide access to passwords for Facebook or other social media.

Assemblywoman Nora Campos, a Democrat who crafted the bill, Assembly Bill 1844, said that information posted in social media accounts does not necessarily reflect a person's job competence.

"AB 1844 makes clear that job seekers and employees have a right to privacy in the social media," she said.

Nobody spoke against AB 1844 on the Assembly floor

The bill passed by a vote of 69-0, with three members absent and eight members abstaining.

Campos' bill now goes to the California Senate.

Read and Post Finds New Home

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:52 GMT

A popular magazine and book store, that also offered postal services, has found a new home. Read and Post recently closed in Santa Barbara on Coast Village Road.

Republican Presidential Candidate Visits Santa Barbara

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:52 GMT

Republican Presidential Candidate Fred Karger visits Santa Barbara to talk about his plan to shake up the election.

Betsey Johnson Clothing Store Files Bankruptcy

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:52 GMT

The Betsey Johnson women's clothing store chain has filed for bankruptcy protection. The fate of the Santa Barbara store and its employees is unknown at this time.

Civil War Day is a 'Booming' Success

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

Eighth Graders at Santa Barbara Junior High School take part in Civil War Day. It included live demonstrations, a Civil War-era canon and a visit from Abraham Lincoln.

Pacific Company Gift Store Closes after 39 years

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

The Pacific Company gift store in the Loreto Plaza is closing after 30 years. Customers today, were taking advantage of huge discounts on gifts, plants, and party supplies.

United Way of Santa Barbara Co. Awards Ceremony

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

Car Over Hillside

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

KEY News is on the scene of an SUV over the hillside or Carrillo street.

President Obama Makes History

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

Flashing Pedestrian Lights Coming to the Waterfront

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:51 GMT

Santa Barbara's Historic Landmarks Commission is supporting new, flashing pedestrian crossing lights along the Santa Barbara Waterfront.

Body Found Near UCSB Dorm

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:50 GMT

Body found near UCSB dorm Thursday morning.

Democrats push the envelope in mail attacks on Parks

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:15:26 GMT

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has flooded the mailboxes of Ventura County Democratic voters with another cartoonish mailer that seeks to portray independent congressional candidate Linda Parks as a tea party-style Republican extremist.

The first showed Parks' face on campaign buttons paired with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin. The cover of this one shows an open closet with GOP paraphernalia, including a cardboard cutout of Palin and a Bush-Cheney placard, spilling out. The implication is that Parks has been trying to keep her true political leanings in the closet. The headline says, "Republican Linda Parks has a secret..."

On the flip side it says that "Washington Republicans and Linda Parks would end Medicare as we know it" and that "a vote for Parks and the national Republicans is a vote for the Tea Pary."

The allegation, to put it charitably, is a stretch. In fact, one of the comments that the DCCC cites to back up its claim is an out-of-context excerpt from a Facebook comment exchange. In that exchange, a user asks Parks whether she supports the budget proposal written by GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, a proposal that includes cuts to Medicare and a plan to offer vouchers to seniors who could choose to use them to purchase private insurance instead of government-administered Medicare insurance.

The DCCC asserts that Parks evaded the question, saying it was "moot" because the Ryan budget stands no chance of passage. But here's the full text of Parks' response: "I am concerned that the Ryan Budget, among other things, would leave vulnerable senior citizens without health care. I also think it is a moot point because the Ryan Budget is dead in the water because it is a one-sided proposal and an example of what you get when you don't have Republicans and Democrats working together."

A fair reading of that response is that Parks does not support the Ryan proposal -- unless one believes that a political candidate is publicly supporting the concept of leaving "vulnerable senior citizens without health care."

Democrats understandably want to point out to their own partisan voters that Parks is not one of them. That's true. Until becoming a candidate, Parks was a registered Republican. She was a Republican throughout the eight years of the Bush administration and during the 2008 McCain-Palin campaign. But the facts of Parks' political behavior make their argument that she is an extremist difficult. Parks has worked in concert with the Democratic majority on the Board of Supervisors, she endorsed Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson over Republican Tony Strickland in their 2008 state Senate campaign, and she made her mark in local politics by being an outspoken advocate for open-space preservation.

Those are decidedly not traits one typically associates with a tea party-affiliated candidate.

Yesterday, Parks called on leading Democratic candidate Julia Brownley to publicly repudiate the DCCC mailers, but that's not going to happen. In an e-mail response to that request, Brownley campaign spokesman Lenny Young wrote me: "Despite her rhetoric, it has been unclear where Linda Parks stands on Medicare because she has been all over the place on the Ryan plan that aims to end it and on whether she'd support the House Republicans who are in lock step behind the plan... She's been a Republican for her entire elected career so I can understand why the voters in Ventura County can't count on her to protect Medicare."

On one hand, the Democrats' frustration over how to associate Parks with Republican policy positions is understandable, because Parks has been less than clear where she stands on a number of issues, notably whether to continue lower income tax rates for the wealthiest taxpayers when those reduced rates are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. She has also declined to say which party she would caucus with if elected to the House, who would get her vote for Speaker of the House, and even whether she intends to vote for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for president. Those evasions will likely give partisan Democrats considerable pause.

But if Democrats are to continue to attack Parks (which they surely will), they would be wise to look for a different line of argument. They might, for instance, ask voters to assess whether Parks' approach to her job as Thousand Oaks councilwoman and as a supervisor has demonstrated the kind of temperament and cooperative spirit that would enable her to carry out her promise to "work toward middle ground with both political parties" once in Congress.

Meanwhile, the Parks campaign got a considerable boost today when the Los Angeles Times, in a lengthy editorial, endorsed Parks.

It's not surprising that the Times editorial board would take such a stance -- newspaper editorial boards, after all, always seem to be looking for opportunities to take positions that declare a pox on the houses of both Democrats and Republicans. Still, this particular endorsement was effusive. Here's an excerpt:

"If Parks were unqualified for the job, the novelty of having a nonaligned candidate would wear thin very quickly. But she is in fact very qualified."

With that, perhaps the Democrats' challenge of undermining an independent whose presence in the primary could cost them a spot on the general election ballot just got a little more challenging.

AM Alert: SeaWorld's critters turn Capitol into Animal House

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:18:28 GMT

VIDEO: Dan Walters warns Californians in today's video report that Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget won't be pretty.

SeaWorld San Diego is in town. Call it SeaWorld's annual effort to convert the Capitol into a zoo to highlight animal care and conservation. Check out the lemurs, penguins and reptiles on the north steps from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menagerie moves to the Senate lounge from 2 to 3 p.m., then to the council room in the governor's office from 3 to 4 p.m.

Gov. Jerry Brown will be elsewhere, at least in the morning. He and supporters of his ballot tax measure will deliver signed petitions to the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters office on 65th Street at 10 a.m.

Back at the dome, both the Senate and the Assembly have set floor sessions for 9 a.m.

One bill that's drawn the attention of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is Assemblyman Roger Hernández's Assembly Bill 2127 to allow a sheriff or other official to let a participant in a work release program to get credit for participating in educational, substance abuse and other programs.

AB 2127 has a long list of supporters, including the California State Sheriffs' Association, and the Senate Public Safety Committee passed the measure Tuesday, 5-2. One of the no votes came from Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, who has signaled that other Republican senators aren't going to be fans of the measure either.

Alert readers will recall that Hernández, D-West Covina, is facing drunken driving charges in Contra Costa County.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Kamala Harris is heading to the Capitol to testify before a conference committee on mortgage and foreclosure matters. Click here for the agenda. Several budget panels will also convene. Click here for the Senate's daily file, and click here for the Assembly's.

PRAYER BREAKFAST: Senate Republican leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, and Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, are co-chairing the 51st annual California Prayer Breakfast at the Sacramento Sheraton Grand. The keynote speaker is Patrick Lencioni, author of "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." The program begins at 7 a.m.

POTUS: President Barack Obama will be in California air space, with Air Force One scheduled to touch down at LAX at 6:20 p.m. Obama is hitting the Golden State's ATM with a fundraiser with actor George Clooney. Obama is scheduled to leave LAX at 10:15 a.m. Friday.

THINK TANK: Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, has announced that he's launched a new think tank called the California Reform Institute. Billed as being bipartisan, it will be seeded with $750,000 from wealthy Republican activist Charles Munger Jr., who had backed giving the job of drawing political districts to a citizens commission.

NEW GIG: State Controller John Chiang has appointed Julio Martinez as his director of legislative affairs. Martinez most recently was chief of staff to Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park.

PHOTO CREDIT: Bakari, a 10-year-old lemur, sits on the shoulder of David Jackson, director of the SeaWorld animal ambassador team. SeaWorld San Diego returned to the Capitol with a team of educators, animal ambassadors and a bevy of exotic animals on Thursday, May 12, 2011.
Randy Pench / Sacramento Bee file, 2011.

Obama supports gay marriage: California reaction

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:45:37 GMT

President Barack Obama today became the first president to declare his support for gay marriage. Here is some reaction for California officials:

"I commend President Obama for supporting Americans who deserve equal rights, equal respect and equal recognition. ... However, the fight is not over. Whether here in California, or in places like North Carolina where voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage this week, the march towards justice must continue." --Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom

PHOTO GALLERY: Reaction from the US, California

"I applaud the President's statement today supporting marriage equality. Equality before the law is the founding principle of our nation. In that spirit, I will continue our common work to ensure that equality belongs to all Californians and all Americans." -- Attorney General Kamala Harris

"Today is a proud day for all Americans who believe every adult is entitled to marry the person they love. President Obama becomes the first sitting president in American history to have the courage to support the freedom to marry for gay couples. In doing so, we all take a huge collective step toward a stronger, more equal, and more inclusive America where all loving families are not only accepted, but celebrated." -- California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton

"This is an historic moment for our country, and I applaud President Obama for standing up for freedom, justice and equality for all people in a time when other elected officials are reluctant to do so. Denying committed same-sex couples the choice to marry has no benefit to our society and only divides communities and hurts loving couples and their families. I am confident the President's support will help build momentum for the international movement to achieve full equality for same-sex couples everywhere." -- Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco

"Mr. Obama has told America's blacks, Hispanics, and everyone who knows in their hearts that marriage is only for one man and one woman that he doesn't represent them and that he will fight against the moral values of their families." -- Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com

"I thank and applaud President Obama for taking the courageous and bold step in affirming marriage as a fundamental right for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation. All families deserve equal protection of the law. We have a long way to go in ensuring full equality for LGBT people and the President's support for marriage equality brings us closer towards that goal." -- Assemblyman Rich Gordon, Chair of the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus

"I have never been more proud of our President than I am today. His journey to acceptance is an example of the one value we honor most in America, freedom; freedom to choose who we love, freedom to choose who we marry, freedom to choose who we partner with to raise a family. Denying the right for any two people to marry is discrimination." -- Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento

"This is a historic day and another step in our country's long march toward equal rights and justice for all. The President's statement is a milestone and so important for the millions of American families who deserve full equality. None of us can rest until marriage equality is a reality for all Americans." --U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Ca.

"Like the President's successful effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I believe today will be remembered as a major milestone in the LGBT movement, and one that gives credence to Dr. Martin Luther King's observation that 'the arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.' I am deeply grateful for the President's leadership on this fundamental issue of civil rights." -- Speaker John Pérez

"Today, President Obama reaffirmed the hope and promise most Americans felt nearly four years ago when he was elected. After yesterday's disappointing defeats in North Carolina and Colorado, the President still had the political courage to do the right thing and publicly support marriage equality. I commend his leadership and commitment to all Americans, and I look forward to the day when such announcements cease to be viewed as momentous and start being viewed as common sense." -- Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo

"Equality before the law is a pillar of American democracy. I applaud President Obama's support for the right of same-sex couples to marry." -- Gov. Jerry Brown

Dan Walters Daily: Jerry Brown's budget revision won't be pretty

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:28:46 GMT

VIDEO: Dan Walters says that Gov. Jerry Brown's budget revision won't present a pretty picture for California.

Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page.

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Read Dan Walters' columns here.

Jerry Brown unlikely to intervene in row over 10 wild birds

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:39:30 GMT

A San Diego County woman who has fought the California Department of Fish and Game for years over her keeping 10 wild birds at home is preparing to surrender them to the state Thursday, apparently unsuccessful in her appeal to Gov. Jerry Brown to "pardon" them.

In a half-page ad in The Bee's print edition this morning, Lindy O'Leary penned an open letter to the Democratic governor under the headline, "Dear Governor Brown: Please Pardon These Birds!" She included photographs of seagulls and a hawk she has been keeping without a permit, and she said the birds are "on their way to being killed."

The state disputed that. Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for Fish and Game, said the birds will be placed in other facilities.

"Our intent is not to kill these animals," Traverso said.

The state and O'Leary have been wrangling in court for several years about the legality of O'Leary keeping her birds at her home, where she operates the Wildlife Center of San Diego. Last month, Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, dropped legislation she had proposed to help O'Leary get permission to keep the animals.

Walters' chief of staff, Garth Eisenbeis, said this afternoon that the senator helped broker a proposed compromise between O'Leary and the Department of Fish and Game, but that O'Leary ultimately rejected it.

"She's done what she believes she can do on her behalf," Eisenbeis said.

Jennifer Hegemier, O'Leary's lawyer, said terms of the proposed compromise were unreasonable and that O'Leary will keep pressing her case in court. Ultimately, she hopes to have the birds returned to her.

Meanwhile, Hegemier said the birds will be surrendered to the state Thursday.

"We are planning to comply," she said. "We don't have a choice."

Jerry Brown appoints Caltrans chief, honors workers

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:23:48 GMT

Gov. Jerry Brown today defended the work of the public sector as that which "ties us together," speaking at a memorial for Caltrans employees killed while working last year.

The memorial at the Capitol was the third in three days for Brown. The Democratic governor attended ceremonies on Monday and Tuesday for California Highway Patrol and other peace officers killed last year.

"We ought to recognize the public calling," Brown said, "which is absolutely indispensable for the social and political fabric."

A member of the honor guard fainted during the ceremony, briefly interrupting it. An organizer said he was alert and talking to emergency workers before he was taken off in a stretcher.

Earlier today, Brown appointed Malcolm Dougherty, 43, director of Caltrans. Dougherty, of Fresno, has been acting director of the department since last year and chief deputy director since 2010.

The position, which pays $155,040 a year, requires Senate confirmation. Dougherty is a Democrat.

Sleaze, deception, Big Oil and the top two primary

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:44:32 GMT

Ever since voters approved the switch to a top-two primary two years ago, political analysts have been predicting that interest groups typically aligned with one party would become more active in the other party's campaigns. The strategy is pragmatic: There are districts in which it is a virtual certainty that either a Democrat or Republican is going to win in November, so the primary presents an opportunity to support a candidate from the other party that the group finds more to its liking.

Fair enough. One could even argue that such a dynamic promotes one of the stated objectives of the top-two primary -- to advantage more moderate candidates from both parties. So if unions support a more moderate Republican running against a more conservative one, or if business groups support a more moderate Democrat against a more liberal one, perhaps that's a healthy thing.

What's unhealthy is when they do it deceptively, when they hide their true identity behind a distorted organizational name, and when they get involved in a primary in a way that is designed to manipulate the rules.

Meet the "California Senior Advocates League PAC." Already this month, it's done all three of those things.

Many voters in Ventura County may have already seen the $22,351 mailer this group sent out in support of Democratic 19th Senate District candidate Jason Hodge of Oxnard. Despite its name, this group has absolutely nothing to do with seniors, has no apparent concern for seniors issues, and uses that deceptive name only to hide its connection with the California Chamber of Commerce, Big Oil and the tobacco industry.

The largest contributor to the "Senior Advocates League PAC" is JOBSPAC, the political arm of the state Chamber of Commerce. Its two largest contributors are Chevron and Philip Morris.

The motivation for the PAC's support of Hodge would appear to be directly connected to the top two primary. Voter registration in the district strongly suggests a Democrat will prevail in November. That's why the chamber-supported PAC is backing Hodge now, rather than taking the more traditional tact of waiting until November to support Republican Mike Stoker.

Although the 19th District mailer is listed as a "support" piece for Hodge, it is just as much an attack on his Democratic opponent, former Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson. It reprises the "Taxin' Jackson" monicker that the campaign of Republican Sen. Tony Strickland sought to pin on her four years ago and describes her as "an offshore drilling consultant."

If that last description were actually true, Chevron would have no interest in spending money in an attempt to defeat her. The facts are that Jackson worked on behalf of the Environmental Defense Center -- one of the most respected environmental groups in Santa Barbara, and one that has effectively fought offshore drilling there for decades. The EDC supported a controversial proposal a few years ago that would have allowed the Texas oil company PXP to drill new wells in exchange for concessions that the environmental group believed would ultimately bring an end to offshore drilling off Santa Barbara -- principally, its agreement to dismantle the onshore processing facility it controlled. It was the EDC's belief, and Jackson's, that the agreement would have spelled the beginning of the end for offshore oil in Santa Barbara. Not every environmental organization agreed. That hardly makes Jackson an "offshore drilling consultant."

It is also interesting to note the "Senior Advocates League's" other activities in state Senate campaigns so far. It spent $32,000 on a mailer supporting former Assemblyman Joe Coto in the San Jose area, another Democrat generally more sympathetic to business special interests than his opponent, Assemblyman Jim Beall.

More cynically, it spent $35,000 on a mailer supporting a Republican candidate in central L.A. who has absolutely no chance of winning and has not even raised enough money for her own campaign to necessitate filing a report with the secretary of state. Republican Charlotte Svolos is running in a three-way primary that includes incumbent Democrat Rod Wright and another Democrat, a marginal candidate named Paul Butterfield.

Voter registration in that 35th District is 60.4 percent Democratic, 15.8 percent Republican -- so Svolos has zero chance of winning in November if she makes it out of the primary. Wright is chairman of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which deals with all bills regulating alcoholic beverages, and also a member of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee, which deals with all bills involving energy issues. The only potential threat to Wright's re-election would be if he is opposed by another Democrat on the November ballot.

So why would the Chevron-funded PAC support a token Republican candidate in a Senate race? The only explanation is to help Wright by trying to make sure Svolos gets enough votes in the primary to finish a distant second, but ahead of the other Democrat. The expenditure on Svolos' behalf is cynically manipulative.

Barack Obama to raise money with George Clooney in L.A., push agenda in Reno

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:08:08 GMT

After rubbing elbows with George Clooney at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Thursday, President Barack Obama will fly to Reno to push his economic agenda in a battleground state.

The Democratic president is scheduled to meet with a Reno-area family and speak about his "to-do list" for Congress, including a proposal to help homeowners refinance mortgages at lower interest rates.

Obama's campaign has been promoting the Clooney fundraiser for weeks, soliciting small donations online by offering a chance to win tickets to the otherwise high-dollar event.

The Washington Post reported the fundraiser at the actor's home may be one of the largest presidential fundraisers in U.S. history.

Pete Wilson, Meg Whitman among Mitt Romney's California delegates

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:47:44 GMT

Looking to catch up with a who's who of California Republican power players in late August?

Head to the The Tradewinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach.

That's where California's delegation for the Republican National Convention in Tampa will be staying during the party's nominating convention.

Expected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's campaign has submitted to the office of Secretary of State Debra Bowen a list of delegates to represent the former Massachusetts governor on the floor of the convention.

The list, first reported on the conservative FlashReport blog, includes former Gov. Pete Wilson, 2010 gubernatorial candidate and Romney surrogate Meg Whitman Griff Harsh, former Secretary of State Bill Jones and former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim. Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Darrell Issa and Mary Bono Mack, state Sen. Mark Wyland and Board of Equalization member George Runner. also made the cut.

Also tapped as potential delegates are several spouses of elected officials, including Senate GOP leader Bob Huff's wife Mei Mei Huff and former Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, who is married to Sen. Tony Strickland.

Other familiar Sacramento faces on this list are Romney senior adviser Jeff Randle, public affairs and political consultants Richard Costigan, Michael Saragosa, and Josh Ginsberg, Senate Republican Caucus communications director and GOP strategist Hector Barajas, Pacific Coast Building Products President /CEO David Lucchetti and political attorneys Steve Lucas and Chuck Bell.

The delegates were selected by the Romney campaign and its California advisers after an application process.

RNC delegates are awarded based on which candidate wins in each of the state's 53 congressional district. Additional at-large delegates go to the candidate who wins statewide. A list of delegates submitted by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, has also been received by the Secretary of State.

The California Democratic Party held elections in each district to select the bulk of its delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. A list of unofficial results is posted here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney walks to the podium after he was introduced at the California Republican Party 2009 Spring Convention at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on Saturday Feb. 21, 2009. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.

AM Alert: Dianne Feinstein's challengers to mix it up online

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:07:39 GMT

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's video report, asks whether California Forward will keep pushing its ballot proposal to change the state's budget and governance, "or will it succumb to politics as usual?"

Welcome to the brave new world of campaigning in the digital age: No fewer than 15 of the 23 candidates challenging U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the June 5 primary have said "yes" to participating in The Bee's live chat today about the election.

The 15 are all over the political map. They include three fellow Democrats, nine Republicans and one member each from the American Independent, Libertarian and Peace and Freedom parties.

It's a given that Feinstein will make it into the top-two runoff in November. Which of her rivals will join her? Torey Van Oot moderates. Catch the chat from noon to 1 p.m. at sacbee.com/live.

Gov. Jerry Brown, meanwhile, continues his appearances during memorial week as Caltrans honors fallen highway workers. Brown's talk during the agency's 22nd annual ceremony is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. on the Capitol's west steps.

Under the dome, the Senate Rules Committee considers gubernatorial appointments, with Pamela Harris, director of the Department of Employment Development required to appear. After that committee adjourns, a Senate subcommittee will take up Sens. Joe Simitian and Noreen Evans' proposal on state parks, which Torey Van Oot outlined yesterday in this post.

On the Assembly side, the Appropriations Committee has its work cut out for it, with about 12 dozen bills on its agenda. Several budget panels also convene, considering proposals on higher education, corrections and other matters. And another hearing will look at how to regulate diploma mills in the state. Click here for the Assembly's full schedule, and click here for the Senate's.

EDUCATION: The State Board of Education is reviewing how California's public schools are assessed, including the Academic Performance Index and the School Accountability Report Cards. Thursday, members will discuss whether to apply for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law. Today's meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. at 1430 N St. Click here for the agenda.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, turns 46 today.

Dan Walters Daily: California Forward has rough path ahead

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:23:45 GMT

VIDEO: Dan Walters says the government-change group known as California Forward may not move ahead with an ambitious ballot measure.

Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page.

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Read Dan Walters' columns here.

California senators announce plan for keeping state parks open

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:16:06 GMT

Democratic state Sens. Joe Simitian and Noreen Evans today rolled out a proposal aimed at keeping the gates open at more than 50 California state parks set to close this summer.

The proposal, which will be heard by a Senate budget subcommittee Wednesday afternoon, includes shifting as much as $40 million from existing state accounts for road maintenance, septic system repairs and trails and off-highway vehicle funds to cover parks' costs. That money would be used for purposes consistent with the original intent of those funds, Evans and Simitian said.

Other recommendations include facilitating operating agreements with nonprofits, improving entry fee collection efforts and exploring other funding sources, such as license plates and concessions agreements. Some parks would still likely have to close, but supporters said they hoped those would be able to reopen in the future thanks to the plan.

State parks officials announced last year that 70 of the state's more than 270 parks would be targeted for closure due to budget cuts. The closures are projected to save about $22 million. The parks department has been able to form partnerships with nonprofits and local governments to keep 16 of those parks open. Richard Stapler, spokesman for Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, said officials are involved in substantive talks involving about a dozen additional parks.

Evans, whose Northern California district includes 20 parks on the original closure list, billed the proposals as alternatives to a move that she said would "devastate" local economic development, the state's natural resources and public enjoyment of parks.

"The state has never closed a state park. Not even in the Great Depression," the Santa Rosa Democrat said. "We have handled this challenge before in a way that was positive for the state parks."

Simitian called closing the parks is "fundamentally ill-conceived," especially given potential costs involved in shutting the properties down.

"Frankly the cost of one lawsuit from someone who has a horrible accident in a state park that was untended, the cost of fire suppression if there's no one on the scene could outstrip the savings pretty quickly," the Palo Alto Democrat said.

Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said while finance officials were briefed on the proposal yesterday, there are "a lot of specifics that we need to look at before we can give a more definitive response" about its viability. He said any changes to the Brown administration's current proposals on parks funding will be reflected in the governor's revised budget plan, which is expected to be released Monday.

One hundred state parks were saved from the chopping block in 2009, when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed away from an earlier order to shut them down and directed officials to instead implement seasonal closures and cut back on maintenance and equipment costs. Other efforts to raise money for the parks, such as a 2010 ballot measure that would have increased the vehicle registration fee, have failed in recent years.

Simitian -- who chairs the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation -- said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the fate of the proposal.

"This is God's gift to California,' Simitian said of the state parks. "We're talking about putting up a 'do not enter' sign. I think people find that incomprehensible."

Editor's note: This post was updated at 3:15 p.m. with comments from H.D. Palmer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Guests walk from the inn to the lighthouse at the Point Cabrillo Light Station, a California state park in Mendocino County. Randall Benton / Sacramento Bee file, 2008.

Live chat: Q&A with California U.S. Senate candidates

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:50:12 GMT

The Bee's Torey Van Oot hosts: Q&A with California U.S. Senate candidates

Prop. 29 proponents launch ads attacking 'Big Tobacco'

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:29:30 GMT

Backers of a tobacco tax initiative responded today with a trio of ads that seek to undermine the credibility of their tobacco-funded opposition, including two ads featuring cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.

The 15-second television spots began airing in Northern California markets this morning, according to the Yes on 29 campaign. The initiative would add a new $1 tax per pack of cigarettes to fund cancer and heart disease research.

Proponents are trying to respond specifically to an ad featuring San Joaquin General Hospital physician La Donna Porter, who criticized the initiative while wearing a doctor's smock in an ad that aired statewide for the past two weeks. The opposition campaign has raised nearly $40 million so far, nearly all from tobacco firms R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris USA.

In the opposition ad, Porter said Proposition 29 would create a new bureaucracy and allow research funding to flow out of state.

One of the new Yes on 29 ads directly responds to the Porter ad with a screen shot of her, an emphasis on the words "Philip Morris" and "R.J. Reynolds" and visuals of cigarettes. The announcer says, "29 hits them in the wallet."

In another ad, Armstrong wears a "Livestrong" shirt and asks, "Why is Big Tobacco spending millions to defeat Prop. 29?" Three doctors then appear in succession to explain the merits of the initiative, followed by a fourth who says, "Stop Big Tobacco's lies."

In the third ad, Armstrong says, "Who do you trust to save lives?" The ad then features nonprofit backers from groups including the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society.

Proponents thus far have raised $4.2 million, including $1.5 million from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Jim Knox, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society, called it "a gigantic David versus Goliath battle."

Despite the Armstrong ads already hitting the airwaves, Knox and campaign consultant Steve Smith were cagey Tuesday about the commercials featuring the cyclist. In a press conference, they referred to "two or three ads" being on the air, but they declined to divulge details about the Armstrong ones and suggested they were unaware what they contained. They focused their announcement on their Porter response commercial.

Knox mentioned that Armstrong would be with the campaign Friday in Los Angeles.

Smith and Knox emphasized two things - that tobacco companies were funding the opposition and that a tax on tobacco would stop kids from smoking because young people are particularly sensitive to price.

When asked why the money goes to cancer research instead of other priorities, such as schools or health care funding, Knox said the Legislature has had opportunities to raise tobacco taxes for the general fund budget but caved to pressure from tobacco companies. He also said voters would not support a tax that pays for the state general fund, suggesting that voters don't trust lawmakers with the money.

Boy Scouts policy barring gay members sparks Assembly fire

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:21:48 GMT

A proposed resolution to commend the Boy Scouts of America on its 102nd anniversary died today in an Assembly committee because the measure did not urge the group to accept gays and lesbians.

Instead, the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed a separate resolution that applauded the Boy Scouts but said its policy against accepting homosexuals is harmful and discriminatory -- and should be reconsidered.

The measure that passed, crafted by committee Chairman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, encouraged the group to "accept for membership and leadership positions all qualified boys and men, without discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or religious beliefs."

Assemblyman Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, wrote the resolution that died in the committee by a party-line vote, supported by Republicans. He said he simply wanted his Assembly Concurrent Resolution 94 to commend the group for its many good deeds, not to make the issue political.

"I don't think this body should impose your will upon them," Morrell told the committee.

Feuer countered that lawmakers were not imposing their will upon the Boy Scouts - and could not legally do so. But before commending an organization, the Assembly should consider all facets of it, he said.

Comparing one form of discrimination to another, Feuer said that any group that excluded potential members because of their skin color would not be popular at the Capitol.

"I don't see the difference between discrimination based on race and on sexual orientation," he said.

Feuer's Assembly Concurrent Resolution 128 passed the committee by a vote of 7-2, with Democrats supporting it.

California has second largest Pacific Islander population in U.S.

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:56:42 GMT

Hawaii, not surprisingly, is home to more Pacific Islanders than any other state, but California isn't too far behind, a new Census Bureau statistical study has determined.

In fact, the Census Bureau says, more than half of the nation's 1.2 million native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders live in either Hawaii or California. And it's a fast-growing population, up 40.1 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Hawaii was home to 355,816 Pacific Islanders, the 2010 census found, while 286,145 lived in California, a 29.2 percent increase from 2000. The third largest concentration was in Washington state (70,322) while the smallest was in Vermont (465), although that was a 51 percent increase.

VIDEO: Jerry Brown defends 'a few moments of privacy'

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:25:29 GMT

Gov. Jerry Brown said this morning that the public has a "legitimate interest" in knowing his whereabouts, but he still won't say where he vacationed while out of state over the weekend.

"I have to have a few moments of privacy," the Democratic governor told reporters after a California Highway Patrol memorial event in West Sacramento.

Asked about the public's interest in knowing his whereabouts, Brown said, "They have a legitimate interest," but he declined to say where he was.

Brown has left the state only a handful of times since taking office last year, mostly for short trips on official business. He traveled far more frequently when he was governor before, from 1975 to 1983, and running for president.

Brown said this morning, "I was on R&R," which is more than his office would say about the trip. When Brown left California on Thursday, the administration's advisory said only, "The Governor has left the state."

AM Alert: California State University considers its own era of limits

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:57:41 GMT

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's video report , says lawmakers are moving to the middle.

Should California State University close one or more campuses? Should CSU consider privatizing a university?

These are just two of the questions that CSU trustees will consider today when they meet in Long Beach. The finance committee session is intended to be informational, and perhaps a bit provocative, as CSU leaders evaluate ways to confront an era of state budget cuts.

CSU officials have already offered more modest suggestions should the system face a $200 million trigger cut that Gov. Jerry Brown proposed if voters reject his tax initiative. Those include eliminating sports and athletics, delaying the purchase of library materials, downsizing administration and minimizing travel.

But trustees want to consider the gamut of long-term changes, said CSU spokeswoman Claudia Keith. Those range from phasing out less popular academic areas to charging higher rates for cost-intensive programs and seeking ways to privatize.

"Some of these are obviously more feasible than others," Keith said.

PARKS: Democratic Sens. Noreen Evans and Joe Simitian hold a conference call at 11 to unveil an idea for saving 50 state parks scheduled to close.

CHP MEMORIAL: Memorial week continues with the annual ceremony honoring fallen CHP officers. Gov. Jerry Brown will attend the 9:30 memorial at the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento.

LEGISLATURE: Both houses have a fairly heavy schedule of committee hearings today. Check out the Senate file here, and the Assembly line-up here.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Send state Treasurer Bill Lockyer a funny card for his 71st birthday today. He could use a laugh.

What's in a name?

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:55:15 GMT

Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson has done what some say she should have done in her campaign four years: Do something to directly counter the sophomoric "Taxin' Jackson" nickname that her opponent spent millions to get voters to associate with her.

It was so catchy, that workers in the campaign of her 2008 opponent, Tony Strickland, claim when they precinct walking in Santa Barbara days before the election, on Oct. 31, they encountered a mother walking her little girl out the door about to go trick-or-treating. The mother proudly told them her daughter was customed as Taxin' Jackson.

Four years later, Republican 19th Senate District candidate Mike Stoker is again refering to the former Democratic assemblywoman as "Taxin' Jackson" at every opportunity.

I asked Jackson about that nickname last week, and she insists that it stuck only because "it rhymes and it has a beat." She lamented that it would never have become an issue had she taken the name of her husband, George Eskin, when they married. "I should have listened to my mother," she said.

That's a bell that can't be unrung, however. What can be done is to launch a counterattack, which is what Jackson has done in a new commercial (it's the second one in a two-commercial set). The ad is called "Action Jackson." Although it is very tacky, slowing Jackson in sports attire competing in a race while fighting off "special interests," depicted as gentlemen wearing paper bags over their heads, the ad serves its apparent purpose: It gets another rhyming nickname into the public sphere so that when casual voters won't simply associate her name with the word 'taxin'.'

It is a shame that serious campaigns for serious offices so often come down to silly stuff like this.,