George Skelton finds a lot to like in the plan to allow lawmakers to pass a state budget
by a majority-vote.
"Prop. 25 would retain the two-thirds vote for tax increases. It also would decree that if legislators didn't pass
a budget by the rarely met June 15 constitutional deadline, they'd forfeit all salary
and expense reimbursements for each day they dallied.
"But one legitimate concern of opponents is that legislators
could merely pass a bogus, half-baked budget by the deadline to preserve their pay,
then slumber into summer in stalemate on a real deal.
That would be unconscionable if only a majority vote
were needed.
"Yet, almost anything would be better than the current
system of minority-party tyranny and insufferable gridlock."
A new investigation may lift the shroud of secrecy surrounding the dealings of CalPERS.
Evan Halper reports, "Officials at the California Public
Employees' Retirement System have shrouded many of
their multimillion-dollar transactions in secrecy, refusing to release
analyses of potential investments, meeting materials
and correspondence relating to venture capital, real
estate and other private equity holdings.
Citing privacy laws, they have said the pension fund
need not share "any documents that reflect investment
recommendations and the process by which investment
strategy is decided."
"But now, as some current and former officials are being
investigated by state and federal authorities in probes
of influence-peddling and bribery, CalPERS has hired at least one
outside firm to examine whether pension dollars were
doled out improperly in deals negotiated out of public
view."
David Siders looks at Jerry Brown's complicated relationship with labor.
"
This year, public employee unions back Brown and are
running separate campaigns of their own to help his
latest gubernatorial bid. But in his two terms as governor
and, more recently, as mayor of Oakland, Brown was
not the reliable champion of labor he suggests he is
today, much less the union hand depicted by Meg Whitman,
the Republican nominee.
"I sat across from him at the table," said Steve Bristow,
former president of a Service Employees International
Union local that protested furloughs and other spending
cuts in Oakland in 2002 and 2003. "He wore (me) out."
Like many politicians, Brown has seen his relationship
with labor fluctuate, influenced less by ideology than
by the state of the economy and public sentiment toward
government spending. Labor leaders today believe public
employee unions will be treated better by Brown than
by Whitman, and rhetoric from both campaigns supports
that view. But Brown's history with public employees
suggests that, if elected, he might at times disappoint
them."
Meg Whitman's general election pitch on illegal immigration
has irked conservative talk-show hosts John and Ken.
"Whitman's new, more liberal tone on immigration, they
filled the airwaves — and they have plenty to fill, with five hours on KFI
every workday — with broadsides at the Republican nominee for governor.
They mocked her statements as "garbage," read aloud
their correspondence with a campaign aide they labeled
a "weasel" and recounted old interviews to show her
change in emphasis. They used the station's website
to scream "Stop the Pandering" and urge listeners to
barrage Whitman's campaign with phone calls and her Facebook page with criticisms.
"By the end of the week, the voicemail attached to
the number they had supplied was too full to accept
any more calls, and Whitman's Facebook page was awash
in supportive sentiments like "Here's a note for ya,
Meg… Go away! Go run for Governor of Mexico!"
Stay classy, California...
Michael Hiltzik looks at Whitman's stance on the capital gains tax.
"The question arises from GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's new glossy campaign
brochure, titled "Creating Jobs for a New California." In it she proposes killing the state tax on capital
gains. "California is one of a few states in the country
that taxes capital gains at a higher rate than traditional
income," the booklet states.
"Sorry, but that's not remotely true.
"California taxes capital gains — profits from investments in stocks, bonds, real estate
or businesses — at exactly the same rate as any other income, whether
it's wages, dividends or your prize from Publishers
Clearing House."
California may determine whether or not 2010 becomes the Year of the Republican Woman.
Kathleen Hennessey reports, But the broader landscape
shows a different picture. Despite a handful of high-profile successes, Republican women continue to struggle
in a party that has long seen them take a supporting
role.
A record number of Republican women filed to run for
Congress this year, but GOP women are not on pace to
break the 2004 record for primary victories, according to an analysis
by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers
University.
So far, fewer women have won Republican primaries for
the House, which has the largest concentration of candidates,
than at this point four years ago. A record-breaking primary season in races for Senate and governors'
offices is more likely, but far from assured."
And finally for those of you who still aren't convinced that clowns are creepy, AP reports, "A Pittsburgh-area man robbed a bank wearing a woman's blond wig,
fake breasts under a sweater and clown pants.
"Swissvale police say 48-year-old Dennis Hawkins of North Braddock was sitting in
a parked car covered in red dye from an exploding packet
in a bag of money when he was arrested Saturday.
"Police Chief Greg Geppert says Hawkins robbed the
bank at gunpoint, using a toy BB gun he had shoplifted
from a store. Geppert says Hawkins then entered a woman's car She got out, took her keys and alerted police. Hawkins
was found sitting in the car."
