http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/blogscan.html The BlogScan of California political blogs on AroundTheCapitol.com en-us scott@aroundthecapitol.com scott@aroundthecapitol.com.com http://hoguenews.com/?p=8557There was a time when the United States was the leader in the Nuclear  Industry.  It’s time get BACK TO THE FUTURE! This is my follow up article to The Truth About Nuclear Waste in the US.  Please familiarize yourself with it for reference as I will refer to some of the data.     Quick facts:     Last year over 24,000 died [...]http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/03/14/cct-launches-local-campaign-finance-database/Today, the Contra Costa Times launches a brand-new, local campaign contribution database. For the first time, Contra Costa residents will be able to view a sortable, searchable online database of campaign contributions to candidates for local offices including district attorney, assessor, sheriff and the Board of Supervisors. Until now, voters had to take a trip down [...]http://hoguenews.com/?p=8903Governor Mitt Romney is one cool customer. I was honored to entertain Governor Mitt Romney and GOP Candidate Meg Whitman during a "fire side chat" after the Friday night dinner at the Republican Convention in Santa Clara, California. We only had 15-minutes to engage in a discussion; the answers from Governor Romney and Ms. Whitman offered in addressing the real issues that California faces were very well received by the sold out ballroom crowd. Here is the video presentation of our evening ending forum at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara. You can watch the entire video inside of HOGUE NEWS tonight.http://hoguenews.com/?p=8888Some observations from the first full day at the California Republican Convention in Santa Clara. Meg Whitman and the press have made-up and become friends. I was more than honored to moderate the 'fire side chat' between Governor Mitt Romney and Meg Whitman at the close of the first evening's festivities. I was also witness to two eMeg press conferences. Plus video from Carly Fiorina's "rock star" arrival on Saturday afternoon, Meg's new TV Channel that takes after Steve Poizner 24/7, all weekend long in each hotel room. Finally, Tom Campbell offers another apology surounding Sami Al-Arian and his letter in defending him in 2002.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/NeovzaO_mtc/carly-failorina-strikes-again-this-time-with-demonblimpAt the California Republican Party convention in Santa Clara today, failed CEO Carly Fiorina launched another of her campaign's ridiculous and, in this case, even offensive web video ads. This one portrays Barbara Boxer as a blimp (because she's "full of hot air" - get it?!) terrorizing California from above. The ad reaches new lows in both the pathetic and the bizarre. It is also deeply self-contradictory and a classic case of projection. In the ad, Fiorina argues that Boxer is a "failure" because she's only had 3 bills passed in 18 years. What isn't stated is that for most of that time, Boxer served under either a Republican Senate (1995 to 2007) or a Republican president (2001 to 2009). Only in her first two years in the Senate, 1993 and 1994, and this last year, 2009, did she serve with a Democratic Congressional majority AND a Democratic president. While there, Boxer is poised to deliver health care reform and climate change legislation. Apparently Fiorina thinks that's bad. Is she afraid Boxer will rain down health insurance subsidies on the masses from her blimp? The ad also mocks Boxer's claim that climate change is one of the most serious national security crises America faces. By mocking that claim, Fiorina appears to be outing herself as a global warming denier. I'm sure that Central Valley farmers suffering from drought, residents made homeless by wildfire, and San Francisco Bay Area businesses concerned about rising sea levels have nothing to worry about. There's more nonsense in this ad, which has to be seen to be believed. The apparent thinking behind this ad is that to win the Republican nomination for US Senate, one has to prove they can lob the best insults at Barbara Boxer, rather than explain to Californians why right-wing economic policies will somehow work this time when they've failed every other time they've been attempted. Once you're done laughing, give some money to Barbara Boxer at ActBlue. As ridiculous as these ads are, Fiorina clearly has the money to keep putting these messages about Boxer out to the public, and that's something to take very seriously. http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2010/03/weather-the-storm-conference-to-address-environmental-legislation.html The implementation of environmental laws AB 32, SB 375, and MS4 (Storm Water Permits) is a hot topic that will affect businesses, cities and counties all across the state. In order to address the somewhat overwhelming task presented by these laws and regulations, the organization Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME) is holding a conference in Ventura called “The Perfect Storm: AB32, SB375 & MS4” that will take place at the Ventura County Office of Education Conference Center on March 19th from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The agenda will not only address the ways it will change business conduct, impacts on housing, and quality of life but also their implementation on a law-by-law basis and their conflicting impacts. A series of panelists will speak and answer questions, so if you’re in the LA/Ventura/Santa Barbara county areas and are interested in attending, you can register here. http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2010/03/part-2-the-green-scenerdas-perfect-green-vehicle-for-environmental-legislation.htm (If you missed part 1, then you can view it here)In part one of our feature on creating 'Green' Redevelopment Agencies in order to leverage the nexus that could productively exist between realizing green legislation and RDAs, we covered why the status quo was bound to be unproductive and that the positions and expertise of RDAs could successfully accomplish the goals of environmental legislation. On the topic of making this green path a reality, Kosmont suggests that in order for California to meet its needs, Redevelopment Law should be modified to broaden its scope and include activities that promote sustainable development. In order to ensure that green objectives are adopted, it may be important to stipulate that agencies who comply can have their term limits extended, that redevelopment agencies can expand to assume the role of sustainability agencies that lead, promote and monitor green developments and that sustainability indicators could be created to hold agencies accountable.The roles of green RDAs would be expansive and could include encouraging sustainable development practices through agency run programs, providing incentives to encourage green development, setting minimum LEED standards for various levels of funding, coordinating and funding civic projects, providing fixtures and equipment financing for green installations, coordinating with utility companies to promote conservation programs, providing special financing of lease transactions for projects that meet AB 32 and SB 375 standards, and providing assistance in acquiring grants for green development.For those who are uncertain about supporting green RDAs, Kosmont suggests there are principally four reasons that should bring Californians on board. One, the dollars are already there, as the state budget already includes an allocation to support the solution. Secondly, there is no need to invest time and resources in the development of new skill sets since the expertise is also already there. Thirdly, RDAs have a track record of success, as over the years they have contributed to a multitude of redevelopment activities. Finally, Kosmont concludes three groups would be happy on account of green RDAs:  labor, environmentalists, and business. The major bump in the road for this route is getting a new charter approved for RDAs, but no one said being green would be easy. http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2010/03/pension-funds-poorly-navigate-real-estate-market-and-incur-further-losses.html It was recently revealed that both CalPERS and CalSTRS, California’s two big public pension funds, suffered some very big losses from bad real estate investments, proving that the real estate market has proven especially difficult for the funds to navigate when it comes to preventing the huge losses both portfolios have already incurred. Consequently, the state and local government entities that rely on CalPERS and CalSTRS pensions will face even more pressure as real estate troubles deplete funding. Case in point, the Sacramento Bee reports that CalPERS is set to lose $91 million from a Boston investment that involved a massive condo-office complex. As for CalSTRS, a building in New York that it co-owns is about to go into default, so the pension fund will probably lose its share of a $75 million investment. The Bee summarized their portfolios as follows: “CalPERS' real estate portfolio lost 47 percent of its value in a year's time and was valued at $13.7 billion at the end of January. CalSTRS' real estate holdings declined by 38 percent in the 12 months ending last June 30, falling to $13 billion.”A list of the deals gone bad and the millions of dollars that have been lost in poor investment projects all across the country is represented in this image viewable here. A housing investment into LandSource Communities represented the biggest loss for both pension funds, as $920 million was lost in the end. Some market analysts have insisted that things won’t get worse, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be other huge losses that will be revealed over time. Ed Mendel from Calpensions reports that both funds are still down by $100 billion and that “there is no sign of a major market rebound that will recover most of the losses.” http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2010/03/sacramento-council-wants-to-weed-out-weed-suppliers-in-proposed-ordinance.html Sacramento officials may “weed” out the number of pot dispensaries in order to limit the number to 12 within the city, as well as impose stricter regulations on the operations of such dispensaries. Discussion of this plan resulted in marijuana advocates and pot shop owners showing up in droves to a meeting on the topic in order to voice opposition to a course of action that City Manager Gus Vina called “an emotional issue,” according to the Bee. Medical marijuana advocates also protested what they saw as the potential plan’s reversal of Proposition 215, the medical marijuana law, and some representatives for the city’s 39 dispensaries threatened lawsuits against the city if such a plan is approved by the City Council.Since the plan would only allow for 12 pot dispensaries to maintain operations, which of the 39 current businesses could remain open is a point of contention, as many feel it would be unfair to resort to a lottery to determine which pot shops could stay in business. The plan would also restrict where dispensaries could open so that they are not within 300 feet of neighborhoods or 500 feet of churches, parks, schools, youth facilities or substance abuse centers. Disclaimers would also need to be used so that the city cannot be at fault for any injury or harm done by sold marijuana.While critics of the plan contend these provisions go too far, council members argue that they are concerned about the way dispensaries have disproportionately clustered in some areas of the city and that if Sacramento does not take control, conditions will rival those of Los Angeles, which has had the number of dispensaries proliferate quite rapidly. City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said the following of the plan:“We don't want to wind up like Los Angeles. We don't want to rush to do this, but we want to be timely."If the council approves the ordinance, it could be in effect in June or July. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/PZZWfdwbRvg/meg-whitmans-plan-to-make-a-bigger-budget-deficitJust as Meg Whitman's "solution" to the unemployment crisis in California is to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, her plans for the state budget crisis appear to center on making that deficit bigger. At yesterday's California Republican Party convention in Santa Clara, eMeg finally talked to the press. But what was more relevant than the fact that she talked to them was what she said. As KQED's John Myers tweeted: #CAgov candidate Whitman says in an interview that her "targeted" tax cuts would cost the #cabudget approx. $4 billion Myers added that it sounded like an annual number, which shows just how reckless Whitman plans to be with state finances. At a time when California faces an annual $20 billion deficit for at least the next 3 years, it is absurd to be talking about blowing a bigger hole in state finances with a tax cut for the rich. But Whitman doubled down on that reckless pledge, telling CRP attendees last night that she endorsed eliminating the capital gains tax entirely, a move that would do absolutely nothing to create jobs in California since it would merely benefit investors who derive income from global economic activity. Whitman also defended her pledge to reduce the state workforce by 40,000. She claimed this was because the state workforce had increased by that number in the last 5 years, but failed to mention that was to restore the budget cuts made during the last recession. Even then, the elimination of 40,000 jobs will do little to address the budget deficit. The average base pay for California state employees in 2008 was $63,815. Multiply that by 40,000 and you get $2,552,600,000. Just $2.5 billion, which would leave Whitman with another whopping $17.5 billion left to cut out of the budget, even before her new tax cuts are included in the figures. That's about the total amount the state spends on higher education and on prisons. Medi-Cal, IHSS, Cal-WORKS, and other important human services take up billions themselves. If Whitman wants to close the budget deficit with no new taxes - and even wants new tax cuts - she's going to have to make massive cuts to those vital services that Californians want. The real question then isn't whether Meg Whitman will talk to reporters. Instead the question is how she really plans to close the budget gap. There's at least $17 billion unaccounted for in her plans, and without new taxes - especially if there are new tax cuts - then the only answers will be to close down the public services that California needs in order to create jobs and function in a modern global economy. Let's hope reporters use their newfound access to Whitman to press her on her bad math and get answers as to what Whitman really is planning for this state. http://hoguenews.com/?p=8884People listen to talk radio everyday, but to watch talk radio is a whole new world. HOGUE NEWS has added a quality presentation of the March 5th GOP Senatorial debate. You can watch talk radio and two of the three candidates (Carly Fiorina was on the phone) fight it out for an hour. Simply click onto the GOP Senatorial Debate link at the top of the HOGUE NEWS page and allow the video to load (short time) and you have a seat in the studios of 1380 KTKZ for the great debate. With a studio full of media, and three very ripe senatorial candidates ready to have at it over national security, defense and foreign affairs, the 1380 KTKZ studio was the source for the first California GOP U. S. Senatorial Debate.http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/03/nprs_anne_garrels_to_leav.php By the time Anne Garrels gets to town to pick up her Daniel Pearl Award from the L.A. Press Club in June, she will be nearly three months into her next life. A memo from the National Public Radio foreign desk says Garrels is leaving the staff to go home to Connecticut. Fr: Loren Jenkins, Supervising Senior Editor, NPR Foreign Desk Re: Anne Garrels to Become NPR Contributor NPR's foreign desk would like to announce that after 23 years of groundbreaking reporting for NPR around the world, Senior Foreign Correspondent Anne Garrels has decided to hang up her spurs at the end of this month. Hers has been one of NPR's signature on-air voices since she first joined public radio in 1988, after stints in TV for NBC and ABC News. She has served NPR with distinction as a diplomatic correspondent, a Moscow bureau chief and, for the past decade or so, as a roving correspondent covering conflicts and wars from Chechnya to Beirut, from Kabul to Baghdad, with stops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Tiananmen Square in China among others. Along the way, she has won virtually every important broadcasting award from Peabodys to du Ponts, Polks to Overseas Press Club awards for outstanding journalism. Now, fresh from winning this year's Los Angeles Press Club's Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism, Anne has decided that it's time to leave the battle fields that have framed so much of her distinguished reporting and spend more time peacefully working on her farm in Connecticut with her artist husband, Vint Lawrence. Fortunately Annie plans to hang on to her mic and digital recorder for special events and occasional assignments yet to be determined in the future. While she will no longer be on staff, her voice on NPR stations will not be stilled. She notes, "This has been the hardest decision I've ever made. I love NPR. But it's time to be with my other family." http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/03/friday_desk-clearing_retu.php Councilman Richard Alarcon reported another encounter with the mentally ill intruder who breaks into and squats in the councilman's district home in Panorama City. LAT, DN Mickey Kaus carried through on his threat to file to run in the primary against Sen. Barbara Boxer. CalArts faculty member, Black Clock editor and Los Angeles Magazine columnist Steve Erickson won the $7,500 American Academy of Arts and Letters award in literature. L.A. Times editorial writer Robert Greene won the Walker Stone Award for “outstanding achievement in editorial writing” from the Scripps Howard Foundation. LAT Sports editor: "We simply can no longer cover everything the way we once did." David Lazarus: "What? Another Time Warner Cable rate hike?" LAFD tweet o' the day: "If your news desk needs help finding L.A. Police Department districts: http://lafd.org/findlapd.htm (rather than call the *Fire* Dept.)" HuffPo citizen journalist Mayhill Fowler has self-published "Notes From a Clueless Journalist: Media, Bias and the Great Election of 2008" and is attending the South by Southwest festival in Austin. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne is traveling with the Dodgers squad that went to Taiwan. Former LAT staff writer Scott Martelle is beginning to blog for ProtectConsumerJustice.org. Charles Manson wants his L.A. Times subscription back. And remember: Pacific Daylight Time resumes its rightful place in the natural order of things on Sunday. Set your clocks ahead. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/03/sign_of_the_la_times_2.php It's come to this. The Los Angeles Times website seems now to think the Silver Lake section of L.A. is a city unto itself. Misquoting an item from The Eastsider L.A., which gets it right, an entry today on the Times' L.A. Now blog says: Leaf blower drama: A 1998 Silver Lake ordinance bans the use of gas leaf blowers near homes, but some residents are complaining that the loud contraptions are making a resurgence. Of course, the leaf blower law is a City of Los Angeles ordinance — Silver Lake is no more able to pass a law than the corner of Vanowen and DeSoto. The leaf blower ban was pretty controversial in its day. There are clips galore about it in the Times' archives. It's not neccesarily the Times' blogger's fault: Anthony Pesce was editor of the Daily Bruin at UCLA just last year. It's his editors who threw him into the fire, and who apparently haven't noticed the error all day. So here's the ironic part: the blogger whose accurate post was misinterpreted, Jesus Sanchez, is a veteran journalist who was trained at the Times and who used to be one of two main fulltime writers for the Times blog that now utilizes Pesce. Along the way the Times decided to go cheaper, less experienced and less informed about Los Angeles. Some days that works out OK. Other days, not so much. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/03/la_observed_on_kcrw_whale.php Today's LA Observed piece during "All Things Considered" on KCRW talks about the L.A. story of this week that had a little of everything. That would be Jennifer Steinhauer's New York Times front-pager on the sting that nabbed The Hump in Santa Monica for serving whale sushi. My commentary airs at 4:44 p.m. on KCRW, and thereafter can be downloaded at KCRW.com or iTunes. Prefer text? My script is after the jump. Some relevant links: Media swarm The Hump over whale meat Heal the Bay vs. the Hump Jonathan Gold gets a plea from his brother This is Kevin Roderick with LA Observed for KCRW. Hands down, there was one story in the local news this week that had every quality the LA media adores. It had crime. That’s always important, especially for TV. A Hollywood angle. That’s good too. Real good. Politics, that’ll work, as long as it’s not boring or about a difficult issue, like health care. Food – there’s nothing hotter on the LA cultural scene right now than food. And of course, the environment. Reporters and their editors love environment stories. They often come neatly wrapped by interest groups and activist organizations willing to supply the good guy-bad guy narrative that makes for an easy-to-tell story. Finally, this story had animals. It’s no accident that the LA Times lets several of their most animal-loving reporters feed a pets blog. Or that the mayor’s girlfriend is allowed by KTLA to proudly tout herself as a friend of PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. There’s just no media downside when it comes to animals. Especially beloved species. And so we have, the tale of the whale sushi. This story’s timeline, as so many in LA do, intersects with the Oscars ceremony held last weekend at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. On Sunday night, the documentary "The Cove" won an Oscar for exposing the bloody slaughter of dolphins in Japan. Just a few hours later, on Monday morning, the New York Times had a front page story on the filmmakers of The Cove running a successful sting at The Hump, a Santa Monica restaurant that serves exotic sushi. The film’s director of clandestine operations – what a cool title -- had heard from music industry sources that The Hump serves whale. It may be a delicacy for some Japanese, but whale is banned here by federal law. Beginning in October, and continuing in the weeks leading up to the Oscars, some vegan members of The Cove crew dined at the Hump and videotaped what they saw. They also removed specimens for lab testing that were confirmed as being from an endangered species of whale. During one of the sting operations, Louie Psihoyos, the photographer and filmmaker who directed “The Cove,” was stationed in a car outside coordinating his operatives inside via text message. It all made for a great read. Reporter Jennifer Steinhauer, the New York Times bureau chief in Los Angeles, even had a spokesman for the US Attorney saying the feds expected to move fast to make their case. With all of these elements in play, the story only got better through the week. Mark Gold, the president of Heal the Bay, heard the story Monday morning from his wife. He emailed members of the Santa Monica City Council, and the city launched an investigation to see if The Hump’s business license or lease at Santa Monica Airport could be terminated. Gold also blogged -- and noted that his brother, the LA Weekly food critic Jonathan Gold who has been known to eat whale, is not a fan of the restaurant. Too gimmicky, he says. Because the story broke in the New York Times, the LA Times was cool to it the first few days. Not so other media. Reporters and camera crews rushed to The Hump, bumping into each other and tweeting their excitement. The feds charged the Hump’s owner and chef with a misdemeanor count each of selling an endangered marine species, based in part on what was found under a federal search warrant served last Friday. By the end of the week, the story’s tidal flow began, inevitably, to recede. The Hump’s lawyer said the restaurant accepts responsibility and will pay the fine. For the media, well, onward to the next good story. For KCRW, this has been Kevin Roderick with LA Observed. http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/03/12/when-both-sides-declare-victory/A Sacramento County Superior Court judge ordered some changes in the ballot arguments, but none in the title and summary, for Proposition 17, an insurance-company-backed ballot measure that would change rules for auto insurance, the Los Angeles Times reports. As a political reporter, I’m used to hearing a lot of spin, but the dueling news releases [...]http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=4189 RE:                  AIN’T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY This week the San Francisco Bay Guardian ran a piece “Some teeth for the sunshine law” urging the city’s elected leaders to start enforcing the law passed by the city’s residents to require prompt and open disclosure of public records.  But as the Guardian points out – the city’s leaders, including District Attorney Kamala Harris, have failed to enforce the law. < > That’s consistent with what we’ve learned here at the Chris Kelly for Attorney General Campaign. Through our own repeated public record requests, Harris has demonstrated that she not only fails to enforce the Sunshine Law, but she even refuses to abide by the spirit of the Sunshine Law herself.  < > The Guardian pointed out: < > “On paper, it makes San Francisco a shining example of how concerned residents can come together and eliminate secrecy at City Hall.” http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2010/03/absence-makes-the-votes-grow-fonder-for-la-council-members.html If a city council member were to be consistently absent from roll calls and the chamber and as a result had a less-than-stellar voting record, then public awareness would probably make such behavior a political liability. But if a council member can rely on the chamber’s voting software so that they never miss a vote, as it can automatically register a ‘yes’ vote if a ‘no’ button is not deliberately pushed, then they could be in two places at once. The LA Times reveals it is in fact very common for L.A. council members to be gone from public view while their votes are being recorded so that they can accommodate their busy schedules with more back-room meetings, interviews, and calls. The Times found that about half of the council held private meetings while public sessions were taking place. Take Councilman Richard Alarcon, who the Times points out uses such software to his schedule’s advantage:“On the City Council, […] some members even schedule their time in advance to use the flexibility the voting system allows. Last year, for example, Alarcon made concurrent meetings so routine that he scheduled them on his official appointment calendar to coincide with the council's regular 10 a.m. public sessions. The calendar showed he had appointments planned during 57 council meetings last year.”Concerns about the legality of this way of voting were addressed by L.A.’s city attorney, who argued the chamber can be defined to include news conference areas, bathrooms, and back rooms that are out of view. As long as council members activate their own machines and are in the chamber – as widely as that may be defined – then technically they can be counted as present. Council members insist they are only absent if they already plan on voting ‘yes’ and that there are audio feeds outside of the main chamber so that proceedings can be heard, but the Times points out that speakers are often not turned on. Despite the practice’s frequency, it still manages to upset some members of the public who come to testify in front of a full council and instead they see some empty chairs. There are also questions about whether the use of such software is in compliance with a rule that requires the presence of 10 members to conduct business. http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/03/12/cd11-manteca-teacher-drops-out/Manteca teacher Jeff Takada has dropped out of the Republican primary for the 11th Congressional District, citing lack of money. That leaves David Harmer, Brad Goehring, Elizabeth Emken, Robert Beadles and Tony Amador expected to finalize their paperwork today. Here’s what Takada had to say: Despite the outpouring of support from voters around the district for my Congressional [...]http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/03/12/pge-executives-ante-up-for-jerry-brown/California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial campaign received a bunch of contributions Wednesday totaling more than $23,500 from PG&E’s upper management: Chairman & CEO Peter Darbee — $10,000 President Christopher Johns — $1,000 Senior Vice President & General Counsel Hyun Park — $2,500 Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer John Keenan – $1,500 Senior Vice President & Chief [...]