It's been a busy week for food policy on Capitol Hill. Committees have already been convened to discuss antibiotic abuse in the meat industry (commendable) and improving the nutrition of school lunches (intriguing). Today starts a series of lobbying days for Senate Bill 510. Already having won bipartisan support, this FDA power grab vows to make our food system more “safe” and “modern” (frightening).

Four county registrars of voters told an Assembly committee March 2 that their costs of printing and processing ballots would increase if Californians approve Proposition 14, the so-called “open primary” initiative on the June ballot.  The informational hearing of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee was dominated by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, an Oakland Democrat, who voted against placing the open primary measure on the ballot and has created a campaign committee – Swanson’s Ballot Measure Committee to Oppose Prop. 14.

Starbucks, replying to a petition from a gun control group, has said it will not ban the carry of handguns in its stores, if permitted by local law. The controversy ignited in Walnut Creek, CA when members of Bay Area Open Carry, a group advocating the legal carry of loaded handguns, began carrying open, unloaded handguns at Starbucks (which is generally legal under California law, with some exceptions.)

Appearing on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren (Feb. 23), Governor Schwarzenegger briefly emphasized the need for immigration reform in light of California’s economic woes.  “We've got to go and make a decision so that people can come to this country legitimately, rather than having quotas there, because we need the farm workers,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger.
 “We need the construction workers. We need to have people do certain jobs that maybe that we cannot fill otherwise,” he said.

Like him or hate him, Dr. Ron Paul doesn't just talk a big game about fiscal conservatism, he lives it.  In 2008, his congressional office returned $58,000 to the Treasury.  In 2009, his office returned $90,000.  Now, according to an official press release, Dr. Ron Paul's congressional office has just paid back $100,000. 

Hear me out first, before you excoriate me.  I'm not a big fan of Senator Bunning, but I think he may have it right on taking a stand against yet another extension of unemployment benefits.  It's undeniably true that we're still stuck in a deep recession, and it's very sad that millions of Americans remain out of work.  But, there's another, legitimate consideration that is being lost in the emotional aspect of this human and fiscal dilemma.  Where are we going to get the money?

While some cheer for the quick and painful erosion of mindless campaign finance regulations, others rue the day the funding restrictions were ever questioned.  Those who appear to be shouting the loudest also tend to be those who quickly point to “big business” as the root of all evil.  San Diego and Los Angeles are currently hot spots of campaign finance reform/free speech decisions, and this month, San Diego was once more on the

Watching California’s swift descent into fiscal insolvency and the seeming inability of its dominant political class to accept the measures necessary to reverse it, one can easily feel a mixture of despairing frustration and awe. On the one hand, despairing frustration seems the only logical response to an insoluble budget crisis, but on the other, one can only react to Sacramento’s audacious decisions to ignore reality with something approaching awe.

The question of whether it’s better to share the pain of state budget reductions through furloughs or go cold turkey with layoffs will soon be in the hands of California’s highest courts.  But for the lives of hundreds of thousands of state workers, it’s more than just a legal matter.  Some California employees have seen their salaries decreased by as much as 15 percent because of furloughs.  And for many of them, it is a breach of an unwritten agreement (sometimes called a

President Obama signed a one-year extension of several key provisions of the Patriot Act.  Obama's signature follows passage in both the House and Senate, as CAIVN contributor, Thomas Sbrega, pointed out on Friday.