Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr.
In her year as head of the state Assembly, Karen Bass has discovered that getting lawmakers to cooperate is far tougher than her previous work as a community activist.
Now the powerful post looks like a booby prize, as the state battles its worst budget crisis in history and Bass tries to deflect voter anger with action.
Read the Full Article from the LA Times Here.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Within minutes of Tuesday's announcement by the state Supreme Court ruling that it would uphold Prop. 8 and California's ban on gay marriage, two leading political groups launched a statewide campaign vowing to repeal the controversial ballot measure.
After narrowly dodging a bullet last year when officials feared they'd have to implement health insurance wait lists for the first time, it's no surprise that Healthy Families again is before the budgetary firing squad.
A few days ago, a friend from San Diego called to invite me for a visit - a visit to her dentist. Bubbling over with enthusiasm, she told me I could get my teeth cleaned for less than $20 by going to a reputable dentist just across the border in Mexico.
That data point made the following headline in the May 28 Sacramento Bee not only unsurprising, but redundant:
SACRAMENTO -- Finally bringing to a close a five-year-long investigation, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will not file corruption charges against former state Senate President Don Perata, ostensibly clearing his way for a less politically clouded run for Oakland mayor in 2010.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown said late Wednesday morning from Sacramento that the U.S. Attorney's Office and the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice completed their review of the investigation Perata and will not file any criminal charges against him.
While Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement asking proponents of gay marriage to remain peaceful in their reaction to the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Prop. 8 and the state's ban on gay marriage, Golden State Democratic leaders vowed that the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in California isn't over. Following the court's release of the ruling, many of those leaders quickly issued statements. Here are a sampling:
California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton:
At 10 AM today, the California Supreme Court officially put an end to a miserable waste of time. Proposition 8 has been upheld! Yes, that's right folks, the thing we should have stopped talking about last November has finally been officially given the California Supreme Court's "repentant judicial activists" seal of approval! In a truly daring show of Constitutional originality, the Court has ruled that a constitutional amendment is not unconstitutional.
Remember when you were little, and your parents would warn you against blindly following others? "If Bobby jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you, too??"
Memorial Day 2009 - It's on days like this that I recall my experiences in the military and question the current direction of U.S. service. I spent nearly four years on active duty with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War era. I didn't volunteer because of patriotism or my belief in the war. I took the Navy gig instead of going into the Army as a draftee and possibly being sent into battle.