by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Today is the last day to register to vote. Personally, I'd like to see same-day registration. After all, we are living in the era of cheap and tiny computers. This is a fundamental fairness issue, legal voters simply should not be turned away. Nonetheless, here's the voter reg SoS page. Other interesting stuff:

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

You probably heard already that Karen Bass made history yesterday whenshe was sworn in as the first African-American woman speaker inCalifornia history, as the Los Angeles Times reports. She is to be commended and congratulated, but not envied: the months ahead for the Assembly will not be easy.

How quickly Arnold has changed his tune. Administration officials told the Sacramento Bee that the Governor will release a budget that borrows from state lottery income, but does not short-change our schools or close down 48 state parks.Speaker Bass has already called the plan "risky," so we'll see how farit goes.

Before you can say "no-tax pledge," the LA Times reports that Arnold has an alternative to the lottery proposal: a sales-tax increase. The Governor deserves credit for his willingness to bend with thetimes, although it is difficult to be so optimistic about the GOPcaucus.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

Bad news for California’s budget came in from the precincts today. The latest PPIC survey indicates that (1) voters don’t want to cut education’s budget; and (2) don’t want to raise taxes to avoid those cuts. Years of budget flim-flam – led by Governor flim-flam – have convinced voters we can simply ‘reorder’ priorities and get by.

I suppose we shouldn’t be too hard on the Governor. After all, he floated into office because of Gray Davis’ failure to fix budget problems earlier in this decade. Naturally he’ll be trying to avoid a similar fate by placing the blame on the Legislature.

For weeks now the Governor has been making appearances touting his rebaked version of Pete Wilson’s “solution” to budget woes (cut out the Legislature). But the day of real reckoning approaches.

Democrats, who have called for revenue increases, can raise about $2.5 billion in ‘fee increases’ that don’t require GOP backing because they are majority vote bills. Then we can lease or sell the lottery, the capitol, and anything else to raise money – and still have a multi-billion dollar problem.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Pennsylvania primary is upon us, marking the last big prize to be claimed before the convention.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are vying for the title of greenest city, as environmentally-friendly building standards for each face approvalfrom city authorities today. SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's plan is morestringent, but LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's covers more land.

Governor Schwarzenegger and some legislators are considering a lottery privatization plan in an effort to alleviate California's budget woes. "I think itwould be a mistake not to have everything on the table when we're insuch a dire situation," remarked Assembly Republican leader MikeVillines. Does that include raising taxes?

There's more...

Image courtesy of Sacbee.com 

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

California is dragging down the rest of the country with its job performance statistics:

California gained just 900 payroll jobs last month, the state said Friday, a lackluster showing that reflects a national slowdown attributed in part to the housing slump.

The slight gain followed a revised loss of 13,500 jobs in October, the Employment Development Department said.

The slowing job market combined with declines in taxable sales and falling home prices "paint a picture of an economy that is slowing sharply," said Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has accepted an invitation by UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon to attend a global warming conferencein New York City, where he will promote California’s climate changelaws, reports the San Diego Tribune. The Governor has quickly becomethe darling of British MPs and European ambassadors,  who have longbeen frustrated with President Bush’s environmental record.

The Torrance Daily Breeze is suggesting that the legalization of marijuanamight be the solution to California’s perennial budget woes, as itcould bring in an estimated $13 billion or so in taxes to the state.Nationally, it could cover at least half the cost of universal healthcare. Hmm.