[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

If properly drafted, the federal Farm Bill could be a boon for conservation in California. That's why the National Wildlife Federation, PCL, and over 30 other conservation groups requested that the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee dedicate an additional $6 billion to the bill's conservation programs.

Unfortunately, the Committee completed its "markup" of the Farm Bill Thursday and that $6 billion dollar target was not reached!

Committee leaders hope to debate the bill in the full Senate as early as this week, so now would be a great time to call California's U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to tell them that you want the Senate version of the Farm Bill to make a major commitment to conservation.

Here are two simple messages to convey to our Senators:

1.The Farm Bill conservation title (in which the federal government makes a commitment to programs that assist conservation) needs to include more than the $4.8 billion increase that the Senate Agricultural Committee bill provides. Please add significant new funding for conservation in the Farm Bill!

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

It is not an unreasonable question that George Skelton poses in today's column. Structurally speaking California's government is incredible difficult if not impossible to govern. This is not a sexy topic by any means, incredibly wonky and insider, but so much of what is interesting and vibrant is stifled by the process. We are so huge, yet so small.

California's state Senators actually represent more people than a U.S. House Representative. They are not of and by the people. Large amounts of money dominate decisions and campaigns.

Skelton notes other reasons why California is so ungovernable:

* The two-thirds vote requirement for practically any legislation involving money. Gov. Pat Brown's historic water plan didn't require a two-thirds vote and never got one. Today, it would need to.

* Legislative term limits that result in inexperienced, shortsighted legislators rising to power.

* Egregious gerrymandering of legislative districts -- by legislators themselves -- that virtually eliminates two-party competition and results in the election of rigid ideologues. Lawmakers keep promising to surrender their redistricting power, but somehow never get around to it.

read more »

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Senator John Kerry topped George W. Bush by nine points in 2004. But if the election were held today, Sen. Hillary Clinton would destroy her GOP rivals by twice that, according to a Survey USA poll out today.
 
The company also polled the favorable ratings of California's two U.S. Senators. Senator Feinstein has a 52-41 percent favorable rating; Boxer is at 50-44 percent. Both draw their strengths from overwhelming support from female voters.
 
Here are the results of the presidential matchups:
 
Clinton (D) 56 
Giuliani (R) 39
 
Clinton (D) 59 
Thompson (R) 34
 
Clinton (D) 60
Romney (R) 32

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Hayley Leventhal
Reporter
California Progress Report

Over 1,000 people gathered on the lawn of the Capitol building Wednesday to play golf, gamble, and eat popsicles. Beach balls drifted through a crowd of hula skirts and purple shirts. These beach balls, however, carried an important message to California Senators. “Don’t pass the ball,” one read, “Pass the budget.”

“In need of some food, clothes and gas money,” read another. “So can I have my $.10 an hour raise please?”

With the budget 61 days late, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 members and supporters held a vacation-themed rally on the steps of the capital.

“Right now we’re not a healthy state,” Local 1000 member Tina Black-Uhlich said, “We are not in a healthy condition.”

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

There have been particularly galling misstatements of fact and exaggerations about the actions of California Attorney General Jerry Brown in enforcing California's environmental laws, the latest sticking point in the fog of war that the cabal of 14 Republican California State Senators is using as their excuse in not providing the single vote needed to pass our overdue state budget. We'll deal with the facts on what Brown is doing, but first, let's look at the larger picture.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The play here by California Republican State Senators to tie the hands of our elected state Attorney General, Jerry Brown in enforcing California's laws in requiring the consideration of global warming under the decades long established California Environment Quality Act reveal a level of sleaze and hypocrisy that just doesn't pass the smell test. It speaks volumes for why they are in a tiny minority of the Senate on the substance of what they are trying to do, the procedure of inserting this into the budget at the last minute they are trying to use, the level of personal attacks they are making on the Attorney General, and the work they are doing for special interest big time contributors.

The chief hypocrisy here is that these Republican Senators are trying to block AB 32, California's landmark greenhouse gas law that passed last year and that every single one of them voted against. Check the record: 14 of them who in the Senate voted against the law and Senator Dave Cogdill, who was in the Assembly at the time voted against it in that body.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League