[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

There's a confluence of high-profile lawsuits against the state today, on big topics with far-reaching consequences. First, the medical community is suing over Medi-Cal payments:

“Doctors, hospitals and health care providers filed a class-action lawsuit Monday seeking to block the state from cutting payments to them for treating the poor.

“The lawsuit argues that an upcoming 10 percent rate cut to Medi-Cal -- the state-run health insurance program serving 6.5 million low-income residents -- will exacerbate a shortage of doctors, dentists and pharmacists willing to treat poor patients because payments are so low.

"Medi-Cal already doesn't cover the cost of providing care," said Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the California Medical Association, which led the lawsuit. "If these cuts take effect, Medi-Cal patients will be forced to seek care in already overcrowded hospital emergency rooms, which undermines access to care for all Californians."

“The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, seeks an immediate injunction to block the reduction from taking effect July 1.”

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[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 Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Yesterday, I sat down for a discussion with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to discuss his take on some of the issues that he's dealing with right now.  When I sat down with him at his desk.

You can hear the discussion right now on BlogTalkRadio, or you can catch the podcast.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Californian Democrats turned out in record numbers to pick their presidential delegatesyesterday, reports the Sacramento Bee. 134 delegates went to Clintonand 107 to Obama, and an additional 129 delegates will be chosen bystate party leaders in May.

The San Francisco Chronicle has found that the city's 911 emergency dispatch systemis in disarray. Twenty-seven percent of responders arrive late on thescene of medical emergencies. The Chronicle has found that 439 peoplehave died in the past four years while waiting for a late ambulance. "Anew, robust system is in order," said Mayor Gavin Newsom.

The California DREAM Actmay be back. Identical bills in each chamber - sponsored by Senator GilCedillo (D-LA) and Speaker Fabian Núñez - are in committees. The DREAMAct would open college financial aid to about 25,000 undocumentedstudents.

There's more...

Image courtesy of Sacbee.com

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Mark Leno Campaign [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]