by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Sen. Barbara Boxer's digging into documents on the decision by the EPA not to issue a waiver to California so we can regulate tailpipe emissions is bearing some serious fruit.  The EPA staff went to great lengths to try and persuade the Bush lacky Steven L. Johnson not to overrule them and precedent and deny California the right to reduce greenhouse gases in our state.  LAT:

Some officials at the Environmental Protection Agency were so worried their boss would deny California permission to implement its own global-warming law that they worked with a former EPA chief to try to persuade the current administrator to grant the state's request.

That unusual effort was revealed by documents released Tuesday by congressional investigators probing whether EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson was swayed by political pressure when he decided not to allow California to enact vehicle emission standards stricter than the federal government's.

They actually even supplied him with talking points to lobby Johnson with. (flip it)

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Earlier this week, we brought you the state's leading editorial endorsements. Today, we'll take a look at endorsements from California's Constitutional officers, Congressional delegation, Assembly, and State Senate. We've included Edwards' endorsements, even though he is no longer in the race. If and when his endorsements migrate elsewhere, we will update the list accordingly. Please feel free to leave a comment if there is an error or update.

Senator Hillary Clinton:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Lt. Governor John Garamendi
Treasurer Bill Lockyer
Controller John Chiang
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell ...

Senator Barack Obama:

Rep. Xavier Becerra
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Linda Sanchez ...

Undeclared Support:

Sen. Barbara Boxer
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Attorney General Jerry Brown
Sen. Ellen Corbett
Sen. Lou Correa ...

Complete lists over the flip...

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Stephen Johnson is the EPA chief who rejected his own staff's recommendations to grant California a waiver to regulate our own greenhouse gas emissions. Senator Boxer hauled him in front of the environmental committee she chairs for a grill session to see what the heck prompted him to ignore science and decades of legal precedent. LAT

"I was not directed by anyone," Johnson said at a hearing before the environment and public works committee, denying he had been influenced by political pressure from the White House or anyone else. "This was solely my decision."

Johnson failed to mollify Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the committee chairwoman and perhaps his fiercest critic, who vowed to press ahead with her investigation into how the EPA chief reached his decision. Within hours of his testimony, she introduced legislation -- co-sponsored by 17 senators, including Democratic presidential front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois -- to overturn the decision.

Good. They should. There appears to be no reasonable explanation for the rejection other than the car industry doesn't like California regulating its own air.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]