Good but Not Great

Traditionally, the final two Mondays of April – after the income tax deadline on the 15th  — are the biggest collection days of California’s biggest income tax collection month.

On April 20, the Franchise Tax Board reported $1,150,715 billion in income tax revenue, pushing the month’s total collections to nearly $4.1 billion.    Read more »

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California’s Capitol Talks to John Garamendi

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The Second in a series of Interviews with statewide Democratic candidates who will be attending the Democratic State Convention in Sacramento, April 24 through April 26.  

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(Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, the only Democrat officially running for governor, has been an Assemblyman for two years, a state senator for 14 years, the state’s first Insurance Commissioner from 1991 to 1995, a deputy secretary at the U.S.    Read more »

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So Goes California…

Bank of America recently posted earnings for the quarter ending March 31 of $4.25 billion or .44 cents per share – far outstripping the .04 cents per share predicted by the market.

Net earnings for the company during all four quarters of 2008 totaled $4 billion.

However, most of the gabbling on the ticker-tape cable channels was whether the earnings, on record income of $36 billion, stemmed from the giant corporation’s fiscal health or continued sickness.    Read more »

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(Editor’s Note: News Would Be If She Favored Filthy and Disease-Ridden Schools.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  

April 20, 2009  

CONTACT: Linda Rapattoni 916-319-2041

 

Clean and Healthy Schools Act

Will Protect Students, Teachers

 

SACRAMENTO—Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, was joined by a school district administrator and environmental and health advocacy groups today in calling for the passage of the Clean and Healthy Schools Act, Assembly Bill 821.   “Schools need to be safe havens for learning, not places where toxic chemicals are harbored in cleaning products,” said Assemblywoman Brownley, chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee.    Read more »

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La Jolla Seal Deal

One of La Jolla’s most vexing crises could be on the road to resolution, thanks to bill approved by the state Senate April 16.

As anyone who walks along the shoreline in the ritzy San Diego neighborhood will plainly see, an enclave of harbor seals has selected as home a small cove near the intersection of Coast Boulevard and Jenner, just shy of Scripps Park.    Read more »

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Federal Money for Public Schools — On-Hand but Undelivered.

More than two weeks ago, California received $1.2 billion of the roughly $4.9 billion in federal stimulus money for public schools – but the funds can’t be given to schools without legislative approval which could delay delivery of the money until May 9.

The $1.2 billion — $562.5 million for low-income pupils, $634 million for students with special education needs and $13 million for nutrition programs — is of major benefit to larger, urban school districts, which have the biggest populations of low-income and special needs students.    Read more »

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Smiling Faces at the Franchise Tax Board

Income tax collections for April nearly doubled on April 16 as the Franchise Tax Board logged $950,762 boosting the month’s tally from $1.3 billion to close to $2.3 billion.  

As the state’s largest month for income tax revenue, April is key to the state’s fiscal condition. Lower-than-anticipated collections mean a bigger budget cash shortfall.    Read more »

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San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris

The first in a series of Interviews with statewide Democratic candidates who will be attending the Democratic State Convention in Sacramento, April 24 — April 26.   Kamala Harris is the first female District Attorney to be elected in San Francisco, the first elected African American District Attorney in California and the first Indian American elected District Attorney in the country.    Read more »

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Guest Post: Pete McCloskey on His Friend, Jerry Waldie

(Pete wrote this essay a week or so before Jerry died and showed it to Jerry, who loved it. It will be appearing in this week’s Mountain Democrat. Best — Helen McCloskey)

There is a man amongst us who, like one of the ancient Redwoods, stands taller than most.

His name is Jerry Waldie.    Read more »

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Hats Off to the Other Economic Stimulators

What a touching Disney-esque moment. Down-right heart-warming. Like living inside a Norman Rockwell painting.

Thousands — possibly tens of thousands — of American and non-American families brought their own economic stimulus plans to the nation’s capitol the weekend commencing April 10.

Compared to their generosity, the Lucas Family Economic Stimulus Plan (LFESP) was the equivalent of tossing a thimble of water into Lake Shasta.    Read more »

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