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5.21.2010
Unemployment Rate Unchanged in April — Still 12.6 Percent

Unemployment Rate Unchanged in April — Still 12.6 Percent

California’s Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Increase by 14,200 Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 12.6 Percent

SACRAMENTO – “California’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 12.6 percent in April, and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 14,200 during the month, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department from two separate surveys.

The U.S.    Read more »

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5.20.2010
June, Not April, Now the Month to Watch for State Revenue

June, Not April, Now the Month to Watch for State Revenue

While June has always been a significant month for state tax collections, it’s even more important in 2010 because of budget-related changes in the percentage of estimated tax payments Californians make each quarter.

Traditionally, April with its income tax deadline has been the state’s biggest revenue collection month.

About 50 percent of the state’s cash-starved general fund comes from income taxes, 17 percent of which are collected in April.    Read more »

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5.20.2010
But First, Another Word from Our Sponsor, Mercury Insurance

But First, Another Word from Our Sponsor, Mercury Insurance

(Editor’s Note: This mailer and a bevy of television ads are brought to California voters by Mercury General Corporation, an auto insurer, which has long sought the change in law Proposition 17 would make. Mercury is the only entity listed on the Secretary of State’s website which has given the “yes” campaign contributions of $5,000 or more.     Read more »

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5.19.2010
‘Tis the Season — The Steady Barrage of Slate Mailers Begins

‘Tis the Season — The Steady Barrage of Slate Mailers Begins

(Editor’s Note: The asterisk next to a candidate’s name or a ballot proposition indicates they have paid California Voter Guide of Torrance California to be recommended on the mailer. That being the case, U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, candidate for Attorney General, and Assemblyman Mike Villines, running for insurance commissioner, each paid more since their photographs appear on both the cover and the inside of the mailer.    Read more »

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5.18.2010
Increase Revenue, Preserve Welfare, Legislative Analyst Says

Increase Revenue, Preserve Welfare, Legislative Analyst Says

The Legislature should reject Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to eliminate the state’s welfare program and childcare for low-income families, the Legislative Analyst said May 18 in an assessment of the GOP governor’s revised budget plan.

“This year’s budget situation may prove to be the most difficult in recent memory,” the analyst wrote.    Read more »

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5.18.2010
The Campaign Mailbag Runneth Over — Assembly District 5

The Campaign Mailbag Runneth Over — Assembly District 5

(Editor’s Note: Lucky they identified themselves as Democrat and Republican. Hard to tell without the label. Guess which one was the lead lawyer for Proposition 8, the ballot measure banning same sex marriage, and which is a former legislative aide turned lobbyist representing, among others, a data consulting and contracting firm, a maker of all-electric vehicles and the Association of Club Executives, a trade group for adult nightclubs.    Read more »

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5.17.2010
Meg Whitman’s Claim of $7.5 Billion in State Fraud Assessed

Meg Whitman’s Claim of $7.5 Billion in State Fraud Assessed

On May 17, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman told an audience of approximately 150 persons in Roseville that $7.5 billion a year in fraud occurs annually in three state programs: welfare, health care for the poor and in-home care for the elderly.

According to the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert, Whitman called for the creation of a statewide grand jury to root out this alleged fraud.    Read more »

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5.17.2010
The Latest Television Ad from the Steve Poizner Campaign

The Latest Television Ad from the Steve Poizner Campaign

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner might be “sitting on the fence” on immigration, as his rival Meg Whitman claims, but he knows pornography when he sees it.

— The advertisement —

-30-

(Editor’s Note: The bottom has probably yet to be struck.)    Read more »

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5.17.2010
Meg Whitman’s New Four-Page Mailer on Illegal Immigration

Meg Whitman’s New Four-Page Mailer on Illegal Immigration

(Editor’s Note: Lest it be lost on the casual reader, the theme here is that Meg Whitman will stop illegal immigration. Why? Because she is “tough as nails.” Page Two also reiterates that Whitman is “tough as nails” and portrays her with a stern, “tough-as-nails” visage that no doubt  strikes fear in the heart of every illegal immigrant.    Read more »

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5.14.2010
Schwarzenegger Unveils Stark Budget Plan; Democrats Balk

Schwarzenegger Unveils Stark Budget Plan; Democrats Balk

Saying a budget should be a “reflection of what we in California value,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented his final spending plan for the state, proposing to abolish the state’s welfare system which offers assistance to 1.4 million persons, two-thirds of them children.

Increasing the odds of a drawn-out budget battle, Democrats — who hold comfortable majorities in both houses of the Legislature — flatly refused to support any budget containing such a proposal and chided the governor for abandoning an earlier plan to delay implementation of more than $2 billion in business tax breaks.    Read more »

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