Brown’s State Reorganization Plan Takes Effect — Tweaks By Lawmakers to Follow

Gov. Jerry Brown’s reorganization plan to reduce the number of state agencies from 12 to 10, took effect July 2 after lawmakers failed to reject it.

The announcement by the Democratic governor came an hour before Senate President Pro tempore Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, told reporters he and other legislators planned to make some changes in the proposal which Brown says streamlines the delivery of services and saves taxpayers money.    Read more »

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Advice for Politicians from Bob Marley

” Only a fool lean upon his own misunderstanding.”

— Lyric from ‘Forever Loving Jah’    Read more »

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New Silicon Valley Patent Office a Bigger Deal Than It Might Seem

The US government made it official July 2—the Silicon Valley will be home to one of four new satellite patent offices.

A strong bipartisan lobbying campaign has been underway for more than one year by California’s congressional delegation, state lawmakers, Gov. Jerry Brown and, in particular, Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom, to woo the Patent Office into establishing a regional presence somewhere in the Golden State.    Read more »

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Who Exactly Is Defining “Stability?”

(Lawmakers are scheduled to vote July 2 on a package of measures aimed at bringing relief to homeowners with under-water mortgages. This is the “objective” summary of one of the bills:)

” DIGEST: This bill (SB 900) makes changes to California’s non-judicial foreclosure process to provide stability to California’s statewide and regional economies and housing market by facilitating opportunities for borrowers to pursue loss mitigation options.”    Read more »

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This Fourth of July, God Bless America and the Affordable Care Act

By Daniel Zingale 

It’s the greatest legal victory for America’s health in our nation’s history.

By upholding the Affordable Care Act, the US Supreme Court paved the way for a new era in health care in this country, one that matches our aspirations to greatness, our sense of fairness and — maybe most of all — our passion for innovation.    Read more »

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