Wouldn’t News Be Seeking to Harm Struggling Homeowners?

 Senator Anderson Seeks to Protect Struggling Homeowners

Asking the Public’s Help to Take Action

For Immediate Release: May 23, 2013

SACRAMENTO - Sen. Joel Anderson, a San Diego Republican, is asking Californians to shine a light on the importance of the critical Mortgage Tax Relief Bill by sending letters to key legislators to pass the measure.

Sen. Anderson has co-authored SB 30 with Sen. Ron Calderon, a Montebello Democrat.  SB 30 intends to shield thousands of families faced with losing their homes from paying taxes on a forgiven debt.

“More than 90,000 Californians suffered the financial blow of losing their homes through short sales Read more »

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Three Openly Gay California Public Officials Honored by the White House

California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, Sen. Ricardo Lara and Redondo Beach Mayor Michael Gin will be honored by the White House May 22 as “Harvey Milk Champions of Change.”  

The three are among 10 openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender public officials across the country being recognized at an event that falls on Harvey Milk Day, which commemorates the civil rights leader’s birthday.  

“These are LGBT leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to both equality and public service. They are citizen legislators, executives and appointees who serve honestly, openly and proudly,” said Chuck Wolfe, president of the Washington D.C.-based Read more »

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The “New” California Republican Party Asks the Same Old Question

While a new California Republican Party chair might have more moves and different priorities than his predecessor, there’s no way to avoid the fact that the primary focus of the job is to elect more Republicans. GOP Chair Jim Brulte makes that point in Item #1 of the May 1 electronically-sent missive  below.

Electing more Republicans and, indeed, accomplishing Items #2 and #3, requires money. That, in turn, necessitates solicitations such as the one posted below, for campaign contributions. 

Nothing new about that. Brulte’s former colleague in the state senate, John Burton, does the very same thing as chair of the California Democratic Party. Read more »

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Budget Maneuvering Begins Between Brown and Democrats

Republicans complimented the restraint exercised by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown in the revised budget he presented May 14.

Several of Brown’s Democratic legislative allies criticized him for being too tight-fisted.

Ultimately, scattered GOP applause isn’t going to translate into budget “aye” votes and Democratic disgruntlement isn’t going to mean less than the 41 votes needed to send a budget back to Brown that looks quite similar to the one that spawned their initial complaints.

What the rhetorical volley does mean is the official start of budget season.

There have been several months of subcommittee hearings and explications of the Read more »

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Public Schools Win in Brown’s Revised Budget

Saying the state’s “multi-billion dollar increase in current-year cash receipts” is “short-lived,” Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled an updated budget May 14 that gives $2.9 billion of those receipts to public schools.

The $137 billion spending plan also earmarks additional money to Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program fro the poor, whose rolls will expand by more than 1 million persons when the federal Affordable Care Act takes effect January 1, 2014.

“It’s (a budget) that responds to our education and health challenges but unlike ones of the past it’s very prudent,” the Democratic governor told reporters at a Capitol press conference.

The Read more »

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Where Has All the Surplus Gone? Gone to Classrooms Everywhere

Public schools will be the biggest beneficiary by far of the revised budget Gov. Jerry Brown unveils May 14, receiving the bulk – if not all — of the $4.5 billion in unexpected revenue the state has received this year.

The Democratic governor wants to use the money to both augment the budgets of the state’s more than 1,000 school districts and erase several billion of the remaining $8.2 billion in postponed payments to schools made in past budgets.

Paying off those deferrals would effectively place more money in school coffers during the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.  

Since January, Californians have paid Read more »

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Resolve not to Revise, Redux

Apparently the message is not sinking in. Once again:

On Tuesday May 14, 2013 Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown will present a revised budget plan. That means the document he shares with California and its 38 million residents is a REVISION of the spending plan he presented in January.

It is not a revise of the spending plan he offered four months ago, although it could be a revising thereof.

If the previous document is the Democratic governor’s January budget plan, this new document would be the May REVISION.

Not now, not ever, would it be the May revise. 

Revise, according to the Free Read more »

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State Controller Confirms That California Tax Collections Are $4.6 Billion Over Estimates

Echoing previous statements by the Franchise Tax Board and the Legislative Analyst, State Controller John Chiang’s April report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements shows state revenues are $4.6 billion over estimates contained in Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget plan.

In April alone, tax receipts totaled $15 billion, Chiang reported. All but $200 million of the $4.6 billion is higher-than-anticiapted state income tax payments. 

“We’ve reached an important milestone in California’s economic recovery. For the first time in nearly six years, we closed out a month without borrowing from internal state funds to pay our bills,” Chiang said in a statement. “But, there Read more »

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Be Kind to Koreans Today

Gov. Jerry Brown met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Los Angeles May 9, issuing a “Korea-California Friendship Day” proclamation to commemorate the event. The press release from the Demoratic governor commemorating the commemorative proclamation is silent as to the South Korean president’s reaction.

The proclamation in full:

WHEREAS, California is home to over 450,000 Korean-Americans, many of whom are among our most prominent and accomplished citizens; and

WHEREAS, among the 50 states California is the Republic of Korea’s foremost trading partner and Korea is California’s fifth largest export market; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Korea and California exchange billions Read more »

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Getting Healthy, the Anthem Blue Cross Way

Anthem Blue Cross recently sent a form letter to an unknown number of its 6.8 million members.

The letter was signed by Dr. Michael J. Belman, the health insurance company’s medical director for quality management.

Dr. Belman’s letter begins:

“We’re much more than just your health care plan. We’re also want to help you get and stay as healthy.” (Sic)

After his garbled second sentence, Dr. Belman starts a new paragraph, announcing — in boldface — that he has enclosed some “money-saving coupons” to help Anthem Blue Cross members “build and lead a healthy lifestyle.”

In the third paragraph, although Read more »

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