More Asterisks Means More Money for California Voter Guide

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Consumers Might Learn the Identity of the “Absentee Florist”

While California isn’t close to closing its $17.9 billion budget gap between revenues and spending commitments, it is a step closer to outlawing “absentee florists.”

For the second legislative session in a row, Assemblywoman Mary Salas is carrying a bill that would prevent a “vendor of floral or ornamental products or services” – as defined – from misrepresenting the location of their business.    Read more »

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No Mailers Like This from the GOP Candidate After June 8

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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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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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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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‘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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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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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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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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