Irony: Closed-Door Meeting to Discuss Disclosure of Public Documents

That’s what state senators did Thursday June 20 — held a 20-minute private meeting off the Senate floor to talk about a section of the mammoth budget, awaiting action by Gov. Jerry Brown, that media outlets complain imperils the state’s Public Records Act. (It doesn’t.)

The act requires timely disclosure of documents requested by the media or members of the public.    Read more »

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Does Chuck Have a Conflict?

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“A Final, Crushing Defeat”

June 18, 1815 literally was Napoleon Bonaparte’s Waterloo.

His last ditch effort to defeat the British and the Prussians, after losing to the British and being exiled on the island of Elba, became his final defeat.

After a three-day battle near Waterloo Village in Belgium, the emperor’s strategy of splitting his army to attack both the British and Prussians failed to divide them, allowing them to converge on Napoleon and defeat him..    Read more »

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First, “Pig-Roast-a-Palooza” and Now “Sausage Fest”

Apparently, pork really is the other white meat. At least when it comes to legislative fundraisers.

Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Los Angeles Democrat, just hosted “Pig-Roast-a-Palooza on June 18.

On July 2, the legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Caucus holds its first fundraiser “celebrating freedom and equality.”

That would be “Sausage Fest 2013.”    Read more »

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At $4,100, It Must Be An Incredible Shoeshine

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Politics on Tap Gets Green

A  Lively Chat Between Dan Jacobson of Environment California, Linda Adams, Former California EPA Secretary and now Partner with Clean Tech Advocates & Loren Kaye, Head of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education

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How Much Pork Does $4,100 Buy?

Nothing remotely felonious about Sen. Ricardo Lara’s recent fundraising invitation, which can be seen in larger form by clicking the image to the left.

That said, the artwork on the Los Angeles Democrat’s solicitation might be a bit unappetizing to some.

But it’s certainly no crime to host a $1,000-a-head “Pig-Roast-a-Palooza.”    Read more »

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Act Now to Revitalize School Funding

By Linda Galliher and Ted Lempert 

California’s students deserve a public school system that will provide them the tools they need to develop a solid foundation of academic achievement. The Legislature can start us on a path toward this goal by passing Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula. 

Under the formula, the existing complex and outdated bureaucratic structure would be replaced with a new local system that gives schools the flexibility to direct education dollars to school districts and students that need it most.    Read more »

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Buy California Fruit, Nuts, Vegetables, Cheese and Meat — Pretty Please

The “Choose California Act” was one of hundreds of Assembly bills volleyed into the Senate during the end-of-May frenzy before the deadline for legislation to leave its house of origin.

When it began its legislative life, the well-intentioned measure, AB 199, was eight paragraphs long. The bill sent to the Senate for its consideration on a 77 to 0 vote had been reduced to one, 30-word paragraph:

“All California state-owned or state-run institutions and all public universities, public schools and school districts in California are encouraged to purchase agricultural products grown in California to the extent possible.”    Read more »

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See the Stats in Paragraph Three

From the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation:

SAN QUENTIN – Condemned inmate Richard Ramirez, 53, was pronounced dead early this morning, June 7, 2013. He died of natural causes at Marin General Hospital.

Ramirez, widely known as the “Night Stalker,” was found guilty in 1989 of 13 counts of murder and numerous other counts of attempted murder, sexual assault and burglary.    Read more »

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