Still Shown in Classrooms 35 Years After Its Creation

“Powers of Ten” examines the size of the inner and outer universe. This amazing film was created by Charles and Ray Eames, two of the most influential designers of the last half of the 2oth Century. They are being inducted March 20, 2013 into the California Museum Hall of Fame. The couple, married for 37 years, created iconic chairs and furniture, toys, multi-media presentations and museum exhibits, like the famous “Mathematica: A World of Numbers … And Beyond,” on display at the California Museum of Science and Industry for decades.      Read more »

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February Revenues 8% Below Estimates, Year-to-Date Still $4.8 Billion Above Expectations

Cash received by the state  in February was $322 million below the $3.9 billion expected in Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan, released in January, according to the Department of Finance’s March Bulletin..

Since the fiscal year began on July 1, revenues are $4.8 billion above the forecast of $54 billion.

During February, personal income tax revenues were off the most, $429 million below the month’s forecast of $2.1 billion.    Read more »

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State Board Calls for No Sales Tax on Pet Meds

California pet and animal owners wouldn’t pay sales tax on medicines purchased from a local veterinarian under legislation proposed by the state Board of Equalization. 

The proposal recognizes the reality that many of California’s estimated 18 million pet owners search the Internet to avoid paying sales tax on medications prescribed by a veterinarian.    Read more »

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Public Cemetery Districts — A Dying Breed?

Apparently 2012 wasn’t a banner year for California cemeteries, particularly the one maintained by the Kern River Valley Cemetery District.

It’s not that there isn’t a market for plots. The U.S. Census Bureau says 242,848 Californians died last year alone.

People are just dying to get in somewhere else.

A measure — SB159 by Sen.    Read more »

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Go Ahead, Bite the Big Apple!

“Don’t mind the maggots,” adds Mick Jagger on “Shattered.”

Although the airfare might be getting a bit dear with just 72 hours until flight time, there’s still space to spend a long weekend with Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Fullerton Democrat, and her guest Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, also an Orange County Democrat.    Read more »

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Whither Higher Education

California State University Trustees Bill Hauck and Steve Glazer Talk Higher Education with Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, a Concord Democrat and Chair of the Lower House’s Budget Subcommittee on Education Financing     Read more »

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“Armed and Legislated”

“Will the Flurry of Gun-Control Bills Even Matter?”

By Greg Lucas 

Sacramento News & Review, January 24, 2013 —The National Rifle Association is right:

People kill people. The use of firearms makes it significantly easier, however.

Put as nicely as possible, guns are facilitators. The number of California thumbtack-related deaths in 2010 pales against the 2,811 deaths involving guns the same year, a little more than half of which were suicides.    Read more »

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Of Missives and Misogyny

The following letter was sent to Hawk Koch, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. It says the Academy’s choice of Master of Ceremonies Seth MacFarlane “struck a new low in its treatment of women.”  MacFarlane “crossed the line from humor to misogyny” by “singing about ‘boobs’ during a film’s rape scene,” says the letter.      Read more »

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He’s Not Called Mahatma For Nothing

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.

“Keep you words positive because your words become your behavior.

“Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits.

“Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

— Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

(Editor’s Note: “Mahatma” is a combination of the Hindu words “Maha,” meaning “great” and “atma,” which is “soul.”    Read more »

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Politics on Tap — Two Freshman Lawmakers

Democratic Assemblymen Marc Levine of San Rafael and Adam Gray of Merced sit down with Laurel Rosenhall of The Sacramento Bee and discuss their similarities and differences and what’s to like about Sacramento    Read more »

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