PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 7, 2010 | 11:30 am

It’s party unity, via press release.

Sure, it took three months, but Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has finally backed fellow Republican Meg Whitman’s gubernatorial bid. Poizner released a statement through the state Republican Party Tuesday announcing his support for the entire Republican ticket. And that includes Whitman. “Our ticket is led by successful business women who know that if there is to be a viable public sector, there must be a vibrant private sector. They know that the best, most reliable job is one created by the private sector. They understand that governments, like families and businesses, must live within their means.”

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By John Howard | 09/07/10 12:00 AM PST

A 7,000-member union that represents state investigators, law enforcement personnel, 911 dispatchers and others on Tuesday endorsed Republican Meg Whitman for governor, calling Democratic contender Jerry Brown “erratic” on key issues.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 7, 2010 | 10:08 am

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown, who launched his first campaign ad Monday, said the $100 million GOP candidate Meg Whitman has spent on her campaign has had a numbing effect on voters.

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Timothy R. Homan, On Tuesday September 7, 2010, 1:11 pm EDT

The jobless rate in the U.S. is likely to approach 10 percent in coming months as the economy fails to grow enough to employ people rejoining the labor force, economists said.

Private payrolls climbed 67,000 in August, after a gain of 107,000 the previous month, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent, the Labor Department reported Sept. 3. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for an increase of 40,000. The economy expanded at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, down from 3.7 percent in January through March.

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Steve Cooley

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 – 1:15 pm

Sacramento – The California State Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA), one of California’s most influential law enforcement groups, has endorsed Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley for California Attorney General.

The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association represents more than 7,000 public safety professionals within 19 affiliate groups – state workers who are peace officers and regulators who help make up California’s safety net.

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Barbara Boxer                Carly Fiorina

Election 2010: California Senate: Fiorina (R) 48%, Boxer (D) 47%

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger Carly Fiorina remain in a dead heat in California’s race for the U.S. Senate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters, including leaners, shows Fiorina picking up 48% of the vote, while Boxer draws support from 47%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and three percent (3%) remain undecided.

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Monday, September 6, 2010 – 10:45 am

The lawsuit filed against San Bernardino County by former administrative officer Mark H. Uffer, is entertaining if anything.

Uffer filed suit a few months ago after county supervisors fired him on a 3-2 vote last fall.

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Posted by Administrator – September 7, 2010 at 8:00 AM

www.iepolitics.com

As I researched the science and history behind the composting site proposed by Nursery Products, LLC, I think what stood out most was that hysteria and hatred completely replaced logic and common sense.  It seems many of those who so adamantly oppose this project have likely never read a scientific study regarding the safety of biosolids, visited the nearest composting site outside Bakersfield, or even been to the Hinkley site to observe its isolation for themselves.  If they had, they would see what Nursery Products is doing to be a good neighbor and protect the environment, including that of Hinkley.  Instead they prefer to direct their deep-seated hatred at those who are easy targets rather than looking for the real evildoers.

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Derry

Shedding secrecy
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 09/06/2010 09:16:10 PM PDT

A proposed sunshine ordinance to facilitate access to public documents and ensure government officials understand public records law goes before the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 14.

In March, Supervisor Neil Derry presented a draft of his proposed ordinance, minus an ethics commission component he initially proposed but axed due to budget constraints and the commission’s $500,000 estimated cost.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 6, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

Seeking to unseat veteran Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet this week is launching an aggressive advertising campaign featuring television and radio spots that will air throughout most of Riverside County until Election Day.

Pougnet, a Democrat, poses the greatest threat yet to Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, largely because he has raised far more campaign cash than her previous challengers.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 6, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

From the rolling hills of Murrieta to the bustling strip malls of Moreno Valley to the dusty, palm tree-lined streets of the Coachella Valley, California’s sprawling 45th Congressional District is a land of contrasts.

The district’s politically and demographically diverse make-up presents rare challenges to Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, and her Democratic challenger, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the state.

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Open carry

Unconcealed arms ban fails
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/06/2010 07:04:09 AM PDT

Business owner Joshua Wrye is always on the move. That’s why he decided to start carrying a gun on his hip as a means of protection this year.

Running Enspired Technology Inc., an information technology consulting firm, is no nine-to-five, and the 32-year-old Ontario resident can find himself on the job anytime, even during the wee hours of the morning.

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Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday, September 7, 2010

In a year in which California unemployment hovers at 12 percent and the state confronts the worst recession in generations, Art Pulaski is wondering: How did his people – working people – become the bad guys of the 2010 election?

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By Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times

September 7, 2010

California’s Democratic candidates marked the start of the fall campaign Monday in the embrace of their most committed supporters — hundreds of union workers who gathered at rallies across the state to pledge thousands of hours of calls to voters over the eight weeks before election day.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon served by apron-clad candidates in downtown Los Angeles, union leaders launched a series of caustic attacks against Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s wealth and policy proposals, which include shrinking the state workforce by 40,000 jobs.

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By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Sep. 7, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

As he promised to do throughout the summer, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown ramped up his campaign over the Labor Day weekend, debuting his first TV ad and making a four-stop swing down the state on Monday.

Brown’s ad, which will run statewide starting this morning, touts his first two terms in the Governor’s Office and repeats his promise not to raise taxes “without voter approval.”

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By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Sep. 7, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was leading a triumphant rally at the state GOP convention last month when she announced that New Yorkers were excited about the California governor’s race.

At a fundraiser she held in New York, Whitman said she met with people who “have suffered the financial reforms that are going to crimp our ability to raise capital, and they want California to turn the corner.”

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Republicans are fired up but lag in registration. Democrats have boosted their ranks but lack motivation. And top-of-the-ticket races are too close to call with eight weeks to go.

By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times

September 7, 2010

With the voters’ verdict only eight nail-biting weeks away, the outcome of California’s general election rests on the answer to one question: What happens when the national Republican wave crashes into the state’s Democratic seawall?

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Republican Steve Cooley is running for state attorney general. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / May 8, 2008)

By Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times

September 6, 2010|8:18 a.m.

Rene Cota was stunned when he searched the Internet and came across a $1,500 campaign contribution reported recently by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who is running for state attorney general.

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By Ed Mendel

CalSTRS is underfunded, lacks the typical public pension power to force employers to pay more, and is being told by lawyers that the Legislature should come up with a funding plan.

But a deadlocked Legislature faces historic budget cuts and a $19 billion budget gap this year, with similar forecasts for the future. So how does a pension fund not expected to run out of money for 34 years get a seat at the table?

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The state, which still has the nation’s highest number of union jobs, is losing them at a faster clip than any other state, a UCLA study finds.

By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

September 6, 2010|6:37 p.m.

The recession is taking a toll on union jobs, which are disappearing in California at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country, according to a UCLA study published Monday.

In the 12 months ending in June, the union membership rate dropped from 18.3% to 17.6% in California and from 12.4% to 12.1% nationwide, the study found. The drop was most acute in the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino, where unionization rates fell from 17.5% to 16.5%.

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Underemployed workers can’t spend as much. Those individual hardships add up to a drag on the economic recovery.

By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times

September 7, 2010

Reporting from Washington —
Beyond the 15 million Americans who have no jobs at all, millions more are caught in part-time or limited jobs that don’t pay them enough to maintain their standard of living — much less contribute to the strong consumer spending needed to power the nation out of the economic doldrums.

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A bill that would require pupils entering kindergarten to reach 5 by Sept. 1 and that would create another level of instruction for younger children was passed by the Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature.

By Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times

September 7, 2010

At Gulf Avenue Elementary in Wilmington, 4-year-olds in a transitional kindergarten class start the day singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” before sitting down to trace the letter A and learn its sound. Nearby, students in the school’s regular kindergarten class are also hard at work, reading and writing sentences.

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