December 28, 2007
Published 03:59 PM Friday, December 28, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez jointly filed a measure to fund the proposed overhaul of health care in California late Friday. The Democratic legislative leadership and GOP governor were unable to pass the funding provisions through the Legislature, as the plan includes tax increases that Republican lawmakers... ...
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December 21, 2007
Published 02:27 PM Friday, December 21, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
As the governor and legislative leaders hustle to negotiate a major overhaul of health care in California, there is one recurring question: When exactly is the drop-dead date for a final deal to be put on the November 2008 ballot? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez have pushed... ...
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Published 11:31 AM Friday, December 21, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The California Voter Foundation has posted its voter guide for the Feb. 5 election. Find it here.... ...
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Published 11:02 AM Friday, December 21, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The pot of money for those opposing the Indian compacts on the presidential primary ballot keeps growing. ...
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Published 09:49 AM Friday, December 21, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't calling a special session today to address a "fiscal emergency." But the Republican governor is announcing that he will declare a fiscal emergency and a special session of the Legislature to address it on Jan. 10, 2008. The proclamation and special session will be called the... ...
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Published 09:45 AM Friday, December 21, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
With his health plan getting attacked from the left and the right, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is reaching out to liberals in the blogosphere. He's got identical posts touting his health package on the California Progress Report and Calitics.... ...
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December 20, 2007
Published 01:13 PM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The California Chamber of Commerce announced the results of an internal vote to oppose a ballot measure to alter term limits today, almost two weeks after the vote was taken. ...
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Published 01:07 PM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The Illinois senator will become the first presidential candidate to open up a bricks-and-mortar campaign office in California's capital today. And he says he would consider tapping Arnold Schwarzenegger for a cabinet-level post. ...
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Published 11:29 AM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
It's a brave new world when prominent elected officials are announcing their positions on landmark legislation on blogs.
Welcome to that world. ...
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Published 10:16 AM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
FlashReport publisher Jon Fleischman tries his hand
at poetry.
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Published 09:56 AM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Controller Steve Westly are facing off publicly over Proposition 93, the term limits measure of the Feb. 5 ballot. Jim Sanders had more on that on Wednesday. The pair were also recruited for a three day, online "dust-up" by the Los Angeles Times, where... ...
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Published 09:07 AM Thursday, December 20, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
When the Legislature reconvenes in 2008, Sen. Sheila Kuehl will have a role to play in the unfolding health care debate. Kuehl, a liberal Santa Monica Democrat, chairs the Senate Health Committee, the first stop for AB 1X1 in the Senate.
And she's no fan of the bill. ...
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December 19, 2007
Published 08:51 AM Wednesday, December 19, 2007 by Jim Sanders
Former state Controller Steve Westly, who once taught at Stanford University, clearly doesn't give voters an "A" in state politics. Westly was blunt Tuesday when asked whether Californians will be turned off by a provision in the term-limits ballot initiative, Proposition 93, that would allow incumbents to serve at least... ...
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Published 08:45 AM Wednesday, December 19, 2007 by Judy Lin
Senate Republicans have resurrected their list of budget cuts in response to the state's growing deficit. Among their major targets: education, health and welfare. Sen. Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, said he handed the Schwarzenegger administration a list of cuts worth $11 billion before the governor briefed legislative leaders last week. The... ...
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December 18, 2007
Published 12:51 PM Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
This morning's Bee
has the story of a campaign mailer from Assembly candidate Mike Gipson that promises voters a chance at a $250 gift card in exchange for voting and bringing a voting stop to Gipson HQ.
We've posted the front of the Christmas-card like mailer for those wanting to see what it looked like.
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Published 12:45 PM Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
While the speaker and the governor were touting the health care plan in Sacramento on Monday, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata was telling a Bay Area TV station the plan is dead on arrival.
UPDATE: Perata’s spokesman Alicia Trost has called to clarify Perata's on-camera comments to say that Perata does
not think the entire health deal is permanently DOA. "We need to know the details of the financing plans as well as the details of the budget before the Senate takes it up. We remain committed to passing health care reform and getting it done right," she said. ...
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Published 12:10 PM Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of two new members of the Community College Board of Governors on Tuesday, filling open seats after Senate Republicans refused to confirm his prior nominees earlier this year. In June, the appointments of Kay L. Albiani, Rose Castillo-Guilbault and John Koeberer stalled on the... ...
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Published 12:06 PM Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor announced its endorsement of Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas in the race to replace retiring County Supvervisor Yvonne Brathwaite–Burke. The 800,000-strong federation has said the race will be its top priority in 2008. Ridley-Thomas will face off against Bernard Parks, a member of the Los... ...
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Published 10:24 AM Tuesday, December 18, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Huckabee, Thompson, Giuliani and Romney oh my! ...
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December 17, 2007
Published 02:44 PM Monday, December 17, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
As the Assembly continues to move toward passing health care legislation, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata asked the legislative analyst today to study the impact of any health overhaul on the state’s general fund.
The move is yet another sign that Perata has no intent of taking up health legislation until early 2008 – and only then after determining its effect on the state’s dismal finances. ...
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Published 02:38 PM Monday, December 17, 2007 by Amy Chance
California pollsters Mark Baldassare and Mark DiCamillo today made what is becoming their regular road show at The Sacramento Press Club, where they summarized findings on state public opinion heading into the Feb. 5 presidential primary - now only 51 days away. Here are the highlights: From Baldassare, president of... ...
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Published 09:17 AM Monday, December 17, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The California Republican Party announced its new finance director, Molly Parnell, a hire from within the party's infrastructure. ...
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Published 09:12 AM Monday, December 17, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Meet Terry Francher, the wealthy owner of Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows horse racing tracks, whose money jumpstarted the referendum campaigns that led to Propositions 94, 96, 96 and 97 on the Feb. 5 ballot. ...
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December 14, 2007
Published 03:32 PM Friday, December 14, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Meghan Callahan of Bicker, Castillo & Fairbanks sent in the winning entry. ...
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Published 02:06 PM Friday, December 14, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The governor said today he will declare a fiscal emergency in January, using an authority granted to him by voters in 2004. We've got the full text of the ballot measure that governs such an emergency. ...
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Published 12:40 PM Friday, December 14, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has sent along a holiday season budget note, though the recommendations from the state's banker are hardly full of cheer.
"The tooth fairy still hasn't come. And now the State faces a budget deficit of $14 billion. As we work to climb out of the hole, I wanted to share a few thoughts as California's banker," the note begins. ...
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Published 10:50 AM Friday, December 14, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The Hill, a Washington D.C. political paper, has a story this week about how the change of power in Congress in 2006 thrust many a Californian into powerful leadership posts.
At the top of the list, of course, is Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the Golden State's D.C. impact hasn't stopped there. ...
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Published 09:36 AM Friday, December 14, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez has amended his health care legislation, AB 1 X 1, which he has scheduled for a floor vote in the Assembly on Monday. ...
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December 13, 2007
Published 04:43 PM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Updated...Noting the progress in health care negotiations, Senate leader Don Perata issued a statement late Thursday saying "it would be imprudent and impolitic to support an expansion of health care" before addressing the state's budget deficit and its impact on existing programs. ...
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Published 03:25 PM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Peter Hecht
When it comes to high-powered television campaign for the four Indian casino referendums, a little revision just went a long way in clearing up proponents' claims over the benefits of a major expansion of Indian gambling in California. ...
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Published 03:17 PM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office has released the names of four more donors to the obscure nonprofit that funds his trips abroad.
The four donors, named Thursday, gave the California State Protocol Foundation a total of $65,000 to attend a Nov. 7 fundraiser in San Francisco, which featured Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver. ...
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Published 12:57 PM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
There's a bunch.
First, Kevin Yamamura
has the story that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to seek across-the-board cuts to state operations.
Second, Aurelio Rojas reports that Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez wants
tax hikes on the table. ...
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Published 10:10 AM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The latest survey from the Public Policy Institute of California was just shy of 50 questions long and mined data about everything from the budget to the presidential primary to Proposition 93, the term limits measure. Here's a roundup of the results.
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Published 09:35 AM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The California Chamber of Commerce hosts Michael Wilson, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, as a guest speaker at a Sacramento luncheon today.
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Published 09:21 AM Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The four tribes pushing for passage of their gambling compacts have released two new television advertisements. Watch the ads, which began airing statewide on Wednesday, according to the campaign. The new ads, like the ones before them, focus on the financial benefit to the state of tribal gambling revenues.
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December 12, 2007
Published 03:42 PM Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
WASHINGTON - Former state lawmaker Tim Leslie, R-Carmichael, wants Attorney General Michael Mukasey either to indict Rep. John Doolittle and his wife Julie “or leave them and our community alone.” ...
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Published 11:50 AM Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The second time was the charm for Warren Furutani, who lost a 2006 bid for the state Assembly, but finished first in the primary election on Tuesday and is all but on his way to Sacramento next year. ...
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Published 11:01 AM Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
It’s time for another caption contest. But this one’s got a twist. We’ve got Gray Davis’ Christmas card and we’re looking for you to write the former governor’s holiday greeting. ...
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Published 10:05 AM Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Where can you find Mitt Romney, Bill Lockyer, SEIU and Dick Ackerman in the same story? A roundup, of course. ...
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Published 09:14 AM Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Sen. Jeff Denham's campaign has filed an official complaint with the attorney general's office about the use of out-of-district signature gatherers by the backers of the effort to recall him. ...
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December 11, 2007
Published 04:10 PM Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The battle over the four Indian compacts on the February ballot already figured to be an expensive one.
But the costs – and stakes – went up today when the Pala Band of Mission Indians donated $2.5 million to oppose rival tribes' compacts on the Feb. 5 ballot.
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Published 11:48 AM Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Jasmyne Cannick, a blogger and former aide to Long Beach Congresswoman Laura Richardson, went looking for a Black Santa in Los Angeles.
And she
found one at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. ...
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Published 11:45 AM Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Prominent defense attorney Cris Arguedas, partner of state Sen. Carole Migden, joined the defense team of baseball star Barry Bonds last week, as the long-time Sam Francisco Giant pleaded not guilty to charges of perjury.
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Published 09:30 AM Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
State Controller John Chiang reports that California's revenues in November were above projections, largely on the strength of corporate taxes. But the state's chief financial officer warns "we are not out of the woods." ...
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December 10, 2007
Published 12:53 PM Monday, December 10, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
CRP Chairman Ron Nehring isn't a fan of Hollywood elites -- or Barack Obama. ...
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Published 12:30 PM Monday, December 10, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won San Diego's Republican straw poll late last week. But the more notable fact was the second place finisher, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning GOP candidate.
That's no accident. Paul supporters have been storming straw polls across the world, from Iowa City to Seoul, Korea. ...
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Published 10:35 AM Monday, December 10, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
You've got to give it to porn star and one-time gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey. She knows how to keep herself in the public eye. This time, she is auctioning off her old breast implants for charity.
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Published 10:32 AM Monday, December 10, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The recall effort of Sen. Jeff Denham and Denham's campaign traded charges late last week over audio recordings of signature gatherers saying they were from outside Denham's district.
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December 07, 2007
Published 05:17 PM Friday, December 07, 2007 by Bob Rudy
The California Chamber of Commerce today announced its support for the four Indian gambling measures on the Feb. 5 ballot. After a board meeting in San Francisco, the business group also said it will oppose a transportation funding initiative. But after secret balloting, the chamber said its position on a... ...
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Published 11:03 AM Friday, December 07, 2007 by Judy Lin
Can’t figure out what to give a political junkie this holiday season?
Stop by the Northern California Chapter of the American Political Items Collectors’ annual show and sale Sunday to pick up campaign buttons, presidential posters and other historical items. ...
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Published 11:00 AM Friday, December 07, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
With the state budget facing a $10 billion hole, local government officials are bracing for the worst – a potential state raid on their funds – despite passage of a ballot measure in 2004 that supposedly put a lockbox on their funding. ...
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December 06, 2007
Published 04:32 PM Thursday, December 06, 2007 by Jim Sanders
Five more lawmakers are saying thanks, but no thanks, to a $3,110 pay increase that took effect days ago. ...
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Published 10:48 AM Thursday, December 06, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
It looks like former Sen. Jackie Speier's unofficial campaign for Congress has handed over some early poll numbers to Roll Call, the Washington D.C. political newspaper. ...
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Published 10:27 AM Thursday, December 06, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Members of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, a coalition of both nongambling and gambling tribes, gather in San Diego today to pick the organization's next leader. The group, known as CNIGA, also faces an internal battle over the relative roles and relations between tribes that operate Indian casinos and those that don't. ...
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Published 09:25 AM Thursday, December 06, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Dick Ackerman at the yacht club. Karen Hanretty in Glamour magazine. And more. ...
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December 05, 2007
Published 05:00 PM Wednesday, December 05, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, submitted four versions of a water bond aimed for the November 2008 ballot on Wednesday. Find them here.
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Published 04:40 PM Wednesday, December 05, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The "masters of disasters" are back. This time, plus one.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is battling striking writers in the public perception world, is turning to a trio of political veterans to improve the TV and filmmaking studios' image. ...
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Published 02:31 PM Wednesday, December 05, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Former Assemblyman Joe Nation took the first official step toward entering the Bay Area race for state Senate this week, opening an exploratory account. ...
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Published 10:17 AM Wednesday, December 05, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Blogger Alan Katz, a past president of the California Association of Health Underwriters, is feeling glum about the prospects for a health care deal that heads before voters in November 2008. ...
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December 04, 2007
Published 04:44 PM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez has announced his opposition to Proposition 92. ...
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Published 03:20 PM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Pechanga's new $5 million donation. Jon Fleischman turns 40. Dan Schnur's new job. Jim Brulte backs Prop. 93. Read on for more. ...
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Published 01:24 PM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
On the plus side for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead in the latest California poll is a lot smaller than the nearly 40-point advantage
one poll showed last week. On the down side, he still trails by 26 points.
On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani holds an 14-point lead. ...
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Published 12:20 PM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
The internal politicking of the State Council of the SEIU continues, with Tyrone Freeman, president of the one of the largest local affiliates in the state, firing off a sharply worded response letter to outgoing state council president Sal Rosselli. The internal leadership battle within the powerful Service Employees International... ...
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Published 10:33 AM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Sure, her husband lands on a lot of magazine covers. But first lady Maria Shriver graces the cover of Sactown magazine this month, talking about one of her pet projects, the California Museum's Hall of Hame, which will induct its latest set of members on Wednesday.
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Published 10:30 AM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
U.S. News and World Report -- best known for its rankings of American colleges and universities -- has released its first ever ranking of public high schools. ...
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Published 09:15 AM Tuesday, December 04, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
There's a new report out from the Public Policy Institute of California, looking at three commonly discussed areas for potential legislative reform in Sacramento: redistricting, term limits and the supermajority vote necessary to pass the budget. ...
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December 03, 2007
Published 11:37 AM Monday, December 03, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Sal Rosselli, president of the 600,000-strong SEIU state council, is withdrawing his nomination to remain leader of one of California largest and most influential labor groups in the face of a vote he said “defies acceptable notions of fairness.”
Rosselli, president of a 100,000-strong local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, as well as the labor group’s statewide umbrella organization, has been locked in an internal union leadership battle with potential implications for the health care overhaul in California. ...
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Published 09:56 AM Monday, December 03, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
Larry McCarthy, the long-time president of the California Taxpayers’ Association, died on Saturday in Sacramento from cancer, the organization announced today. He was 59. McCarthy had worked at Cal-Tax since 1976, becoming president of the group in 1989. “California’s taxpayers have lost a friend and ally,” said Cal-Tax Board of... ...
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Published 09:22 AM Monday, December 03, 2007 by Shane Goldmacher
This morning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to make what's billed as a "major announcement" with backers of a redistricting initiative aimed for the November 2008 ballot. ...
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