California
updated
11:07 a.m.
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Here are just a few stories I've collected over merely the past week, the little outrages that aren't as substantial as, say, killing over a million Iraqis in an unnecessary war or leaving 47 million without health insurance or torturing prisoners at Guantanamo. But they provide shocks to the conscience nonetheless. • The Department of Labor is rushing to make rules that would make it tougher ...
D-Day - 9:36 a.m. - 3 clicks 
I hope that the Speaker and the President Pro Tem and everyone that wants to get out of town and maybe give in on the budget pays attention to these latest Field Poll numbers . The latest Field Poll shows that 54 percent of California voters hold a positive image of the Democratic party, while just 31 percent have a favorable view of the Republican party. In addition, likely voters were asked t...
D-Day - 9:36 a.m. - 2 clicks
San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee Vote Tally Issue: Election of Chair Candidate Peskin Michael Bornstein X David Campos X David Chiu X Chris Daly X Michael Goldstein X Robert Haaland [...]...
Left in SF - 6:32 a.m. - 3 clicks
The price of gasoline has doubled in the last two years, and the average family's income has remained the same. Combine that with California's population growth of 2% (meaning the population will be double in 30 years), and you get an overwhelming amount of traffic on the road ways. There will be the a costly gridlock of cars across the state that is both damaging to the environment and our walle...
DailyKos (California) - Wed 11:34 p.m. - 5 clicks
(cross-posted from Calitics ) Yes, you read that headline correctly. Federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour, not California minimum of $8 hour. The SacBee has this gut shot of a story . Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign an executive order next week that will reduce pay for more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash ...
DailyKos (California) - Wed 11:34 p.m. - 4 clicks
Before the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee voted tonight on its new chair, Chris Daly told me the vote was going to be 18-16 in favor of Aaron Peskin, the progressives' pick. I didn't doubt him. The play was going to be to elect Peskin temporary chair as the first order of business, before the public comment or chair election agenda items, and make it clear from the get-go where...
SFBG Politics Blog - Wed 9:30 p.m. - 3 clicks
Public transit in Contra Costa County and San Ramon Valley faces steep cuts that would hinder operation because the budget in Sacramento is completely out of control. Public bus riders in Contra Costa County and San Ramon Valley could face deep service cutbacks and higher fares because of a threatened state diversion of transit funds, County [...]...
Matt Ortega - Wed 9:30 p.m. - 3 clicks
Scene from last month's ciclovia in Portland, Photo by Steven T. Jones Sunday Streets , a proposal to bring to San Francisco’s Embarcadero the carfree ciclovias that have caught on in major cities around the world, became mired in the dysfunctional relations between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors after Fisherman’s Wharf merchants freaked out. But even before the...
SFBG Politics Blog - Wed 8:36 p.m. - 3 clicks
So Duncan Hunter, or "The Dunc," wanted to visit a refugee camp in Chad and distribute food to the people assembled. Sounds good, but he only wanted to do it if he could hunt wildebeests in his spare time. Only there are no wildebeests in Chad. So Hunter did the right thing. He cancelled the food distribution part of his trip. Compassionate conservatism....
D-Day - Wed 6:05 p.m. - 7 clicks
The latest as we slog through the dog days of the budget summer, from the SacBee : Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign an executive order next week that will reduce pay for more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash in the midst of a month-long budget standoff, according to a draft copy of the order obtained by The Bee. Administration of...
D-Day - Wed 6:05 p.m. - 7 clicks
They're not two of my favorite California Congresswoman. But their leadership on repealing don't ask don't tell comes to a head with a hearing today, chaired by Davis. Democrats in Congress hope to ignite a drive to reverse the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday with the first hearing on the subject since 1993, when President Clinton said gays could serve in uniform if they k...
D-Day - Wed 6:05 p.m. - 6 clicks
Greetings and welcome to the latest installment of the California House races roundup. We're just around 100 days to go until the election, and things are starting to take focus. There are about a half-dozen seats where Democratic challengers have an outside shot at dumping the incumbent, and another six on the watch list in case something spectacular occurs. One thing to note is that the Cook ...
D-Day - Wed 6:05 p.m. - 6 clicks
Inhofe got his one denier witness. So for a while it was dueling scientists, the Larry Craig version. But the other gentleman was a former EPA official who resigned in June. They are honing in on the decision process. There is the law, the Clean Air Act, there is the Supreme Court decision on carbon dioxide, and then there is the President's preference. The California waiver and effect on huma...
DailyKos (California) - Wed 8:30 a.m. - 7 clicks
2) Charlie Brown (CA-04) - Charlie has been to all three Netroots Nation events, including the first two when it was known as Yearly Kos. He is a hero among this community, and he has a lot of support here. In fact, he proved it with a very well-received appearance at the Lurker's Caucus. One of the people attending the caucus was Charlie Brown. He was there to do what a great many politi...
D-Day - Wed 12:38 a.m. - 7 clicks
Good news for California high-speed rail in the latest Field Poll . Though very few people know about Prop. 1 at this stage, it gets the support of 56% of the voters, with only 30% opposed. The thing is that I doubt it will EVER get a lot of coverage, between the more high-profile initiatives (gay marriage, redistricting) and the Presidential race. So between the favorable response to the ball...
D-Day - Wed 12:38 a.m. - 8 clicks
Considering all of the rural areas and dirt-poor urban centers in the country, you have to be a little surprised that Jim Costa's Central Valley district is the worst in the country for quality of life. Poverty, poor health and low graduation rates have put the San Joaquin Valley's 20th Congressional District dead last in a new national scorecard that ranks the well-being of residents. Even n...
D-Day - Wed 12:38 a.m. - 8 clicks
The recent problems in the Yolo County Courtroom have led one of the foremost legislative advocates for open government, State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-East Los Angeles) to call for the Judicial Council of California to adopt new rules protecting public access to courtrooms. In addition to Senator Romero's role as Majority Leader, she also chairs the Senate Committee on Public Saf...
People's Vanguard of Davis - Tue 10:38 p.m. - 6 clicks
----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Plan C San Francisco Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 4:15:00 PM Subject: ACTION ALERT - Ask Fiona Ma to Vote Wiener, DCCC Chair Help re-elect Scott Wiener as DCCC Chair! This Wednesday, July 23, there will be an election of the chair of the Democratic County Central Committee. This obscure [...]...
Left in SF - Tue 10:09 a.m. - 10 clicks
The second rally today was the Bike Coalition's reaction (PDF) to the announcement that the Environmental Review process of the City's Bike Plan has fallen behind yet again. There's a sense that the city's not pushing the EIR. Even though Gavin Newsom's trying to build a reputation as a Green Mayor, there's not been a [...]...
Left in SF - Mon 10:08 p.m. - 14 clicks
Should closing the sales-tax loophole on services be on the table for solving the budget crisis? Many Democrats think so and they're right, but this Sacramento Bee articles reminds us to be cautious in a time of economic downturn, as it could make some cooling sales even more sluggish. For anyone who wonders how deep Republican thinking is, take a look at the Bee interview with GOP State Sen. ...
California Majority Report - Mon 9:30 p.m. - 3 clicks
I was pleased to see that San Francisco's Van Jones was tapped to give one of the keynote speeches at Netroots Nation, the liberal bloggers' conference that took place last week. I was less pleased to see that Gavin Newsom managed to finagle the privilege of introducing Van. I've known Van for a long time, [...]...
Left in SF - Mon 9:09 p.m. - 11 clicks
Among my wonderful Netroots Nation experiences was meeting Ret. Lt. Col. Charlie Brown , the Democratic nominee for the House seat representing the Fourth District in California. Col. Brown was featured prominently last year at the YearlyKos Netroots Candidates events. Back then he was expecting to run against loathsome incumbent John Doolittle , but since the incumbent has decided to ...
DailyKos (California) - Mon 6:36 p.m. - 11 clicks
It was not surprising that a Sacramento court of appeal rejected the petition from the Yolo County Public Defender's Office. The public defender had asked the court to order the response of seven Yolo County judges to defense allegations that they could not hear the case because of apparent biases against the defendant. It was a curious strategy from the start but perhaps was aimed to get infor...
People's Vanguard of Davis - Mon 5:03 p.m. - 13 clicks
YOU'RE INVITED!! Queens, Studs, Femmes, Trannies, Twinks, Soft Butches, And all fighters for social justice and fabulousness! COME TO THE 'Left OUT Party: A Genderful Gayla!' At Union Square directly across from the Westin St. Francis (where HRC's gala is happening simultaneously) San Francisco’s LGBT communities will celebrate inclusiveness and the multitude of gender expression [...]...
Left in SF - Sun 5:01 p.m. - 18 clicks
That's a great thing to wake up to after Wednesday's disappointment. A new Field Poll (not the one taken in May, but one performed just this past week, from July 8 to July 14) shows that the majority of Californians still oppose Proposition 8, to the tune of 51% against to 42% in favor. That, friends and neighbors, is great news. To me, it says that the pendulum really is swinging the other ...
DailyKos (California) - Sat 12:38 a.m. - 14 clicks
The Librarian of Congress has chosen Kay Ryan of Marin County, California, to be the next US Poet Laureate. From SFGate : Ryan learned about the honor Monday, when she and her partner of 30 years, Carol Adair, arrived home from the Aspen Ideas Festival ... The next day was a busy one, because she and Adair were scheduled to be remarried, having married the first time in 2004 at ...
DailyKos (California) - Sat 12:38 a.m. - 16 clicks
