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POPSMajor Groundwater Loss in California's Heartland I've visited this area many times during the past three decades and each and every time have been forced to conclude that the current practices are not sustainable. When (not if, but when) it finally collapses, the "values" we now take for granted will come back to haunt us.
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POPSHijacking Our Water Supply A group of water oligarchs engineered a disastrous privatization scheme to make a fortune out of California's most precious natural resource.
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POPSCalifornia's Broken Model In what respects, then, does California "excel"? California's state and local government employees were the best compensated in America, according to the Census Bureau data for 2006. And the latest posting on the website of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility shows 9,223 former civil servants and educators receiving pensions worth more than $100,000 a year from California's public retirement funds. The "dues" paid by taxpayers in order to belong to Club California purchase benefits that, increasingly, are enjoyed by the staff instead of the members.
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POPSban divorce to protect marriage in california? every once in awhile i read something that just makes me wanna shout- HELP ME!?..this is one of those things- especially when keeping in mind the sentiments depicted in the picture w/ caption they offer up-
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POPSPot Legalization Gains Momentum In California More: But some legal scholars and policy analysts say the government will not be able to require California to help in enforcing the federal marijuana ban if the state legalizes the drug. Without assistance from the state's legions of narcotics officers, they say, federal agents could do little to curb marijuana in California. "Even though that federal ban is still in place and the federal government can enforce it, it doesn't mean the states have to follow suit," said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt University law professor who recently published a paper about the issue. Nothing can stop federal anti-drug agents from making marijuana arrests, even if Californians legalize pot, he said. However, the U.S. government cannot pass a law requiring local and state police, sheriff's departments or state narcotics enforcers to help. That is significant, because nearly all arrests for marijuana crimes are made at the state level. (Emph. mine)
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POPSHigh court says California can't raid transit funds More: In their latest budget action, the governor and the Legislature approved a plan in July to close a $24 billion deficit, in part by siphoning $138 million from the public transit account to the Department of Developmental Services to pay for transporting developmentally disabled persons to regional centers. The July plan also counted on taking $254 million from public transit to repay transportation bond debt payments. In addition, the plan counted on shifting $622 million in transit funds to the general fund to pay for the previous year's debt service. The refusal of the Supreme Court to hear the appeal could push California's precariously balanced budget immediately into the red. Before losing this lawsuit, the state was already $200 million short.
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POPS PrisonCare In a June speech, President Obama justified a government takeover of the entire health care system with an observation on rising costs. He stated, "...more and more Americans are forced to worry about not just getting well, but whether they can afford to get well. Millions more wonder if they can afford the routine care necessary to stay well. Even for those who have health insurance, rising premiums are straining family budgets to the breaking point"premiums that have doubled over the last nine years..." The costs of premiums for the private health care system -- with all of its innovation and access to the latest drugs, diagnostic tests, advanced equipment and research, have only doubled in nine years. And something else for seniors to consider: the costs for their care will compete with the health care costs of the federal prison system. And, if California is any indication, the prisoners' medical needs may come before seniors. . . .
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POPSRepublicans Call for Action to Address Man-Made Drought
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Natural Resources Committee held a full committee hearing today on the "The California Drought: Actions by Federal and State agencies to address impacts on lands, fisheries and water users. Republicans have offered numerous solutions to provide necessary relief to families, farmers and businesses in California's San Joaquin Valley who are struggling to survive in the midst of a man-made drought. Solutions include passing legislation (specifically H.R. 996 and H.R. 856) to suspend the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act during times of drought emergency to ensure that the Delta pumps operate at historic capacity, encouraging the Administration to take steps to allow for water transfers and temporary barriers to keep smelt away from the pumps, and offering new water storage as a longer-term proposal to help the State in alternating times of drought and floods. Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-21) warned, "This Congress . . .
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POPSNew website shows low-income Californians how to reduce medical costs
More: Since the country’s first Hospital Fair Pricing Act took effect more than two years ago—Assembly Bill 774––California hospitals are required to offer fee discounts and are also capped on what they charge patients who typically face their highest fees: the uninsured.… many hospitals have complied with California law—“Some are doing it well, some are not”—but two nagging problems continue. First, rural hospitals, or those not affiliated with large chains, frequently don’t mention the mandated discounts. Second, obtaining the discounts can be difficult. The Web site was created “not to bash hospitals,” but to offer patients their options under the law.… For patients, medical bills are causing rising debt loads and even medical bankruptcy. Consumers who buy catastrophic health-insurance plans and limited “junk” insurance often find that their plans have strict limitations, which often saddle them with enormous debt….
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POPSGOP sees California as locus for party revival - but is this realistic? More: But veteran political observers say grassroots firepower and funding - even with a millionaire candidate - won't transform California into a Republican Party comeback engine in 2010. "Of all the places one could imagine ... if there is going to be a Republican renaissance, it's not going to be in California," Rosenberg said. "California's demographics have changed a great deal since the days of Ronald Reagan and Pat Brown," he noted, particularly with fast-growing Asian and Latino electorates both trending Democratic. "That shift has been a brand shift, ... and it will be difficult for any individual to reverse that tide," he said. In the previous gubernatorial election, "it took the Terminator for (the GOP) to win it - and this will be a harder climate."
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POPSPolling reveals California's fragmented electorate More: # California's white non-Latino population has dipped 26.1 percent over the past 31 years, but the proportion of white voters has dropped by just 18 percent, meaning the ethnic gap between voters and nonvoters has actually increased. # The share of the electorate held by the two major parties, more than 90 percent in 1978, has dropped to under 76 percent as the ranks of independents have swelled from less than 8 percent to 20 percent, with most of that shift coming at the expense of Democrats. # Voters are markedly older than they were in 1978, reflecting the rapid aging of the dominant white population, and more likely to be homeowners (74 percent) and college graduates (46 percent) than they were then. # Democrats are increasingly clustered in coastal cities, while the inland areas of California have become Republican strongholds.
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