The numbers are staggering - 1,400 wildfires burning around the state. Over 70 homes destroyed and 7,800 under threat. President Bush has declared the fires a federal emergency and released $50 million in federal aid, announced by FEMA administrator David Paulison - surely a sign that the feds are fully engaged in the fire aid effort, right?

Not so fast. There is a difference between an "emergency," which frees up something like the $50 million in firefighting funds, and a "federal disaster" declaration, which frees up the full range of FEMA assistance to fire victims, including relocation shelters and financial assistance.

According to the Monterey Herald the federal government has refused to declare the California fires a disaster:   Read More »

When Democrats gained majorities in both houses of congress in 2006, their was much cause for rejoice, not just because the conservative party could no longer set the agenda in Washington, but because congressional bulldogs such as California's Henry Waxman became chairs of powerful investigative committees.

We knew Waxman would open the investigations and he is turning all of our assumptions and instincts into statement of facts. Take George W. Bush's Iraq war for example. Waxman has begun to connect the dots on the "war for oil" assumption.   Read More »

Just as presidential hopeful Barack Obama left California this past weekend, news is circulating about a new headline grabbing statement he made to a small group of people in San Francisco. This time, conservatives are going mad because Obama told a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender group that he opposes Prop. 8, a discriminatory ballot measure that would prohibit marriage equality via constitutional amendment.   Read More »

Crossposted from my high speed rail blog where there is a lot more information on the project

The Senate Transportation Committee today approved AB 3034 by an 8-4 vote. But as Erik Nelson at the Contra Costa Times reports it included some great amendments, including Sen. Leland Yee's plan to restore the primacy of LA-SF:   Read More »

We've been talking about California's recurring budget deficit for quite sometime now, and as fate shall have it, we begin another fiscal year without a new annual budget. I don't envy our government leaders at this time. They have some very difficult negotiations and decisions ahead of them. Even in my own simulated budget balancing, courtesy of Next 10, the best Governor Petty produced was a $9 billion budget deficit.   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

As of yesterday, Blackwater is back to desperately trying to play pariah. They're accusing San Diego of disobeying a court order by...closely adhering to the court order. Blackwater's complaint is that the city is improperly delaying the final permit needed for the Otay Mesa training facility because of a recent letter from San Diego's chief building official that "placed 64 conditions on the final permit for a ship simulator, including wheelchair access."

The Blackwater argument- sad, desperate, and incoherent as it is- is that because a judge's decision pre-empted the City Council from reviewing Blackwater's permits and restricted the permits to ministerial review, a ministerial review from the relevant city department is improper. City Attorney Mike Aguirre clarified that these decisions "are being made by the professional staff using their own good-faith judgment." Just what Blackwater asked for and received.

Basically, how dare you give me what I want and have it turn out to be undesirable. Blackwater is apparently unfamiliar with The Monkey Paw, but will soon hopefully learn that getting what you ask for isn't always the same as getting what you want.

But for a company that's so desperate to adhere to local laws, Blackwater seems mighty resistant to adhering to relevant state and local regulations. Maybe it's because they won't be able to violate federal laws if they can't first violate state and local laws.

Either way, Blackwater's blatant disregard for local regulation was bound to cause them trouble eventually. They managed for now (there's an appeal pending) to avoid allowing the public to decide if they'd like accused murderers and arms smugglers in their community. They've managed to dance around countless laws and basic morals from Iraq to Afghanistan to New Orleans. But it doesn't get them everywhere, and now people are paying attention. Blackwater admitted up front and city officials confirmed that the misleading shell companies used to apply for city permits were used to fly under the radar of city employees and local activists, but the cat is out of the bag and now people will notice if the city fudges on any letter of the law. Too bad for Blackwater if they can't operate within the law.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to campaign against the center of John McCain's offshore drilling - energy plan during a surprise visit to Florida's Climate Change Summit hosted by the sunshine state's governor, Charlie Crist.   Read More »

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge squashed a lawsuit today intended to legally force the City of Los Angeles to end its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" LAPD-immigration policy best known as Special Order 40. This executive order prevents LAPD officers from questioning detained suspects about their immigration status. The common sense policy which encourages undocumented immigrants to report crimes without fear has been controversial since it was passed in 1979 by the Los Angeles City Council with the backing of even more controversial, former police chief Darryl Gates.   Read More »

Presumed Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain's willingness to undercut California's coastline standards which prevent offshore oil drilling is not only divisive, but undermines his support to take action to reduce global warming. The veteran politician wants it both ways.   Read More »

Si Se Pudo, translated, Yes We Did.

Earlier this week, I blogged about the controversy brewing at the Hilton LAX Hotel during the visit of Amma, the "Hugging Saint." Amma, the international phenom who has reportedly given more than 25 million hugs to people all over the world who need it, chose to bring her hug show to a hotel under a year-long boycott for poor treatment of its workers.

Check out video footage here.   Read More »

Los Angeles leaders have found a tax increase they support. In fact, this week, the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce has sent a delegation to Sacramento to lobby legislators to reinstate the Vehicle License Fee (VLF). Yes, the so-called "car tax" that gave life to the recall of Governor Gray Davis.   Read More »

The Courage Campaign has long championed the battle for affordable and accessible health care. It's why we asked you to join us in asking Terry McAuliffe to please don't do it as we approach his high-priced speaking engagement in San Francisco for insurance executives. And it's why we partnered with the California Nurses Association and Senator Sheila Kuehl today to introduce our new "Insurance Jive" ad.

Rick Jacobs emailed Courage subscribers earlier today explaining just how much is at stake and and how much a small contribution to air this ad can accomplish:   Read More »

When you drive along Highway 101 near Santa Barbara, or Highway 1 in Huntington Beach, it's hard to miss the many oil rigs on the ocean's horizon. They are relics of a bygone age - not just the 1960s, when they were constructed, but an age in which California believed that cheap oil would always be plentiful and available. We built an entire infrastructure around that and neglected trains, walkable neighborhoods, and lagged behind the rest of the world in developing solar and wind power.

Now the consequences of that misguided belief in the permanence of cheap oil have become clear. Gas prices are nearing $5, causing economic distress and sending Californians flocking to mass transit. For his part Barack Obama is proposing massive new investments in sustainable energy and rail infrastructure.   Read More »

In California, declining median sales prices of homes are not enough to stop record low home sales across the state. In a state and national economy teetering on the edge of recession, prospective homebuyers are clearly nervous about loan products that have led others to foreclosure and financial ruin. The state assembly has taken aggressive steps to reform home mortgaging but the state senate may deny change.   Read More »

Known around the world as the "hugging saint of India," Amma arrived in Los Angeles Sunday, beginning her 10-city U.S. tour with a five-day stay at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel. Workers at this same hotel called a boycott for poor pay and benefits, dozens of labor violations and refusing to recognize their efforts to form a union there.   Read More »

That's what California Republicans are planning this summer, according the LA Times:

GOP lawmakers hope to use their leverage over the state budget, which cannot pass without some of their votes, to roll back landmark policies implemented by Democrats and the governor. Among them are curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, regulations banning the dirtiest diesel engines and rules dictating when employers must provide lunch breaks for workers.

   Read More »

Today's LA Times has an interesting series of op-eds by historians and authors examining how past governors dealt with budget crises. It's an interesting look not only at how those governors all helped build the prosperous state that we're living off of today, but also how the real problem with the budget isn't a lack of pragmatism or deal-making, but ideology. And since the articles were commissioned by California Forward they are particularly important in shaping how we will respond to this crisis.   Read More »

This is a year unlike any in recent memory for the prospects of progressive progress and reform. There's an opportunity to take huge steps towards fixing the damage done by the Bush Administration and make positive change towards a country that simply takes better care of its citizens.

But as Democrats, we're going to have a much tougher time getting there if we don't all travel together. Which is why, with millions of Americans unable to get basic health care, it's so distressing that former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe is cashing a big check from the insurance companies in San Francisco June 19.

We know all too well that insurance companies don't spend a dime on actually providing health care to the sick and injured if they can help it, which is why it's such a concern that McAuliffe is willing to accept this money that should be spent on medical treatment.

But, not surprisingly, Rick Jacobs said it much better than I ever could earlier today:   Read More »

I know, I know, it's too easy. But what better headline can one come up with to assess the ridiculous and ineffective solutions proposed by Leon Panetta's high-powered, high cost group of high Broderists to solve the budget crisis?

George Skelton's column provides some of their early recommendations:   Read More »

In an increasingly growing practice, A-list commencement speakers are refusing to cross a picket line in order to give a speech to college graduates. This year's list includes former President Bill Clinton who will not speak at a UCLA graduation ceremony Friday June 13th because of the university's ongoing labor dispute with AFSCME.   Read More »