Today's Fresh Meat

Democratic Party leaders are pushing a grassroots "do not sign" effort to counter GOP support for a ballot measure that would split California's electoral votes by Congressional district, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Dividing our votes this way is a dirty trick designed to hand an Ohio-sized electoral prize to next year's Republican nominee—and we'll be out there making sure voters know it.

California Republicans seem to be maintaining their own circular firing squad, taking out their own members who don't "tow the line" of right-wing special interests. Hence, R. Judd Hanna, a hunter and Republican who supported the Governor's re-election, is forced to resign from the Fish and Game Commission because he was unacceptable to the NRA, the Sacramento Bee reports. The NRA's grievance? He supports limited restrictions on ammo to prevent illness in the California condor.

On that note, California Republicans will continue "dying at the box office" unless they take the advice of Gov. Schwarzenegger and form the kind of big tent that will bring back moderates and independents, the Contra Costa Times editorialized today. It's sage advice indeed, but likely to fall on deaf ears.

We're unequivocal in our support for the United Farm Workers, who are holding out for a signature from the Governor on "card-check" legislation, allowing them to sign cards saying they want to unionize, the LA Times reports. Arnold could go either way on this, but could very well side with his Chamber of Commerce supporters. A Democratic Governor in three years would surely sign it.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill prohibiting minors from using cell phones, pagers or laptops while driving, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Arnold, who previously signed a bill banning all cell phone use in cars without a headset, was inspired in part by his own 16-year-old daughter, whose safety he has publicly fretted over.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, infamous for his handling of Paris Hilton's DUI earlier this year, has used contributions to his political war chest as the basis for advancement in the office, the LA Daily News reports. But Baca says the contributions are just a reflection of how much his underlings love and respect him.

The prison guards union has dropped a few levels in the state's political hierarchy after emerging from the legislative session without a measure on added pay, Dan Walters writes in today's Bee. This is probably a good thing for California, as one union should not be able to run-around the negotiation process.

A number of rural counties in California are scrambling to secure funding from the federal government after a measure backed by President Bush to sell off Forest Service land collapsed, the Bee reports. Tuolumne County sent nine representatives to Washington alone, shockingly high for its population. Many of these areas are desperate for cash to fund schools and other programs and Congress should listen.

More than a dozen conservation-minded groups have sent letters to Congress urging restoration of the salmon run along the San Joaquin River, the Chronicle reports. Bipartisan legislation to pay for the restoration—sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. George Radanovich—has stalled over funding mechanisms.

The abrupt firing of new UC Irvine law school dean Ervin Chemerinsky played out in California's newspaper's today, with the dismissed professor arguing in the Los Angeles Times that he was let go because of ideological beliefs relating to the death penalty and UC Irvine dean Michael Drake responding that the decision was management-based and not related to Chemerinsky's poltiical views.

UC officials are weighing another round of steep fee increases to keep its professional schools at Berkeley competitive, the Oakland Tribune reports. The price tag for a graduate education there is a bit steep—as much as $41,000 per year—but the officials say the value for their education, and quality of surrounding, have vastly improved.

In what could be an ominous statement, the Fresno Bee editorialized today that it will refuse to support softening of term-limits unless redistricting reform is also on the ballot. This was also the public position of the Governor, who has been largely silent for the past several months. Not reaching agreement on redistricting certainly puts the term-limits measure in jeapardy.

That's all for today!

Image courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle. 

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