Today's Fresh Meat

August 09, 2007 @ 8:30 AM

California Senate Democrats are enlisting the support of the Sierra Club and other green organizations in a last ditch effort to peel off Republican support for this year's budget, the Sacramento Bee reports. Fourteen members of the GOP caucus, enough to the entire process hostage, are demanding that environmental review of local development projects be weakened, a move even Gov. Schwarzenegger has publicly opposed.

Moderate Sen. Abel Maldonado, the "lone wolf" among Senate Repubicans who broke ranks to support the budget, is man who knew, as Kenny Rogers put it "when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em and when to walk away," writes George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times. The budget's not going to get any leaner. Why won't the GOP declare a partial victory and let us move on?

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez chastises Senate Republicans for their unwillingness to compromise, moving goal-posts and lack of an exit strategy in a letter to GOP Leader Dick Ackerman, the San Diego Union Tribune reports. Nunez also threatened to remove concessions made by Democrats on transit funding and other programs if the budget is sent back to the lower house.

President Pro Tem Don Perata removed nominally moderate Sen. Jeff Denham, a Merced Republican, from the Governmental Services Committee, saying simply "he was vice chair of G.O., and he no longer is," the Salinas Californian reports. Denham represents a swing district and has won re-election by stressing his bipartisan credentials. That seems to be out the window.

State Sen. Carole Migden will face one misdemeanor charge for her erratic driving last June that resulted in two accidents and a number of 911 calls from other motorists, according to the Bee. In both instances, Migden was talking on her cell phone and may have even been reading. Migden is facing a tough primary next year against Assemblymember Mark Leno, who has labeled the incumbent as ineffective and out of touch with her San Francisco and Marin County district.

A taxpayer group dedicated to public safety has signaled its intention to sue the state over a recent $7.9 million prison construction package, the Bee reports. The organization, Taxpayers for Public Safety, claims the Legislature did not provide an appropriate funding mechanism for the measure, which seeks to build 40,000 new prison beds and 13,000 county jail beds.

Sadly, with the budget holding up everything in Sacramento, the chances of meaningful health care and environmental policy have dimished, the LA Times reports. The Times also mentions Arnold's stunning lack of involvement in budget talks. While the negotiations took place, he was touring Europe and posing on magazine covers.

No one would argue that Rudy Giuliani campaigning in San Francisco isn't interesting, but to stretch that into argument for allocating California's electoral votes by Congressional district, as the Bee's Steve Wiegand tries to do, is, well, a stretch. Given the way our state's lines are drawn, only a handful of Congressional districts would be in a play, the result being an Ohio-size electoral prize being handed to the Republican nominee. That's not reform, that's partisan mischief.

Barack Obama was also in California yesterday and made one of his stops in Oakland to shadow a home health worker for a day, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Obama has a remarkable ability to connect with people in a real way, and that's reflected in this article. He's as comfortable making a turkey and mayo sandwich as he is working a corporate board room.

Former Republican Govenor Pete Wilson is returning to Sacramento to set up shop as a consultant, Capitol Weekly reports. Wilson struck a bipartisan note in his comments, saying he wants to help businesses and others comply with and understand new environmental regulations.

That's all for today!