Is it really that bad? Governor Schwarzenegger says California's budget deficit has reached $20 billion, but there may some strategy behind an inflated figure, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Even if the deficit is a little lower, starting out bleak can force the hand of the Republicans, who hide behind their "no tax pledge" to avoid responsibility.

Our previous governor, Gray Davis, got in hot water for inflating the budget deficit to push for higher taxes, so it wouldn't be unprecedented for Arnold to be doing the same thing, writes Dan Walters in today's Sacramento Bee.

To his credit, perhaps, the Governor continues to assist health care reform can be passed and signed into law, and wants to bring back a bill with the same elements of last year's failed attempt, the Associated Press reports. The one thing he forget to mention was how he intends to pay for it.

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His credibility on state parks issues is low to non-existent, but that hasn't stopped Governor Schwarzenegger from proposing a waiver for a high-voltage power line to run through Anza Borrego Desert State Park—the largest in the state, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Matier and Ross report in today's San Francisco Chronicle that the power line issue may have been the cause for Arnold's much reported removal of brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and director Clint Eastwood from the state's parks commission. That would explain a few things, at least.

If one fact emerges from this Sacramento Bee article about the Congressional GOP primary up north in the 4th, it is that Tom McClintock is rather awkward on the stump, hoping that past loyalty in his many failed runs for statewide office will put him over the top. That and the fact that he really does make Doug Ose look like a liberal (kind of).

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The battle between proponents of two competing property rights measures in California is already underway, with both sides getting ready to hit the airwaves, the Los Angeles Times reports. One measure, Proposition 99, is a common-sense initiative that would give basic protections against the seizing of homes. The alternative, Proposition 98, would undermine local government at every level, not to mention eliminate rent control.

Doug Ose (above) is ripping away at arch-right-winger Tom McClintock's reputation for fiscal conservatism with a new ad that slams the State Senator for taking a per diem despite not living in his home district in Thousand Oaks, according to the Sacramento Bee. Ose is by far the more moderate of two running in this Northern California district, but we're still rooting for Democrat Charlie Brown.

John Doolittle's soon-to-be former Congressional district isn't the only place where Republicans are beating each other up. Down in affluent Southern California, Assemlymember Mimi "I always vote no" Walters is fending off what ought to be just a nuisance challenge from Anaheim Councilmember Harry Sidhu. Walters' website says she exhibits "Orange County" values, but given what we have seen of the OC on TV, is that really a good thing?

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Speaker-elect Karen Bass has a start date: May 13, just as the budget battle will be heating up, the Sacramento Bee reports. Bass will be great, and it doesn't hurt that Fabian Nunez will still be around to help out before he is termed out.

Bass and Darrell Steinberg, her Democratic counterpart in the State Senate, have promised to be frugal in their personal habits, refusing to live a lavish lifestyle on the public's dime, according to the Contra Costa Times. A lot of the problem has more to do with perception that meaningful dollars, but Bass and Steinberg are right to take this line.

Global warming isn't just impacting penguins and polar ice caps, it could very well effect how and where people live in the Bay Area, for instance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. According to the Chronicle, homes closer to the Bay and in some parts of the city and Oakland could be underwater, and higher density may be needed to just to keep up with population growth.

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Today, thousands of Californians young and old are packing unions halls, senior centers, churches and schools around the state to select delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and the number of candidates is unprecedented, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. For instance, in Barbara Lee's East Bay Congressional district, 101 people are vying for four delegate slots for Barack Obama.

Balancing the budget is hard, as this Sacramento Bee article points out, and sometimes the kind of non-partisan solutions offered  by Legislative Analyst Liz Hill are ignored. The balance becomes harder when Republicans insist on calling every proposed tax increase "stifling."

For more on Republican budget hypocrisy, check out this Calitics piece, which breaks down what exactly the GOP means by "economic growth."

Poor Tom McClintock. He's being labeled a carpetbagger by the Doug Ose campaign and he won't even be eligible to vote for himself. The Bee reports that McClintock has taken advantage of California's loose rules on residency, living with his family in suburban Sacramento but having the "intention" of returning to his Southern California district. I guess the real question is: is he a carpetbagger now, or was he one before?

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over a nearly-perfect party line vote to reject President Bush's arrogance over the Columbian trade deal. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the House voted comfortably yesterday to delay the pact for now, a blow for Bush, who almost went so far as to say the world would fall into teeters if the South American country didn't get lower tariffs.

Just days after dropping hundreds of Democratic National Committee contenders, many of them young people, the Barack Obama campaign reinstated these candidates, allowing them to compete in caucuses this Saturday to be pledged delegates this August, the Sacramento Bee reports. It's encouraging to hear that these contenders who worked so hard for Obama won't be denied the chance to make their case.

New San Mateo County Congresswoman Jackie Speier is already making us proud. The Chronicle reports that she blasted President Bush and the war of Iraq in her first floor speech, drawing applause from Democrats and boos from the GOP caucus. Her contention: thousands more ought not to die due to the folly of one.

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Pledged delegates are going to stick with their pledge, right? This is one of the questions keeping the campaigns of both Sens. Obama and Clinton up at night. The Sacramento Bee reports that both candidates say they will not seek to pull over delegates from each other, but Hillary explicitly pointed out last week to Pennsylvania paper that these people could change their mind.

You can't make this stuff up: GOP activists down south are suing Democratic Congressional candidate Debbie Cook, the Mayor of Huntington Beach, for referring to her herself as 'mayor' on the ballot, Steve Greenhut writes in today's Orange County Register. What's more, the legal embarrassment has garnered Cook national attention and the chance to pose a real challenge to entrenched incumbent Dana Rohrabacher.

About 200 people protested China's treatment of Tibet at Union Square yesterday, a solid turn-out but short of what was anticipated, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Mayor Gavin Newsom has promised to raise "alarm" when the Olympic torch comes through, but some of his colleagues want to be more aggressive.

We're glad to see the Bee's Dan Walters writing about the move toward more sustainable development in California, or what Jerry Brown (above) refers to as "elegant density." The quote from Brown about "I'm always suing people" was also pretty amusing, and as Walters points out, we may be seeing quite a bit more from our quixotic Attorney General in the next couple of years.

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They definitely know how to party at the state's Lottery Department, but unfortunately, taxpayers have to pick up the bill, the Sacramento Bee reports. Democratic Controller John Chiang is pushing the Lottery Director to repay the costs of some of the exorbitant activities.

Assembly Republicans are "working" on a plan to give more funding to schools without raising taxes, the San Diego Union Tribune. Whether this plan will make any sense policy-wise, and whether it fulfills the spending minimums currently in place, remain to be seen.

Right-wing crusader Tom McClintock, always the under-dog, may get a boost in his carpet-bagging Congressional bid if wealthy GOP opponent Doug Ose's personal spending triggers the "millionaire's amendment," allowing McClintock to triple his contributions, the Bee reports. Some are taking to calling Ose a "liberal millionaire" for his somewhat moderate record last time he was in Congress.

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State Senator Carole Migden (left), coming out of a harsh rebuke from party activists who refused to endorse her re-election, can at least run a legitimate campaign now that a judge has allowed her to spend $640,000 in left-over funds, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. She still faces an uphill battle against Assembly members Mark Leno and Joe Nation though.

When Bill Clinton told convention-goers to last Sunday to "chill out" over the on-going race between his wife Hillary and Barack Obama, he could well have been talking to himself, according to the Chronicle. Prior to taking the stage, Bill had one of his meltdowns, turning red in the face and screaming over Bill Richardson's endorsement of Obama.

Former Congressman Doug Ose is hitting primary opponent Tom McClintock hard for "carpetbagging" in a new campaign ad high-lighted by the Sacramento Bee. In the ad, a narrator accuses McClintock of shopping for a new job in the Northern California Congressional district being vacated by John Doolittle rather than running in Ventura County, which he represented in the State Senate. Conviently missing: Ose doesn't live in the district either. Details, details.

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It's hard for politicians to be subtle sometimes. Just moments after calling speculation about a gubernatorial bid "wildly premature," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom indicated that he would run if he could "add value to the race," according to Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee. If that's not an annoucement, I'm not sure what is.

Newsom also made news today for threatening to sue the state government over cuts to Medi-Cal, calling the reduction in care unconsionable, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Gavin's right. When the legislature approved the cuts, Democrats were hopeful that funding could be restored for Medi-Cal and scheduled the cuts to begin this summer to provide time for other solutions. When we're chipping away at basic services for our neediest citizens, it certainly says something about our values.

The gubernatorial field is already getting more crowded by the day, and by the San Jose Mercury News count, four of other candidates besides Gavin are either current or former Silican Valley moguls: Steve Westly, Steve Poizner, eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina (all but Westly are Republicans).

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