Governor considers early release of 22,000 from state’s prisons
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering the early release of 22,000 inmates from the state’s prisons to save hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to ease California’s looming budget crunch.
The idea is one of many that have been presented to the governor by his departmental budget directors, and he has not decided if he likes it or not, Schwarzenegger spokesman Bill Maile said Thursday. But if the plan were to be put into action, it would constitute one of the biggest early releases of prisoners in U.S. history.
“The governor asked his department heads to work with their budget managers to find ways to cut the budget by 10 percent because of the budget crisis we are facing, and this idea was one of many that was floated in reaction to that request,” Maile said. “It’s not a proposal yet, just an idea. . .
Tancredo’s Single Issue Victory
Matt Johnson was driving to Tom Tancredo’s offices in the Des Moines suburbs when he heard that his favorite candidate was dropping out of the race. “I’m going, ‘What the heck? Jeez!’” said Johnson, standing in front of Tancredo’s locked and already empty offices. Johnson had been on the last leg of the 90-minute drive from his home in Creston when he heard Tancredo’s statement live on the radio. “I wanted to volunteer,” said Johnson. “Oh, well.”
Like most Tancredo supporters—and admittedly, it was an exclusive club; the Colorado congressman garnered just 3% in the latest Insider Advantage poll of likely GOP Iowa caucus-goers— Johnson liked Tancredo’s stance on illegal immigration. “He represents a lot of what Americans believe,” Johnson said.
Tancredo was always a self-professed one-issue candidate. And far from being disappointed at his meager poll showings, Tancredo says he achieved more in this election cycle than he dreamt possible. In part due to his cage-rattling, immigration is one of the biggest issues in the race, on both sides of the aisle. . .
Addicted Doctors
A Call Kurtis Investigation
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) A Call Kurtis Investigation uncovered doctors can keep their addictions a secret from patients. The California Medical Association and the American Medical Association support that.
Becky Anderson is one of several patients who say former Sacramento area doctor, Brian West botched their operations. She now lives with her intestines on the outside of her body, covered by a skin graft.
None of his patients had any idea he battled an alcohol addiction, or had drunk-driving arrests. None knew Dr. West was enrolled in the California Medical Board’s confidential rehab program, called Diversion. He eventually flunked out. . .
LAX controllers call airport unsafe
Air traffic controllers are overworked and understaffed to the point that serious mistakes could go unnoticed on the runways at Los Angeles International Airport, the head of the controllers’ union said on Wednesday.
The shortage at LAX tower often means two overtime shifts every month for each of the controllers, who might not catch close calls on the runways, according to Michael Foote, local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“No one silver bullet is going to solve the complex issue of runway safety, but the biggest safety concern at the airport is the lack of experienced controllers working at LAX tower,” Foote told the Los Angeles City Council’s Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee. . .
Thursday, December 20th, 2007
Hoping Los Angeles residents will forgo the landfill-clogging, street-drifting, wildlife-choking plastic grocery sack, environmentalists plan to hand out free reusable totes today at various spots.
Calling it a “day without a bag,” Heal the Bay’s one-day movement comes just as Los Angeles County supervisors will return Jan. 8 to consider the issue of reusable bags versus plastic and whether to enact a ban.
This summer, San Francisco became the first American city to ban plastic bags from chain grocery stores. . .
CITY HALL — Change to Glendale’s much-maligned Indigenous Tree Ordinance was delayed Tuesday night after a cautious City Council, still reeling from weeks of widespread criticism over the amount of recent tree-trimming fines, directed staff to hold a series of public input meetings instead.
Citing the level of public involvement that town hall meetings elicited for hillside development and Montrose Shopping Park guidelines, Councilman John Drayman said he was unwilling to back any changes to the tree ordinance without first getting comprehensive input from the public on what those changes should be.
“I don’t think there’s a huge rush to do this wrong, again,” he said. . .
Costa Mesa woman faces police ire over her holiday decorations
COSTA MESA – It’s Christmas season, but it’s also campaign season – that much is clear from the 8-foot-tall President Bush doubling as Ebenezer Scrooge in a Costa Mesa front yard.
Longtime resident Lori McDonald has transformed her Walnut Street bungalow into an amalgam of holiday spirit and political fervor, with a Santa Claus figurine on the porch and a tuxedo-clad Bill Clinton behind the wheel of a purple hearse.
Themed – at least according to McDonald – after the Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” the display offers McDonald’s takes on the ghosts of Christmas past (Santa), present (a rubber Gov. Schwarzenegger mask) and future (Bill and Hillary Clinton, the latter of whom is represented by a Shrek doll). . .
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
Senate OKs spending bill, war funds
Senate Democrats last night acquiesced to President Bush’s demand for $70 billion in emergency war funds, overwhelmingly approving the funding with passage of a catch-all spending bill that promised to wrap up the chamber’s business for the year.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the $554 billion spending bill represented a compromise that did not fully satisfy the Democrat-led Congress or the White House.
“We are not really happy in being pushed into doing what has been done,” the Nevada Democrat said shortly after the war funds were approved 70-25 and the outcome for the spending bill took shape. . .
Bush signs landmark energy bill
WASHINGTON—President Bush today signed a landmark energy bill designed to cut U.S. dependence on overseas oil by imposing the greatest fuel efficiency standards in more than three decades and mandating a fivefold increase in the use of biofuels.
“Today we make a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure,” Bush said in a signing ceremony at the Department of Energy.
Flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other congressional leaders, Bush thanked them for “your wisdom” in imposing the new standards and called on Congress to double the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and expand nuclear power. . .
New questions arise in case of overlooked body
Firefighters who overlooked a 72-year-old woman who died in a San Fernando Valley car wreck were on the scene for more than an hour, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department commander who reviewed dispatch records.
The disclosure was one of several that raised new questions Tuesday about why the woman’s body was not discovered until the vehicle was searched the next day in a police towing lot.
“How the hell could all those firefighters be [there] for more than an hour and not see that body?” the fire official said Tuesday. . .
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
State Assembly backs healthcare for everyone
SACRAMENTO—The state Assembly on Monday approved the first phase of a $14.4-billion plan to extend medical insurance to nearly all residents, giving Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Democratic allies their first victory in a risky yearlong campaign to overhaul California’s healthcare system.
The measure, negotiated by Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles), would require almost everyone in California to have insurance starting in 2010. It would provide subsidies and tax credits for those who would have trouble paying their share of the premiums.
The authors estimate that it would bring medical coverage to 3.6 million Californians, including 800,000 children, who currently don’t have it. But the plan cannot go into effect unless it passes the state Senate and voters approve a companion initiative that Schwarzenegger and Nuñez are planning to place on the November ballot to finance it. . .
72-year-old woman’s body found in sedan’s front seat at tow yard
Moments after Steven Williams slammed his car into a Tarzana office building near the 101 Freeway over the weekend, paramedics and police arrived to help.
Lucid and talkative, Williams, 42, told them he had been alone in the now-mangled four-door sedan. Rescue crews then whisked him away to a local hospital.
Paramedics wrapped up the scene, officers took a report and a tow-truck driver hauled away the demolished car. . .
L.A. mayor lines up donors for favorite causes
When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa arranged a reception celebrating trade with Mexico, two real estate developers stepped in to pay the $25,000 catering bill. One wants city approval for the 5,553-home subdivision known as Las Lomas.
When Villaraigosa welcomed then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the mayor’s mansion, four companies covered the $60,000 tab. One is building condominiums in Hollywood, and another wants the city’s help in revitalizing a historic theater district.
And when Villaraigosa was host for four days of festivities for the U.S. Conference of Mayors last summer, he took in $1.6 million from dozens of contributors, many of whom do business with City Hall. . .
Monday, December 17th, 2007
LAUSD payroll system price tag balloons
Ten months after installing a new computerized payroll process that has been roiled by glitches, Los Angeles Unified officials now say costs for fixing the system and completing its rollout could top $210 million.
The system, with an original price tag of $95 million, has underpaid or overpaid thousands of employees, and last week district officials said hiring consultants to fix it has already ballooned the cost to $132.5 million.
And some officials are questioning the district’s transparency on all the costs associated with the system, noting that at least $6 million will be forfeited by allowing some overpaid teachers to keep the money. . .
2 plead guilty in plot to attack Southland sites
Two members of a prison-based Islamic terrorist cell that authorities say was poised to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets across Southern California pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiring to wage war against the United States.
The plot, which police stumbled upon during a routine investigation into a gas station holdup, represented one of the most realistic terrorism threats on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, experts said. The case also raised concerns about whether the country’s prisons could serve as recruiting centers for Islamic extremists.
As the defendants entered their pleas, prosecutors made public several documents detailing the group’s operations. One handwritten paper, titled “Modes of Attack,” includes a list of National Guard facilities, Army recruiting centers and something referred to as the “camp site of Zion. . .
Islamic leaders look at travel
As thousands of Muslims prepare to embark on their holy pilgrimage to Mecca, local Islamic leaders are reaching out to teach others about the rituals of their faith.
Their immediate concern is for the Muslims traveling through Los Angeles International Airport. Leaders want their experience to go smoothly in light of heightened security and lingering fears on the part of the public.
“We want to make sure no one in this country is fearful while traveling,” said Shakeel Syed of the Shura Council of Los Angeles, an umbrella organization that oversees mosques and masjids in Southern California. “At the same time, we want to make sure Muslims can successfully fulfill their religious obligations. . .
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Here’s that Christmas card John & Ken were talking about in today’s 6pm hour.
Clockwise, from left. Pretty (cockatiel), Foo (cat),
Rodney & Rex(rats), Indy(cat), Vega(dog)
My wife’s work. You can see more of her stuff here.
Not ALL of our pets are in the picture. The koi fish flopped around too much, and distracted the rats. They’re quite the attention hogs.
-cr
P.S.- Oh, and the animal hoarding story’s here.
Lawyer linked to sheriff gets 6 months in bail bonds scheme
SANTA ANA – Joseph Cavallo, the high-profile attorney who was once part of indicted Sheriff Mike Carona’s circle of associates, was sentenced to six months in jail today for illegally soliciting clients from Orange County Jail.
Cavallo – best known for representing the son of former high-ranking sheriff’s official Don Haidl during two sexual assault trials – will also be restricted from practicing law in California starting Monday. The suspension is the first step to a possible disbarment, after which Cavallo could reapply for his law license after five years.
At the hearing, Orange County Superior Court Judge Carla M. Singer told Cavallo she was impressed by letters from his supporters, including his ex-wife and longtime friends, who did not want Cavallo to go to jail. . .
Most Latinos fear deportation of loved ones
With immigrant deportations on the rise, more than half of U.S. Latinos are afraid someone close to them will be deported, even though only a quarter of the country’s 47 million Hispanics are here illegally, according to a report released Thursday.
The annual poll conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Latinos – regardless of citizenship – are increasingly feeling the sting of discrimination and are sharply against increased enforcement, especially when local police are involved.
“Latinos are feeling vulnerable in the current political and policy context of this country,” said Paul Taylor, acting director of the Washington, D.C.-based center. “They are feeling a range of negative effects from the increased public attention and the stepped-up enforcement measures that have accompanied the growing national debate over illegal immigration,” Taylor said. . .
Carpoolers’ free ride may be over
A proposal to convert the carpool lanes on three Los Angeles County freeways into toll roads could be a boon to frustrated solo commuters willing to pay for a quicker drive to work.
But the big losers could be motorists who now use the carpool lanes for free. Carpoolers would also have to pay a toll, possibly reduced. Also, the proposal provides no toll exemptions for hybrid vehicles that can now use carpool lanes regardless of the number of passengers.
The concept doesn’t sit well with some carpoolers and others, who argue that the lanes should remain free for ride-sharers, which they say reduces pollution and traffic. . .
