KPCC News In Brief

State budget cuts would limit poor women's birth control access

The state could save more than $34 million by ending some family planning programs. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario says some Southland women’s health advocates plan to protest those proposed cuts tomorrow.

Patricia Nazario: The staff of Planned Parenthood doesn’t want the state’s budget trimming to touching its turf. The organization is rallying patients, volunteers, and supporters to show up for a noontime protest and an evening vigil in front of the governor’s downtown L.A. office.

Health care activists say that for every dollar California puts into family planning and women’s cancer screening programs, the federal government matches $9.

Last week, the governor acknowledged that every cut in state programs and services will inflict real pain. But, he added, California’s government could become insolvent unless he and Sacramento lawmakers dramatically scale back spending. Analysts say the state faces a $24 billion budget gap next fiscal year.

Cortines defends summer school cancellation due to budget cuts

At an L.A. Unified news conference today Superintendent Ramon Cortines defended his decision to eliminate summer school for more than 200,000 students this year. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Sacramento funding cuts have already forced the district to slice more than half a billion dollars from its current budget. The red ink keeps flowing. By cancelling summer school, L.A. Unified will save $34 million. The district will still have to cut more than $100 million elsewhere. Superintendent Ramon Cortines doesn’t relish the task.

Ramon Cortines: How would the public deal if it was their own home, that if they got a bill on the latter part of May, that they had to make a payment on July 1 and didn’t have a savings account to do that? And that’s what’s happened to this district.

Guzman-Lopez: Cortines spared a summer school program for about 74,000 high school students short of graduation credits. He said he fears for the safety of some students who won’t have a place to go to this summer. Without offering specific suggestions, Cortines suggested that more taxpayers take action to protect vital services like public schools.

City sanitation officals to unveil zero waste plan

Two years of planning about ways to cut the amount of garbage Los Angeles throws away wrap up this weekend. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports that city sanitation officials will unveil a zero waste plan at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Molly Peterson: Public works and sanitation officials have been re-thinking how Angelinos make products, use stuff, and recycle it – or throw it away. Planners have fielded comments from thousands of people at neighborhood meetings in recent years.

All this groundwork is supposed to lead to a 20-year plan for the way the city of Los Angeles manages its waste. A key goal of the plan is to divert 70 percent of waste from landfills, for recycling, composting, or reuse within six years.

Last January, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that within 21 years he’d like to see the city divert all its waste from landfills. City officials hope these plans could deliver financial benefits, too. After it hears feedback on the plan this weekend, the Department of Public Works will finalize it later this year.

COOP artwork on display at Corey Helford Gallery

L.A.-based artist Chris Cooper, a.k.a.COOP, has done hundreds of posters for bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and the Sex Pistols. He’s known best for his rockabilly style – his work is dominated by cigar-smoking devils, hot rod cars, and voluptuous vixens. Two years ago, he was in a car accident that left him with a broken leg and unable to paint for a while. So he started taking photographs and posting them on his Flickr account.(Note: There is some adult material there.)

Eventually, he was able to start painting again, but he kept taking and posting photos online, including pictures of his paintings. He would post pictures as they evolved, blogging his work, and getting lots of feedback from fans along the way.

Several of those paintings will be on display through June 20th at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City.

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

Images courtesy Chris Cooper, a.k.a. COOP

Link: Coopstuff.com

  • May 29, 2009 2:29 PM
  • Categories: Arts

LA city fire chief retires, reflects on his time as chief

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Douglas Barry has announced his plans to retire. He’s served the department for 34 years. At a news conference yesterday, he reflected on some standout moments during his three years as chief.

Douglas Barry: “Sad but proud moment was the funeral that I, as the fire chief was presiding or gave a speech at for Brent Lovrien last year. I was very sad that we lost a member. I’m always sad of that.

“As the fire chief, you kind of feel like the father figure and everyone’s kind of your children, so you kind of feel hurt when those things happen. But when I looked out across the Cathedral and saw the support of the firefighters – not just our department, throughout the region. It made me very proud to know that that connection really exists.

“And the proudest moment is, seeing how the department has handled many of the major incidents, being it the Metrolink, the brush fires, the devastating brush fires. And even how we’ve addressed some of the issues that were highlighted when I first came in. I’m very, very proud of that, and I think that as a department, we should be proud.”

Douglas Barry is the first African-American to lead the Los Angeles Fire Department. His last day on the job will be August 30th.

Federal receiver nears discounted deal on prison medical care

The federal receiver in charge of improving medical care in California prisons says he’s close to a deal with state officials on how to proceed. KPCC’s Julie Small reports this new plan would cost billions less than earlier proposals.

Julie Small: A year ago, federal receiver Clark Kelso announced he wanted $8 billion to upgrade prison medical facilities – and to build seven new ones. His goal was to provide 10,000 medical beds for prisoners with chronic conditions.

State lawmakers and prison officials howled at the cost. The budget crisis virtually guaranteed Kelso wouldn’t get what he wanted. But now he says he can get the job the done with just a couple new hospitals for less than $2 billion.

The facilities would treat 3,400 inmates – far fewer than his earlier plan. But Kelso says he can compensate if he renovates more prison medical facilities already in place. Last year, Kelso asked a federal judge to hold the governor and other state officials in contempt for refusing to release the money he needed to build new prison hospitals.

The Schwarzenegger administration countered that move by asking a federal judge to dismiss Kelso. If the judge and state lawmakers agree to Kelso’s new plan, the court fight will be over – and the rebuilding can begin.

LA city fire chief will retire

The chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Douglas Barry, announced today that he’s ready to retire. KPCC’s Brian Watt says his announcement follows more than three decades with the department.

Brian Watt: South Bay native Douglas Barry attended Narbonne High School, Harbor College, and Cal State Long Beach. He spent 34 years moving up the ranks of the city fire department.

Three years ago, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Barry interim chief as the department was burning with racial and sexual harassment scandals. Barry believes he’s turned the department around. But he understands that some people might think controversy drove him out.

Douglas Barry: To the contrary. Everyone, from the mayor, the City Council, the Fire Commission, the controller, and the fire department members have been extremely supportive of me and my leadership and have expressed to me their desire that I stay longer.

Watt: Barry is the L.A. Fire Department’s first African-American chief. His announcement comes as the department prepares to address a deficit of $56 million. The tough budget year begins on July 1st, and Barry says he’ll stay on until August 30th to make some of the tough calls.

Housing prices down, sales up

Prices are down – so sales are up. It works that way in just about every business – and real estate is no different. KPCC’s Nick Roman has the April housing sales numbers from the California Association of Realtors.

Nick Roman: Housing prices over the last year are down nearly 44 percent in the Inland Empire, down 31 percent in L.A. County, down almost 27 percent in Orange County. But percentages mean nothing. What matters are dollars – so the house priced at the Inland Empire median of $157,000 is $68,000 cheaper than it was a year ago.

The realtors’ association says home prices might be as low as they’re gonna go – and first-time homebuyers are jumping in. April sales in the Inland Empire were double what they were a year ago. They’re up 43 percent in L.A. County – but up only 13 percent in Orange County.

Homes are more expensive there – and getting a big loan is tough. The California Association of Realtors says that’s why the inventory of homes above a million dollars is up to 17 months. But for houses under a half-million dollars, sales are booming – and the inventory is down to only three months.

LA opposes state plan to borrow city property tax revenues

Lawmakers in Sacramento today continued to wade through more budget cut proposals from the governor. KPCC’s Julie Small reports they heard testimony on his plan to borrow $2 billion from counties and cities – including Los Angeles.

Jim DeBoo: We’ve just closed a $530 million deficit.

Julie Small: That’s Jim DeBoo – the City of L.A.’s man in Sacramento. He told members of the budget conference committee Mayor Villaraigosa could sign a balanced budget by the end of the week. But DeBoo also says if the state decides to borrow 8 percent of the city’s property tax – as Governor Schwarzenegger proposes – that will push Los Angeles back into the red.

DeBoo: It could be anywhere between $85 million and around $100 million in additional deficit. If it does happen, the fear is we’d have to go look at public safety cuts. And that’s something that the mayor and the city council at least in L.A. would really, really like to avoid.

Small: Representatives from cities across the state told lawmakers they face similar – and equally bad – choices.

Sheriffs clear out homeless encampment

Los Angeles County sheriffs have dismantled an encampment of homeless people under the 605 Freeway near the 10. KPCC’s Shirley Jahad has this report.

Shirley Jahad: The camp accommodated 35 to 40 men, women, and children, L.A. County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. He called it the most squalid, heinous homeless encampment he’d ever seen. The people lived under the freeway bridge, behind a walled-in area. Whitmore said ventilation holes were their only way in and out of the camp.

Steve Whitmore: There’s no light in there. They would hang the food. So the rats wouldn’t get it. You know how people when they camp they hang their food so the bears won’t get it? They did the same thing with their food. But it’s not pretty. This is heinous. It is unfathomable. It is unlivable. It is wrong.

Jahad: Whitmore said half a dozen babies lived in the enclosure, next to human and animal waste. He said officials are trying to place the camp’s inhabitants in adequate shelter and offer them medical attention and mental health care.

School districts trim summer courses to control costs

Tight budgets are prompting Los Angeles public education districts – from grade school through community colleges – to cut many summer classes this year. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall reports that administrators say they have no choice.

Cheryl Devall: Summer school won’t happen for most elementary and middle school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its officials there say they have to cut more than $130 million before the current school year ends, and summer school was one place to do it.

They say that’s because California may cut more than $5 billion from its education budget – and because sales and property tax revenues are down. L.A. Unified high school students who need to make up graduation requirements and core classes will be able to take courses this summer.

So will students with disabilities in the Extended School Year program. Students who’d hoped to take summer courses in the L.A. Community College District won’t be as lucky. Several of its campuses are also cutting summer sessions to save money.

Federal government delays action again on protections for forests

The U.S. Forest Service has imposed a “time out” on development and roads in millions of acres of federal land, mostly in the West. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports the move aims to unify a national policy that’s gotten messy.

Molly Peterson: The federal government will transfer authority over some wildland development to the secretary of agriculture. It’s also placing on hold the so-called “roadless rule” – a regulation first developed under President Bill Clinton.

Friction between the timber industry and environmentalists over how to manage these lands drove the rule into two federal courts that have issued conflicting opinions about what should happen. In California, the Clinton rule has held sway over about 4 million acres – 20 percent of the state’s federal forests.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger supported that. But the Bush Administration petitioned, and another judge allowed states to make their own plans less restrictive to development – so Idaho and Colorado have been doing that for their forests.

This latest move by the Obama Administration also requests that federal lawyers reverse previous policy and stop arguing against this kind of wildland protection.

Schwarzenegger speaks on gay marriage ruling

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he respects the state Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the voter-approved ban on same sex marriage. The governor says he personally believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, but he also told CNN.com that he wouldn’t be surprised if Californians legalized same-sex marriage in the future.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Gay rights groups are planning to place an initiative legalizing gay marriage on the ballot, perhaps as early as next year.

Bill introduced to give state oversight of the UC

State lawmakers introduced a bill today that would ask voters to give the legislature the power to regulate the University of California. The state constitution protects the UC from state regulation.

The bill would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. If approved, it would strip the UC of its immunity. San Francisco Democratic State Senator Leland Yee is a co-sponsor. He told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that many lawmakers are angry about the high salaries paid to UC executives.

Leland Yee: “They make more than the president of the United States. They make more than the governor of this state. It seems that their perspective, the regents perspective, of what is appropriate given these tough economic times, given their position relative to other positions in the this country and this state that are just not, not adequate.”

UC chancellors make $300,000 to $400,000 a year – that goes up to as much as half a million with perks.

Fire officials don't like state borrowing revenue from counties

The state’s providing less money this year for firefighting, so public safety is more important than ever, Southern California fire officials said today as they announced a new campaign.

Los Angeles County Fire chief Mike Freeman says he’s concerned about the state’s plan to borrow property tax revenues from counties. Freeman says that even though emergency programs are a state priority, he’s responding to more emergencies these days.

Mike Freeman: “Buying equipment, buying fuel, fuel has come down but it’s still very expensive. All these things come into play, so we do have a little bit of a fallback right now. But that money is going fast and the basic principle of public funding is that you do not pay for ongoing costs with one-time monies.”

Along with chiefs from Orange County and Ventura County, Freeman supports the new regional “ready, set, go” action plan. That advises people who live in wildfire-prone areas to prepare their homes and leave early when there’s a risk.

Health care advocate decries proposed cuts to Healthy Families

One of the many programs Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing eliminating is Healthy Families. The $250 million program provides health insurance for kids in low-income families that make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal.

Howard Kahn is CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan, which administers the Healthy Families program in L.A. County. He says without Healthy Families, a quarter of a million kids in L.A. County alone would lose health coverage. And that, says Kahn, would mean that many families would no longer be able to get their kids basic primary care.

Howard Kahn: “They are going to end up in emergency rooms. They are going to end up in both the county and the community clinics that we’ve got throughout Los Angeles. Those folks have already been seeing an increase in use because of the high unemployment rates. So we are going to have more crowded emergency rooms. That’s no way to run a health care system.”

Kahn spoke on KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

Former Bush v. Gore lawyers team up to challenge Prop 8

A day after the California Supreme Court upheld the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage, two prominent attorneys announced they’re teaming up to challenge it in federal court. KPCC’s Brian Watt says the lawyers are better known as legal adversaries.

Brian Watt: Ted Olson and David Boies argued on opposite sides of the Bush v. Gore case that determined the winner of the 2000 presidential election. David Boies hasn’t forgotten.

David Boies: Being up here on a platform with Ted Olson and all these lights makes me want to urge everyone to count every vote. (laughter)

Watt: They’ve filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of two same-sex couples that want to marry – and they sought an injunction to block enforcement of Proposition 8 until the case is decided.

The suit claims that Prop 8 violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment and discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. Ted Olson said California’s “domestic partnership” option fails to provide the same benefits and protections as marriage.

Ted Olson: That is separate, and that is not equal. It is unconstitutional.

Watt: An attorney for the supporters of Prop 8 says the suit has very little prospect of success. Many gay marriage advocates say it’s too early for a federal lawsuit.

Officials give digital TV converter demo before June 12 deadline

Starting in two-and-a-half weeks, broadcast television stations will begin using digital technology to transmit their programs. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says that if your TV is not equipped to carry the new digital signal on June 12th, you’re only going to see fuzz.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “There are some 200,000 Angelinos who haven’t made the conversion to digital TV. We’re very concerned about that because they’ll lose their ability to see the programming they’re used to seeing.”

It’s not too late to apply for a $40 coupon that’ll help cover the cost of a digital converter box for analog TVs. You can get two per household online at DTV2009.gov.

Anyone who needs a converter box – or needs to figure out how to hook it up to the TV – can talk to experts and check out demonstrations tomorrow at the L.A. Convention Center. The event is scheduled to run from 9 o’clock in the morning until 4 in the afternoon.

Health care advocates warn cuts could lead to higher costs elsewhere

During a budget hearing at the state capital today, more than 100 people testified on proposed cuts to state medical insurance for low-income Californians. Governor Schwarzenegger suggested the cuts to help close a $24 billion deficit. KPCC’s Julie Small reports that health care advocates warned California will end up paying more for the cuts in the long run.

Julie Small: One after another, health care activists urged the state’s budget conference committee to reject the governor’s proposed cuts. Herb Meyer, a retired Air Force veteran from Marin County, lost the use of his legs in a boating accident and spent his life savings on medical and support care.

The 78-year-old now depends on the state’s Medi-Cal program for coverage. From his wheelchair, Meyer told legislators that the governor’s idea to cut so-called “optional” Medi-Cal benefits would hurt recipients.

Herb Meyer: They’re going to take away their eyeglasses. They’re going to take away their podiatric care. They’re going to take away many of the things that are going to be difficult for them to get.

Where’re they going to go? They’re going to go to emergency rooms – all this type of thing. It’s going to cost the government more money than they’re going to save in doing these things.

Small: Meyer said he’s already lost some Medi-Cal drug benefits from the budget cuts the legislature made earlier this year. That cost him $95 of his monthly $2,000 retirement check.

Cuts imminent for state services

A hefty cut to California’s Healthy Families program is one solution Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is offering to help offset the state’s projected $24 billion budget shortfall.

Jean Ross heads the California Budget Project. She told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the proposed cut would leave close to 950,000 children in the state without medical coverage.

Jean Ross: “The governor is also proposing to scale back medical coverage for children and that would add an additional about 472,000 children to the ranks of the uninsured. So this would have a dramatic increase on the health status of California’s children.”

If the legislature approves $5 billion in cuts the governor’s proposed to state programs, programs including universities, state parks, and prisons would be in line for program and personnel reductions. The governor’s also suggested saving more than $1 billion by eliminating the CalWORKs welfare program. The governor’s expected to propose $3 billion in additional cuts next week.

Fire officials warn budget cuts may affect emergency response

Fire officials are warning Southland cities and towns that budget cuts may affect emergency response. KPCC’s Molly Peterson says that’s one reason they’re asking people to clear out when a wildfire approaches their neighborhoods.

Molly Peterson: On a hillside near a community center in Diamond Bar, fire officials showed off water-dropping helicopters hitting targets. A hand crew sawed and clawed up a hillside as it would to create fire breaks in a real event.

State, federal and local fire officials all are on hand to endorse this season’s public campaign – called Ready, Set, Go. The goal is to get people to prepare their houses and then leave early in the event of a fire.

Chiefs from Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties said that the way people prepare for fire season matters more now that lower local revenues and the state budget deficit are squeezing government services. L.A. County has frozen hiring for non-emergency staffing, and every fire district reports less money for what’s called mutual aid – cooperation between counties out when a fire hits.

Local fire officials and fire unions have lobbied Sacramento to minimize cuts. Now they’re asking people who live in wildland areas to help them handle hot dry weather and the risk of fire.

Bush v. Gore attornies team up for federal suit against Prop 8

California’s ban on same-sex marriage has compelled two well-known legal adversaries to challenge the law. Attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies argued against each other in the Bush versus Gore case that determined the result of the 2000 presidential election. But Olson said they’ve joined forces to sue against Proposition 8 in federal court.

Ted Olson: “The case we filed is not about liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. We’re here in part to symbolize that. This case is about the equal rights guaranteed to every American under the United States Constitution.”

They filed the suit last Friday on behalf of two same-sex couples who want to marry. Today, they filed an injunction asking the court to stop the enforcement of Prop 8 pending the case’s outcome.

Rancho Cucamonga councilman arrested on felony grand theft charges

Authorities arrested Rancho Cucamonga councilman Rex Guiterrez today for allegedly misappropriating public money. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the arrest is part of an ever-widening fraud and corruption probe that involves several high-profile San Bernardino County officials.

Steven Cuevas: The felony charges against Rex Guitterez – misappropriation of public funds and grand theft – arise from his brief stint with the county assessor’s office. He quit in January when the office became the focus of an investigation into alleged fraud and corruption.

Assessor Bill Postmus resigned soon after. An independent investigation launched by the San Bernardino County board of supervisors portrays the office as a den of political corruption, financial fraud, and drug abuse.

Gutierrez had been Postmus’ “intergovernmental relations officer.” But investigators say he was dubbed “intergalactic officer” because he rarely showed up for work – even when he continued to collect a paycheck. The county is suing Gutierrez and several other former assessor’s office officials over money allegedly lost through rampant timecard abuse.

Some of Guiterrez’ colleagues on the Rancho Cucamonga city council are calling on him to step down. He’s served on the council off and on over 17 years.

LAMBDA Legal senior counsel talks about gay civil rights strategy

A coalition of gay rights groups says a federal lawsuit that challenges Proposition 8 is premature. Jenny Pizer is the senior counsel for LAMBDA Legal, a gay civil rights organization. She spoke with KPCC’s “AirTalk.”

Jenny Pizer: “Federal litigation eventually of course will be very important, but our strategy for years has been to work state by state to create the foundation that we need, that we believe we need, to have a fair chance of winning in this kind of case. I mean the stakes are kind of high when you go through the Supreme Court. That court sets the rule for the entire country.”

Attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson filed the lawsuit last week. It argues that California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process. Boies and Olson also are seeking a preliminary injunction against Prop 8 until the case is resolved.

The state Supreme Court announced yesterday that it had upheld the measure. Pizer said she thinks the next appropriate step should be to return to the ballot box. Same-sex marriage proponents say they want to try and get a referendum on next year’s ballot.

LA City Council postpones vote on billboard ban

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today on the contentious issue of billboard expansion. KPCC’s Cheryl Devall says it’s not the vote people on either side of the matter had hoped for.

Cheryl Devall: Now that L.A.’s elected Carmen Trutanich as its next city attorney, the city council has decided to let him review a proposed moratorium on new billboards and digital billboard conversions when he takes office in July.

A temporary ban on new billboards and supergraphics – ads that wrap around multi-story buildings – runs out next month. The city council is expected to extend that ban to September, when it’s scheduled to vote again.

The unanimous decision to put off a final decision until September disappointed people who testified for three hours on the free speech, commercial, and aesthetic implications of limiting billboard expansion.

Anti-sign forces object to a provision that would designate 21 “sign districts” to accommodate new billboards in areas including the L.A. International Airport corridor and Hollywood. Outdoor advertising companies don’t like the fines that plan would charge for every violation of the ordinance.

Another ballot measure might turn tide in same-sex marriage battle

The battle in California over same-sex marriage isn’t finished – and KPCC’s Nick Roman says the result next time could be different.

Nick Roman: This began nine years ago when voters approved Proposition 22 – a statute that said “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Last May, the state Supreme Court invalidated that measure. Proposition 8 had the same wording as 22 – but it’s a constitutional amendment not as easily dislodged by a court decision. But voters could overturn it.

Backers of same-sex marriage intend to put a measure on the ballot – and it might succeed. Prop 22 passed with more than 61 percent of the vote. Eight years later, Prop 8 also passed – but with only 52 percent. The 22 percentage point margin of victory that opponents of same-sex marriage had with Prop 22 was down to 4.

And even though Prop 8 passed in L.A., Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, it earned much less support than Prop 22. One more year and one more election are all that backers of same-sex marriage might need to win.

Legal scholar suggests Prop 8 not settled, despite court decision

Legal scholar Richard Hasen of Loyola Law School suggests that Proposition 8 – California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage – may not be settled despite the state supreme court’s decision in favor of the measure.

Richard Hasen: “The California Supreme Court has said pretty straightforwardly that as far as the state power and state constitution goes, there’s a lot more power in the hands of voters. And that if the voters want to have the last word here, subject to the federal constitution, they can.”

Last November, 52 percent of the voters overturned an earlier state Supreme Court decision that briefly made same-sex marriages legal in California. Hasen told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that if more change is on the way, it’ll probably happen through the ballot box in another statewide referendum.

Supporters of Prop 8 applaud state supreme court's decision

Supporters of Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, applauded today’s state Supreme Court decision that upheld the vote. Andrew Pugno argued before California’s highest court that last year’s narrow approval of Prop 8 reflected the will of the people. He told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that opponents are within their rights to raise the issue in another ballot measure, but…

Andrew Pugno: “I don’t suspect that the people of California would look favorably on being asked to vote on this yet again. We’ve already voted on it twice in the last few years, and in fact I don’t think it would be very likely to succeed in taking Prop 8 out of the constitution. Prop 8 was made a close election by the occasional young liberal voter that showed up, that is not likely to show up in those numbers for a long time to come.”

Nine years ago, California voters approved an earlier ban on same-sex marriage by a much wider margin than they did last November.

Supreme Court nominee has reputation as tough, smart

The scrutiny’s begun for President Obama’s pick for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The president praised federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York as “an inspiring woman” with varied experience on the bench. Legal Network anchor Jami Floyd has reported on cases in Sotomayor’s courtroom.

Jami Floyd: “She’s tough, I would say hard-nosed, very smart, cuts to the issues, does not suffer fools. And she has a bit of a reputation for being prickly, but I would say if she was a man that wouldn’t be the case. I think some of it is because she is a woman and we have different expectations for women, whether it’s on the bench, at the front of a classroom, or as homemakers.”

South LA civil rights leader applauds Prop 8 ruling

A civil rights activist in South L.A. applauds the California Supreme Court for upholding Proposition 8. Eddie Jones is president of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association.

Eddie Jones : “I don’t agree with same-sex marriage. It’s been voted on already. They passed it not to happen. And I think it’s wrong to try to get an amendment to it. I think it’s wrong. The people voted on it. They said ‘no’. No means no.”

Supporters of same-sex couples’ right to marry say they’ll bring the issue before California voters again. But they haven’t decided when.

Some support same-sex marriage, also support court's decision

The California Supreme Court this morning upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. In response, several callers on KPCC’s “AirTalk” said they support same-sex marriage, but they also support the logic of the court’s decision. Among them was John of Santa Monica.

John: “The people actually voted on this. And the constitution is supposed to back up the rule of the people. I mean, to complain about a constitutional issue when people vote on it, it just seems redundant – it doesn’t seem right.”

The court’s ruling also maintains the legality of about 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place between an earlier state supreme court decision that allowed them and the November election that endorsed the ban with 52 percent of the vote.

California high court upholds gay marriage ban

By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s gay-marriage ban Tuesday but said the 18,000 same-sex weddings that took place before the prohibition passed are still valid – a ruling decried by gay-rights activists as a hollow victory.

Demonstrators outside the court booed, wept and yelled, “Shame on you!” Activists said they would go back to the voters as early as next year in a bid to repeal the ban.

In a 6-1 decision written by Chief Justice Ron George, the court rejected arguments that the ban approved by the voters last fall was such a fundamental change in the California Constitution that it first needed the Legislature’s approval.

As for the thousands of couples who tied the knot last year in the five months that gay marriage was legal in California, the court said it is well-established principle that an amendment is not retroactive unless it is clear that the voters intended it to be, and that was not the case with Proposition 8.

Moreover, the court said it would be too disruptive to apply Proposition 8 retroactively and dissolve all gay marriages.

Doing that would have the effect of “throwing property rights into disarray, destroying the legal interests and expectations of thousands of couples and their families, and potentially undermining the ability of citizens to plan their lives according to the law as it has been determined by this state’s highest court,” the ruling said.

While gay rights advocates accused the court of failing to protect a minority group from the will of the majority, the justices said that the state’s governing framework gives voters almost unfettered ability to change the California Constitution.

The decision set off an outcry among a sea of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse, holding signs and waving rainbow flags. Many people also held hands in a chain around an intersection in an act of protest.

“We’re relieved our marriage was not invalidated, but this is a hollow victory because there are so many that are not allowed to marry those they love,” said Amber Weiss, 32, who was in the crowd at City Hall, near the courthouse, with her partner, Sharon Papo. They were married on the first day gay marriage was legal last year, June 17.

“I feel very uncomfortable being in a special class of citizens,” Papo said.

Jeanne Rizzo, 62, who was one of the plaintiffs along with her wife, Pali Cooper, said: “It’s not about whether we get to stay married. Our fight is far from over. I have about 20 years left on this earth, and I’m going to continue to fight for equality every day.”

A small group of Proposition 8 supporters also gathered outside the court.

“A lot of people just assume we’re religious nuts. We’re not. But we are Christians and we believe in the Bible,” said George Popko, 22, a student at American River College in Sacramento, where the student government officially endorsed Proposition 8.

In the state capital, Republican state Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, the incoming minority leader, said the court’s decision “reaffirmed the principle that the people’s votes do matter.”

The state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 last May that it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to wed. For a while, that put California - the nation’s most populous state - back in its familiar position in the vanguard of social change; at the time, Massachusetts was the only other state to allow gay marriage.

In what gay activists called their “Summer of Love,” same-sex couples from around the country rushed to get married in California for fear the voters would take away the right at the ballot box. In November, Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent approval.

Over the past several months, as the fight went on in California, Iowa, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut legalized gay marriage, bringing to five the number of states that allow same-sex couples to wed.

In California, gay rights activists argued that the ban was improperly put to the voters and amounted to a revision - which required legislative approval - not an amendment. But the justices disagreed.

The court said that while the ban denies gay couples use of the term “marriage,” it does not fundamentally disturb their basic right to “establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship with the person of one’s choice and to raise children within the family.” California still allows gay couples to form domestic partnerships.

In their 136-page majority ruling, the justices said it not their job to address whether the ban is wise public policy, but to decide whether it is constitutionally valid, while “setting aside our own personal beliefs and values.”

Justice Carlos Moreno, who had been under consideration as President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, was the lone dissenter.

He said denying same-sex couples the right to wed “strikes at the core of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution.” He said it represents a “drastic and far-reaching change.”

“Promising equal treatment to some is fundamentally different from promising equal treatment for all,” Moreno said. “Promising treatment that is almost equal is fundamentally different from ensuring truly equal treatment.”

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, whose office fought the ban, said: “Today we are faced with a disappointing decision. But I think we also know it could have been worse.”

Democratic state Sen. Christine Kehoe of San Diego said that California “has lost its lead in the fight for civil rights for all people.” And Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco warned the ruling would create “apartheid” in California.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Possible Republican response to Supreme Court nominee

Conservative lawmakers responded quickly to President Obama’s nomination of federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ron Elving, senior Washington Editor for National Public Radio, told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the opposition reflects differences in judicial philosophy.

Ron Elving: “I think that it’s fair to say that Republicans are upholding a principle of strict adherence to the document of the constitution, the letter of the law if you will, and we’ve already heard quite a number of the Republican senators who are going to be handling theses proceedings on the judiciary committee talking about applying the letter of the law and not trying to interpret what the law, that is to say the Constitution, might mean in a modern context.”

Some Republicans have questioned the way Sotomayor, a Latina, has decided on affirmative action cases. She ruled against a group of white Connecticut firefighters who’d sued their department claiming racial discrimination.

The Supreme Court expects to rule on that case this session. If the U.S. Senate approves her nomination, Sotomayor would replace associate justice David Souter, who plans to retire from the court this summer.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader praises Supreme Court pick

The local head of the organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. praised President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reverend Eric Lee of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California said federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor would bring needed diversity to the nation’s highest court.

Reverend Eric Lee: “Because of her background, coming from the projects, and working class family, being able to work her way through to becoming a justice, that it adds an element of compassion and understanding about the plight of people who are struggling just for a decent living, and quality of life in our country.”

If the Senate approves her, Sotomayor – who’s Puerto Rican – would be the first Latina associate justice. President Obama announced the nomination this morning at a White House news conference.

Gay marriage proponents respond to ruling on Prop 8

The California Supreme Court this morning upheld Proposition 8 – and the marriages of same-sex couples who wed while their unions were legal. A coalition of faith leaders and groups that support same-sex marriage rights met today in South Los Angeles to hear the ruling on Prop 8 and offer their reactions. Attorney Jenny Pizer is on the legal team that challenged the ballot measure.

Jenny Pizer: “Proposition 8 stole our right to marry, and it advanced a pernicious idea of equality that puts every California minority at risk. Prop 8 tore our constitution. Today’s deeply disappointing decision puts it to us as a people to repair that damage at the ballot box.”

The coalition vowed to bring the issue of same-sex marriage before California voters again. But members haven’t decided when. Pizer said the 18,000 same-sex couples who married before voters approved Prop 8 last November will demonstrate that their rights don’t threaten anyone.

National Organization for Marriage director praises Prop 8 decision

The California Supreme Court has ruled against lawsuits that sought to overturn Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same sex marriage.

Proposition 8 opponents argued that the measure was a constitutional revision, rather than an amendment, and that it needed the legislature’s approval. But the court rejected that argument in a 6 to 1 ruling.

Brian Brown praised the ruling on KPCC’s “AirTalk.” Brown is executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, which supported Proposition 8.

Brian Brown: “This was the common sense decision the court should have made. And we’re very happy with the decision and, you know, any other decision would have essentially said that the people are going to be robbed of their right to speak on an issue that’s of fundamental importance – marriage.”

Proponents of same sex marriage are vowing to fight the decision. They say they may go back to voters as early as next year to try and repeal Prop 8.

State Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban

The state Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

The court ruled 6-to-1 against gay rights activists who argued that the measure was a constitutional revision, and therefore needed the legislature’s approval. The court did let 18,000 same-sex marriages stand. Those couples were married after the state’s highest court legalized same-sex marriage, and before voters approved Prop 8.

David Bowers was at the courthouse when the ruling came down. He spoke with KPCC’s Larry Mantle.

David Bowers: “Extremely disappointed. And now I’m in a group of people who are – my marriage is still held up legal. All my brothers and sisters are out here and they can’t get married. I don’t understand. I’m disappointed.”

Gay rights activists are vowing to fight the court ruling. They’re planning protests today. In a statement, Governor Schwarzenegger said that he will uphold the court’s ruling, although he believes that someday California will recognize legal gay marriage. He also encouraged people who respond to the court decision to do so peacefully and lawfully.

LA City Councilman Alarcon wants to establish banking districts

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon is pushing the city to establish banking districts throughout L.A. KPCC’s Frank Stoltze reports the idea is to encourage banks to open branches in poor neighborhoods.

Frank Stoltze: Banks are hard to find in neighborhoods like Pacoima, Boyle Heights, and South L.A., says Councilman Alarcon.

Richard Alarcon: We have 300,000 families that do not participate in banking, and they’re using check cashing places and paying exorbitant fees to do things that we take for granted.

Stoltze: Alarcon says that’s partly because many people struggling to make ends meet lack financial know-how. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has launched a campaign to encourage people to open bank accounts.

Alarcon’s proposed banking districts would offer incentives like property tax breaks and deposits of city money to financial institutions that open in poor neighborhoods. The proposal is similar to one in New York, which has established 25 banking districts.

DWP unveils monument to those who've died on the job

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power unveiled a monument today for employees who have died on the job. DWP Chief David Nahai said it was the suggestion of a current DWP employee that motivated him to push for a permanent memorial.

David Nahai: “It provided me with what I needed, what my soul told me had to be done, in order to recognize our DWP people who lost their lives.”

The glass monument is etched on one side with the names of 216 workers. Almost 30 of them died in 1928, when the Saint Francis Dam failed catastrophically. DWP estimates that another 40 men died during the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct – but there are no records of their names.

Nahai says the agency owes it to the workers who are being memorialized to take safety precautions so that no other names are added to the monument.

Students skip school to protest planned teacher layoffs

Several hundred L.A. Unified students skipped class this morning and marched to school district headquarters in downtown L.A. to protest planned teacher layoffs. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Most of the protestors were from Santee High School south of downtown. Chanting and waving homemade signs they marched two miles and circled the 29-story L.A. Unified building.

The school board has voted to lay off thousands of instructors, many of them new teachers. New hires represent a large portion of Santee High’s teachers, and ninth grader Maria Del Angel says it’s unfair cuts will affect her campus more than others.

Maria Del Angel: I want to be a nurse and a doctor. And we don’t have enough education for us right now. That’s why we’re trying to keep our teachers with us because we really need them, and we cannot let them go like that.

Guzman-Lopez: Schools officials said students should voice their opinions, but shouldn’t skip school to do so. Superintendent Ramon Cortines met with student leaders and engaged in a spirited debate about budget cuts. In spite of this and other much larger protests, the school district’s likely to move ahead with teacher layoffs and other cuts in the next few weeks.

Fewer enroll in this year's LA Marathon

The 24th Annual Los Angeles Marathon is Monday morning, but police will start closing some downtown streets Sunday night.

Organizers expect more than 35,000 people to participate in the 26-mile distance run, bike tour, and 5K run/walk. Professional endurance-athlete coach Steve Mackel will run – as he has a half dozen times before. He says fewer people enrolled this year because organizers changed the date several times.

Steve Mackel: “They wanted to get it off of Sunday, so they thought maybe President’s Day Monday, and then they moved to this day. But, traditionally, all across the United States, marathons are done on Sunday. It brings a ton of money into the city, it creates jobs, the spectators come out, it creates a sense of community. The positives outweigh the one day of negative.”

Religious groups had complained that road closures for Sunday marathons make it difficult for congregants to get to their places of worship. Several L.A. City Council members have introduced a motion that, if approved, would return the L.A. Marathon to a Sunday in March beginning next year.

Over 1,000 homecare, domestic workers protest protest proposed cuts

A crowd of more than a thousand Southland homecare providers and their patients and supporters converged on downtown Los Angeles today. They were protesting Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts in home care services.

Organizer Eliseo Medina of the Service Employees International Union says the governor’s May revise budget would reduce most workers’ pay from 11 or 12 dollars to 8 dollars an hour – minimum wage.

Eliseo Medina: “They’re being a penny wise and a dollar foolish. If they force all these home care clients out of their homes, where they gonna send them? To nursing homes? They are four times more expensive than home care. This is a bad decision. What the governor proposes is gonna wind up costing them more money, not less.”

Governor Schwarzenegger has said the huge budget shortfall – made worse by last Tuesday’s defeat of several budget ballot measures – is forcing him to make deep cuts in state programs.

Community colleges could lose hundreds of thousands of students due to cuts

The chancellor of California community colleges says the system could lose hundreds of thousands of students next year because of the state’s fiscal crisis. Jack Scott told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that the system won’t be able to afford the number of students it’s been serving. He said proposed budget cuts will force local community colleges to reduce class offerings.

Jack Scott: “If I were making an estimate today, I’d say at least 250,000 students that will not be served next year because the colleges cannot bankrupt themselves in terms of offering the schedule and so forth, so they’re going to have to make very drastic cuts.”

Scott says the state’s community colleges will have to be cut because of the state’s fiscal situation. It’s the size of the reduction that he doesn’t agree with. The colleges have seen enrollments spike as unemployed people return to school, but per-student funding hasn’t kept pace.

Actress Carteris says SAG members should support contract

Screen Actors Guild members have until June 9th to vote for or against a contract with film and primetime TV producers. 600 of them attended an information session on the contract last night in Hollywood. Actress Gabrielle Carteris of “Beverly Hills 90210” fame said Guild members should ratify the contract.

Gabrielle Carteris: It’s important for us to do this deal because it gets us back to work. I think that L.A. and Hollywood has not been working. In film, people want to be working. In TV, we want to have the rates that we think…

“Look, TV is truly the money maker still. You know, in seven years that might be different, but the truth is, right now, it is the money maker. And we needed those bumps, we’ve lost a year of bumps.”

By “bumps,” Carteris means the wage and residual increases that SAG members have missed out on because they’ve been working under the terms of a contract that expired last summer.

SAG members attend info session on tentative TV/film contract

Screen Actors Guild members have a big decision to make – whether to ratify or reject a proposed contract with film and primetime TV producers. About 600 guild members filled a hotel ballroom in Hollywood last night for a presentation of the contract’s details.

Although he opposes the deal, SAG President Alan Rosenberg attended the meeting. He says the contract would allow the producers to make a lot of money on the Internet without paying actors enough.

Alan Rosenberg: “What they’re trying to do is change the paradigm, they’re trying to create an entirely new business model where they can only concern themselves with the people they perceive they need.

“Middle class actors like myself, background performers, stunt performers are not significant to our employers. So I’m hoping the members vote this down. I’m happy we’re going out to them, but would only be truly happy if they vote it down.”

Rosenberg was not speaking on the Guild’s behalf. The contract does establish some residuals and jurisdiction for SAG members on the Internet. Guild members have until June 9th to mail in their ballots.

Obama holding bipartisan immigration meeting, doesn't invite Lungren

President Obama is moving forward on immigration reform. He’s called a meeting at the White House early next month with congressional members from both parties. But KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports the invitee list may be significant for who’s not on it.

Kitty Felde: An administration official says the June 8th conference will gather lawmakers from both parties for a “substantive discussion” of immigration issues that will lead to a larger debate later this year. That same official says it would be a “small group.” Two prominent Democrats from California say they were invited: the head of the House Immigration Subcommittee Zoe Lofgren of San Jose and Nancy Pelosi’s right-hand man, Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles.

But arguably the most experienced Republican on the issue hasn’t been invited. In 1986, it was House Member Dan Lungren’s job to round up GOP votes for the last sweeping immigration bill passed by Congress. But so far, the White House hasn’t tapped the Sacramento Republican for his institutional memory. The White House official who confirmed the meeting says he hasn’t seen the list of invitees.

Sole Republican vote for climate change bill is Californian

Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman of Los Angeles scored a major victory on Capitol Hill last night. The Energy and Commerce Committee he chairs passed a major piece of climate change legislation before Memorial Day, just as he promised. The victory came with help from a fellow Californian from the other side of the aisle. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Congressman Henry Waxman: The clerk will call the roll.
Clerk: Mr. Waxman.
Waxman: Aye.
Clerk: Mr. Waxman votes aye.

Kitty Felde: By a vote of 33-25, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The measure battles climate change by promoting renewable sources of electricity. It also creates a pollution credit trading system for industry.

The vote was largely along party lines. Four Democrats voted no and one Republican, Mary Bono Mack, voted yes. The congresswoman from Palm Springs said the issue of climate change was important enough to move the bill forward. In its present form, she said it was missing one important element.

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mac: We would really like to see a lot more done to promote nuclear power and don’t feel this bill is doing that.

Felde: The bill now goes to other House committees and is likely to change quite a bit before coming to the floor for a vote. Even in this committee, members considered nearly a hundred amendments to the bill.

City college administrators worry budget crisis may wipe out summer session

Summer sessions at California community colleges are supposed to get underway in a couple of weeks. But city college administrators worry the state budget crisis will wipe out the summer session. KPCC’s Shirley Jahad reports.

Shirley Jahad: Just as more newly unemployed people are flocking to community colleges, administrators are facing dramatic cuts. Dr. Jamillah Moore – the president of L.A. City College – says her staff are holding emergency meetings to talk about cutting upcoming summer sessions.

Dr. Jamillah Moore: We are having those discussions with our constituency groups this week and next week, so we hope to have that decision before May is over because we have to.

Jahad: Moore says the situation is grim. She just doesn’t know how grim it will be. She says not knowing this close to the summer session and the new fiscal year is like dealing with a moving target. News of how deep the cuts will go is to come – sooner or later – from state lawmakers and the governor.

California community colleges have added 150,000 more students this year – without any more funding. More than 2-and a half million people are enrolled.

Men charged with phony ATM withdrawal scheme

Authorities charged four San Fernando Valley men today in an alleged electronic crime scheme. KPCC’s Alex Cohen says the scheme involved phony ATM withdrawals.

Alex Cohen: The scheme involves two dozen victims, including two banks. Together they lost more than $400,000. The defendants allegedly gained access to personal ID numbers by placing so-called skimming devices on automatic teller machines in Southern California and at least one other state.

The devices read and record ATM card numbers while wireless cameras record users’ personal access code entries. Then the skimmers transmit that information to identity thieves nearby.

The district attorney’s Bureau of Investigation began looking into the Southern California case last August after Citibank alerted them to possible ATM fraud.

Bail for the four men charged was set at $1 million each. Similar skimming rings have been surfacing around the country.

Almost 100 members of Latino gang that targeted African-Americans arrested

The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles is praising today’s arrests of almost 100 members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang. Thomas O’Brien told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that the largely Latino gang targeted African-Americans in southeastern L.A. County.

Thomas O’Brien: “You’re dealing with people who are clearly uneducated, that hang out and kinda spew racial hatred. This particular street gang, we have a number of incidents where they shot at people not because they were African-American gang members but simply because the individuals were African-American.”

O’Brien said gederal authorities issued about 150 indictments on racketeering, firearms, and narcotics charges. The allegations and arrests resulted from a four-year investigation that followed a suspected gang member’s fatal shooting of an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy.

Governor proposes wholesale cuts to close budget gap

The Schwarzenegger Administration today proposed sweeping budget cuts to help plug California’s multi-billion dollar deficit. KPCC’s Julie Small reports some popular social services programs could be scrapped entirely.

Julie Small: Among the programs the Schwarzenegger Administration proposes to scrap is CalWorks. It’s a welfare assistance program for needy families. The Healthy Families program could be gone. It’s the state’s health insurance program for teens and children in low-income families.

Also on the “cut” list are Cal Grants that pay fees for low-income students at state-funded universities. Altogether, the cuts would save billions of dollars. A spokesman for the governor’s finance department says the state alone funds these programs, so dismantling them won’t threaten any federal funding that California receives.

Schwarzenegger Administration officials announced the likely cuts after the non-partisan Legislative Analyst raised doubts about whether the governor’s plan to borrow $6 billion from Wall Street to plug the deficit was legal.

Law enforcement officials arrest scores of Hawaiian Gardens gang members

Federal and local law enforcement officials said today they’ve arrested nearly a hundred leaders and associates of the dangerous Varrio Hawaiian Gardens street gang. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles is calling it the largest gang indictment in this country’s history. One-thousand-four-hundred law enforcement agents took part in the arrests in and around southeast L.A. County.

They were armed with a federal indictment that listed 147 people, about a dozen of them women. The indictment listed nicknames such as Spooky, Looney Tunes, Casper, and Babygirl. U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien said the killing of L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Ortiz by one of the gang’s members four years ago prompted the 17-agency crackdown.

Thomas O’Brien: Today we honor deputy Ortiz by coming together to crush the outlaw gang that took his life and to make a positive difference for the law abiding people who live in Hawaiian Gardens.

Guzman-Lopez: The indictment charges the suspects with racketeering, drug trafficking, and illegal gun possession. Officials say Varrio Hawaiian Gardens was a self-described “hate gang” whose members targeted African-Americans.

Governor Schwarzenegger withdraws borrowing plan, looks for cuts

Governor Schwarzenegger’s withdrawn his plan to balance the state budget with 5-and-a-half billion dollars of borrowed money. Instead, he’s asking state agencies to forward more ideas about where they can cut. Jason Dickerson with the Legislative Analyst’s Office told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” that the governor was right to reverse his course on borrowing.

Jason Dickerson: “It could well be a habit the state gets into, but the constitution of the state places fairly strict limits on debt that can be issued. And it really would be, potentially, in violation of those requirements.”

California’s working with few good fiscal options in the face of a projected $21 billion deficit.

State services still at risk, despite appeals for funding to federal government

California officials are borrowing a strategy from the financial industry – trying to convince the federal government to front some cash fast because this state is too big to fail. Jason Dickerson with the state Legislative Analyst’s Office isn’t sure that approach will spare state services from major cuts.

Jason Dickerson: “The governor’s $750 million proposal to cut Medi-Cal funding that would require approval from the federal government, that is a pretty risky proposition on which to balance the budget over the next year. We don’t know if the federal government will go along with that. But in terms of looking at selling some state assets and some state lands, rethinking how our boards and commissions work, we think that is a good idea and the legislature should look at that.”

Federal Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s already saying that California shouldn’t rely on much more financial help from Washington.

LA city attorney-elect Trutanich responds to his win

Los Angeles’ next City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich, is pledging to change the culture of the department he’ll take over soon. The former gang prosecutor has spent much of the last 20 years in private practice, and that experience will follow him into his first elected position.

Carmen Trutanich: “We want to make this a real law office. And the only way that a real office can function and be successful is if management and those of the support for management are one – they work as a team together.”

Trutanich defeated L.A. City Councilman Jack Weiss in the fiercest contest on Tuesday’s ballot.

Federal stimulus money headed for Southland water systems

There’s money on tap for water systems in California. KPCC’s Molly Peterson says that much of a $440 million federal stimulus grant will go to the Inland Empire.

Molly Peterson: Each year, the state gets about a quarter of a billion dollars in support for water infrastructure projects. This year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency says the needs are more urgent, so the agency’s using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to pay for improvements in California and other states.

Federal money will go to California’s water resources control board, for regional wastewater treatment and storm runoff projects. The state’s public health department will also get some of the money to upgrade local drinking water systems.

The recent law will bring zero-interest loans to Southern California – in Riverside County, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and the Beaumont Cherry Valley Water District will get a combined $54 million. In Los Angeles County, the Upper San Gabriel Valley project is in line for $11 million.

LAUSD superintendent discusses budget dilemmas

L.A. Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines plans to discuss possible cutbacks with union bargaining units tomorrow. The school district has to cut an additional $130 million from this year’s budget because of the failure of five statewide ballot measures this week. Cortines told KPCC’s Larry Mantle he’s trying to avoid further layoffs.

Ramon Cortines: “That means the bargaining units are going to have to work with us at furlough days, they’re going to have to look at maybe freezing salaries, etc.”

Union leaders have recommended that the district use all the stimulus money immediately, rather than spreading it across two years. Cortines has resisted that, but he says he’d reconsider using more of the money this year if the teachers’ union would agree to furloughs or other cutbacks. Cortines says summer school and after school programs may also go under the budget knife.

Cuts likely in state health and human services budget

The secretary of California’s health and human services agency says difficult cuts lie ahead, given the state’s projected $21 billion deficit. Secretary Kim Belshe told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that her agency’s considering various proposals.

Kim Belshe: “Basically we are compelled, given nature of state’s fiscal crisis, to look at every program that’s not required by the federal government. We are endeavoring to put forward proposals, though, that target resources to those who are most in need.”

Belshe says one proposal would eliminate coverage for more than 200,000 children in the state’s Healthy Families program. The state could also drop its support of HIV and AIDS education and prevention programs. Belshe says it’s also likely that clinics will have fewer state resources to work with after the cuts.

NEA names Angelino Bill Holman a Jazz Master

The National Endowment for the Arts has named its latest crop of Jazz Masters, and composer Bill Holman of Los Angeles is on the list. KPCC’s Brian Watt has more.

Brian Watt: Bill Holman was born 72 years ago near Santa Ana. He took up the clarinet in junior high school. By high school, he was playing the tenor sax and leading his own band. He studied at the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles after deciding he wanted to write big band music.

The National Endowment for the Arts is recognizing his unique and complex arrangements. Holman has contributed arrangements for jazz greats like Count Basie, Louie Belson, and Buddy Rich. His own Bill Holman Band has recorded three albums and won a 1995 Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition with “A View From the Side.”

Past recipients of the Jazz Masters’ honor include Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dave Brubeck. They receive a one-time grant of $25,000.

  • May 21, 2009 2:20 PM
  • Categories: Arts

Prosecutors indict 150 gang members, largest gang takedown in US history

Federal authorities say raids in southeast Los Angeles County this morning netted 63 suspected members of a Latino gang indicted for targeting blacks in a series of shootings and other crimes. U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien says 1,400 federal and local law enforcement officers were involved in the hunt for 147 members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens street gang. Prosecutors call the raids the “largest gang takedown in United States history.”

O’Brien says planning for the gang sweep began four years ago after the killing of Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Ortiz. The 15-year veteran deputy was a member of the Lakewood Sheriff’s station gang enforcement team. He was shot and killed outside a Hawaiian Gardens apartment in June 2005 while searching for a suspected gang member he’d seen on the street. The suspect – 27-year-old Jose Luis Orozco – was arrested three days later.

The five federal racketeering indictments handed down today includes gun, drug, and other charges stemming from racial attacks. Reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez will have reports on KPCC throughout the afternoon.

Governor says voters want cuts, but not to favorite programs

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says voters spoke loudly at the polls yesterday – but he’s not sure what they said. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Kitty Felde: Governor Schwarzenegger has been trying various ways to balance the state’s budget. He says Tuesday’s election results made it clear the voters want budget cuts. But what kind?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: You ask them about the cuts and you say, “Do you mind if you have to make an additional $6 billion in cuts in education?” They say, “No, no, no! Not education!” And then you say, “Well, how about in health care?” And they say, “Well, no, I wouldn’t go after the vulnerable citizens.” Then we say, “Well, then we have to make some cuts in law enforcement.” “I want to keep that in place!” So people don’t know themselves where they want the cuts. They just say, “Make the cuts – and you figure it out.”

Felde: One cut proposed by the governor would cut salaries for home health care workers by $2 an hour. The union protested to the Obama Administration – and the feds threatened to take away billions in stimulus money.

But Schwarzenegger says he “cleared up some of the confusion” in meetings with administration officials. So the state can make the pay cuts and keep federal stimulus money.

Governor says voters want cuts, but not to favorite programs

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says voters spoke loudly at the polls yesterday – but he’s not sure what they said. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Kitty Felde: Governor Schwarzenegger has been trying various ways to balance the state’s budget. He says Tuesday’s election results made it clear the voters want budget cuts. But what kind?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: You ask them about the cuts and you say, “Do you mind if you have to make an additional $6 billion in cuts in education?” They say, “No, no, no! Not education!” And then you say, “Well, how about in health care?” And they say, “Well, no, I wouldn’t go after the vulnerable citizens.” Then we say, “Well, then we have to make some cuts in law enforcement.” “I want to keep that in place!” So people don’t know themselves where they want the cuts. They just say, “Make the cuts – and you figure it out.”

Felde: One cut proposed by the governor would cut salaries for home health care workers by $2 an hour. The union protested to the Obama Administration – and the feds threatened to take away billions in stimulus money.

But Schwarzenegger says he “cleared up some of the confusion” in meetings with administration officials. So the state can make the pay cuts and keep federal stimulus money.

Chief Bratton praises city council voting down police hiring freeze

Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton today praised the L.A. city council’s decision to reject a proposed hiring freeze at his department.

Chief Bill Bratton: “Right now, we have in excess of 9,900 officers – pretty close to the 10,000 mark. We will within a few months reach the 10,000 mark.

“We fully anticipate that we will get some federal help through the COPS program – hire some officers there. So we’re in pretty good shape, all things considered, on the number of officers.”

During KPCC’s “Patt Morrison,” Bratton rejected charges he’d threatened to retaliate against City Councilman Bill Rosendahl for supporting the hiring freeze by pulling officers from his district.

Free participatory music and dance at Ford Amphitheatre

After last summer’s successful launch, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills has expanded its free interactive JAM sessions this season. Details from KPCC’s Hettie Lynne Hurtes.

Hettie Lynne Hurtes: At the Ford, JAM stands for Jazzed And Motivated. The program features artists who’ll guide nine different sessions for people interested in learning some performance basics. The first two meetings – “Squeeze Box 101” – focus on accordion-driven Zydeco and Cajun music and dance.

More into percussion? In July there’ll be a “Do-it-Yourself Drumming” session where you’ll discover ways to transform ordinary household items into percussive power. The summer also includes sessions on flamenco, hip hop, and bluegrass.

The free JAM sessions are Monday nights at 7, from June 1st through August 24th. You can find more information online at FordAmphitheater.org.

  • May 20, 2009 3:20 PM
  • Categories: Arts

Congressional frontrunner Judy Chu on her primary showing

Democrat Judy Chu won the most votes in the primary election to represent much of the San Gabriel Valley in Congress. But she didn’t land enough votes to avoid a runoff on July 14th. Chu – a member of the state Board of Equalization – described her next steps to KPCC’s Larry Mantle.

Judy Chu: “I don’t think it will be necessary to do too big of a campaign. This is a very strongly Democratic district that actually came out 68 to 30 percent in the Obama-McCain election, so it has that tradition, and they couldn’t even field a Republican challenger when Hilda Solis ran.”

The winner of the runoff will assume the congressional seat Solis vacated when she became the Obama administration’s labor secretary.

  • May 20, 2009 3:10 PM