Links from around the state

• A few events coming up that are worth noting: the New Leaders Council has events in the Bay Area and LA for their 40 under 40 List, Anthony Woods has an event next Monday in San Francisco.

• Steve Lopez has a great take on Antonio Villaraigosa’s demurral from a run for Governor.  It was essentially a self-inflicted wound.

• Wow, a tiff between Jeff Denham and Dean Florez. That sounds, well, completely unsurprising.

• CalBuzz has all your Tony V. horse race implications before the announcement today.

• Sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury’s new gig: fundraising for local libraries in Ventura.  Unfortunately, not every library in this state has a famous literary sponsor.

• The Wall Street Journal editorial page is positively giddy about the prospect of a flat tax in California.  You can pretty well figure out the relative benefits of a policy, for the super-rich as opposed to working people, by how it’s covered on the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

• Speaking of opinions you can’t trust, here’s Michael Savage on the California budget.

• BART’s contract expires at the end of the month, and there is a long way to go in negotiations.

• A vote on a proposed stadium for the A’s in San Jose has been delayed. Under Major League Baseball’s rules, the Giants have territorial restrictions over the South Bay, so the A’s would need to get a change in the rule before they could move.  The A’s management wants to avoid an unnecessary election.

• LAPD scored very well on the latest poll. A LA Times Poll shows the Department with a 77% approval rating, with strong approval from every demographic.