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July 13 Open Thread

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* Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) passed away today. Best wishes to his family and friends.

* A new initiative has been qualified to gather signatures: a constitutional amendment to ban divorce. Wow, that would be something…

* Meg Whitman “invested” a million bucks in Mike Murphy’s TV/movie production studio. Kind of funny that she threw her money down that hole. It’s not clear if the move brings up any campaign finance improprieties, but it does show how stinking, filthy rich she is.

*  John King marvels at the new Bay Bridge span, but wonders about priorities. Of course, digging up the wrangling of the Bay Bridge tears at old wounds, but the fact that we will have a statement bridge will be a big positive for the Bay Area, especially for the East Bay and Oakland.

* Are you a member of CalPERS? Did you know you own a big chunk of BP? Yup, that BP.  Oh, and the pension fund lost over a billion dollars on the supposed “blue-chip” stock.

12 thoughts on “July 13 Open Thread”

  1. The state has an obligation to pay the pension benefits, no matter what CalPERS stocks do.  BP could lose a trillion dollars and it wouldn’t matter to members.  It does, however, matter to taxpayers.

    And, while I’m at it…since CalPERS members have no interest in the investments, why is it that the members get to sit on the board and help make investment decisions.  It seems to me that only taxpayers (or their elected representitives) should be allowed on that board.  

    If we want to move away from defined benefits, that’s another matter.  But while we have defined benefits, it seems that those who are on the hook for those benefits (taxpayers) should be the only ones who make investment decisions.

  3. SurveyUSA poll

    As they report:

    In an election for Governor of California today, 07/12/10, Republican Meg Whitman edges Democrat Jerry Brown 46% to 39%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KABC-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KGTV-TV San Diego, and KFSN-TV Fresno. Brown, currently California’s Attorney General, leads 2:1 in the Bay Area, trails in the rest of the state. Whitman, former CEO of eBay, leads among men and affluent voters. The Republican holds 77% of Republican voters. The Democrat holds 64% of Democrats. Independents break 5:4 Republican.

    In the race for United States Senate, Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina are effectively even. Fiorina 47%, Boxer 45%, within the survey’s theoretical margin of sampling error. Twice as many Democrats cross-over to vote Republican as Republicans who cross-over to vote Democrat. The Republican has an ever-so-slight advantage in Greater Los Angeles and in the Central Valley. The Republican carries the Inland Empire 2:1. The Democrat carries the Bay Area 2:1.

    Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana, and allow marijuana to be regulated and taxed in California, is supported narrowly today. Ballot measures are difficult to poll; opposition to many ballot measures increases as election day approaches. Voter reaction to Proposition 19 can be expected to shift as both sides begin to advertise the pros and cons of passage. Today: The youngest voters support. The oldest voters oppose. Democrats and Independents support. Republicans oppose.

    Right now, SurveyUSA has Prop. 19 passing 50%-40%, with 11% undecided (rounding errors, folks).

    Now, this is a sample made up of 43% Democrats, 33% Republicans, and 23% Independents.  Also of note, when they asked about Obama, only 40% had a favorable view of him, compared with 38% unfavorable, 19% neutral, and 2% with no opinion.  So it seems they got a pretty anti-Obama sample there, unless his support has really cratered in California (which I don’t exactly buy just yet).

    If indeed this sample is too GOP-heavy, then consider this the worst case scenario baseline.  Will Brown only get 64% of Democrats who actually show up to vote in November?

  4. Imagine if the Golden Gate Bridge had instead been a Caltrans special, a bland concrete span like every other highway bridge in the state. Would people pay the ridiculous premium that they do to have homes or offices in San Francisco proper?

    In property tax valuation alone, that bridge has paid for itself over and over and over again.

    If I had my way, every significant bridge visible from the bottom or side would be aesthetically pleasing. It pays off

    He says:

    Blame instead the quest by attention-hungry politicians for a bridge that would be, in the words of then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, “a structure that people seek out from all over the world.”

    Apparently King is unaware that having a structure that people seek out from all over the world is hugely beneficial to the economic well-being of a region.

    Also, I might point out, having a bridge that will ride out that earthquake will be pretty spiff too.

  5. that followed schwarzeneggar’s meddling with the project, only to finally agree upon the earlier plan.

    my only gripe is that the bridge wasn’t planned with a BART or HSR capacity, in anticipation of future transportation needs over the life of that bridge.

  7. This Anti Divorce Initiative, It’s total crap, Why? Cause It’s obvious that people will just go to Las Vegas and get Divorced, So the law would be a Joke and a Bad one at that.

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