I (Brian) will be on Your Call Radio tomorrow morning at 11 AM to discuss the news of the week in the weekly media roundtable. You can listen on 91.7 FM in San Francisco, or stream it online. I’ll post a link to the podcast afterwards. Now, to our collaborative link efforts:

• As a coda to Tuesday’s election, we still don’t know who won the Los Angeles 5th City Council District.  Paul Koretz won on Election Day over David Vahedi by 335 votes, but there are about 3,000 provisional and late vote-by-mail ballots left to be counted.  Stay tuned.

• A big victory for Henry Waxman, as the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed his energy and climate bill, which includes a cap and trade system for carbon emissions and a renewable energy standard.  Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) actually voted the bill out of committee, the only Republican to do so.  Ultimately, the bill is compromised and could do with being strengthened – the Sierra Club has some ideas – but clearing cap and trade from the committee loaded with coal-state Congresscritters and headed by the Dingellsaurus for decades is significant.

• First Lady Maria Shriver planted a garden at the Capitol. If this budget gets any worse, we might need to expand that garden and sell the produce to pay off some of the state debt.

• It’s not so much that the SacBee posted a kind of childish op-ed on their website, it’s that they tried to scrub it unsuccessfully.  A lot of newspapers post bad op-eds, I don’t know what they were afraid of.  Nevertheless, the far right is in a tizzy about it, because they’re victim addicts and everything’s about them.

• The California budget will be the same size as it was in 1999 assuming the current projections are accurate. Because there hasn’t been any inflation since then.

• Health Access released a report (PDF)showing that at least half a million Californians have lost their insurance over the past 18 months.

As if there wasn’t enough happening today…

• Jonathan Singer has a good interview with Gavin Newsom.  In general, Newsom is a very confident, positive guy, but he lets his slip show here:

But the caveat is that unless we have the structural changes, I don’t care who your personality is, it’s going to be very difficult to navigate out of this. So that’s the big difference between Washington, DC and Sacramento. We’re going to have to, as well, at the same time address the structural questions, not just promote a different personality as Governor.

Not personality but process, as we said here back in February.

• Jerrol LeBaron, a guy from Tujunga, put into circulation The Honor In Politics Act, a ballot initiative requiring lawmakers, under penalty of perjury, to swear in an affadavit that they had read a bill before voting for it.  If they want to vote against it, all bets are off, I guess.

This initiative ought to be the ballot statement for the initiative ending all initiatives.

• Good to see that some things never change: Dana Rohrabacher is still as crazy as can be.  Ah, the stability of instability.

• We’re up to 53% of Southern California home sales coming from foreclosures.  So again, sales are up, but prices are way down.  And the foreclosures aren’t stopping, so property values continue to plummet with every sale.

• This is either a symbol of voter anger, or a reminder of the importance of teachers to the community, or a lashing out against school cuts, or just a fake controversy pushed by residents who wanted to get into political office, or something, but voters fired the entire school board in Groveland, a town in Tuolumne County, after the board fired a popular math teacher.  Kind of a wild story, give it a read.

• And finally, thanks to John Cole for the shout-out to Calitics, and in particular Dave.  Welcome Balloon Juice readers!  Send us your pet pictures!

A wrapup of pre-election day links:

• Meg Whitman was on CNN today, talking about budgeting. Mostly she just talked about how she’s going to fire 30,000 state employees. That’ll show the fires who’s boss.

• Over at CalBuzz, political consultant Richie Ross has some interesting ideas for how to balance the budget. It’s a real doozy of an electoral process where both parties present a budget to be voted on every other year. The winning budget gets implemented.  It’s a bit too much democracy for me, but on the other hand the voters would really have to own up to the problems facing the state. (h/t back to Carla Marinucci)

• More from Marinucci: her take on the GOP proposition debate between Poizner and Campbell.

• Pacific Ethanol just filed for bankruptcy, and based on the tone of this article I’m supposed to feel sorry for them getting shoved out of business due to low fuel prices.  But prices are now rising again, and the governmet just made a major long-term investment in alternative fuels.  The problem for Pacific Ethanol has always been the corn used to make it, which takes more energy than it saves.  As the industry moves into lower energy-intensive fuels, fossilized companies like Pacific Ethanol bet on the wrong horse.

• Just a couple examples from last week on the state of the California economy.  LA area port traffic remains way down year over year, and suburbs experiencing mass foreclosure are becoming ghost towns.

• The VLF goes up tomorrow for all cars with a registration date of 5/19 or later.

• Translink will finally go live on BART this summer… hopefully. The system cost $87 million to implement, but it really is quite important. It provides an interoperable ticket between BART, MUNI, AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit. BART Board member James Fang wants to use cell phone technology instead. Look, Translink has been something of the boondoggle, but let’s just get this system up and running finally before we mess with the next big thing.

• Brian Joseph at the OC Register finds some cuts are penny-wise and pound foolish.

Just a few days left now before the May election, but for this one, there just aren’t a lot of winners, either way.  But, there are things going on. Here are a few:

• The Emanuel Pleitez campaign has released a musical video, it’s an Obama-esque video about bringing voice to the people.

• The 15 Day Close Registration Report is now available from the Secretary of State. Registration is down ever so slightly, at 73.35% of eligible voters. The partisan breakdown now stands at 44.55% D, 31.05% R, 20.03%DTS. Modoc County has the highest percentage of Republicans, at 49.86%, Alameda has the highest percentage of Democrats at 57.82%.

• Arnold thinks he is qualified to give out tips for success.  Well, if you consider making a mildly bad budget a disaster a success, then by all means feel free to follow Arnold’s tips for greatness. Speaking of Arnold’s success, he has another recall petition filed against him.

• Instead of arguing over whether hand gestures always connote gang signs, perhaps Gil Cedillo and the rest of the candidates in CA-32 could comment on the video of the El Monte police officer kicking a suspect in the head.  El Monte is square in the middle of the district.

• The California Chamber of Commerce posted its bills they won’t let the Governor sign, also known as “job killer” bills.  The Governor has almost unanimously responded to this list by vetoing every bill on it that reaches his desk.  Yes, he’s famously independent, that one.

• The No on Prop 1D Campaign released an ad rebutting Arnold’s “argument” for the props.

• Yay! Schwarzenegger people think they can cut even more under Prop 98. Because, you know, education funding is optional in the Yacht Zombie Land. Apparently, a little math can lower the Prop 98 floor. I’m sure there are some lawyers out there right now who are figuring out just how wrong he is on legal grounds. On moral grounds, there can be no question.

Beware the day before the Ides of May!

• CapAlert is compiling responses to the Governer’s Budget “Summary.

• This was a few days ago, but a group from SEIU Local 1000 protested Roger Niello’s nakedly political holdup of their contract deal by picketing one of his car dealerships in Sacramento.  Given the state of the US auto industry, they were probably the first people on the lot in weeks.

• Apparently Duncan Hunter’s son had his coming out party on Hardball today, and he is cut from the same wingnutty cloth.  As John Cole says, “Not sure what is up with California Republicans, but you all have distilled them down to liquid crazy.”  True dat.

• Good story from the NY Times about groundwater rights in the Central Valley.  The surface water has been basically accounted for, and so farmers drill down to find what they need, and it’s not a sustainable solution.

• Looks like the Governor is leaving no stone unturned to fund his unsuccessful special election – now Big Tobacco has kicked in some cash.  They were spared higher taxes in the budget deal, like many of the corporations funding the Yes side.  The irony here is that Prop. 1D would raid First Five funds DERIVED from cigarette taxes.

• DiFi introduced a bill for farmworker amnesty It’s not a real resolution to our immigration issues, but it’s a decent start.

• Los Angeles Magazine called Villaraigosa a failure, and even before he’s declared his candidacy for Governor. Ouch! But, that being said, it’s nothing that the Bay Guardian hasn’t said about the SF Mayor.

• Normally in this space we insult Abel Maldonado, but I’ll take a moment to thank him for his vote of support for Harvey Milk Day, thanks to compelling testimony from “Milk” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

• LA Weekly asks whether LAPD Chief Bratton’s endorsements are a good thing for the City and the Department.

To the links:

• First of all, I (Brian) want to point out a great event in the city on election night next Tuesday.  While you would be busy drowning your sorrows (because let’s face it, nobody wins come Tuesday), why don’t you come out and check out the San Francisco Young Democrats Volunteer Symposium. There will be some free appetizers and a cash bar, plenty of great folks, and lots of opportunities to volunteer for some outstanding organizations.

• I (Brian) did some chanting against Prop 1A in front of the Governor’s office in San Francisco today.  And there’s video, but given that I look like a total freak I probably shouldn’t be spreading that around.

• AB 382, sponsored by EQCA, passed out of the Assembly with 65 votes, quite impressive for an LGBT measure.  Essentially the bill requires prisons to look at sexual orientation and gender identity when they review who needs extra protection. Of course if we had a fully functioning prison system, we would less special protection because people wouldn’t be getting shanked all over the yard and raped in the massively overcrowded sleeping quarters.

Also in the gay rights legislation world, Sen Leno was also able to get a Republican vote in the Senate for his Harvey Milk Day bill.  Guess which Republican it was…if you said our dear friend Abel M., then you are right. I don’t want to use his last name, for his own protection and all. Also, the Equal ID act passed out of committee. It would make it easier for transgender people to obtain accurate documents with their correct name and gender.

• Where would the Republican candidates cut? Who knows? says Carla Marinucci.

• For some reason, the Philadelphia Inquirer gave John Yoo, aka torture-memo John, his own column. Terrific, maybe he’ll recommend that Gov. Rendell put dissident legislators in stress positions.  Come to think of it, Rendell has probably done that already.

Michael Savage’s son, Russel Weiner, the CEO of Rockstar Beverages, and a Republican candidate for Assembly in 1998, gave $25,000 to Gavin Newsom’s campaign. Apparently they went to school together.

• Remember: 1A-1F and CD-32 aren’t the only issues on the May 19 ballot for many voters.  The City of Los Angeles is having runoffs in several elections, including Council District 5, City Attorney, and two Community College Board Districts.  You can see the endorsements of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party in those races here.  The special general election in SD-26 featuring Assemblymember Curren Price and his Republican and P & F opponents will also be on the May 19 ballot.  In addition, the City of Moorpark in Ventura County is having a special election to fill an unexpired City Council term.  Many local Democrats are lining up behind firefighter Nathan Sweet.  If there’s a local election going on in your area, let us know.

One week to go before the special, so much of the news surrounds that.  But there is other news as well.

• John Wildermuth agrees with Robert and Dave that the so-called “budget summary” is politically motivated. Boogah-boogah.

• Will the expected compromise deal on climate and energy legislation mean offshore oil drilling off of California shores?

• This very curious story about wage cuts for home health care workers takes another turn, as the White House claims no final decision has been made to rescind stimulus funds.

• John McCain crawled out of bed today and endorsed Jeff Denham for Lieutenant Governor.  Surely Denham’s a shoo-in now that he’s hitched his wagon to that star.

• DiFi is pushing two Hispanic judges for the Supreme Court, 9th Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw and CA Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno.  Separately, Barbara Boxer is leading a bipartisan push for a female Justice.  To me (Dave), you shouldn’t support any old nominee just because she’s a she or checks a particular diversity box, you should support them because they’re brilliant.  Fortunately, we have options that satisfy both criteria.

• Tony Quinn takes a look at winners and losers if the budget props go down. Basically, he says that everybody loses, because you know, he supports them. But, in the longer explanation he says the big winners are the Legislative Dems and John Burton because Dems will be able to get 2/3 in 2010.

• Assembly members are getting their budgets slashed by 10%.

• SB 247 would allow schools to use e-textbooks, assuming they can buy them equally.  Not sure how likely that is at this point, but soon perhaps.

All right, here we go:

• Apparently SEIU, whose workers stand to be devastated by many of the In-home support services cuts, was involved in lobbying the Obama administration to advise California’s leaders that our IHSS cuts violated the terms of the stimulus. Note to GOP, that is the job of a union, to look out for their members.

• Following up on Dave’s post, Matier and Ross point out that sports teams are donating because the package doesn’t tax services, like, say, sports tickets. Note: I (Brian) work on the No on 1A campaign.

• Speaking of the special, the good folks over at CalBuzz provide their take on why “voters really, really hate the budget props.”

• I’m excited about “Meg Whitman Week,” coined by HuffPo blogger and Bill Maher writer Chris Kelly.  In this installment, we learn that Whitman uses the word “actually” a lot, actually.  She still needs media training.  Actually.

• Elected officials and other leaders on the North Coast are intrigued with the news that Arnold wants to debate the legalization of marijuana. In theory, if the drug was legalized, it is a reasonable possibility that California farmers would be the new Virginia tobacco farmers.

• And speaking of marijuana legalization, the Board of Equalization has estimated that Ammiano’s bill to legalize and tax marijuana would bring in $1.3 billion per annum for the state’s coffers.  Mark Kleiman, a UCLA public policy professor who runs the blog Reality-Based Community, says that the math is…a little hazy.

• Long-sought legislation to allow employees laid off from small businesses the same COBRA subsidy in the stimulus package as those laid off from big companies finally passed the Assembly.  The Governor is likely to sign AB 23 and allow it to take effect immediately.

• Mendota may finally get a federal prison if Obama’s budget, which appropriates it to the tune of $49 million, passes.  Mendota has over 40% unemployment, so while the prison-industrial complex shouldn’t be a means to economic security, they need the jobs.

• Mike Villines is thinking about the Insurance Commissioner’s gig. The Fresno Bee’s News Blog has him hinting at it during an event in Fresno. I love his chances to win the nomination in that race.  Against either of the two very credible Democratic candidates, Assembly members Dave Jones and Hector De La Torre.

• The Dept. of Transportation announced $67 million dollars in funding for the Metro Gold Line Eastside Light Rail Extension, which would add about six miles of light rail track through some underserved communities in East Los Angeles, expediting funds from the original 2004 grant.  The light rail line should be ready for customers by June.  This was always the hope of the stimulus package, that it would increase infrastructure and in particular mass transit.  Great decision by the DOT.

• I swear, it’s like Meg Whitman is trying new ways to make herself look ridiculous every day.  Today, she claims that she’s trying to woo non-GOP voters, especially young voters and Latinos. Oh really, Meg? Then perhaps you should work on that immigration red meatyou are tossing to the GOP base. It’s like she doesn’t think people remember what she says in different parts of the state.

• UC Berkeley’s University Health Services was hacked. Unfortunately, I (Brian) am amongst those who was in that database. Let me say how thrilled I am.

• John Myers has his Capitol Notes podcast up.

• Sam Blakeslee is the only legislative Republican in the 2008 cycle to have received money from SEIU 1000.

• San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced an effort today to spend $5 million in federal stimulus money on solar energy projects in Balboa Park. Joining new affordable housing projects 100% powered by solar and a program set to begin in July providing up-front costs for home solar installation, it’s another encouraging step towards utilizing green energy in an extremely sunny city.

Links:

• The new Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee is respected in the chamber. He is an interesting man with some interesting opinions. One that might intrigue our readers is his support of a constitutional convention.

• Brian McGowan takes on the myth that California businesses are fleeing the state.  It won’t work, of course, and McGowan, a Deputy Secretary for the Governor, sounds a bit like a California tourism ad, but there you are.

• The UC Regents voted to approve a tuition increase. Among the four dissenting votes was LG John Garamendi.

• A new report blames the Coast Guard, the captain, and the bar pilot for the Cosco Busan oil spill.

• We have two lawmakers at the highest levels of rewriting US energy policy, and while I generally believe in them, both appear to be faltering.  Barbara Boxer is teaming up with James Inhofe to foreground highway funding in the transportation bill instead of carving out more space for transit, and Henry Waxman has offered free permits to polluters as a means to save his wide-ranging climate and energy bill.  We have to make sure they get pressure on this from the left as well as the right.

• The recall petitions for Anthony Adams are on the streets.