Links:

*  Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker announced that she will not be seeking re-election. There will likely be something of a melee for the seat, with former Assemblymember Wilma Chan being the biggest name bandied about at the East Bay Citizen.

*  Rep. Radanovich’s endorsement of Sen. Jeff Denham to replace him isn’t going to change, or at least his friends tell the New York Times. Denham’s people are pointing out that if Richard Pombo wins the nomination, there will be a fight in the general election.

*  Rick Caruso, a rich Republican LA developer and possible LA mayoral candidate, has endorsed Jerry Brown for governor. It’s not a bad spot for Caruso, if he does run for mayor, he gets to say that he’s “bipartisan”. If he doesn’t, well, Jerry Brown wasn’t really all that bad to developers in Oakland.

*  The state has proposed a new lethal injection procedure as they aim to restore the death penalty after the four year plus moratorium.

* Asm. Noreen Evans has updated her budget blog with her thoughts about the State of the State.

Links:

*  RIP Bobby Salcedo. The El Monte School Board Member was murdered while visiting his wife’s family in the Mexican state of Durango. The family is asking for donations to the Bobby Salcedo foundation for scholarships to needy families in lieu of flowers. Here’s the details on that: Rio Hondo College Foundation, Attn: Bobby Salcedo Foundation, P.O. Box 4218, El Monte, California 91734

* The Race to the Top legislation is rapidly making its way through the Legislature. In the interim, the administration is asking districts to sign a memorandum of understanding binding them to meeting Race to the top standards.

*  Arnold, a rubber chicken, and some kumbaya. How couldn’t this make everything all better.

*  Facebook privacy guru Chris Kelly dropped $2 million into his AG Campaign.

*  Frank Schubert, the guy who masterminded the Prop 8 Campaign, is supporting his sister for superior court judge. Not all that interesting until you find out that his sister in a registered domestic partnership with her female partner.

Links:

*  The Legislature will be getting some help from some major universities this session. A panel of ten scientists will be on hand to help with legislation.

*  CalBuzz sits down with future Speaker John Perez to talk issues, temperament, and how to make the Assembly most effective.

*  The SoCal ports of LA and Long Beach are fighting to maintain their West Coast position as ports up and down the coast grow.

*  UC Merced is gradually building a relationship with the City of Merced.

*  Ron Dellums has managed to work out a deal with truckers on the emissions from their trucks. The state (and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District) made an additional $11 million available, and as that money is doled out, truckers who are in line can continue to work.

Have a great, and safe, new year. Here are some links:

*  The Riverside Press notes that few statewide candidates come from the Inland Empire.

*  The federal court ruling that allowed the Prop 8 supporters withhold campign strategy documents was upheld.

*  Elected leaders from Costa Mesa are meeting with Gov. Schwarzenegger to discuss the proposed sale of the OC fairgrounds.

*  Mixed news for the transport sector in California: Good news at the Port of Oakland.  On the other hand, the port truckers and some trucking firms are having a rough time due to the slowdown in consumption.

Links:

*  The State Bar couldn’t identify the source of the early leak about former Sen, now court of appeal judge, Chuck Poochigian’s not qualified rating.

*  Timm Herdt takes a look at the California Republican party in the post-Schwarzenegger era.

*  The plan to build a nuclear energy facility near Fresno is gaining steam. It will be several years before ground is ever broken, but the process has begun in earnest.

*  CalPERS has officially tightened its rules regarding investment decisions.

* The death of a child has the LA County Child Protection system under scrutiny. It is a very challenging job, and one mistake could result in a disaster like this. All the while, the social workers are underpaid and their resources are being slashed in the budget fights.  

Links:

*  Here’s the 60 Minutes report on California’s Water Situation.  As wes points out, this could have been a lot better researched.

* Greg Lucas takes a look at a recent PPIC poll to point out the importance of DTS voters in the 2010 elections.

*  It looks like casinos suffer in recessions too. Jackson Rancheria laid off some workers yesterday.

*  Hey, but there is one industry doing booming business: firearms. Sales are up big!

*  Dr. Larry Bedard looks at physician shortages across the state. It’s a big problem, and Medi-Cal cuts exacerbate it.

Links:

*  George Skelton has some potential resolutions for the denizens of the Capitol.

*  The LA Times takes a look at CA-03 and Dan Lungren’s (real or perceived?) vulnerabilities.

*  SacBee has a story on Placer County Republican Chair Tom Hudson. Quite the activist, that one. He has even helped to primary some local Republicans from the perch.

*  Some net positive predictions for the OC housing market over the next year, but some downside risk is still there.

Links:

• CalPIRG thinks the health care bill could be better, but will support it overall.

• Bah Humbug! Don’t light fires tomorrow in the Bay Area, there’s a spare the air day in effect.

• The federal and the state California population estimates are separated  about 1.5 million people. The argument should be mostly settled by the census next year.

• The Anthony Adams recall effort has been officially abandoned, as they won’t sue the state over the sampling figures.

Things are obviously a bit quiet around here, but feel free to say what’s on your mind here.  Some news-y links:

• John Wildermuth picks Sen. Steinberg as his Californian of the Year. While progressives across the state have disagreed with the Sen. President Pro Tem, it is hard to argue that he has anything but the best of intentions. Wildermuth also takes shots at the Fiorina campaign for announcing that Sen. Boxer is…umm…a Democrat.

• The NRCC is doing some holiday robocalls, nothing like a little anti-stimulus jibber jabber to wash down the egg nog.  The OC Register caught one against Loretta Sanchez.

• Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod digs her moderate tag. Apparently, it is super awesome that a Democrat got a 5 out of 15 on the Sierra Club Scorecard.

• Delecia Holt, who ran in several Congressional elections, was convicted of a number charges, including writing bad checks.

• The Con environmentalist perspective on the Tranquillion Ridge project. CalBuzz had the pro perspective yesterday.

Links:

• This is old, but I forget to post it earlier. Jackie Speier’s better know a district segment from the Colbert report was really, really funny.

• Whoops! The State Auditor released the names of California state organizations that overhyped job savings from the stimulus.

• CA-11 sock puppets. A staffer for a losing Republican in the primary apparently went around to blogs attacking the other candidates.

• CalBuzz is posting pro and con arguments from environmentalists regarding the Tranquillion Ridge project. Today, Environmental Defense’s Linda Krop takes the pro position.