Links:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The SEC is regulating the sale of our IOUs<\/a>. Well, at least we are stimulating New York’s economy. Lord knows they have their own problems there<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced $237 million in stimulus funding for California transit improvements today. Notice that the money goes to improvements, not operating expenses. It’s a small consolation to have a shiny new bus if you cannot fund the route on which it runs.<\/p>\n \u2022 Today’s The USA Today<\/a> tells me that states aren’t using the stimulus funds as intended, and that a GAO report shows that stimulus money is going to fill budget gaps. Except some stimulus money is supposed to go directly into budget gaps<\/a>, such as the state fiscal stabilization fund. And saving jobs and decreasing layoffs in education would be stimulative in my book; I believe the term was “create or save” X jobs. The problem is that the stimulus money used<\/a> to balance budgets is insufficient, owing to a lot of stabilization money being slashed at the last minute, which is why many, like Warren Buffett<\/a>, are suggesting a second stimulus.<\/p>\n \u2022 Following up on an earlier item<\/a>, the final tally for the city of Los Angeles on the Michael Jackson memorial was $1.4 million dollars<\/a>, including some fairly expensive sandwich lunches bussed in from San Bernardino County for some reason. However, the city estimates that the event brought in $4 million in spending for local businesses<\/a>. The Mayor set up a website<\/a> for MJ fans to donate to defray costs for the city, and well, this is pathetic:<\/p>\n On Tuesday morning, hundreds of donors contributed more than $17,000 through the Web site. But then, the high volume of traffic caused it to crash frequently and for long periods of time, the mayor’s office said.<\/p>\n The city, therefore, was unable to collect contributions for several hours on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The site also crashed for 12 hours, beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday — and again, periodically throughout Wednesday morning, the office said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It’s nearly impossible to find via a Google search, too. And no unique URL. Somebody get the City of Los Angeles an IT specialist. <\/p>\n \u2022 The LA County Assessor says property values suffered a net decline<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 The CEO of Rockstar Energy Drinks Russell Weiner had brought some unwanted attention when he gave $25,000 to Gavin Newsom. His company says that it will now give $100K to LGBT causes<\/a> as it tries to run away from the batshit insane comments of Weiner’s father, known lunatic Michael Savage. Rockstar was facing an LGBT boycott.<\/p>\n \u2022 The state lost a big lawsuit on its attempts to slash Medi-Cal<\/a>. The federal funding behind Medicaid “requires states to set rates at levels that will pay for quality care and lead to equal access to health services for poor people.” $27 for a primary care provider appointment is pretty much laughable on its face under that standard, especially as we’ve seen fewer and fewer providers accept Medi-Cal.<\/p>\n \u2022 Why we need the Employee Free Choice Act: Rite-Aid fired several workers<\/a> for participating in an union organizing drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Links:<\/p>\n \u2022 The SEC is regulating the sale of our IOUs<\/a>. Well, at least we are stimulating New York’s economy. Lord knows they have their own problems there<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced $237 million in stimulus funding for California transit improvements today. Notice that the money goes to improvements, not operating expenses. It’s a small consolation to have a shiny new bus if you cannot fund the route on which it runs.<\/p>\n \u2022 Today’s The USA Today<\/a> tells me that states aren’t using the stimulus funds as intended, and that a GAO report shows that stimulus money is going to fill budget gaps. Except some stimulus money is supposed to go directly into budget gaps<\/a>, such as the state fiscal stabilization fund. And saving jobs and decreasing layoffs in education would be stimulative in my book; I believe the term was “create or save” X jobs. The problem is that the stimulus money used<\/a> to balance budgets is insufficient, owing to a lot of stabilization money being slashed at the last minute, which is why many, like Warren Buffett<\/a>, are suggesting a second stimulus.<\/p>\n \u2022 Following up on an earlier item<\/a>, the final tally for the city of Los Angeles on the Michael Jackson memorial was $1.4 million dollars<\/a>, including some fairly expensive sandwich lunches bussed in from San Bernardino County for some reason. However, the city estimates that the event brought in $4 million in spending for local businesses<\/a>. The Mayor set up a website<\/a> for MJ fans to donate to defray costs for the city, and well, this is pathetic:<\/p>\n On Tuesday morning, hundreds of donors contributed more than $17,000 through the Web site. But then, the high volume of traffic caused it to crash frequently and for long periods of time, the mayor’s office said.<\/p>\n The city, therefore, was unable to collect contributions for several hours on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The site also crashed for 12 hours, beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday — and again, periodically throughout Wednesday morning, the office said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It’s nearly impossible to find via a Google search, too. And no unique URL. Somebody get the City of Los Angeles an IT specialist. <\/p>\n \u2022 The LA County Assessor says property values suffered a net decline<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 The CEO of Rockstar Energy Drinks Russell Weiner had brought some unwanted attention when he gave $25,000 to Gavin Newsom. His company says that it will now give $100K to LGBT causes<\/a> as it tries to run away from the batshit insane comments of Weiner’s father, known lunatic Michael Savage. Rockstar was facing an LGBT boycott.<\/p>\n