10-12-09

 
10-12-09   
Merced Sun-Star
UC Merced founding chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey dies...JONAH OWEN LAMB
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/1108829.html
The founding chancellor of UC Merced, Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, who saw the institution through its infancy, died Saturday of complications related to cancer, according to a statement from the university.
She was 66.
As the first chancellor of UC Merced from 1999 to 2006, Tomlinson-Keasey was the driving force behind creating a research university from scratch in a Valley woefully underserved by the UC system and higher education in general.
Tomlinson-Keasey watched over every step of the university's berthing pains from the campus' groundbreaking to the arrival of its first class. As a tireless champion of the university and its benefits to the San Joaquin Valley, Tomlinson-Keasey led the university as it faced off against state legislators opposed to the project, environmental lawsuits, federal regulators and local skeptics -- all the while fighting breast cancer.
"Simply put, UC Merced would not exist were it not for her visionary leadership, her tireless determination and her remarkable gift of persuasion," said UC Merced Chancellor Steve Kang in a statement after the announcement of her death.
In 1998, Tomlinson-Keasey was appointed to lead the planning efforts for UC Merced. At the time, she had been working in the UC president's office as vice provost for academic initiatives, according to a UC Merced representative.
Before her appointment, said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, there was no one in the UC system fighting for UC Merced. Cardoza and others knew that if they didn't have a chancellor for UC Merced its needs would be sidelined. "The challenge was that the other UCs didn't want to share resources. There was a new baby in the nest and the big birds didn't want to share with the little bird."
When then-UC President Richard Atkinson appointed Tomlinson-Keasey -- after some pressure from Cardoza and others -- she was not a popular choice. She had to little experience, said Cardoza. But she proved everyone wrong. "She was tough, she was tenacious, she was smart and she was terrific," he said.
When she first arrived, recalled Cardoza, she was only on assignment, doing her job. But she soon began to really care for the plight of the Valley, said Cardoza. "She really grew to understand how important this campus is to the Valley," he said. "She was committed to serving the diverse population that wasn't being served by the UC system."
In 1999, Tomlinson-Keasey was named UC Merced's founding chancellor but it wasn't until 2002 that ground was first broken at the future site of the university.
In October of that year, at the golden-shoveled groundbreaking ceremony, Tomlinson-Keasey told the gathered crowd why she believed in UC Merced. When the UC system opened up in 1868, she said, it was with the promise of making a university system for all, equal to the nation's best private universities. "Our new campus, UC Merced, will help keep the promise that California made to its citizens in 1868," she said that day, according to a story in the Sun-Star.
That day, Ben Duran, president of Merced College and part of the committee that chose Tomlinson-Keasey for the chancellor post, stated why she was chosen to lead the university. "We knew that with her at the helm, we would get this university built, in spite of ardent detractors and hurdles that at times seemed insurmountable," he said, according to a story in the Sun-Star.
Duran's words ended up being prophetic.
"I think she was given a once-in-a-lifetime task to take on a challenge and I think that was Carol's spirit," said Larry Salinas, associate vice chancellor for governmental relations at UC Merced. "The campus is her legacy."
Salinas, who was hired by Tomlinson-Keasey in 2000 as a liaison between lawmakers and UC Merced, said her task was not an easy one. From the start, she and her staff were beset on all sides, he said. The state repeatedly threatened to take away UC Merced's funding, the federal government's environmental regulations threatened to stall campus construction and a lawsuit filed by local environmentalist, which eventually failed, slowed the initial groundbreaking by several months.
"The biggest challenge was getting the buy-in on the vision from all the parties involved," Tomlinson-Keasey told the Fresno Bee in 2005. "I had to work harder than I had expected."
Indeed, the campus' scheduled 2004 opening was put off for a year because of budget woes in Sacramento.
Even after the funding came through in 2005 many legislators opposed UC Merced, said Salinas.
To counter pessimists, Tomlinson-Keasey traversed the state and used her passion and drive to convince those in Sacramento and Washington that UC Merced was a good thing, said Salinas.
She even faced off with state Senate Pro Tem John Burton, who was against the project. Salinas, who was at their half-hour 2004 meeting, told Tomlinson-Keasey if they got the whole half-hour and Burton didn't swear -- Burton used a lot of profanity -- then they would win, said Salinas. Burton only swore once and they got the whole half hour. Burton saw that Tomlinson-Keasey believed in UC Merced more than he opposed it, said Salinas. "He didn't stand in our way after that," said Salinas.
State legislators were not UC Merced's only opponents. Federal regulators also slowed the progress of the campus' expansion. It wasn't until 2009 that the university was finally given the go-ahead to expand from its original parameters. Along with these regulatory and financial obstacles many locals were still skeptical of the university. It took continued wooing from Tomlinson-Keasey to finally get them on board.
"I really thought this job was about academia," she told the Fresno Bee in 2005. "But I had to become a politician overnight."
As she faced off with state leaders and local opponents, she was battling breast cancer, said Salinas. She missed one work day a week for her chemotherapy, he recalled.
In 2006, a year after the university opened its doors to the first class of 1,000, she stepped down from her position as chancellor.
"Together we have founded a university that will endure. I take pride in what we have created together and smile at the generations of students who will grow intellectually and socially on our campus," she wrote at the time. "I think of a growing campus that will power the regional economy and provide an enviable quality of life to our community. All of this will follow from our efforts."
Born in Washington, D.C., Tomlinson-Keasey received her bachelor of arts degree in political science from Penn State University, a master's degree in psychology from Iowa State University and a doctorate in developmental psychology from UC Berkeley. She was the author of three books and numerous articles.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. Blake Keasey, two grown children and three grandchildren.
More articles:
Merced welcomes university champion...Diane Flores, Modesto Bee
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/427/v-print/story/1108914.html
Editor's note: This story was first published in the Modesto Bee on July 16, 1999.
Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, the University of California vice provost for academic initiatives who has laid the early foundation for UC Merced, was named the founding chancellor of the campus Thursday.
President Richard Atkinson announced the appointment after a closed session meeting of the UC Board ofRegents. Her position becomes official Aug. 1...
UC Merced chancellor's hard work pays off...Lorena Anderson, Modesto Bee
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/427/v-print/story/1108913.html
Editor's note: This story was first published in the Modesto Bee on August 31, 2005.
Even the briefest meeting with Carol Tomlinson-Keasey leaves no doubt: She knows where her talents lie, what she wants and how to get things done.
She'd better.
"There's no road map for this," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. "They're building a university from scratch, and she's had to change the recipe a few times, too."...
UC Merced shocker: Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey resigning, will return as professor...Lorena Anderson, Modesto Bee
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/427/v-print/story/1108905.html
Editor's note: This story was first published in the Modesto Bee on March 9, 2006.
Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, who has been chancellor at the University of California at Merced since 1999 -- before the school was built -- announced Wednesday she is resigning her position as of Aug. 31.
"These have been very intense, demanding years in which family priorities move down the list, sometimes too far," she said during a news conference on campus Wednesday. Though she was treated a few years ago for breast cancer, she said she is in good health. She said she's looking forward to spending more time with her husband, Blake Keasey, and her children and grandchildren.
But Tomlinson-Keasey won't leave UC Merced, to which she said she is "committed, heart and soul." She'll take a sabbatical, during which she plans to work with Jane Lawrence, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Karen Merritt, director of academic planning for the UC Office of the President, on a book chronicling what it took to open the first new UC campus in 40 years...
Fresno Bee
State lawmakers deadlock over water...E.J. Schultz, Bee Capitol Bureau
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/v-print/story/1670649.html
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers remained locked in a showdown over major water legislation Sunday night as they sought a deal that has eluded them for years.
Looming over the all-day negotiations was a midnight deadline for the governor to sign bills passed during the year.
He had threatened to veto "a lot" of the bills if lawmakers did not reach an accord to remake how the state moves, stores and conserves water.
As negotiations dragged into the late night, the governor signed 168 bills and vetoed 183 bills but held onto more than 300 bills, including some that his staff said could hang in the balance.
"The governor will make a decision on a number of bills based on how the water negotiations go," said Aaron McLear, his press secretary.
Leaders reported some progress but did not give details.
Even if an agreement is reached, they'd still have to sell it to rank-and-file lawmakers, who will be lobbied hard by regional water districts and environmentalists -- all of whom have different needs.
Outstanding issues appear to include policy proposals favored by Democrats to mandate conservation, set new rules for groundwater monitoring and crack down on illegal diversions of water.
Environmentalists, backed by Democrats, say the plans will "break the cycle of conflict and environmental damage that have plagued California's water management system for decades," according to a letter sent to leaders by a key coalition of environmentalists.
But Republicans, farm groups and some industrial water users oppose the plans as written, saying they would create a "vast new government bureaucracy."
"I expect we have much more work to be done, but there's at least a hope now that serious negotiations have begun," said Assembly GOP Leader Sam Blakeslee, heading into a late-night negotiating session.
Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he was trying to "land on a package that ... will earn the support of all of our members."
Also unresolved is the size and scope of proposed borrowing to pay for projects, including dams -- possibly including one near Fresno -- which Republicans favor.
The policy changes don't require GOP votes, but Republicans have made it clear they won't sign off on bond financing -- which does require their votes -- until their policy demands are met.
The governor's veto threat is a potentially bigger deal to Democrats, who are the authors of most bills on the governor's desk. But leaders brushed off the ultimatum.
"I believe that he is going to sign and veto bills like he would any other year," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles.
"I don't believe that he is just going to have a mass veto because that would be completely irresponsible."
The bills acted on by the governor include the following:
Signed
* AB 91: Requires DUI offenders to put Breathalyzer-type devices on cars. The pilot program covers four counties, including Tulare.
* SB 680: Renews a law allowing students to easily change schools. More than 370 Valley students take advantage of the "district of choice" program.
* AB 691: Authorizes the Alpaugh Unified School District to operate a four-day school week.
Vetoed
* SB 84: Would have preserved about $400 million in funding for low-performing schools, including $16 million for 19 Fresno schools. The governor says an alternate plan will keep the money flowing.
* SB 14: Would have required all electric utilities to generate one-third of their power from renewable sources by 2020.
* SB 242: Would have made it a civil rights violation to adopt policies against the use of a foreign language in a business.
* AB 98: Would have required health plans to cover maternity services.
Interior's Salazar tours hard-pressed Valley farms...Marc Benjamin
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/v-print/story/1670717.html
MENDOTA -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Sunday his department will do what it can to alleviate suffering from water shortages on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. But long-term solutions will be difficult for a state water system that is a "huge mess that has been created over decades," he said.
Salazar was in Fresno County to get a firsthand look at what a lack of water is doing to Fresno County's west-side farms. Water shortages have prompted west-side growers to fallow thousands of acres and lay off hundreds of workers.
Several local and federal officials attended the meeting with Salazar, along with representatives of farmers and farmworkers.
After touring a west-side farm, the group met in Mendota City Hall for 45 minutes to discuss progress on proposed solutions to bring more farm water to the Valley's west side.
The project that can be built the fastest is the "Two Gates" project. The idea is to submerge massive barriers in river channels of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to prevent threatened delta smelt from swimming toward certain death at the pumps that send water south from the delta.
The goal is to get more water to farmers without harming threatened and endangered species.
Local, state and federal officials collected more than $30 million for the project. But one round of bidding drew just one bid -- of more than $60 million. The bid was rejected, and officials are seeking new bids. Officials still think the project can be done for about $45 million, but they must now find additional money to pay for it.
The speed of even the short-term solutions may not be soon enough for local farming leaders.
Manuel Cunha, president of Nisei Farmers League, which represents more than 1,000 growers, said "Two Gates" must start by December if growers are to get water in time for next year's crops.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said a spring groundbreaking for "Two Gates" is more likely, but that would mean west-side farmers would likely miss out on winter and spring flows.
CARLY FIORINA: Restore water flow to Valley. Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, has launched an exploratory committee for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.  
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/wo/v-print/story/1671114.html
Common sense would tell us that it shouldn't take an act of Congress to put the urgent needs of people ahead of a small fish. Apparently it does.
As a Californian and a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate, I was recently in the San Joaquin Valley on a fact-finding trip. My goal was to learn more about California's water crisis and the farmers and workers who are deeply impacted by it every day.
The day began with a visit to a local farm and a thorough briefing by water and agriculture experts. They provided a realistic assessment of the ill-considered actions that have literally turned off the spigot and prevented farmers from getting the water necessary to put their land into production.
More profound was my visit later to the west Valley community of Huron where acre after acre of farmland sit fallow because of a lack of water.
It underscored the fundamental reason this issue is so critical: Fertile farmlands create jobs, but fallow lands leave a devastating impact on the workers and their families whose lives and livelihoods depend on these farms.
This human face of California's water crisis saddens me. The facts about the crisis anger me.
Hundreds of thousands of acres in the San Joaquin Valley lie fallow this year. The University of California at Davis estimates that in 2009, the lack of water coming from both the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project could result in the loss of up to 95,000 jobs.
While the persistent drought has certainly contributed to these effects, what would have been a difficult problem has become a crisis due to the aggressive and ill-considered implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
This act has been an important tool in conservation efforts. However, it is also true that the act prohibits the consideration of economic and social impacts.
The recent decision to limit water flowing to the Valley was made by nameless, faceless bureaucrats. These federal officials are unaccountable to voters for their action and there is little recourse to reverse their decision -- unless Congress acts.
Congress tried to act the week before my visit to the Valley, however, Senate Democrats -- led by Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer -- defeated a California water amendment offered by South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint. This amendment should be reconsidered and approved.
The amendment would have removed for one year the bureaucratic roadblocks that deny Californians access to essential water supplies from the Delta. It would have temporarily allowed water to flow and put farmers and their workers back in the fields while further studies could be conducted and a balanced plan of action to address this issue could be developed.
There is precedent for this. In 2003, Sen. Pete Domenici sponsored a similar amendment relating to the overprotection of the silvery minnow which threatened the water supply of New Mexico.
Sen. Domenici was delivering relief for his state in his influential role as Chair of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee. Both of California's senators supported that amendment. Sen. Boxer now chairs this same committee and has refused to act.
To her credit, Sen. Feinstein is supporting $750,000 in federal funding to study the California water crisis. I don't dispute that further study of this issue is prudent, but in the meantime Congress should take action to put people back to work and stimulate the economy.
Pragmatism calls for a solution that provides economic relief to a devastated region. It continues with a review and improvement of the science as Sen. Feinstein has recommended.
Ideology should not triumph over common sense and compassion. Leaders in our state and nation should focus on our top priority -- jobs and opportunity.
abc30...KFSN-TV Fresno, CA
Water Help on the Way?...John-Thomas Kobos...video
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=7059431
Fresno, CA (KFSN) -- Fresh off taking a beating from Valley Congress Members, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is back in West Fresno County Sunday, giving farmers hope that help is on the way.
Sacramento Bee
Schwarzenegger calls session to discuss water deal...DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/v-print/story/2246691.html
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders plan a seventh straight day of water negotiations Monday, as the governor summoned lawmakers for a special session on the state's water problems.
Talks on how to address the state's deteriorating and inadequate water system ended late Sunday after nearly 12 hours, though leaders said they moved closer to a deal.
"Over the past few days we have made enough progress in our negotiations that I am calling a special session on water," Schwarzenegger said in a statement late Sunday.
He acknowledged that "we still have a few remaining issues to work out," while the leaders said substantial issues remain - including the amount of a water bond to pay for improving the state's inadequate and outdated water storage and conveyance system.
Democratic leaders presented their proposal and answers to concerns that Republicans had been raising for weeks, said Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo.
"I think there is evidence now that we are moving in the right direction," Blakeslee said.
Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, said the same dozen or so issues have been dividing the four leaders and the governor for days: water conservation and balancing water rights with monitoring how property owners pump groundwater. They barely had time Sunday to discuss how to pay for water system improvements.
"We've got a proposal now that we're going to take back and take a look at. I think it moves both sides closer together," Hollingsworth said.
Democratic leaders said they hope to be able to present a water proposal to rank-and-file legislators this week, and perhaps hold public hearings on a water package before week's end. Passing a water deal that includes a bond needs a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, requiring at least some support from Republicans.
Lawmakers are returning to Sacramento to complete other unfinished business, making Schwarzenegger's call for another special session largely symbolic. But Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg welcomed the move.
"I think it again signifies the importance of the issue," said Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
He and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said negotiators made significant progress Sunday.
The governor is pushing for more reservoirs and a controversial canal to improve a water storage and conveyance system mostly built in the 1960s.
Stockton Record
Many fear Delta fix will be more hurry up and wait
Pace of other restoration efforts may bode ill for ailing estuary...Alex Breitler
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091012/A_NEWS/910120311/-1/A_NEWS#STS=g0pgd49v.f8m
When Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar called fixing the Delta a "huge priority" for the federal government, the estuary in Stockton's backyard joined a short list of sadly struggling natural treasures.
Places such as the Everglades, the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay.
"How we deal with the Bay-Delta system is a defining moment in how this country is going to deal with complex natural resources problems," California Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow told legislators at a September hearing in Washington.
"If we can't figure out a way to deal with this system, we need to pack it up and go home and wait for the entire system and economy to collapse," Snow said.
There has been a lot of talk lately about working together to fix the Delta. But if these other restoration efforts are any indication, there is a rocky road ahead:
» Nine years after a much-celebrated and "historic" Everglades restoration plan was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, none of the 60-plus projects that are part of the plan have been completed.
» Removing toxic sediment from the Great Lakes is expected to take 77 additional years if the work continues at its current pace, according to a report released last month.
» And at Chesapeake Bay, the Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged that water quality goals set forth in a 2000 agreement will not be met by 2010 as had been hoped.
"To be fair, there has been great science done by the EPA," said Roy Hoagland, a vice president at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "They have done really quite a remarkable job in identifying the problems. This is one of the most studied estuaries in the world."
"What they have not done," Hoagland continued, "is implemented a solution. They have not been a leader."
The federal government is promising leadership on the Delta. Grants totaling $400 million have been awarded to bolster California's water supply; six federal agencies have signed an agreement to coordinate on Delta issues.
Already, however, the feds have drawn criticism from more than one side in California's water tussle.
Politicians representing agricultural areas in the south San Joaquin Valley, where water exports from the Delta have declined because of drought and endangered species, have blasted the federal government for failing to act sooner and more decisively.
"We are long past the point of more committees. What we need is action," said U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater.
On the other hand, some Delta advocates are upset over the Obama administration's decision to seek further review of new rules intended to protect smelt and salmon - rules that also hamper water deliveries to the south Valley and Southern California.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein requested that review, saying "it may well bring a different point of view. ... And we all ought to be open to a different point of view if it's based on sound science."
If Delta interests' renewed relationship with the feds runs aground at times, that is nothing new. It has happened before with ambitious restoration projects.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation earlier this year sued the EPA over the bay's continually poor water quality. In a story that should sound familiar to those who follow Delta issues, the 200-mile bay that stretches from southern Virginia to Baltimore is overloaded with nutrients and sediment because of agricultural and urban runoff. Algae blooms rob the water of oxygen, killing fish.
Also roughly comparable to the Delta is the situation in the Everglades, once-vast wetlands that were reclaimed by workers who shoveled out 720 miles of canals and piled up 1,000 miles of levees. Farmers later planted sugar cane while the water was diverted for south Florida's growing population.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' implementation of the 2000 agreement to restore what is left of the Everglades was criticized last year by the National Research Council, which found that inadequate project planning and lack of funding left the plan well behind schedule.
Corps spokeswoman Karen Tippett said work is about to begin on one pump station.
"It's been a very long road," she said. "What we hear from our sponsors is that our processes take too long. I don't know how we can improve upon that."
San Francisco Chronicle
Mass veto off, governor signs hundreds of bills...Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau. Staff writer John Coté contributed to this report
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/12/MNGP1A49ST.DTL&type=printable
Making deadline calls on hundreds of bills Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Santa Clara a boost in its bid to lure the 49ers south, permitted the killing of birds at airports, and put motorists in Alameda County on notice: Drive drunk just once and face a breath test every time you take the wheel.
Working late into the night Sunday through a pile of about 700 bills, Schwarzenegger signed at least 230. He also vetoed at least 221, including a closely watched measure that would have barred California State University executives from receiving pay raises or bonuses in years when the state cuts their funding.
The actions were announced as the governor and legislative leaders continued tense negotiations on a package to overhaul the state's water system. Lawmakers ended talks without a deal, but the governor said much progress was made and that he would call the Legislature into a special session to discuss water proposals.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he anticipates holding public hearings on water proposals sometime this week.
A spokesman for Schwarzenegger said the governor would not enact a mass veto on legislation, as he had threatened earlier in the week, because of the level of success of the water discussions. The governor was announcing his actions on bills late into the night in order to meet a midnight deadline to sign or veto the measures.
Measures signed into law include:
-- Senate Bill 43 by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, allowing Santa Clara to award a contract to design and build a proposed 49ers stadium to a firm of the team's choice - rather than to the lowest bidder as normally required under city law.
-- SB792 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which allows the state to pursue the sale of up to 23 acres of the Candlestick Point Recreation Area to Lennar Corp. and dedicate the money from the sale to park improvements.
-- SB481 by Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), which allows for the killing of birds at airports to protect public safety. The measure was inspired by US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York in January after striking birds during takeoff.
-- Assembly Bill 42 by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, increasing the penalty for being a spectator at a dogfight - another response to the dogfighting conviction of professional football star Michael Vick.
-- AB91 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, creating a five-year pilot program in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties in which an ignition interlock device would be installed on vehicles owned or operated by first-time drunken driving offenders. The devices prevent vehicles from being started if the driver is intoxicated.
While announcing his approval of the program, which goes into effect in January, Schwarzenegger said state leaders "must do everything we can to ensure the public's safety on the road."
Measures the governor vetoed include:
-- SB86 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, which would have prohibited California State University executives from getting raises or bonuses in years when their state funding is cut. Schwarzenegger's veto message called the bill "micromanaging" by the state and said its provisions were not entirely clear.
-- SB218, also by Yee, which would have made auxiliary organizations at UC and CSU, along with community colleges, come under the state's public records laws.
-- AB241, by Nava, which would have placed limits on the number of unsterilized cats and dogs that a busines or person that buys and sells the animals can have.
-- AB1512 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), which would have imposed a $10-per-day fine on retailers for each package of baby formula and food offered for sale beyond the expiration date. Schwarzenegger said current law already has strong provisions and penalties for tainted food and drug products.
-- SB84 by Steinberg, which would have guaranteed $400 million in funding to 500 low-performing schools. In his veto message, the governor said that the bill is unnecessary and that his administration has found federal funds to provide the money.
The governor also vetoed Yee's measure to protect the freedom of a person to speak any language he or she chooses in a business establishment. The measure would have made it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the state's highest civil rights law, if a business "requires, limits or prohibits" the use of any language, except if doing so is a business necessity.
"Thank God the Unruh Civil Rights Act happened before this governor," Yee said. "If it were on his desk, he would veto it."
Schwarzenegger also vetoed Leno's SB585, which would have phased out gun shows at the Cow Palace, with a total ban beginning in 2013. In his veto statement, the governor said it would set a "confusing precedent" and reduce state and local tax revenues.
Schwarzenegger had considerably fewer bills to consider this year than last. Lawmakers approved fewer measures with an eye on the state's enormous budget deficit. Last year, the governor vetoed 35 percent of bills, the largest percentage of rejections in the past four decades.
The governor was on pace Sunday night to surpass that mark, as he had vetoed nearly half of the first 451 bills that he acted on. If the governor takes no action, bills become law without his signature. But Schwarzenegger has rarely, if ever, done that.
Indybay
Schwarzenegger Calls Special Session to Approve His Peripheral Canal Plan...Dan Bacher
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/10/12/18625207.php
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday backed down from his threat to veto all 704 bills and starting signing and vetoing the legislation on his desk. He then issued a proclamation calling for the legislature to meet in an extraordinary session to "address California's water crisis."
“Over the past few days we have made enough progress in our negotiations that I am calling a special session on water," said Schwarzenegger. "While we still have a few remaining issues to work out, I commend the legislative leaders for their focus and commitment to solving this crisis and I will weigh all the bills on their merits.”
His call for a special session is yet one more episode in Schwarzenegger's campaign to build a peripheral canal and Temperance Flat and Sites Reservoirs through a general obligation bond.
The resolution resurrects the "co-equal" goals of water supply and environmental "restoration" of CalFed, the joint state and federal process that has led to the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass, threadfin shad, green sturgeon and other species, due to massive exports of water from the California Delta to corporate agribusiness.
The resolution states, "To consider and act upon legislation to protect and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while also improving the reliability and quality of water supplies from that estuary."
The resolution then reiterates Schwarzenegger's plan to build a peripheral canal and more dams by calling for "improved conveyance facilities" and the building of "additional storage facilities."
The proclamation states, "To consider and act upon legislation to address the short term and long term improvement of California’s water management system including development of new surface and groundwater storage and improved conveyance facilities, ecosystem health and conservation strategies. To consider and act upon legislation to appropriate funds, including appropriations for general obligation and lease revenue bonds, to improve water resource management, build additional water storage facilities, develop groundwater aquifers, improve groundwater quality and flood protection, and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other important ecosystem restoration projects. To consider and act upon legislation to place a general obligation bond and, as necessary, a lease revenue bond on the ballot."
Amazingly, Schwarzenegger is pressuring the Legislature to approve his obscenely expensive water bond at a time when California is in its greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. While the budget for heath care for children, teachers and game wardens has been slashed, Schwarzenegger is pushing for the approval of a canal boondoggle that would cost from $23 billion to $53.8 billion, according to a recent analysis by economist Steven Kasower.
The following is the news release and proclamation from the Governor's Office:
GAAS:607:09
For Immediate Release: Contact: Aaron McLear
Sunday, October 11, 2009 Rachel Arrezola
916-445-4571
Gov. Schwarzenegger Calls Special Session to Address California’s Water Crisis
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following proclamation calling for the legislature to meet in an extraordinary session to address California’s water crisis:
A PROCLAMATION
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
WHEREAS, an extraordinary occasion has arisen and now exists requiring that the Legislature of the State of California be convened in extraordinary session; now therefore,
I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by Section 3(b) Article IV of the Constitution of the State of California, do hereby convene the Legislature of the State of California to meet in extraordinary session at Sacramento, California on the 12th day of October, 2009, at a time to be determined, for the following purposes and to legislate upon the following subjects:
To consider and act upon legislation to protect and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while also improving the reliability and quality of water supplies from that estuary.
To consider and act upon legislation to address the short term and long term improvement of California’s water management system including development of new surface and groundwater storage and improved conveyance facilities, ecosystem health and conservation strategies.
To consider and act upon legislation to appropriate funds, including appropriations for general obligation and lease revenue bonds, to improve water resource management, build additional water storage facilities, develop groundwater aquifers, improve groundwater quality and flood protection, and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other important ecosystem restoration projects.
To consider and act upon legislation to place a general obligation bond and, as necessary, a lease revenue bond on the ballot.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 11th day of October, 2009.
__________________________
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California
ATTEST:
___________________________
DEBRA BOWEN
Secretary of State
Contra Costa Times
Legislators reach consensus on water policy...Lisa Vorderbrueggen and Mike Taugher
http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_13541312
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lifted his threat of a blanket veto on hundreds of bills Sunday night and announced plans to call a special session of the Legislature after Republican and Democrat leaders came to sufficient agreement over a new state water policy to satisfy the governor.
"Over the past few days, we have made enough progress in our negotiations that I am calling a special session on water," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "While we still have a few remaining issues to work out, I commend the legislative leaders for their focus and commitment to solving this crisis and I will weigh all the bills on their merits."
The Democrats gave the Republicans a proposed bill to fix the fragile Delta on Sunday, the details of which were not released.
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said as she left the governor's office that she expected both parties would bring a proposed bill to their respective party caucuses within 24 to 48 hours.
Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said Republicans will thoroughly analyze the document and described the day's developments as "cause for progress."
On the Senate side, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg called the day's negotiations a "significant breakthrough in term of thinking of this an entire package ... and (finding) middle ground on each of the issues."
The leaders said talks would resume this Monday morning.
By early Sunday night, the governor had signed 168 and vetoed 183 bills, and his spokesman said he would make decisions on the remaining 350 bills based on their merits before the midnight Sunday deadline.
Many of the bills he signed earlier in the day were meant to secure federal stimulus dollars or otherwise save California money, and many of his vetoes were expected.
The governor and the leaders of each party in the state Senate and Assembly, called the Big Five, met throughout the day in Schwarzenegger's office.
As expected, the governor signed most of the bills that would have created financial hardships in the state if they had been vetoed, including Senate Bill 19 authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which will establish links between student achievement data and teacher and principal data. It is a requirement of the federal program "The Race to the Top" on which stimulus dollars depend.
Schwarzenegger also signed a bill that implements a number of reforms in the state prison system designed to save about $280 million.
He had not acted as of 10 p.m. on legislation that would have made the Antioch and Dumbarton bridges eligible for seismic retrofit dollars nor had he issued a decision on a bill that would leverage more than $2.3 billion in federal funds to increase Medi-Cal hospital reimbursement rates. A decision had also not been made on a bill that would appropriate $113 million in federal dollars for energy efficiency and conservation programs.
Among East Bay legislators' bills that were signed into law were state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier's Senate Bill 147, which creates career technical courses at the California State University system and Senate Bill 702, which requires personnel in health clubs' child care centers to follow guidelines designed to shield children from pedophiles.
The governor also signed a bill by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, that will place on the Web whether or not employers have workers' compensation insurance and a bill by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, that strengthens human-trafficking penalties.
On the water talks, the final sticking points appear to number about a half-dozen, including whether to monitor groundwater in California for the first time and give added authority to regulators to police illegal water diversions; the makeup of a new Delta council; details of new water conservation requirements; and the size and other details of a proposed water bond.
Meanwhile, two Bay Area water agencies have threatened Democrats' hope for a deal by balking at a provision that would require an evaluation of environmental needs for flows in the Delta. The East Bay Municipal Utility District and the San Francisco Public Utilities District object to that because they fear it will force them to release water from their dams on the Mokelumne and Tuolumne rivers.
They contend responsibility lies with other water users, especially San Joaquin Valley farmers and those in Southern California, a stance that has angered environmentalists and water agencies.
On Friday, environmental groups warned Democratic leaders not to give more ground on many of the key pieces in the plan.
"There's a lot of good and important stuff in this package," said Cynthia Koehler, a senior consulting attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. "We have stretched and compromised and we are willing to work with other parties that will compromise."
The talks have settled on about $3 billion for water storage as part of a larger package, and the current deal would allow state officials to spend that money without legislative approval, a key concession to water agencies hoping to get new dams built but fearful lawmakers could hold up projects.
"We want very strong groundwater monitoring and conservation provisions since we gave that to them," said Alicia Trost, spokeswoman for Steinberg.
The money would have to be matched by water users.
Still, even if the leaders reach a deal, the road to final passage is rough. As long as the policy and finance pieces of the deal remain separate, lawmakers would have to give majority approval of the policy piece and two-thirds support for the finance package. Voters would then have to approve the bond measure.
Los Angeles Times
Take a deep breath -- more bad news on air pollution
The consequences of breathing bad air is linked to appendicitis and ear infections, new studies indicate...Jill U. Adams
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-closer12-2009oct12,0,384281,print.story
It's easy to see how air pollution would affect respiratory disease: You breathe in smog-filled miasma all day and the ozone, other noxious gases and small particulate matter therein can make you wheeze and cough. Pollutants can trigger asthma attacks and bronchitis in susceptible individuals.
But it's harder at first blush to understand links to other conditions. In two studies reported last week, bad air was associated with higher rates of appendicitis and ear infections.
The new reports have been met with surprise because neither health problem seems obviously linked with the airway or bloodstream. At the same time, they represent a trend toward broadening the research scope of air pollution and health.
"People are looking at everything and air pollution these days," says Francine Laden, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Research on air pollution has been conducted worldwide for decades and is part of the basis for government regulation of air quality. Study after study has found more hospitalizations and higher death rates when certain pollutants are high. In addition to respiratory effects, research has established that air pollution increases the risk of cardiovascular events such as arrhythmia, heart attack and stroke, and the incidence of certain cancers.
In the appendicitis study, published Oct. 5 in the Canadian Medical Assn. Journal, researchers examined records for 5,191 adults admitted to Calgary hospitals for appendicitis from 1999 to 2006. The dates of the patients' admissions were compared to air pollution levels in the preceding week, using data from three air quality surveillance sites in the city.
The scientists found a significant effect of pollutants on appendicitis rates in the summer months among men, but not women.
The risk of going to the hospital with appendicitis more than doubled when summer pollution was at its highest, says study lead author Dr. Gilaad Kaplan, a physician-researcher at the University of Calgary.
The strongest effects were found when high pollution days preceded hospital admission by at least five days rather than a shorter period. This suggests there is a certain lag time between pollutant exposure and the development of appendicitis.
The study did not examine how pollution might cause appendicitis, but Kaplan speculates that inflammatory processes are involved. Substances the body produces to ramp up inflammation are implicated in appendicitis. Other research has found these substances in healthy volunteers after they breathed diesel exhaust.
A similar argument is used to explain cardiovascular risk factors associated with air pollution: that substances involved in blood clotting are produced after exposure to bad air.
In the ear infection study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in San Diego, researchers compared prevalence of the disease in 126,060 children with trends in air pollution from 1997 to 2006. Health information came from the National Health
Interview Survey, administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, and air quality data came from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records.
Four pollutants -- carbon monoxide, nitrous dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter -- decreased nationwide over the 10-year period. The number of children reported as having more than three ear infections in a year also declined.
Again, the study cannot say air pollution causes ear infections, only that the two are associated. And it did not investigate how pollutants affect the ear canal.
But it's not a stretch to go from respiratory illness to ear infection, says lead author Dr. Nina Shapiro, a pediatric otolaryngologist at UCLA School of Medicine. Pollutants have been shown to damage cilia -- tiny little hairs that line many of the body's passageways.
If that occurs in the ear, Shapiro says, then the cleansing process is damaged or slowed, which could set the stage for infection.
Study coauthor Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya found a similar association between air pollution and sinus infection in adults in an earlier investigation published in Laryngoscope in March.
An inherent weakness in both the ear infection and appendicitis studies -- and in many air pollution studies, for that matter -- is that air quality data for a geographical area are used as an estimate of what an individual actually inhales, says Derek Shendell, a public health researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, in Piscataway.
Air quality measured at a site may not represent what someone living in that neighborhood is actually breathing. It will depend on levels they encounter in their house or workplace.
And even within a given neighborhood, pollution will be greater near busier roads.
Researchers must also be on the lookout for other unrelated factors that may affect the health condition being measured.
For example, Shapiro notes, there was a decline in cigarette smoking during the time period covered by her ear-infection study.
If the children also had less exposure to secondhand smoke -- a known risk factor for ear infections -- that could account for some of the decline in disease.
Pneumococcal vaccine, introduced in 2000 -- the middle of Shapiro's study period -- has also been credited with declining rates of ear infections.
In fact, both the new studies are just first steps. They are sure to stimulate more research on how air pollution might trigger these conditions as well as other nonrespiratory diseases.
Washington Post
Schwarzenegger sets session to discuss water deal...DON THOMPSON, The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101101185_pf.html
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger late Sunday summoned lawmakers for a special session on the state's water problems, even as legislative negotiators ended nearly 12 hours of talks without reaching an agreement.
The legislative leaders plan to meet with the governor again Monday for their seventh consecutive day of discussions.
"Over the past few days we have made enough progress in our negotiations that I am calling a special session on water," Schwarzenegger said in a statement late Sunday as talks ended for the day.
He acknowledged that "we still have a few remaining issues to work out," while the leaders said substantial issues remain - including the amount of a water bond to pay for improving the state's inadequate and outdated water storage and conveyance system.
California lawmakers had already planned to return to Sacramento this week to complete unfinished business, making Schwarzenegger's call for a special water session largely symbolic.
Democratic leaders presented their proposal and answers to concerns that Republicans had been raising for weeks, said Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo.
"I think there is evidence now that we are moving in the right direction," Blakeslee said as he left for the night.
Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, said the same dozen or so issues have been dividing the four leaders and the governor for days: water conservation and balancing water rights with monitoring how property owners pump groundwater. They barely had time Sunday to discuss how to pay for water system improvements.
"We've got a proposal now that we're going to take back and take a look at. I think it moves both sides closer together," Hollingsworth said.
Democratic leaders said they hope to be able to present a water proposal to rank-and-file legislators this week, and perhaps hold public hearings on a water package before week's end. Passing a water deal that includes a bond needs a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, requiring at least some support from Republicans.
"I think we made great progress today," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles.
"I feel very good about it right now," added Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
Schwarzenegger had delayed acting on about 700 bills from this summer's legislative session to pressure lawmakers to improve California's deteriorating and inadequate water system. He faced a midnight Sunday deadline to sign or veto the bills. He said he was pleased enough with progress in the water talks to release all the bills.
He vetoed about half and signed about half the bills, acting on those measures as he would in any other year, said spokesman Aaron McLear.
The governor is pushing for more reservoirs and a controversial canal to improve a water storage and conveyance system mostly built in the 1960s.
"I'm fighting to rebuild our crumbling water system," Schwarzenegger said in his weekly radio address Saturday, repeating his upbeat speech from a water rally Friday. "Water is jobs for California, water is food, water is our future, water is our economy."
The governor periodically schmoozed the four legislative leaders in his smoking tent in a Capital courtyard outside his office, leaving most staff members behind in a neighboring conference room. The tent was set up so Schwarzenegger and his guests could smoke his favorite cigars without violating California's strict laws on smoking in public buildings.
"It's just a little break from being in a stuffy conference room," McLear said.
Also Sunday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor were in California meeting with farmers along the massive federal Central Valley water project that sends Northern California water to farmers in dry areas of the state that supply much of the nation's fruits and vegetables.
The two federal leaders were also meeting with Latino farmworkers to discuss California's three-year drought and other water issues. The predicament will only worsen as the state's population grows.