CalPensions.com
Blogger at CalPensions.com; long-time reporter for the San Diego Union Tribune
PROFILE
Ed Mendel
Guest
FROM Ed Mendel
Which Way, L.A.?
The State Budget and Public Pension Reform Governor Brown has declared a stalemate on closing the $25 billion gap between state spending and revenue. He wants roughly half made up by spending cuts and the other half to be an extension of tax increases approved by the voters. Republicans won't give him the two-thirds vote required to put that on the ballot, but there might be a deal on public pension reform. The state's bipartisan Little Hoover Commission has concluded that underfunded pensions threaten both state and local governments. The Legislative Analyst , also bipartisan, agrees.
Which Way, L.A.?
A Budget Finally Passes, but Schwarzenegger Says He'll Veto It The longest budget stalemate in state history is not over yet. Governor Schwarzenegger says he'll veto the plan finally approved this week by both parties. He says it contains "fake budget reform" and makes the fiscal crisis even worse because "it kicks that can down the alley" into next year.
Which Way, L.A.?
Budget Deficit Grows To $16 Billion One place where news staffs have been reduced is the State Capitol, where the Governor and the Legislature face a deficit of another kind. The Legislative Analyst, Elizabeth Hill who gets paid for impartial analysis, says the gap between spending and revenue is 1.5 billion more than Governor Schwarzenegger thinks it is; closer to 16 billion than 14. But this weekend, the Governor approved cuts and spending shifts supposedly worth 7 billion.
Which Way, L.A.?
Tentative Deal Could End California’s 51-Day Budget Delay Late this afternoon, there was word that Senate Republicans had made a deal with the Democrats, seven weeks after the June 30th deadline. In the meantime, the Assembly passed a budget and left town. Today, both houses were back in session.
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To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?