Contra Costa Times
Sacramento Reporter for the Contra Costa Times and Bay Area News Group
PROFILE
Steve Harmon
Guest
FROM Steve Harmon
Which Way, L.A.?
Brown Signs Budgets Cuts, Faces Resistance on Tax Measure Jerry Brown today signed $14 billion in budget cuts , including $5.8 billion in social services and support for the developmentally disabled and the mentally ill. But, he says, that's not the end of the story. The Governor reminded voters that the state still faces making many more drastic cuts if additional revenue is not found. We get details on today's events and a preview of what's to come.
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Gubernatorial Politics in California Half of all adult Californians are worried that they or somebody in the family will lose their job next year. Sixty-five percent are afraid they won't have the money to pay the rent or the mortgage. That's according to the latest survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. President Mark Baldassare says, "Voters have more immediate concerns than who is going to be the next governor." But the primary contests are just six months away, so we're duty bound to report what the same poll showed about three Republican candidates and one Democrat who has yet to announce. Steve Poizner (R) Meg Whitman (R) Tom Campbell (R) Jerry Brown (D)
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How Did California Become Such a Dysfunctional State? Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature are in the midst of re-writing the social contract, cutting education and services to poor children, the elderly, the blind and disabled. Debates over those measures are being held in public. Big tax cuts for major corporations have already been made, but they were negotiated in private. It’s not only because of the economic decline. How did it happen in the eighth largest economy in the world, a place where living standards have attracted millions of immigrants from almost every other country?
Which Way, L.A.?
A Thaw Develops in Budget Negotiations Late last week, some California Republican legislators took a heavy political beating for sounding as if they'd consider an increase in taxes. Today, it appears the Democrats may be ready to make some concessions. Steve Harmon is reading the signals in Sacramento for the Contra Costa Times .
Which Way, L.A.?
Schwarzenegger's Double-Digit Lead over Angelides Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has increased his lead over Treasurer Phil Angelides with less than six weeks until election day. The Field Poll has Schwarzenegger 10 points ahead. The Public Policy Institute of California gives him a 17-point lead.
Recommended
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?
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
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
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.