Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "governor schwarzenegger"

Dan Walters’ Deficits

2010-05-03T13:29:41Z

Pondering the state’s cash crunch, Bee columnist Dan Walters writes: “In fact, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's current budget is based on a wishful assumption that the feds will give the state an extra $7 billion – highly unlikely since the federal budget is in even worse shape than California's” http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/02/v-print/2720568/dan-walters-state-fiscal-plan.html

The last part of this sentence is doubly wrong. The federal budget deficit was higher as a percent of gross domestic product in 1946 than it was in 2009. And the federal government can legally run budget deficits. The constitution of California requires a balanced budget.

Mr. Walters is entitled to his own opinion, not his own facts

Sacramento Democrats Oppose West Sacramento “Gang Injunctions” and Urged the Governor to Abide by the Contract He Negotiated with SEIU

2009-08-13T01:03:15Z

The Democratic Party of Sacramento County (DPSC) voted to endorse a resolution opposing West Sacramento’s “Gang Injunction” because it permits law enforcement authorities to act without evidence of wrongdoing. The “Gang Injunction” allows West Sacramento police to arrest individuals for associating with gang members – even their family members. It also allows West Sacramento police to abuse Sacramento’s sovereignty and arrest people in Sacramento who have violated no Sacramento law.

DPSC member and California Democratic Party Executive Board member, Christine Thomas said, “Wrongful prosecution, accusations, and tracking individuals in databases for the rest of their lives without providing the protections of due process is something we must all guard against. In recent years, we seem to have forgotten the importance of our civil rights and liberties and they have too often been ignored and disregarded.”

In addition, the DPSC unanimously voted to urge that the state of California abide by state law in their negotiations with the SEIU and honor the contract that Governor Schwarzenegger negotiated with SEIU earlier in the year.

The DPSC is proud to support the Stonewall Democrats efforts to assemble a team and raise money to support the Central Valley AIDS walk.

Public Workshop on Governor’s Water Conservation Plan to be Held in Sacramento

2009-05-21T14:20:02Z

May’s rainstorms brought a tremendous amount of water to California, but were not enough to end the current three-year drought.

Numbers released by the California Department of Water Resources show that many of the state’s reservoirs have reached near-normal levels. In Sacramento, the total rainfall to date of nearly 16 inches is about 90 percent of normal.

The news isn’t all good, though. By comparison, Los Angeles has received only 62 percent of its normal rainfall. And statewide snowpack water content is hovering around 63 percent of normal.

According to the California Drought Report, released in March by DWR and the California Department of Agriculture, there are significant differences between this and past droughts, differences that are compounding the severity of the drought.

The report notes that California’s population has increased by 9 million new residents since 1990, stricter regulations have been put in place in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect threatened and endangered fish species, and changes in agricultural practices have eliminated some flexibility for adapting to low-water years.

In early 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger directed several state agencies to come up with a plan to reduce California’s water use by 20 percent by the year 2020. The draft 20x2020 Water Conservation Plan was released in April, and a public workshop is being held in Sacramento at the end of this month.

The plan notes that, with the growing population and population movement to drier climates, California’s “demand for water has exceeded our reliable developed supply.” The report goes on to say that “The Delta is in crisis, drought has depleted our reservoirs and groundwater resources are overdrafted. Our need to pursue conservation and eliminate unnecessary uses of water is more important than ever to ensure the future health of our state.”

The 20x2020 Plan is intended as an aggressive, statewide plan to improve water efficiency and conservation in urban areas from now through 2020. Its recommendations include a statewide conservation strategy, measures for enhancing water use efficiency, methods for reducing water waste (such as accelerated installation of water meters) and development of programs to reduce landscaping irrigation, among others.

The public workshop on the 20x2020 Plan is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to no later than 1:00 p.m.

Location:
John Moss Federal Building
CALFED Bay and Delta Rooms
650 Capitol Mall, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

The 20x2020 Plan can be downloaded from the California Urban Water Conservation Council's website: www.cuwcc.org
To see the California Drought Report, go to: www.water.ca.gov/drought/updates.cfm