Okay, well the good news, if you can call it that at this point, is that there’s finally a budget deal in Sacramento, although in the AP photo above that the LA Times ran with their story, Governor Arnold and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass wear the kind of head-achey smiles most often found on people who have spent the last 36 hours passing a couple of particularly unpleasant kidney stones.
The Times has broad strokes lists of what was cut, and what was left alone.
As I predicted, the state parks, which were threatened with mass closures, were one of the four line items that made it, to some degree or another, to the no cut list—although it is not clear whether or not there are partial cuts to the parks. Similarly, CalWorks, CalGrants for college students, and the Healthy Families Program are not eliminated, as threatened, but they are still slashed.
However, lawmakers couldn’t bring themselves to tax cigarettes.
Whatever.
As to why this same deal couldn’t have been reached weeks ago to avoid costing California billions and damaging the state’s credit, no explanation is offered.
NOTE TO FELLOW CALIFORNIANS: Constitutional convention. Seriously.
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Photo by Rich Pedroncelli of the Associated Press
Great! That solves everything!! California can go back to wild spending again.
Great! That solves everything!! California can go back to refusing to tax oil companies again.
Uh, oh, Celeste. This new policy at state beaches might affect you. At least it represents a new source of revenue!
California cleared to clamp down on nude beaches
California parks officials can enforce a ban on nudity at any state beach, even in areas that have been informally designated as “clothing optional,” a state appeals court says. … Violators can be charged with misdemeanors. Baylis said a typical fine is $500.
Nuts. Here’s the corrected link: LINK
Hey, one of my comments didn’t post.
Well, here’s another. California needs to switch to the cheaper Hefty Bags for this problem.
More bodies go unclaimed as families can’t afford funeral costs.
At the county coroner’s office — which handles homicides and other suspicious deaths — 36% more cremations were done at taxpayers’ expense in the last fiscal year over the previous year, from 525 to 712.
Much as I dislike cigarettes, taxing them more is likely to enrich organized crime.