Podcast: The Red Ink Year In Review
It's hard to look back at 2009 in California politics and Capitol goings-on without acknowledging that almost all stories came back, one way or another, to the state's big budget mess.
On this special Capital Notes Podcast, we recap the year that's coming to a close… from numerous budget fights to winners (maybe only one) and losers (just about everyone else).
We also talk the year in gubernatorial politics and make a very few predictions of what will happen in 2010. Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I are joined this week by Juliet Williams, Capitol reporter for the Associated Press.
All's Quiet Here
So it's Christmas Eve. And let's face it, the Capitol is all quiet. Which means there's time for something light… as in a trip back with the chief executive to his former career, and a scene that makes budget fights look tame.
Podcast: By The Numbers
Up. Down. Left. Right.
This week's Capital Notes Podcast is all about the numbers. First, this week's new statewide poll looking at the race for governor offers up some interesting scenarios, even though it's still a long ways to November 2.
Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I also discuss his newspaper's new ranking of legislators on the liberal-conservative spectrum, and why… shockingly… it may be another example of how few politicians in Sacramento actually find themselves in the middle.
Poll To Brown: Don't Measure The Drapes Just Yet
There are 321 days left until California voters go to the polls and choose their next governor. That's a long time, but not so long that political junkies won't read tonight's new poll and wonder this: might the all-but-official Democratic heavyweight candidate end up losing?
It's not that crazy a question, given the Public Policy Institute of California survey that shows Jerry Brown leading Meg Whitman in a potential matchup by just six points.
Read more
Line Drawing, Anyone?
BURBANK — It's pretty accepted as fact that the once-a-decade process of drawing political maps, known as redistricting, is arcane. Dry. Dull? Well, maybe not.
That last assessment comes after judging the decent sized crowd that out in Burbank today to learn how California's new redistricting process will work, and how they may want to apply to be one of the 14 citizens who will be chosen by the end of 2010 to slice and dice the state into 120 legislative districts and four Board of Equalization districts.
Read more
"Nonsense Talk"
Governor Schwarzenegger's big day in Copenhagen talking about climate change gave him a chance to not only push his idea of action in places other than national legislatures, while also giving him a chance to smack some climate change critics in the process.
Podcast: Now What?
That's a fair question to ask for those involved in two of our topics on this week's edition of the Capital Notes Podcast.
For John Perez, the soon-to-be Speaker, it's the only real question after several weeks of palace intrigue about the battle for the top job. And for the still non-existent citizens redistricting commission, it's also a valid question… after revelation that the process is already projected to run short on cash.
Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I also check in on the saga over the next lieutenant governor, a saga that took a new twist just hours after we recorded this podcast on Thursday.
Note: An apology to listeners who download the podcast from iTunes and NPR… a tech error prevented last week's podcast from being picked up by those outlets. We've been properly chastised! –JM
"An Incredibly Moving Experience"
That was the sentiment of John Perez of Los Angeles after Assembly Democrats unanimously chose him today to be the fifth Speaker of the Assembly in just the last nine years.
Might Redistricting Process Run Out of Cash?
Just a little over a year after voters created an independent commission to draw most of California's political maps, the process is costing a lot more money than was allocated.
In fact, it's possible the commission that's slated to convene in 2011 may have as its first task to ask lawmakers for more funding.
Heavy Budget Lifting & The Lite Guv
No major news today on whether Abel Maldonado will… or won't… be California's next lieutenant governor. But new comments from the leader of the state Senate seem to acknowledge one part of the deliberations… or rather, six billion parts.
As in the $6.3 billion of missing dollars needed to balance the current budget… a deficit that may require the vote of Senator Maldonado to resolve.
About the Blogger
John Myers is Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED's The California Report, heard on public radio stations around the state. More about John...
Have a news tip? Email John
-
Sponsored by
More From KQED
-
Daily news and a weekly newsmagazine.
-
KQED Radio News reports on the latest happenings in Northern California.
-
A live call-in program of in-depth discussions and interviews.
Subscribe
