A short Big 5 meeting between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders apparently ended this afternoon with only one thing in agreement: they'll be getting together back in Sacramento this weekend.

The midnight constitutional deadline will now come and go for the fifth straight year (and 12 of the last 15) without a new budget in place. The Assembly debated the budget and the Senate was supposedly about to, when the governor quickly summoned the 4 legislative leaders downstairs.

Democrats emerged with a sense of confidence that the governor is now not linking a new budget to any budget process proposals, like his "Live Within Our Means" ballot initiative. Especially adamant about that was Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, who indicated that the kind of "linkage" of issues, widely reported yesterday, was a non-starter.

When asked to describe how far apart Democrats and Republicans are, Perata called the amount so small as to amount to only "budget dust."

Schwarzenegger spokesperson Margita Thompson says the governor is positive about negotiations thus far. And she confirmed that Schwarzenegger is not demanding a link between the budget and any "reform" proposals.

The Big 5 are now planning to meet this weekend, and negotiations are likely to not allow much time for any celebrations-- either for Democrats hoping to spend time in LA with soon-to-be mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, or for anyone to light the fireworks for the Fourth of July.