Wednesday, November 17, 2010

California Budget Calls for Cuts

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a $102.8 billion budget plan Thursday that calls for less severe across-the-board spending cuts than he first proposed in January.

His revised plan relies on billions of dollars of additional borrowing and one-time savings -- and the hope for more money from Washington."


Schwarzenegger Cuts Deal with Counties and Cities

"Continuing his march toward what he says he hopes will be an on-time budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday unveiled a pain-for-gain plan for local government -- and good news for California car owners.

The proposal, informally endorsed by city, county and other local officials, proposes a tradeoff in which local governments give up $1.3 billion a year for the next two years to help the state balance its struggling budget.

In return, the governor throws his support behind a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would prevent the state from taking additional local money in the future.

The ballot measure also would freeze the car tax, a controversial source of local revenue."


Revised Budget Expected Thursday

Cities and counties throughout California are hoping that the cuts will will be less severe than those that Schwarzenegger proposed in January.


Investors Want CA Bonds

Astonishingly, investors appear to be banking on California. "Bond investors appear eager to buy a stake in the biggest municipal bond sale in U.S. history -- a $12.3 billion package that California voters approved in March to patch the state's budget crisis.

Investors have been ravenous lately for California bonds, but the so-called
Economic Recovery Bonds are especially enticing for both the investment potential and the unusual way the state will repay the debt, some experts say."

California Digital Library

"This struck me as very interesting from the overview page for the California Digital Library : The California Digital Library is the University of California's 11th University library. It was established in 1997 by University of California President"

California Senate OKs Bill To Limit RFID Use

"SB 1834, introduced by state Sen. Debra Bowen, seeks to prevent stores and libraries from using RFID to collect any information beyond what a customer is buying, renting, or borrowing. . . . A spokeswoman for Bowen said getting the bill through the Senate--which approved it in a 22-8 vote--was relatively easy because the senators as a group don't have a thorough grasp of the technology. Conversely, the Assembly committee tends to be more tech-savvy and business friendly--and thus is less likely to want to place limitations on a technology that's in its infancy."


A Librarian in Every School

An opinion piece by Patricia A. Ohanian, library media teacher, addresses the importance of libraries to education. "Research has shown that the best way to increase student achievement and thus test scores is to have a well-stocked school library with a full-time credentialed librarian. And while the city of San Jose is doing a great job with the public libraries, our public schools are not. . . .If California is really serious about raising student achievement, we will listen to the educational research and put a full-time credentialed librarian in every school."

No comments:

Post a Comment