California Ballot

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to it as the "ribbon of shame," a congressional district that stretches in a reed-thin line 200 miles along the California coast from Oxnard to the Monterey County line. Voters there refer to it as "the district that disappears at high tide. " Democratic lawmakers drew it that way to make sure one of their own won every election. The party has held the seat throughout the decade ? since the last redistricting gave it a big edge in voter registration there.

SACRAMENTO — A labor union that pushed a pair of ballot measures that would have reined in excessive hospital billing and expanded healthcare for the poor has dropped them — in exchange for an agreement that enlists the hospital industry in the union's organizing efforts. The agreement, announced late Wednesday, ends a months-long public battle between the Service Employees International Union and the California Hospital Assn. Private hospitals had accused the union of using the initiative process as leverage in contract negotiations to expand its membership, a charge the union strongly denied.

Americans Elect -- a nonprofit organization aiming to create an alternative, independent presidential ticket -- announced today it has qualified for ballot access in California, marking a significant milestone in its quest to be a factor in the 2012 race. California is the 12th state in which the group has earned a spot on the ballot, and it was the heaviest lift thus far for the nascent group. The effort to get on the state's ballot started last March and employed more than 1,500 people to collect more than 1.6 million signatures, the Tribune Washington Bureau reported in July "Ballot access in California is a major milestone in achieving ballot access in all 50 states," said Kellen Arno, the group's director of ballot access, in a statement.

Several high-profile business names, such as San Francisco hedge-fund manager Thomas Steyer and agribusiness magnate Stewart Resnick, have contributed to a proposed ballot measure seeking tighter regulation of health insurance rates, according to campaign finance records. These contributions were among $1.5 million in donations reported Monday to the California Secretary of State by Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica group leading the ballot drive. A coalition of insurers, hospitals, doctors and business groups opposing the measure has reported $367,200 in donations.

We may finally have discovered a remedy for corporate executives with more greed than brains: Let them invest corporate funds by the millions in California ballot initiatives, then vote the things down. Isn't that the lesson of Tuesday's balloting on Propositions 16 and 17, those majestically cynical initiatives sponsored by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Mercury Insurance Group? To recap for the 82% of eligible voters statewide who didn't bother to vote last week, Proposition 16 was an initiative concocted by PG&E, the state's biggest private utility, to hamstring the public power agencies that are its chief competitors — pretty much its only competitors.

SACRAMENTO — A labor union that pushed a pair of ballot measures that would have reined in excessive hospital billing and expanded healthcare for the poor has dropped them — in exchange for an agreement that enlists the hospital industry in the union's organizing efforts. The agreement, announced late Wednesday, ends a months-long public battle between the Service Employees International Union and the California Hospital Assn. Private hospitals had accused the union of using the initiative process as leverage in contract negotiations to expand its membership, a charge the union strongly denied.

V olumes have been written for and about California's upcoming elections. This is humorist and political satirist Mort Sahl's special take on the Golden State's democratic processes. In an era in which television journalists contend "government no longer works" and some citizens don't vote because they feel powerless, California sets a marvelous example by printing a 142-page book setting forth the ballot propositions in excruciating detail and distributing them to each new arrival.

In an effort that parallels the tort-reform movement in Congress, a group led by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Thursday said it has filed a California ballot initiative with a "loser pays" provision to discourage what it calls frivolous shareholder lawsuits.

Perot sounds too good to be true. He stated what all Americans feel about our decaying government. He is putting his money where his mouth is. Imagine, a billionaire, willing to finance his own campaign to the tune of $50 million to $100 million of his own money. If only a few more billionaires would feel the same way and use their money for the benefit of all the people, what a boon it would be to our society. Mr. Perot, should you get on the Texas ballot, I will work to put you on the California ballot.

The "California civil rights initiative," which seeks an end to the state's affirmative action laws, was officially qualified for the Nov. 5 ballot Tuesday by Secretary of State Bill Jones. In a statement, Jones said his finding is based on a random sample analysis of more than 1 million signatures that proponents of the measure submitted in February. The initiative needed at least 693,230 valid signatures to qualify, and Jones said the analysis confirmed at least 770,484 names. Gov.

California's initiative process can be both a wonderfully democratic and perilously dumb way to make law. On no issue could that be more true than the proposed initiative to shut down nuclear power in the state. The initiative would shut down the Diablo Canyon and San Onofre nuclear plants until the federal government approves a permanent disposal site for nuclear waste. The issue is scientifically, environmentally and economically complex, and tangled with powerful emotions. Between the facts and those feelings, guess which will have more influence on the choice people make?

Many people who used to pay their bills, say "happy birthday" or just keep in touch by mail now do those things online and avoid mailboxes altogether. That's helped push theU.S. Postal Serviceto the brink of bankruptcy, and postal officials now must try to catch up with the changing times by cutting costs, which in turn means closing post offices and mail processing centers. In December, Congress agreed to a five-month moratorium on closures, but the respite expires May 15. Then California is likely to lose 15 mail processing centers, including up to five in Los Angeles County.

Americans Elect, a privately financed group attempting to run a major third-party candidate for the White House, won a spot on California's 2012 ballot Monday, a milestone in its quest to give voters an alternative to President Obama and his Republican challenger. California is the 12th state to award Americans Elect a ballot line in the 2012 presidential race. The group hopes its ticket will appear on the ballot in all 50 states. To earn its place on the California ballot, Americans Elect submitted the signatures of more than 1 million registered voters.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to it as the "ribbon of shame," a congressional district that stretches in a reed-thin line 200 miles along the California coast from Oxnard to the Monterey County line. Voters there refer to it as "the district that disappears at high tide. " Democratic lawmakers drew it that way to make sure one of their own won every election. The party has held the seat throughout the decade ? since the last redistricting gave it a big edge in voter registration there.

Dude, put down the bong and the microwave burrito and groove to what I'm putting down. If a hot-looking, healthy and high-performance body sounds righteous, then realize that the weed is harshing up your ability to snag that prize. I'm not going to be a downer on anyone's choice of, you know, lifestyle. And being that I'm in Canada, I have no personal stake in the outcome of California's Proposition 19, the ballot measure that would make pot legal (though subject to some restrictions)

California corporations, big and small, have billions of dollars' worth of tax breaks and fees in play with a trio of initiatives on the November ballot ? propositions some observers believe may prove too complicated to voters. The outcomes of the battles over Propositions 24, 25 and 26 could help fill a hole in the state budget, an appealing factor in the tough economic times that the state and its citizens are facing. With chronic deficits and one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, the state has been looking everywhere to generate tax revenue.

The Green Party of California has rejected a request from Ralph Nader to hold a special nominating convention that would have given him another shot at appearing on the state's ballot as a presidential candidate. Nader fell far short last week of submitting the 153,035 signatures required for him to make the California ballot as an independent presidential contender.

We may finally have discovered a remedy for corporate executives with more greed than brains: Let them invest corporate funds by the millions in California ballot initiatives, then vote the things down. Isn't that the lesson of Tuesday's balloting on Propositions 16 and 17, those majestically cynical initiatives sponsored by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Mercury Insurance Group? To recap for the 82% of eligible voters statewide who didn't bother to vote last week, Proposition 16 was an initiative concocted by PG&E, the state's biggest private utility, to hamstring the public power agencies that are its chief competitors — pretty much its only competitors.