Free Republic

Proposition 84 on the November ballot is a grab bag of spending proposals related to water – some rather tenuously – to be funded by bonds that would provide $5.388 billion. The funding would cost taxpayers about $10.5 billion over 30 years, reduce property tax revenue to some localities and require state and local governments to spend up to tens of millions of dollars per year maintaining new facilities. It is an ill-considered assortment, some of which could more appropriately be paid for by localities and some of which could be paid for by those who benefit. This is billed...

Every Region of California and All Major Interests Represented on the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Leadership Team LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Proposition 84 campaign today announced its Executive Committee members for the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond, which will appear on the November 2006 statewide ballot. The Executive Committee members come from every region of California, and represent all major interest groups, reflecting the broad spectrum of more than 300 organizations and opinion leaders supporting this important measure. The $5.4 billion bond measure would provide critically needed funds to ensure the availability of...

Yes on 84 Campaign Today Announced San Diego Leaders Support Proposition 84 San Diego Endorsements Demonstrate Need to Protect and Preserve California's Water and Land Resources LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- A diverse, bipartisan group of San Diego leaders and organizations have come out in early support of Proposition 84 -- the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. Mayor Jerry Sanders, one of California's most respected, big city mayors, is among a number of San Diego supporters that also includes: San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego Natural History Museum, the Alliance...

A move by Democrats to allocate about $1 billion from two voter initiatives on the November ballot has upset Republicans, who say it reneges on the deal that led to a massive infrastructure package going before voters this fall. An Assembly committee on Wednesday is scheduled to consider legislation by Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, that would specify funding for parks if the bond measures are approved by voters. Republicans had rejected spending on parks this spring during negotiations over a public works package that asks voters to approve money for transportation, levee repair, schools and affordable housing. That package, worth...

(snip) And California is about to get a lot tougher. Later this month, the Legislature will vote on two ground-breaking bills. One would set binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions with a goal of reducing them to 1990 levels by 2020 — an ambitious undertaking by any measure. The other is a strikingly original bill that would bar long-term contracts with any out-of-state utility that failed to meet strict standards for pollution. A coal-fired plant in Wyoming, for instance, could sell power into California only if it found ways to dispose of most of its carbon dioxide, instead of merely...

General Election - November 7, 2006 Prop. 1A Transportation Funding Protection: YES! For years, the Legislature has raided our highway taxes for general fund spending. Though it’s more window dressing than relief, this measure makes it marginally harder to do so. Prop. 1B Transportation Bond: NO! Although some of this money is for long overdue road construction, most goes for equipment, maintenance and social programs that will be obsolete decades before our children have finished paying off the debt. Californians pay the third highest tax per gallon of gasoline in the country – and yet we rank 43rd in per...

SACRAMENTO – Support for a record $37.3 billion public-works bond package placed on the Nov. 7 ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature is slipping as Republicans switch to opposition, according to a new Field Poll. Bond measures for transportation, schools and flood control still have leads, but a housing bond is trailing. A separate $5.4 billion water and parks bond, placed on the ballot by gathering signatures, also has a lead. After months of negotiations, the governor and the Legislature reached a bipartisan agreement on a massive bond package intended to rebuild California's neglected infrastructure and prepare for...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed on Friday a November ballot measure asking voters to approve a $5.4 billion general obligation bond to finance water and natural resource projects. Voters will vote an another four general obligation bond measures that make up a $37 billion public works debt package crafted by California's Democrat-led legislature and supported by the celebrity Republican governor. The $5.4 billion bond measure, Proposition 84, would complement the public works debt package by financing environmental projects, Schwarzenegger said. "This measure also provides essential funding to help ensure our water supply is clean, reliable, and...

Drug Companies Develop DIFFERENT DRUGS for Each Race?!? Last night I watched the California gubernatorial candidates debates on C-SPAN. When Greyout Davis was asked about his support for Ward Connerly's Prop 84 (ends collection of racial data in the state), he said he opposed it because of (wasteful 'Rat) educational spending programs, AND ALSO BECAUSE DRUG COMPANIES NEED THE INFORMATION. Freepers, I need some help with this. As I see it, Davis implied that pharmacutical companies develop different drugs for different races. I thought we were all the human race. Do drugs have different effects on particular races?