![]() PG&E spent $45 million on the unsuccessful measure, but voters still said no. But Donnelly deserves special recognition for his kooky, single-minded extremism and his timing.Įarlier this year, PG&E wrote its own California ballot measure, Proposition 16, which would have made it nearly impossible for public power agencies, such as SMUD, to start up or expand and compete with PG&E on service and rates. Sure, the bill has no chance in a Democratic state with a Democratic Legislature. Lawmaker and founder of his local Minutemen chapter, Tim Donnelly gets the nod for sponsoring unhelpful Arizona-style immigration legislation, which would require police to detain and check papers on anyone they suspect is undocumented. And the CSU Board of Trustees approved dramatically higher enrollments earlier this year, only to turn around and demand still-higher fees from their already cash-strapped students. But higher education actually got an 11 percent bump in the last state budget. To be sure, the governor and state Legislature share responsibility for years of neglect to the system. No wonder students took to the streets in protest all over California this spring. At the CSU schools, a 15 percent rise in fees is the latest in a string of increases that have bumped the basic tuition from $1,500 to nearly $5,000 a year in less than a decade. The UC Board of Regents raised fees 8 percent this year-from $11,000 a year to more than $12,000 a year. The University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Board of Trustees Just their way of saying thanks, California! But right after the election, Genentech announced they were laying off more than 800 workers in San Francisco and Vacaville. And voters agreed, defeating the measure at the polls. This Swiss-owned biotech giant plowed $1.6 million into a campaign against California’s Proposition 24-a ballot measure that would have ended a couple of corporate tax breaks and generated about $1.3 billion in revenue for California’s general fund. Had the officers been even a little less restrained, we wouldn’t be talking about the case at all, because Ernesto Galvan would have been dead and buried five years ago. Prosecutors have downplayed Ernesto’s injuries, saying the West Sac officers used “restraint.” In an apparent attempt to dodge legal liability for excessive force, District Attorney Jeff Reisig is making an unprecedented fourth attempt-following three hung juries-to prosecute the Galvans for resisting arrest and battery on a police officer. It turned out the Galvans weren’t on drugs, and they had not committed any crime before encountering the West Sac officers. Today his head is permanently misshapen by the blows of West Sacramento’s police batons. But when it was over, Fermin was beaten up with a few missing teeth. We may never know if Ernesto really instigated the violence that went down by taking a swing at the officer-that’s the official version. It was 3 in the morning, and the cops suspected the two of using drugs and just generally being up to no good. ![]() Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisigīack in 2005, two West Sacramento police officers approached Fermin Galvan and his brother Ernesto. Here are some more Grinches we want to single out for special recognition. (Of course, we recognize that the California taxpayer is quick to say “bah, humbug” to any suggestion that citizens pay more for services.) Furloughs, plus cuts to schools, transit and welfare-it sure feels like those in power have hearts that are two sizes too small. ![]() The list is long, and certainly California’s governor and state legislators should top any list. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? No thanks to those corporations, bureaucrats and politicians that spent the year making life extra dreadful for the rest of us.
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