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(AP) — SACRAMENTO, Calif. - It was a gift no girlie man would give. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has warned lawmakers they need to act boldly and make some tough budget choices, sent Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg a metal sculpture of bull testicles. It was intended as a gag gift but Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, was not amused and returned the football-sized gift with a terse note about the seriousness of the ongoing negotiations.

State lawmakers began moving toward a deal this week to close California's deficit with the help of steeper car fees that would cost many drivers hundreds of dollars annually, according to people involved in budget talks. Under the plan, GOP lawmakers -- most of whom have signed anti-tax pledges -- would vote to triple the vehicle license fee that owners pay when they register their cars every year in exchange for a ballot measure that would impose rigid limits on future state spending. Motorists' annual license fees would rise from 0.65% of the value of their vehicles to 2%. For...

California 'Central Planning'   If you live in California,  you already know  that the Inmates have taken over the Asylum.    ...If you don't want to end up 'living in a condo by the Railroad Tracks', do yourself a favor and either phone, or fax a letter to, Governor Schwartzenegger TODAY, urging him to oppose, and NOT sign SB 375.   See: http://reason.org/commentaries/staley_20080826.shtml for details... (...and see below for Arnold's fax number/address.) http://www.seadogbytes.com/sbimages/SB375_Steinberg.jpg   Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 445-2841, ext. 0 (and tell them you oppose SB 375) Fax: (916) 558-3160  

SACRAMENTO – California is on the verge of initiating a historic rewrite of local planning laws, fusing for the first time the issues of urban growth and global warming. Unprecedented nationally, the complex legislation would steer communities toward land-use policies to contain sprawl, using as much as $12 billion a year in state-controlled transportation funds as an incentive. “This bill will change the way California grows,” said state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, its author. Under the measure, the state Air Resources Board would establish targets for 17 regions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of a broader campaign to...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — For decades, California cities and counties knew one way to grow — by sprawling outward. That approach, which has led to ever longer commutes, jammed freeways and worsening air quality, is being challenged under a bill that was approved Saturday in the state Legislature. If signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not yet indicated whether he would do so, the bill would require local governments to plan their growth so that homes, businesses and public transit systems are clustered together. The goal is to help California meet the emission mandates spelled out in a wide-ranging...

Shorter commutes. Less sprawl. Cleaner air. Denser housing closer to downtown near transportation hubs. "Smart growth" it's called. California policy makers have been yakking about this -- dreaming about it -- for decades. But too many interests have been prospering from dumb growth or have merely been skittish of a future they can't quite visualize. Enter a tenacious policy wonk with roots in local government: state Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). He has just managed to finesse to the verge of legislative passage a visionary smart growth bill that, by its nature, also fights global warming. ... (snip) The measure (SB...

Ted Costa isn't one to take government tomfoolery lying down. Costa, who heads the People's Advocate political watchdog group and was a leading architect of the 2003 recall campaign that toppled Gov. Gray Davis, is incensed that Democrats are trying to recall Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater. Chief among Denham's alleged crimes is that he opposed the state budget last year. But Costa says he's thinking about launching a recall against Senate-leader-to-be Darrell Steinberg, unless Steinberg repudiates the Denham recall effort. Costa's grounds: Steinberg helped get the state in its current fiscal mess by supporting last year's budget. "The budget is...

Metropolitan News-Enterprise IN MY OPINION (Column) Another Tax Increase Initiative: When Will It Stop? By JON COUPAL (The writer is an attorney and president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.) During and after the recall campaign, Arnold Schwarzenegger repeatedly stated that he would raise taxes only as a last resort in case of major catastrophe. With major fires and an earthquake behind us and still no tax increase, he apparently meant what he said. This has left the tax-and-spend lobby fuming. It has also left them with the initiative process as the only realistic mechanism to pursue their big government...