Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Jerry Brown took a strong stand against coal on Friday, approving an East Bay lawmaker's bill to ban state funding for coal-related projects. In signing state Sen. Loni Hancock's bill, the governor also praised the Oakland City Council for voting to ban transportation of the ore through its city and encouraged other cities to do the same. "Other localities should follow suit -- and the state should, too -- to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate the shipment of coal through all California ports, Brown wrote in a signing message.

Guess What? I'm not a genius. Let's get that subjectivity out of the way. I was never a good math student back in the 70's, but, I struggled through, sometimes surprising myself with successful comprehension. I have great respect levened with healthy envy for those who are fluent in 'The Maths'. I loved, and still do love words or visual art when used to express, speculate or elucidate. With that disclaimer, I must now express concern over the further lowered standards now being set into place by the 'Honorable(?) Gov. Jerry Brown in Ca. The legislative tool is Senate Bill...

A bill that seeks to abolish California's death penalty advanced Thursday after its first legislative hearing with support from the author of the state's death penalty and a former warden who presided over executions. Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, said she introduced the bill because California can no longer afford a capital punishment system that is both expensive and ineffective as it battles persistent multibillion-dollar budget deficits. If eventually signed into law, the bill would put the question before voters in 2012. The Assembly Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 along party lines in favor of SB490 after hearing testimony from Sacramento...

An East Bay lawmaker said Monday she'll introduce a bill which, if passed and then approved by voters, would abolish California's death penalty. The forthcoming bill from state Senate Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, would convert already-condemned inmates' sentences to life in prison without possibility of parole. "Capital punishment is an expensive failure and an example of the dysfunction of our prisons," Hancock, who also chairs the budget subcommittee that oversees prison spending, said in a news release. "California's death row is the largest and most costly in the United States. It is not helping to protect our...

An East Bay assemblywoman and state senate candidate says a recent mailer slamming her record on education shows nothing more than an American Indian tribe's vengeance about her opposition to its big casino plans in San Pablo — and even her main rival came to her defense. Democratic voters in the 9th Senate District recently received a mailer accusing Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, of trying to weaken state academic standards in legislation she sponsored in 2006. Hancock faces off in the June 3 state Senate primary against former Assembly Majority Leader Wilma Chan of Alameda. But the mailer wasn't paid...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Wednesday that proposed an instant fix for students failing to meet California's standard for proficiency: redefine proficiency. Schwarzenegger concluded that changing a few words won't solve academic woes. "Redefining the level of academic achievement necessary to designate students as 'proficient' does not make the students proficient," his veto message said. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, called the governor's veto of her Assembly Bill 2975 a "missed opportunity" that ultimately will hurt students. "Schools will be labeled as failing schools even if they are making progress and improving their test scores," she said. AB 2975 argued that...

From the blog of Assemblyman Chuck DeVore's Blog An Array of “Interesting” People... Yesterday I had the honor of Vice Chairing the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs when it took up Assembly Joint Resolution 36 (AJR 36) by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock. Ms. Hancock holds the distinction of being the first female major of Berkeley. She also worked in the Carter and Clinton Administrations. AJR 36 was sponsored by Code Pink, a radical surrender group. More on them later. The non-binding resolution has no force of law and therefore only sends a message. The message? California wants the return of its...