Free Republic

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California ended the fiscal year without a budget approved by the Legislature for the ninth time in 11 years and didn't even have a handshake budget deal between legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger's staff closed the office about 9 p.m. Wednesday night - three hours before the new fiscal year began - even though the governor had been optimistic of a breakthrough on the few issues that still separate the parties, including local government financing, health and welfare spending and money for state universities. "He said a lot of obstacles were cleared away today," said...