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Hollywood director Rob Reiner stars in the only broadcast ad specifically opposing Propositions 1D and 1E.The two items on Tuesday's special election ballot would temporarily shift funds to the state from local children's and mental-health programs, which voters approved in past years.Reiner is involved in the campaign because in 1998 he spearheaded Proposition 10, which created the children's programs and the tobacco tax to finance them. Proposition 10 proponents have merged efforts with those seeking to protect Proposition 63, the 2004 measure that imposed a "millionaire's tax" to fund mental health programs.Following is the text of the radio ad and...

Late word this evening that will get everyone's attention: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has informed legislative leaders that if three of the six budget-related ballot measures fail next Tuesday, the state faces a $21.3 billion deficit between now and next July. In a letter to the four legislators this afternoon, Schwarzenegger actually offered two new assessments from his budget team of what lies in store for California: a $15.4 billion shortfall if Propositions 1C, 1D, and 1E pass, and the aforementioned $21.3 billion if they fail. This comes after Schwarzenegger told reporters in Culver City today that he intends to release...

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Director Rob Reiner is back on the campaign trail — and he's not happy about it. Reiner told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has joined forces with children's advocates to defeat a measure on next month's special election ballot. Proposition 1D would steer money away from a childhood development program Reiner championed a decade ago. The "When Harry Met Sally" filmmaker criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers for their management of state finances. "They failed miserably," he said. "So now what are they going to do? The thing that they always do. They try...

Vote for Proposition 1D, kill a baby. That's the message of a new campaign backed by the Child Abuse Prevention Center. Prop. 1D asks voters to take more than $1.6 billion in taxes away from programs designed for children ages 5 and younger and use the money to help lower the overall state deficit for the next 5 years. The Child Abuse Prevention Center, a statewide organization, says that because some of the cuts will affect child abuse prevention programs, "Children will be hurt. Some will die." A campaign poster screams "Baby Killer" in large type and a child's feet...

This just in from friends on the scene... California Republican Party (CRP) opposes Prop 1A-1F Mike Villines & Tom Campbell had spoken in favor of 1A and Steve Poizner against.

Here's a not-so-ringing endorsement from Bill Leonard, a Republican member of the Board of Equalization, for two measures on the May 19 ballot: Proposition 1D is "not completely worthless" and Proposition 1E is "also not completely worthless." ... Leonard has been a critic of the budget deal, particularly the tax increases. Both propositions that Leonard endorsed -- if only half-heartedly -- would raid existing funding streams for programs approved by voters to shore-up the deficit-plagued general fund. "Our state has hundreds of separate boxes of money that have been declared "off limits" to the legislature and unavailable to reduce the...

Among the special election propositions that Californians will consider as part of the 2009-10 budget plan is a measure that puts at odds the needs and interests of two groups responsible for providing much of the preschool education offered in San Joaquin County. Voters in 1998 approved the 50-cent-per-pack tobacco tax that sends millions of dollars to First 5 commissions throughout the state to pay for health and education programs focused on children 5 and younger. Proposition 1D, which will appear on the May 19 ballot, seeks to help fill California's gaping budget hole by sending much of that tobacco-tax...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

There are very few absolutes in politics, but let's be clear about this November's election - a vote for any of the proposed bonds, Propositions 1B - 1E and Prop 84, is a vote for the same type of fiscal recklessness that led to the recall of Governor Gray Davis in 2003. Think about it. Since 2003, tax revenues have exploded in California - up $20 billion annually. The Governor's Workers' Compensation reforms are an underappreciated reason for this increase and the economic activity associated with this increase. Unfortunately, the Legislature, Democrats and some Republicans, and the Governor, have spent...

SACRAMENTO - Voters in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Discovery Bay approved a contentious school bond in June to refurbish the city's middle school. In November, they'll face another ballot measure seeking to build a new high school. And that's not all. They also will be asked to vote on a $10.4 billion statewide education bond - part of a record public-works package supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders. Altogether, the November election will mark the 19th time in four years a local or state school bond has appeared on a Contra Costa County ballot....

Tom McClintock visited our editorial board and delivered a devastating analysis of the infrastructure bonds that changed my vote on 1B. (I was already opposed to 1C and 1D.) He noted that historically bonds were used to pay for major projects that last for at least a generation, under the theory that if it takes 30 years to pay off, the people here in 30 years should still be benefiting from it. He said that argument was crucial to rationalizing passing bonds, since, with interest costs, they end up costing $2 for every $1 spent. But McClintock said the highway-transit...

SACRAMENTO - Voters in the eastern San Francisco Bay area suburb of Discovery Bay approved a contentious school bond in June to refurbish the city's middle school. In November, they'll face another ballot measure seeking to build a new high school. And that's not all. They also will be asked to vote on a $10.4 billion statewide education bond - part of a record public works package supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders. Altogether, the November election will mark the 19th time in four years a local or state school bond has appeared on a Contra Costa County...

We will devote quite a bit of space in the FlashReport in the coming weeks to articulating why the five "big bonds" measures on the November ballot -- Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84 -- should all be rejected by California voters. You've heard me make the case over and over if you are a regular reader, but if you are new to this site, I can sum up the main over-arching reasons to reject all of this borrowing in just a few paragraphs: For decades, the liberals who control the state legislature, along with a string of Governors...

CBS) SHERMAN OAKS Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Tuesday voters to support a $37.3 billion plan on the November ballot to improve California's roads, schools and levees. The governor appeared at the Sherman Oaks Galleria to build support for Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, which together represent a multibillion-dollar plan to overhaul the state's infrastructure. "California has always been an economic, environmental and technological leader, and this November we have the historic opportunity to make sure we continue this trend by building the roads, schools, levees and housing of the future," Schwarzenegger said. Proposition 1A would protect Proposition 42...

SAN FRANCISCO — Raising their voices above a few noisy tractors hauling dirt at George Washington High School in San Francisco's Richmond district, California and Bay Area education officials stumped for a $13.5 billion education construction bond on Monday, saying it will make school buildings throughout the state more modern, less crowded and better equipped to withstand natural disasters, including earthquakes. If voters approve Proposition 1D in November, Bay Area schools stand to get $1.5 billion to replace portable classrooms with permanent ones and retrofit aging structures. The bond also earmarks money for career and vocational programs, and for schools...

Californians' wariness of new debt is just one problem facing backers SACRAMENTO – After years of criticism about failing to invest in infrastructure, lawmakers now face questions about whether they are trying to do too much. The Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger placed a record $37.3 billion package of public-works bonds on the Nov. 7 ballot for roads, schools, housing and flood control. BIG BONDS The governor and legislative leaders have placed a record bond package on the Nov. 7 ballot: Proposition 1B – $19.9 billion for transportation Proposition 1C – $2.85 billion for housing Proposition 1D – $10.4 billion...

Environmental groups, lured by the prospect of more than $4 billion for public-transit projects, are backing away from opposing the massive transportation bond on the November ballot. The environmentalists also are daunted by the nearly $7 million in campaign funds amassed by the bond's supporters. Over the weekend, the 75-delegate board of the Sierra Club of California decided against opposing the $19.95 billion bond package, which includes the money for public transit and $14 billion for road construction, plus other projects. Bill Allayaud, the group's legislative director, said Northern California members pushed to fight the bond, while many Southern California...

If California voters reject the $10.4 billion education bond on the November ballot, the state's builders and developers will be on the hook for the full cost of every new school built in the state, starting at the end of 2007. The specter of having to cough up thousands of additional dollars in fees per home has California's builders and developers dumping millions of dollars into the education bond campaign. Two separate committees, funded largely by builders, developers, architects and engineers, already have contributed more than $1 million to help pass Proposition 1D, the school-bond measure. The powerful California Building...

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...

More good news for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the wake of Friday’s early morning passage of the $37.3 billion infrastructure bonds package, now set for California’s November ballot. He is getting major credit from Democrats for his role in making the deal happen. And major Democrats will be campaigning with him Monday on a flyaround tour of the state for the measure. Joining the former action superstar, according to multiple sources in both parties, on his jet will be Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, along with the Republican legislative leaders, Senator Dick Ackerman and...