Free Republic

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Friday he's "definitely undecided" on another run for the White House next year and is increasingly concerned Republicans will "Balkanize themselves" ahead of 2012. A day after the sparsely attended first debate of the GOP primary season, Huckabee said in an interview on Fox News that he had no regrets about missing the gathering and that he's still working toward a decision on 2012. "First of all, I've got to come to a place where I believe I should run, and I'm not there yet," Huckabee said. "My feeling is I'll be there by...

Sacramento -- Bleary-eyed lawmakers voted early today to put a $37 billion package of bonds intended to fix levees and build new highways and schools on the November ballot. "Today we made a giant step forward in terms of our commitment to the state's economy and in terms of strengthening our crumbling infrastructure," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "We also showed what bipartisanship can look like." An attempt by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to put a larger bond on the June ballot failed two months ago. Of the four bonds, transportation is the largest, at...

The state is collecting record-breaking tax revenues this year, outstripping even the most optimistic fiscal forecasts and setting the stage for a debate among lawmakers over what to do with the bounty as they craft next year's budget. The Franchise Tax Board said it took in $11.3 billion in personal income tax payments this April, an amount larger than the $10.5 billion the state received in April 2001 at the height of the high-tech stock market boom. The pace of revenues is amazing even the experts who make a living predicting how much the state will earn. "We're very surprised...

An East Bay assemblyman is proposing to give all nine Bay Area counties the ability to increase vehicle registration fees to pay for local transportation projects and environmental mitigation. The money, up to $30.5 million a year, would be spent on local roads and transit systems and for water and air quality projects.It might not seem like much, sitting as it does in the shadow of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $68 billion public-works bond proposal, but the money is vital to the health of local streets and bus lines, said Assemblyman Johan Klehs, D-Hayward."For one thing, there is no guarantee the...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides said Tuesday he would pursue ballot initiatives to close tax loopholes and increase taxes on the state's highest income earners as governor if he cannot persuade the Legislature to approve those changes. In a meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau, Angelides cast education funding as a "moral issue." He accused Democratic rival and state Controller Steve Westly, as well as Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, of lacking fiscal plans to pay for schools and the state's budget deficit. Angelides, the state treasurer, has staked his own pledges to increase education funding, lower college tuition and solve...

Talk about drama. If Californians approve the bold new "Preschool for All Act" - a proposed ballot measure that would offer free preschool to all the state's 4-year-olds - the overhaul of the state's education system would be epic. Sell It Yourself There's star power behind this initiative, aimed at the June ballot and engineered by Hollywood filmmaker and children's advocate Rob Reiner. But there's also a prequel, an intriguing back-story you probably haven't heard about. Remember Rusty Hammer? Hammer is the former chief of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce who went on to become president and CEO of...

OK, I realize everyone is worried about rising oil prices, and the painful news you get at the gas pump every time you fill up that 24-gallon behemoth you use to go shopping and pick up your kids. Heck, even filling up your Prius these days can be a harrowing experience. But let's stop for a moment amid our fear and embrace it. Let's stand still and wonder how we can turn this oil-mad conundrum on its ear and use it to our benefit. What if we, as Californians, put a huge tax on gasoline, and the federal government followed...

Most Bay Area counties -- including Contra Costa and Alameda -- collect voter-sanctioned half-cent sales taxes to build new roads, fill potholes and operate buses. But with state highway money stuck in traffic, those same counties are turning to vehicle registration fees to raise millions more, a tactic under fire from tax watchdogs because the new fees don't need voter approval. San Mateo County was the first in the Bay Area to implement a "traffic relief fee," adding $4 to vehicle registration costs after the Legislature and governor approved the plan last year. Pending legislation would let six more counties,...

SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco may become the first city in the nation to charge shoppers for grocery bags. The city's environmental commission is expected to ask the mayor and board of supervisors Tuesday to consider a 17-cent-per-bag charge on paper and plastic grocery bags. Their goal is to reduce plastic bag pollution. Environmentalists say plastic bags jam machinery, pollute waterways and often end up in trees. Officials believe that the city spends five-point-two cents per bag annually for street litter pickup and one-point-four cents per bag for extra recycling costs. But grocers and bag manufacturers argue that many people already...