Free Republic

SACRAMENTO – A strong majority of California voters favor the health care overhaul plan passed Monday by the Assembly and the $2-per-pack tobacco tax needed to fund the measure, according to the latest Field Poll. The poll shows that voters support the plan either “strongly” or “somewhat” by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio, 64 percent to 23 percent. Sixty-three percent of voters also support the proposed tobacco tax, while 33 percent oppose it. “Voters are pretty much in sync with the proposal going through the Legislature,” Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said. The poll is a boost for Assembly Speaker Fabian...

Three months after his initial choice of an industry lobbyist was condemned by environmentalists and rejected by Democratic legislators, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday appointed a respected air-quality scientist to chair the California Air Resources Board. The Republican governor's choice of Democrat Robert F. Sawyer — a UC Berkeley emeritus energy professor who has been active on air-quality issues for decades — is not expected to generate any significant opposition from environmental groups or the Legislature. The appointment of Sawyer, 70, must be confirmed by the state Senate. The job pays $117,818 a year. "I am honored Gov. Schwarzenegger has...