California: Oakland

The Governor and a judge want to release 58,000 criminals, early from prison.

Every time this issue comes up, the name Lovelle Mixon should be mentioned and four dead Oakland cops.

This is what happens to the when the ACLU types control policy, Mixon is out and cops are dead.

Your choice--should Mixon had been forced to stay in prison?  California is in trouble--the criminals seem to have more protection than honest people--they have the guns, we must beg for them.  They get better health care than those that work.  Criminals get tax payer protection and early outs--we get the shaft.

Tell the Governor and the judge, "NO MORE OAKLANDS, KEEP CRIMINALS IN PRISON"

Crossposted from the California High Speed Rail Blog

One of my lingering concerns about the Obama Administration has been that they might be tempted to claim victory with the $8 billion in HSR funding added to the stimulus and not follow up on that money, which as we know merely pays for some initial costs. But Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made clear last week that in fact, the $8 billion in HSR stimulus really is intended as a signal to America that Obama is truly serious about building HSR:

LaHood said that for Obama building high-speed rail networks is, "if not his No.

What's going on this Valentine's/President's Day weekend?

• Leon Panetta was easily confirmed as CIA Director.

• A cool Jewish Community Federation event if you are in SF on the morning of Feb. 24: Shai Aggasi, CEO of Better Place will be giving the keynote to the group's Business Leadership Council breakfast.  Better Place is a very interesting company that is trying to build infrastructure for an electric car network.  They have actually already begun work on networks in Israel and Denmark, and have come to some agreements with some California mayors (including SF's Gavin Newsom and SJ's Chuck Reed).  From what I hear, he's also a very good speaker.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell will deliver his sixth State of Education address this morning at what could be the bleakest time for the state's schools of his tenure.

Advocates for education, the largest chunk of California's budget, are bracing for the impact of cuts in school spending expected to be approved by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On the politicking side, one Schwarzenegger administration proposal seems to have successfully split the Education Coalition.

In the name of easing the blow of deep education cuts, the governor has proposed to do away with many of the earmarks -- so-called "categoricals" -- that predetermine how districts must spend the money.