Afternoon Link Thread/Open Thread

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

These all probably could have gotten full posts, but well I only have so much time these days.  Here are a few things that I have had open on my browser all day, intending to write about.  Any front pagers who want to add to, feel free.  Consider this an open thread.

• Tack on another $1 billion to the state deficit.  Corporate tax receipts took a nose dive and we are down another billion from the projections in the January budget.
• This Weintraub column on Arnold and marriage equality is worth a read, particularly in tandem with this Matthews post.  Here is my take.  The governor has been opposing marriage equality for political reasons, not ideological ones.  Now that he is a lame duck, he is feeling more free to express an opinion about marriage equality.  I don't expect him to sign Mark Leno's bill, but I could see him being more willing to if the hate amendment qualifies for the November election and then goes down in flames.  That of course does not factor in the Supreme Court ruling expected this summer.

  We are going to get marriage equality in this state.  It is just a matter of when.

• Speaking of Matthews, this article from Sunday is pretty interesting.  Matthews argues that the governor needs to drop the education cuts so that the redistricting initiative has a chance.  I am not going to argue against moving away from education cuts by any means.  However, redistricting is such a minor issue this year given the budget deficit and the governor should not be making decisions about it based on the chances of redistricting.

  Sure we could have a better way to draw our lines,  but the 2/3rds requirements and Prop 13 have a much bigger impact on our state's disfunction than redistricting.  Oh and his "budget reforms" are a non-starter.  Matthews is correct that the discussion this year ought to be about taxes, which is directly related to the issues I listed above.

• UC admissions rates dropped this year, but it was mostly due to demographics, not the budget cuts.  The millennial generation is huge and there are more kids applying that ever before.  In general admissions rates are down across the country.  This means added pressure on the CSU and community college system.

  On a personal note, my youngest sister is headed to Duke in the fall and I am rather proud of her, even though she picked it over my alma matter.