Friday, December 31, 2010

Supreme Court Terminated Governor's Last Ditch Petition to Sell State Properties

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/12/31/18667918.php

Introduction by Dan Bacher - Story by Patrick Porgans, Solutionist
Friday Dec 31st, 2010 12:55 PM
Outgoing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his collaborators have waged a campaign to greenwash his absymal environmental legacy through a plethora of press releases, photo opportunities and puff pieces before he leaves office. One of the most shameful examples of these efforts to rewrite history by casting Schwarzenegger in the role of "green governor" is Terry Tamminen's Huffington Post puff piece, "He'll Be Back" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-tamminen/hell-be-back_b_802128.html).

"In 'Terminator', Arnold Schwarzenegger famously utters 'I'll be back.' The world should hope that he'll be back to keep working on these issues with the unique style of public service that is the basis of his unprecedented green legacy," Tamminen claims.

In stark contrast, Patrick Porgans, a longtime advocate for the public trust, has written a superb piece exposing the Governor's last ditch petition to sell 11 state office properties to private corporations before leaving office. The plan was supposedly designed to pay off a portion of the state's multi billion deficit and increasing debt load.

"Ironically, the debt is partially the result of the Governor's 'don't raise taxes' rhetoric, while at the same time promoting and securing approval of record-amounts of General Obligation bonds," said Porgans. "The governor’s bond promotion scheme was one of the primary factors contributing to the state’s sea of rising debt." (http://www.planetarysolutionaries.org/ [California Bondage])

However, it appears that the real motive behind the attempted sale of the properties and the passage of the General Obligation bonds was to benefit rich corporations at the expense of the California public.

"Raising nearly $144 million from private contributors implies there more than a coincidental link between the campaign contributions, the sale of the property and the windfall profits that have and continued to be realized by the Governor’s supporters," said Porgans. "Critics argue that the sale of the 11 properties, along with the wholesale-General Obligation bond bonanza, which taxpayers are responsible to repay, makes the Bernie Madoff Ponzie scam look like mere child's play."

Schwarzenegger's campaign to build a peripheral canal/tunnel, a project projected to cost $23 billion to $53.8 billion, is nothing other than an effort by the outgoing Governor to enrich corporate agribusiness, southern California water privateers and corporate "environmental" NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy at tremendous expense to collapsing Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations, fishing communities, California Indian Tribes and family farmers. Those of us who have suffered under Schwarzenegger's war on fish and the environment hope that, contrary to Tamminen's wish that "He'll Be Back," that the "Fish Terminator" will never again play any role in public policy anywhere. Read more .....

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Appeals court halts sale of California buildings


http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196

Appeals court halts sale of California buildings

Monday, December 13, 2010
 Tags:
AP  
A California appeals court on Monday stalled the sale of 11 state office properties to private investors, likely delaying the transaction until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of office.
The state is reviewing the court's action and evaluating its options after the court issued the stay blocking the sale, said Department of General Services spokesman Eric Lamoureux.
"We hope that the court will move swiftly to consider this case and reach a decision," he said.

Related Content

Story: Judge OKs sale of Calif buildings in early ruling
Story: Lawsuit filed to stop planned sale of state buildings
Story: State building sales may cost tax payers more
Story: Calif. to sell off office buildings to generate cash

The move came in a lawsuit brought by two former state building authority members who say selling the properties is unconstitutional and a waste of taxpayer money.
The members, Jerry Epstein and A. Redmond Doms, were ousted by Schwarzenegger after they asked the state to perform a cost-benefit analysis and questioned the long-term consequences for taxpayers. Don Casper, a third member who was also ousted for questioning the sale, has also signed on as a plaintiff.
Monday's stay delays a transaction that had been scheduled to close this week. It's likely the sale will fall to Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, who takes over Jan. 3.

Schwarzenegger had promoted the sale of state properties as a way to generate cash to help fill the state's budget deficit. The state awarded the sale of the buildings -- including the Ronald Reagan building in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Civic Center -- to California First LLC, a consortium of investors led by a Texas real estate firm and a private equity firm based in Irvine, for $2.3 billion.
Read more ... http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196

Monday, December 6, 2010

Delta Blues & More from Dan Bacher And Salmon Water Now

The latest from Dan Bacher And Salmon Water Now


http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2010/11/26/2660
by Dan Bacher
It has been an eventful couple of weeks for those concerned about the state of California's water politics and the fate of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build a peripheral canal/tunnel has been released, a contentious legislative oversight hearing was held on the BDCP and the Westlands Water District pulled out of the BDCP.
   READ MORE »

How the Resnick Ag Empire works


Writer John Gibler investigates the agricultural empire that
Beverly Hills billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick have created in
the San Joaquin Valley. To read more:
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/lost_in_the_val...

U.S. Department of Interior official Responds to Westlands Criticism


 To read the letter of Interior official David Hayes click HERE!