Capitol Alert

The latest on California politics and government

Steve Burd Safeway.JPGSenate Democrats holding a closed-door policy conference today and Wednesday are reviewing options for slashing the state budget and listening to the concerns and ideas of Safeway's CEO and other business interests.

"The issue of jobs and the economy in the Capitol bubble sometimes doesn't lead to the most productive solutions," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told the Bee.

He said the Senate Democratic Caucus is hearing "sobering" presentations about the state budget deficit that must be back-filled.

Senators will hear more Wednesday on "what policy makers can do to attract and retain high-wage industries in California," Steinberg said.

Among the speakers: Steve Burd, CEO of Safeway and a Republican; green energy supporter and SunPower CEO Thomas Werner; wealthy Democrat Tom Steyer, founder of Farallon Capital Management; Edward de la Rosa, an investment banker from Los Angeles; and a representative of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Senators are interested in hearing about green energy and how several bills they have pending could promote job growth in that area. They're also interested, Steinberg said, in hearing about the impact budget cuts could have on the state's economy.

"We're not taking vote cards here today," Steinberg said, commenting on whether the caucus is united in backing Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed $12.6 billion in cuts. However, he said, "there is a common commitment to making the cuts that are necessary."

Economists from the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses made presentations today. The senators are meeting at the UC Davis MIND Institute, part of the school's medical treatment and research complex in Sacramento.

PHOTO CREDIT: Safeway CEO Steve Burd smiles as he sits in a Safeway truck at a Safeway store in Dublin, Calif., Friday, Jan. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/ Paul Sakuma)

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

hide comments
blog comments powered by Disqus


FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

More Capitol Alert

Capitol Alert on Twitter

FOLLOW US | Get more from sacbee.com | Follow us on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook | Get news in your inbox | View our mobile versions | e-edition: Print edition online | What our bloggers are saying

Popular Categories

Categories


May 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

Monthly Archives


Latest California Clips