California Insider

Every year at the beginning of April, the Department of Finance notifies the Legislature of certain changes the governor intends to make in the budget he proposed in January. Usually, the really big changes – plus those driven by changes in caseload, enrollment and population – are in the May revision of the budget. But some sneak out in the April finance letters. This year, for instance, the governor has detailed how he proposes to spend funds from the Proposition 50 water bond. In all, this year’s finance letters detail a net of about $250,000 in cuts this year and next from the general fund, and about $1.7 billion in increases in spending from special funds, bond funds and federal funds. If you are a real glutton, you can read about every proposed change here.

Jack Kavanaugh, who runs the indispensable Rough and Tumble website that tracks political news in California, has asked that I inform our joint readers that he is having computer trouble today and will be out of commission. He expects to be up again by Saturday morning.

After months of trying, the Bee finally was given access to documents showing the effect of recent cuts in state payrolls. The records show that fewer discrimination complaints are being investigated, the Health Department is slowing background checks on nursing home employees, and the CHP isn't inspecting as many trucks as it used to, among other things. The records also show that most of the more than 9,000 job cuts were accomplished through attrition. Fewer than 1,000 state workers have been laid off. Here is the story.

US payrolls soared by more than 300,000 in March, the biggest gain in four years. Even if sustained for the rest of the year, that rate of job creation wouldn't erase the job loss since Bush took office. But it would likely have a big effect on the presidential campaign, and his prospects for reelection. Here is an early story from CNN.com.