California Insider

The governor's people have tallied up the money raised so far by the unions against his initiatives, accounted for transfers among the committees and say the total now tops $100 million. You can expect to hear that number thrown around a lot in the next few days. They say they expect to be outspent by about 3 to 1.

John Myers takes a look at the new ad against Prop. 76 featuring Craig Brown, who was finance director for former Gov. Pete Wilson. Myers notes that Wilson released a statement today taking a slap at his former adviser. We could also point out that Brown is no unbiased observer in this fight. He is now a lobbyist for the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. -- the powerful prison guards union that won a 37 percent pay raise and a big pension boost from another former governor: Gray Davis.

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed fewer bills this year -- 729 -- than any California governor since at least 1967, according to legislative staffer Peter Detwiler, who tracks these numbers in an annual report. And while Schwarzenegger is not a veto machine (he apparently works his will more through dissuasion than outright rejection) he has turned back more bills in two years than Jerry Brown did in eight. You can download Peter's full report on the governors here.

The California Charter Schools Assn. says 84 new charter schools opened this fall, bringing the total statewide to 574 schools serving 212,000 students. That's an increase in enrollment of about 18 percent at a time when traditional school enrollment is essentially flat. Charter schools are public schools run by teachers, principals and parents exempted from most of the rules and regulations ordered by Sacramento and local school districts.