The Swarm

2013 State Fair concert lineup is an encouraging sign

2013-05-02T17:59:14Z

The new boss at the California State Fair promised free concerts every night and a modern mix of acts.

Looking at the lineup announced today for the 2013 fair, he seems to be following through. There are acts booked for all but the last night, on July 28. And while they include some tribute bands and groups way past their prime, there are some that people would recognize: En Vogue, Hoostabank, Lonestar and LeeAnn Rimes.

The Bee's editorial board is guardedly optimistic about new Cal Expo Rick Pickering's capacity to turn around a fair that had become rather tired and predictable.

On the concert score, at least, so far, so good.

Ami Bera dings Obama administration for rollout of Affordable Care Act

2013-05-02T00:34:51Z

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius might want to carve out a few minutes to chat with Rep. Ami Bera, one of two Democratic members of Congress who happens to be a physician.

They probably could find more to discuss than the weather, like maybe President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act which is supposed to take full effect at the start of 2014.

"We have one chance to get this right," Bera told The Bee's editorial board. "If this fails and blows up, it is probably another decade if not longer before health care and we don't have another decade."

As a former chief medical officer for Sacramento County and an assistant dean at UC Davis medical school, Bera, an Elk Grove Democrat, might have a few suggestions about Obamacare's impending roll-out.

"I'm moderately to very concerned," Bera said. "I have been consistently concerned about the cost of care going up."

He added: "I worry that when the Affordable Care Act was originally passed, they did a very poor job of explaining it. ... I don't know that they're doing a much better job telling people about what the roll-out is going to look like."

Bera said he and his fellow freshman-physician, Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Democrat from the Palm Springs area, have not yet gotten on Sebelius' calendar, although they've "asked a couple of times for a meeting."

Why not, we asked?

"I don't know. I'd like to have that meeting."

Perhaps a formal letter is in order.

Bera addressed the related matter of granting non-physicians more authority to treat patients, suggesting physicians might need to agree cede turf to others such as nurse practitioners or optometrists.

"Reimbursement is going to change dramatically or your scope of practice is going to change," Bera said he tells physicians. "Which do you want to fight for?"

Female veterans have a new number to call for help

2013-04-24T00:50:12Z

Female veterans have a new hotline to call to make sure they're getting the benefits they've earned.

The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced the launch of the toll-free line at 1-855-VA-WOMEN (1-855-829-6636).

"Some women Veterans may not know about high-quality VA care and services available to them," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said in a statement. "The hotline will allow us to field their questions and provide critical information about the latest enhancements in VA services."

As I've written, the VA has been trying to ramp up to deal with the unprecedented number of women serving in the military and now becoming veterans.

Women make up nearly 15 percent of the active-duty military and 18 percent of National Guard and Reserves. The VA says the number of women using VA health care has more than doubled from nearly 160,000 in 2000 to more than 354,000 in 2012 and is expected to continue rising.

Signs of progress on VA disability claims, care for female vets

2013-04-19T16:26:36Z

There are noteworthy developments on a couple of veterans issues I have been writing about.

One is the disgraceful record of the Department of Veterans Affairs in handling disability claims. The VA announced today that to cut the backlog, it will make provisional rulings on the oldest claims, many more than a year old.

"Too many veterans wait too long for a decision, and this has never been acceptable," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. "That is why we are implementing an aggressive plan to eliminate the backlog in 2015. This initiative is the right thing to do now for veterans who have waited the longest."

Under the plan, eligible veterans will receive benefits sooner. They can also submit additional evidence for one year that could increase their benefits.

The delays are partly due to the increased number being filed by those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wait times have been particularly long at the VA office in Oakland, which handles claims from the Sacramento region.

The VA has promised to make improvements before, so we'll have to wait and see how much difference this change makes.

The other issue is how the VA is adapting to the rising number of female veterans.

On Monday, the VA Northern California Health Care System plans to open a new flagship women's health clinic in Mather.

The clinic will serve women from throughout the Sacramento region, where the use of VA medical services by female veterans is rising by 8.5 percent a year. It will offer primary care, mental health, social programs and more. It will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays at the Sacramento VA Medical Center.

Finally, a move on citizen panel on Sacramento sales tax

2013-04-11T18:40:55Z

In the category of better late than never, the Sacramento City Council will finally get around next week to starting a citizen committee to oversee how a sales tax windfall is spent.

The Thursday agenda for the council's Personnel & Public Employees Committee, posted today on the city's website, includes an item to start the recruitment process for the Measure U oversight panel.

As The Bee's editorial board pointed out, shoppers started paying the half-cent increase in the local sales tax on April 1, but the citizen committee was missing in action.

Before voters approved Measure U last November, council members promised that a citizen oversight committee would make sure the sales tax proceeds were spent properly, for public safety, parks and other basic services.

The current plan is for the committee to start work July 1. But that's after the budget process, when council members will decide how to spend $27 million in 2013-14 from the sales tax hike. It would be far better if the committee helped advise the council before those decisions are made.

Jerry Brown: 'Closing a $27 billion budget gap ain't bupkis'

2013-04-10T00:59:26Z

Gov. Jerry Brown apparently wasn't so busy packing for China on Saturday that he couldn't fire off a response to a Washington Post column he found annoying.

The column, by Matt Miller, argued that Brown was getting too much credit for shoring up the state's finances. Wrote Miller:

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but all the talk that Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has basically "fixed" California by balancing the budget through a tax hike on high earners seems laughably off-base, at least to this Los Angeles native.

In a letter published today in the Post, Brown says Miller knocked down a straw man argument but missed the point about Proposition 30, the tax measure voters approved last November.

After years of massive budget instability, Prop 30 -- when added to $20 billion in new budget cuts -- restored fiscal balance to California. Closing a $27 billion budget gap ain't bupkis, Mr. Miller.

According to the Wiktionary, the word "bupkis" is yiddish, deriving from bobkes, which means "large beans" and kozebopkes, which means "goat droppings."

So there, Mr. Miller. How do you like those beans?

Why should Obama apologize for telling the truth?

2013-04-05T20:52:23Z

By Ginger Rutland

We suck all the marrow out of our politicians and then wonder why they come off so universally wooden and timid and scripted.

The most recent case on point - an off-hand remark by President Barack Obama at a private fundraiser in San Francisco that Kamala Harris "also happens to be the best-looking attorney general in the country" has created a stir among the chattering classes - mostly newspaper reporters and TV pundits. Regular Americans, I suspect, could care less.

Under the headline "Flirter in chief," Fox News reports that the president, a friend and long time political ally of Harris, called her to apologize for the remark. Please! Where else in the world do men have to apologize for calling a good looking women good looking?

California happens to be home to two exceptionally beautiful women in high office - Harris, who undoubtedly is, as the president said, "the best looking attorney general in the country," and Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

Some may recall the hubbub that Assemblyman Chuck Calderon created a year or so ago when he alluded to Cantil-Sakauye's appearance in an Assembly floor speech. "It isn't...is she attractive" the clueless Calderon sputtered, "Cause she is."

Unlike Harris, the chief justice did take offense. That may have been because at the moment he uttered his fateful words regarding Cantil-Sakauye's appearance, Calderon was pushing legislation that would have stripped the chief justice of her power.

There seems to be a double standard. Endless stories have been written and reams of newsprint consumed on the subject of California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom's handsome profile. One news article called him "blindingly handsome." But I don't recall any one getting huffy about it or being accused of sexism or even asking him if he were offended.

And it goes beyond politicians. Ordinary men I talk to about this tell me they feel constrained at the office, afraid of offering even the most common place compliments to their female co-workers.

This, I think, is one of those instances when the "media" really is to blame. We tend to highlight the "oops" moments, blowing them way out of proportion. "Flirter in chief?" - give me a break.

President Barack Obama walks with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, center, and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Rise & Opine: Will they serve green beer at Sonics Arena?

2013-04-03T13:47:41Z

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has been playing the P.R. card hot and heavy in the walk up to Wednesday's meeting with NBA owners in New York. But Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, leaders of the Seattle investment team attempting to purchase the Kings from the Maloof family, haven't just been sitting on their emerald seat cushions.

Over the weekend, they produced drawings of their new arena. A very green arena!

If the NBA owners like green -- and they do, in the financial sense -- maybe they will be attracted to what Seattle is offering. But at least one survey shows that green is not a popular color, seen as unsafe, at least by purchasers of new cars.

The survey, conducted by Cheskin, MSI-ITM, and CMCD/Visual Symbols Library, found that the most popular color was blue, followed by purple. That's right, purple. Kings colors.

We will soon find out if the NBA owners feel safe in a green car. To drive it, they will need to junk a purple one -- a model that has proven dependable over the long haul.

Renderings courtesy of www.sonicsarena.com

Sacramento supervisors go on record against 4 a.m. last call

2013-03-26T19:23:43Z

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors today strongly opposed a bill that could lead to a later last call for serving alcohol at bars and restaurants.

Senate Bill 635 would allow cities and counties to petition the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to extend hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. in designated nightlife districts.

Supervisors voted after hearing from the Sheriff's Department that it worries about more drunken driving and its ability to patrol more crowded roads at 4 a.m., when the commute to the Bay area is starting for some local residents.

That backed up a staff recommendation that also warned about the impact on public safety.

Supervisor Phil Serna said it was a "no brainer" for him to oppose the extended hours.

He and other supervisors also didn't think much of supporters' arguments that a later last call could actually reduce DUIs by limiting binge drinking by patrons slamming down drinks at 2 a.m. Backers also describe the measure as local economic development tool.

Here comes U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley, finally

2013-03-25T16:19:48Z

Better late than never for Troy L. Nunley, who has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become a judge on the federal district court centered in Sacramento.

Nunley was initially nominated by President Barack Obama last June, but was left hanging in December when the Senate adjourned without voting on his nomination and 10 other judicial nominees. The Bee's editorial board called them casualties of the partisan rancor in Washington.

Obama renominated Nunley in January the very day the new Senate was sworn into office. He was finally confirmed Saturday morning.

Nunley, a former prosecutor, is a judge on the Sacramento Superior Court. He will help ease a backlog in the Eastern District of California that is one of the worst in the country. According to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office, it takes a criminal case 30 percent longer to be completed than it did in 2009, and a civil case takes nearly four years to get to trial, 50 percent longer than two years ago."

"Judge Nunley's confirmation is a small step to help relieve the pressure in the Eastern District, but there is more to do," Feinstein said in a statement. "I will continue the fight to add more judgeships to the California's Eastern District, which has suffered from unsustainable caseloads for years."

Sacramento supervisors to take up 4 a.m. last call

2013-03-21T23:58:49Z

Sacramento County supervisors could go on record Tuesday against a bill that would allow cities and counties to let bars and restaurants have last call at 4 a.m.

The staff recommendation says the Board of Supervisors should oppose Senate Bill 635 because the consequences of permitting alcohol sales to continue from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. "could be significant as they relate to health and safety risks."

"Later hours of sale result in problems which take a number of forms, such as public drunkenness, assault, rape, theft, begging and vandalism," the staff report says. "Consequently, the costs of community services such as police and medical services will be impacted."

The bill's author, Sen. Mark Leno of San Francisco, says it's about more local control and potential for tax revenue.

He and supporters, which include the California Restaurant Association, say the later last call would boost local economies and help nightlife districts in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego compete for tourism dollars with cities such as Las Vegas, New York and Miami.

Under the bill, a local government would have to seek permission from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to allow the 4 a.m. last call in certain areas, on specific days of the week, or both. Each bar or restaurant wanting later hours would also have to get approval from the state ABC.

As I wrote earlier this week, I'm concerned that neighborhoods near nightlife districts might be burdened. I also worry about whether state ABC has the resources and right attitude to protect residents.

Supervisors are scheduled to take up the issue at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The bill is set for its first Senate committee hearing on April 9.

Rise & Opine: Is cap-and-trade working in California?

2013-03-19T07:01:17Z

Kudos to Thomas Elias. He's one of the first columnists statewide to suggest that California's cap and trade system, despite all the naysayers, might actually be working.

He might be right. It will take several auctions to know for sure if the state is on the right track. Dana Hull of the San Jose Merc has answers to 13 big questions about the state's cap and trade.

But Elias makes a good point "The fact most businesses paid nothing for 90 percent of their pollution allowances is a real positive." That's true, and hardly the message of some pundits who trash California's attempts to lead on reducing impacts of climate change. At the least, they should acknowledge that the state's first two auctions have defied the naysayers, including the litigious -- and often critical of litigation -- California Chamber of Commerce.

State auditor will look at employment programs for veterans

2013-03-14T17:31:36Z

It's not a huge step in the scheme of things, but it could lead to progress for California veterans.

Today, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee directed the state auditor to look at how well the state is helping veterans get jobs.

State Sen. Lou Correa, a Democrat from Santa Ana who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, made the request, noting that young vets in particular are having a hard time finding work.

"Unemployment is at crisis levels for young veterans in California. I applaud the committee for agreeing that we must improve employment opportunities for our veterans," Correa said in a statement.

As I mentioned in a recent California Forum story on the issue, about 40 percent of veterans between 18 and 24 are unemployed. As Correa also notes, young veterans with short military careers are competing with peers who went to college or have more job experience. And as California's sluggish economy improves, many more veterans will be coming home as U.S. forces pull out of Afghanistan and the defense budget gets cut.

Bottom line: They need all the help they can get.

A successful test for California earthquake warning network

2013-03-13T22:32:32Z

The small earthquake felt by much of southern California this week should help the cause for a statewide warning system.

But then again, we're talking about the Legislature, so who knows.

Scientists say a prototype gave 35 seconds of warning before the more damaging waves arrived from the magnitude 4.7 temblor in Riverside County.

The quake caused no major damage, but in a bigger one, it would have been enough notice for trains to stop, utilities to power down and for people to seek better shelter.

Sen. Alex Padilla introduced a bill this session to create a statewide quake alert network, at a cost of $80 million to install the sensors, plus about $20 million a year to operate it.

The Bee's editorial board is in favor, calling it a smart investment since it could limit much more costly damage, not to mention saving lives.

So far, there has been no action on Senate Bill 135.

If you don't know Jack (Ohman), come meet him March 20

2013-03-12T21:10:19Z

He blogs. He tweets. He's on Facebook. His political cartoons appear five or six times a week in The Sacramento Bee, and are syndicated nationally to more than 200 newspapers. In the parlance of modern newspaper-speak, he's the ultimate multi-platform content provider.

He's also entertaining in person. Don't believe me? Find out for yourself on Wednesday, March 20. That's when The Bee is hosting a free public event -- "Meet Jack Ohman" -- here, at 2100 Q Street, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Ohman, as I noted when we hired him back in October, is one of the most talented and lauded cartoonists working today. He has won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Scripps Foundation Award, the national SPJ Award, the National Headliner Award and the Overseas Press Club Award. Last year, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. This year, he was a finalist for the Herblock Prize, one of the nation's most prestigious contests for cartooning.

He's also written and illustrated ten books, many of them about his off-time obsession, fly fishing.

A native of Minnesota, Ohman previously worked at the Columbus Dispatch, the Detroit Free Press and The Oregonian in Portland before joining The Bee at the start of this year. He succeeds our friend and great colleague Rex Babin, who passed away in March last year after a 15-month struggle with cancer.

If you want to check out Ohman's cartoons, daily blog and a video of his first day at work, find them at www.sacbee.com/ohman.

If you want to meet him in person, and hear his take on the Sacramento scene and California politics, attend the March 20 event. You can register by clicking on the "Bee Events" tab at www.beebuzzpoints.com.