CaliforniaCityNews.org

Santa Monica Leads Pack of CA Cities in "Digital City" Awards

eRepublic's Center for Digital Government and Digital Communitieshas released its 2009 list of the most advanced digital cities in America. The cities were chosen from the results of the ninth annual Digital Cities Survey, which examines "how municipalities incorporate information technology into operations which better serve citizens engaging with local government." 

The list was broken down into population categories, and Santa Monica took top honors in its class.  That's not diminish the accomplishments of cities such as Riverside, Santa Clarita and Azusa, however, all of whom rated recognition at varying levels. 

Get the full list here.

NorCal-SoCal Split on Water Deal Already Festering

"We were completely rolled" said one Contra Costa County Supervisor, and that pretty much says it all.  Bay Area and Delta Counties are none too happy with the new water deal, and taxpayers may soon join that sentiment... here's the situation as we see it:

The legislature has passed a sweeping water bill that will shore up the Delta, enact truly needed environmental and some seismic fixes, while not completely guaranteeing a canal or more volume for Southern California.  On the other end, Delta Counties are going to have to give up some land use authority over to a new state agency, which itself will likely become the target of some distress for its "Coastal Commission" like authority.  Also, though the environment is a clear winner in the deal, the environmental community is fairly split on the deal as-is. 

We're actually seeing some parallels to the current healthcare debate in Washington -- a deal that may well pass, but with plenty for everyone to hate in it and the added bonus of both political divides and geographic loyalties.  It's a recipe for an epic throwdown...

The package itself is replete with the typical questions over accountability, and it may sound crazy, but even the enviros are criticizing the package for pie-in-the-sky economics.   And moreover, $11 billion is a heck of a lot for taxpayers to swallow if it doesn't guarantee more water to Southern California.   A canal (or more likely, a tunnel) would cost another $13 billion (at least), though that money would come directly out of SoCal water districts (i.e. ratepayers). 

That said, the alternative to the bond is pretty bleak.  Whatever your thoughts on the pumping restrictions ("Delta Smelt" has become pretty much code for SoCal and Conservative animus towards green policies and hippie/vegan/49er loving NorCal), the habitat protections aren't going anywhere without broad environmental fixes for the Delta.  On the other hand "Canal" is NorCal and Green community shorthand for a toxic ditch sucking Calfiornia's soul to Real Housewives and Dodger fans.

Also, anyone who's ever seen projections of even a mild earthquake in or near the Delta can tell you it makes Katrina look like a broken sprinkler.  The loss of life and property would be horrific, and the main hub of the state's water supply would turn to saltwater within about a day.  Oh, and geologists say NorCal is due for a 1906-scale quake sometime int he next 20 years. 

Even absent a quake, heavy rains have the potential to overflow levies more or less at-will.  So while the politics of this are sure to get ugly, the necesity of action may win out. 

Assembly Pulls All Nighter, Water Deal Done

Capitol Insiders' Twitter fees lit up at around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, leading some of us to question who was up too late, and who was up too early.  Turns out the Assembly decided to burn the midnight oil and bang out the water deal once and for all.  Now at an $11 billion bond, and with the Coastal Commission-esque oversight panel for the Delta, the package is now on its way to the Governor, and the voters.

Some other key points: Democratic lawmakers dropped an enforcement measure that would have imposed stiffer fines on water thieves.  This was seen as a big win for Republican lawmakers, while they agreed to add another $1 billion to the bond measure. 

As for a canal?  Met Water District in SoCal says the package "paves the way" for such a project.  As any long time watcher of this issue will know, however, there's still a ways to go before that golden shovel breaks earth.  In the near term, look for mandatory conservation measures across the state, coupled with regional projects and new Delta levies. 

Read more in the Cap Weekly.

LAO Issues Report on Bond Debt, Urges "Prioritization" of Future Proposals

As water talks progress (sorta) through the Capitol, one committee chair (Assm. Anna Caballero) decided to ask the State Legislative Analyst (LAO) to provide a report on the state's projected General Fund debt service obligations and the state’s currently authorized, but unissued, general obligation (GO) bonds.

That report is out, and the LAO reports that the state has over $130 Billion of outstanding bonds and authorized,but as yet unissued bonds.  They also project that payments on already issued bonds are likely to peak in the next decade, leading them to conclude that "Debt Service Is One of the State Budget’s Fastest-Growing Obligations." 

The LAO writes that the General Fund soon may have annual debt-service payment obligations that total about 9 percent of its revenues, and that the State Treasurer has forecasted that these payments eventually will exceed 10 percent of revenues for much of the next decade.

As such, the LAO dryly remarks that "Increasing Prioritization of Future Bond Issuance May Be Necessary."  Hint hint. 

Read the full report here. 

Water Talks Stalled

Assembly Republicans, unimpressed with plans to create a Coastal Commission-esque oversight body for the Delta, have introduced their own water legislation.  If that doesn't say this going nowhere fast, nothing does. 

The LA Times has a good rundown of the current status and atmosphere in the Capitol surrounding this issue, but Dan Walters has another good piece on what's really at stake -- the future of land use and development in California. 

"In a semi-arid state such as California, whether land remains undeveloped, is cultivated for agriculture, or is covered with houses and shopping centers depends almost entirely on the availability of water.  That was true when Los Angeles' civic and political gentry, eager for profitable land development in the San Fernando Valley, stealthily grabbed water from the Owens Valley a century ago. It's even truer today."

City of LA "Goes Google"

The Los Angeles City Council  voted unanimously to approve a $7.2 million deal to replace the city's existing Microsoft oriented e-mail system with Google Apps.  A bit of an interesting note here, the firm that had run LA's IT, Novell, is where Google CEO Eric Schmidt used to work.

The Google's bid appears to have triumphed as Google Apps has oriented itself towards government organizations. Google said in September that it is developing a "private cloud" to accommodate the security and policy issues faced by government entities.

Read more here.

Prelude to a Canal?

The influential Westlands Water District and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California are getting behind the latest iteration of a a legislative water compromise in part "because they believe it brings the Peripheral Canal closer to reality," according to reports from the Capitol Weekly.

Ready to put their money where their mouth is, the "agencies themselves say they would pay for the huge project, using the money from the rate increases paid by their customers."  But hold on, just a minute here, say the enviros, for whom the idea of sanctioning a "Peripheral Canal" is tantamount to summoning the Prince of Darkness himself to our fair state. 

"The bill does not authorize a canal," a leading environmental negotiator was quoted, plainly. 

The water negotiations continued in the Capitol Monday, though Assembly Speaker Karen Bass is beginning to bristle that they are mostly being held in the confidence of the "Big 5," rather than on the floor. 

Read more on the early week progress in the Capitol Weekly.

Courts Supporting Cities' Local Control Rights on Cell Towers

The LA Times has a look at how cities are largely getting the backing of the courts when it comes to rejecting cell towers on aesthetic grounds.  This is actually pretty significant news, as utilities are notoriously fierce litigators.  

The Times' story focuses on a case in ritzy Ralos Verdes Estates, which raises some questions about varying standards among wealthy communities, but the legal issues hold for any city.  Read more.

Guv Signs and Vetoes

The Governor relented on his mass veto threat this weekend.  Citing progress on water negotiations, Schwarzenegger got the pen out and started signing on the dotted line. 

His total for the session stands at 632 new laws approved this session -- which sounds like a lot until you hear it makes him the "stingiest" Governor for signing bills in recent history.  His signing totals have declined in each of the last four years, but he's still not the Veto King -- that still belongs to Deukmejian, who axed 436 bills in 1990. 

Most importantly, if you wanna know what wasn't on the list of bills for the Governor to consider -- Prop 1A securitization and HUTA clean up language.  It's alleged that the Senate is coming back to finish up that piece of business this week.  

And back to the raw numbers of bills, for those of you wishing for a bygone era in which the legislature was less concerned with passing hundreds of bills, Dan Walters reminds us that in 1967, Reagns first year as Governor, the legislature passed over 1,700 bills, and the Guv vetoed just 83 of them.

Get a full list of the signed/vetoed bills here.  LA Times has a good rundown of the major legislation here.

Vernon Ditches Power Plant Proposal

Everyone's favorite SoCal industrial city, Vernon, has been pushing a power plant proposal against the vociferous protests of its (actually populated) neighbors.  For those of you unaware, Vernon has fewer than 100 residents, though many of its officials rank among the highest paid public servants in the state -- nay, nation.  Assemblyman Perez calls it a "screwed-up feudal city." 

Chalk one up for the little guys in this one, however.  Neighbors such as Huntington Park and Maywood teamed up against their rich neighbor and have fought this one back. 

Read more in the LA Times.