Today’s Bee Editorial is an out-of-Egypt look at the bond deal approved for November which includes a little over $4 billion for flood protection, [though the legislators included none for dams], is commented on.
Here is an excerpt.
Editorial: Out of bondage
Lawmakers invest in public works, image
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 9, 2006
State lawmakers knew that April was a make-or-break month for negotiating a public works bond proposal. If they had dawdled too long, the politics of budget revisions and the June primary would have overwhelmed everything else.
To their credit, Assembly leaders Fabian Núñez and George Plescia and Senate leaders Don Perata and Dick Ackerman kept their eye on the prize and the ticking clock. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, provided just enough distance - and put a lid on the "girlie man" comments - so lawmakers could get the job done.
Californians in November will vote on the most ambitious modernization blueprint for the state's infrastructure since the 1960s. The $37.3 billion plan calls for $19.9 billion in transportation spending. That includes much-needed funds for transit and fixing 470 bridges across the state in danger of collapsing.
Another bond would raise $10.4 billion for schools, including $5.2 billion for new buildings and $3 billion for universities and community colleges. The specter of a Katrina-style disaster in California prompted nearly all lawmakers to support $4.1 billion for flood protection, including stronger levees around Sacramento, Marysville and Yuba City.
