AS I REPORTED back in March, it didn't take long for "renewable energy businessman" Sen. Tony Strickland to dodge a vote on a renewable energy bill. That bill, SB 14, would require investor-owned utilities to receive one-third of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Well he's gone and done it again.

This time he failed to vote in committee on AB 920, a bill which would provide incentives for customers to use wind or solar energy systems. According to the proposed legislation by Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael): 

The author believes this will encourage homeowners and businesses to conserve more electricity (and thus have more surplus power they can sell to the utility) and will allow property owners to install the maximum number of solar panels on their home.

Our Republican state senator justified his "renewable energy" ballot designation during his campaign against Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson by his partnership in a wave energy company formed around the same time he decided to run in a green-leaning district. And here's a quote straight off his web page:

"I am working with Democrats and Republicans to transition California to a renewable, more energy efficient economy to jumpstart the economy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve the environment, and lower energy prices."
-Senator Tony Strickland

So why then would Strickland take a walk on two important renewable energy bills? When questioning why politicians do what they do it is always wise to find out who supports or opposes a particular bill. 

AB 920 and SB 14 are opposed by Pacific Gas & Electric, which donated $1,250 to Tony Strickland's state senate campaign, $5,600 to Strickland's controller's race and $5,000 to his 2002 Assembly race, according to the very handy online site followthemoney.org.

Strickland's wife, Assembly member Audra Strickland, just plain voted against AB 920, so I will give her some credit for not being dodgy. I would ideally like to give Tony some credit, too, for his package of renewable energy legislation introduced a few months ago, which largely consisted of tax credits, continuing his no-revenue mantra.

But he is not consistent in backing renewable energy legislation, especially that opposed by his donors, and this highlights his credibility problem.

IN A BIT OF RELATED NEWS: According to the Mendocino Beacon it would seem Strickland's fledging wave energy company GreenWave, which is still in the preliminary permit phase and hasn't done much of anything yet, is one of the few left standing with proposed projects off the California coast.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company  and California Wave Energy Partners recently pulled projects, according to the Beacon. GreenWave's application has riled the locals up there with "more interveners and more people commenting than any other hydrokinetic project in the nation," the Beacon writes.

IN A MOVE THAT WILL SURPRISE absolutely nobody, State Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) voted in committee last week against a proposal to tack a tax on cigarettes to raise about $1.2 billion annually for the state's ailing general fund.

The senator joined two other Republicans in voting no on SB 600, despite the fact that polls, such as one conducted after the May vote and another done in April by Field Research Inc. say an overwhelming majority of state residents favor an increase in tobacco taxes and don't want to see drastic cuts to health-care programs for low-income and disabled residents and children.

In the last 10 years, tobacco companies have spent millions in California to keep taxes on tobacco products here among the lowest in the nation. Strickland alone has been the recipient of a whopping $91,550 in tobacco contributions since he entered politics.

According to tobacco-facts.net, California's tobacco tax rate of 87 cents per pack is 32nd in the nation. Rhode Island is No. 1 with $3.46 a pack. Some city governments in other areas of the U.S. have imposed their own taxes as well.

The bill, co authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has earmarked the revenue to go toward the general fund, lung cancer research, tobacco cessation and control, school-based anti-smoking programs and tobacco enforcement efforts.  SB 600 is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.

Besides generating much-needed revenue, the bill is expected to discourage smoking among youth, according to a press release issued by Padilla.

"California needs to do more to keep tobacco away from kids," Padilla said.  "With every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes, youth smoking is reduced by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent. Raising the tobacco tax reduces youth smoking," he added.

The bill's co-sponsor, the American Cancer Society, argues that the increase is long overdue and since California's last tobacco tax increase, 44 states have increased their tobacco taxes. The American Heart Association, also a co-sponsor, argues that this bill will help reduce heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer in the United States.

Assemblymember Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) has introduced a similar bill, AB 89.

STRICKLAND HAS A LONG HISTORY of siding with Big Tobacco on legislation, especially when it comes to sales of tobacco products to minors. Beyond the recent votes against bills to curb youth smoking, while in the Assembly he voted against allowing the Department of Health Services to conduct stings on businesses selling tobacco to minors. It passed into law anyway. He also voted against restricting non face-to-face sales of cigarettes. The measure was signed into law by Schwarzenegger.

In May, he voted against SB 4 which prohibits smoking on any state coastal beach or state park unit, except in adjacent parking lots.

The Ventura County Republican Party has been well funded by tobacco dollars as well, with $50,000 deposited into its account in May of 2008 by Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris.

Other county tobacco donations include $28,650 for Assembly member Audra Strickland (R-Moorpark), $20,900 for Assembly member Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita), and $18,900 for Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster). None of the current Democratic legislators have accepted tobacco money.

Watch to see how all these politicians vote when the bills come before them.

SB 600 is opposed by California Chamber of Commerce, California Black Chamber of Commerce, the Black Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the California Taxpayers Assn. and the Neighborhood Market Assn. All these groups have received tobacco contributions, according to tobacco-facts.net.

Of the two senators who sided with Strickland in the Senate Health Committee, both have also accepted tobacco money. Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) accepted $26,800 and Sen. Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) took $10,100.

UPDATE: Today Tony Strickland finally added his name to the list of senators willing to take a pay cut. For a look at the list, go here. IN MORE INTERESTING NEWS: It looks like State Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster), who represents the cities of Fillmore, Santa Paula and Piru, has gotten himself into a bit of hot water. Read the story in the Sacramento Bee here.

IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG. State Sen. Tony Strickland, (R-Moorpark) who listed himself as a "renewable energy businessman" on the ballot in the Senate District 19 race last fall, predictably failed to vote on renewable energy legislation on Tuesday.

The bill, SB 14, would require investor-owned utilities to receive one-third of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. These utilities are now required to purchase 20 percent of the energy they sell from renewable sources by next year. The current legislation, authored by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) would revise the requirement to match one ordered by the governor in November.

The 21-16 vote was mostly along party lines. While in the Assembly, Strickland did vote against SB 1078 in 2002, which set the current 20 percent renewable energy requirement for utilities. He also opposed most other environmentally friendly legislation.

The senator, who justified his ballot designation by his partnership in a wave energy company formed around the same time he decided to run in a green-leaning district, apparently received little or no income from GreenWave Energy Solutions last year, according to a Form 700 document filed with the state. The form listed his chief source of income as his wife Audra Strickland's Assembly salary. He also received income from the sale of real estate.

Now, to be fair, Strickland told Ventura County Star reporter Timm Herdt last year that he voted against the 2002 bill because he opposes government mandates. But this year he decided just not to vote at all. Dodging tricky votes and uncomfortable situations seems to run in the family.

Tuesday's walk only serves to underscore the very disingenuous campaign he ran last fall. Voters would expect someone who claims such green credentials to support public policy which promotes renewable energy practices, especially when it has been mandated by our Republican governor.

At least nobody can accuse him of helping out his own "business."

Yet another 2/3-vote stalemate in Sacramento

WHAT IF SOMEONE asked you to vote to extend the unemployment benefits of nearly 300,000 jobless Californians in a way that wouldn't cost state taxpayers a dime?

Would you do it?

Even with state unemployment figures now running at 10.1 percent, local Assemblywoman Audra Strickland (R-Moorpark) couldn't bring herself to vote for AB 23 3X, which would help unemployed workers for an additional 20 weeks, all with federal stimulus money.

It seems like a no-brainer, but Strickland sat on the sidelines along with 17 of her GOP colleagues, including Cameron Smyth, (R-Santa Clarita) and intentionally failed to vote. Another nine had the nerve to just vote against it.

Just one more vote Monday night and this bill to help our struggling families would have passed. Is it always a fait accompli that we must grovel for one Republican vote every time a 2/3 vote is required?

A GROUP OF UNEMPLOYED local tradesmen who had heard about Monday night's incomprehensible outcome decided to voice their opinions about it today at a press conference outside the Oxnard Employment Development Department.

"This bill's not going to cost California taxpayers one penny," Steve Weiner of the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Building Trades Council told a group of around 50 unemployed workers. "We're telling them they need to approve this bill. It's time for them to do their job."

Marilyn and Leo Valenzuela told me they were up in Sacramento when the vote occurred and were very angry about it, especially when they attempted to lobby Audra Strickland to get it passed and the meeting didn't go well. They were perplexed that Strickland Chief of Staff Joel Angeles did not seem to know much about it. "He didn't even know how she voted," Marilyn said.

Marilyn, executive secretary-treasurer of the Tri-County Central Labor Council, had been honored on Monday by Assemblyman Pedro Nava as the 35th District's "Woman of the Year." She and her husband decided the Oxnard press conference was too important to miss.

"We got up at 5 a.m. and drove from Sacramento and pulled into the parking lot at 12:30 today," she said.

NEARLY 1.8 MILLION CALIFORNIANS are currently unemployed; about 1 million are receiving unemployment benefits. For 70,000 of those people, benefits will run out in a month. Sacramento Democrats sought to get AB 23 3X passed in time to help these folks. The measure is expected to bring in an estimated $2.5 billion to $3 billion in federal stimulus money for 20 weeks of additional emergency unemployment benefits during 2009.

Later today I talked to 35th District Assembly candidate Susan Jordan, who was also up in Sacramento on Monday. "I was at a dinner listening to Hilda Solis -- probably the most inspiring Labor Secretary we've ever had -- and she was telling us how this administration is helping working families," Jordan said.

"At the same time, two blocks away, the Republicans were refusing to extend unemployment benefits. It was outrageous. I don't know how any of them can justify this."

UPDATE Monday 3/23/09: The Assembly passed the bill today on a 76-0 vote. For more, go here.

FURTHER UPDATE Thursday 3/26/09: The Senate passed the bill today on a 38-0 vote, along with its companion measure which updates unemployment benefits. For more, go here.

And the Stricklands continue to evade meeting with educators

TEACHERS WERE WEARING PINK. Administrators and school board members were wearing pink. So were parents, teen-agers, little kids, babies and dogs. There were pink ribbons and banners and capes and hats and scarves today out on Victoria Avenue in Ventura.

But most of us were really just seeing red.

More than 26,000 teachers across the state received layoff notices or "pink slips" today, according to the Pink Friday web site. Today's protest was part of many rallies called across the state, but Ventura's was surely the largest in our county. Hundreds of folks, many layers deep, held banners and signs in a ribbon of humanity stretching from Telephone Road to the 126 Freeway.

The probable teacher layoffs, part of a recent $8.4 billion cut to K-12 education, impact not only their families and the local economy but also the education of a generation of California children who will be faced with such things as larger class sizes, crumbling facilities, aging textbooks, fewer counselors and librarians, and less instruction in P.E., arts and music.

"Without a decent education, our children and our future are nothing," said Rosa Granado, a fourth-grade teacher at Sunkist Elementary in Port Hueneme.

Parent Bill Walthall, also of Port Hueneme, worried that the teachers receiving pink slips today would not be rehired when the economy turns around. The younger teachers with less seniority are always the first to be laid off, he said, yet they are some of the most energetic and dynamic educators we have. "We're going to lose them forever," he added.

If this isn't bad enough, State Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor announced today that the precarious package of cuts, revenue increases, borrowing and legislative trickery we just passed as a budget at the end of February has missed the mark by a mile. Yes, there's already an $8 billion hole, Taylor said.

MEANWHILE, elusive legislative duo Tony and Audra Strickland are still playing hide-and-seek with county superintendents asking for a local meeting, according to a very reliable education source. Both skipped a long-scheduled gathering in January with our education leaders. Tony opted instead to attend a card-table event in the rain which was only noticed to the public the day before.

The Stricklands, along with fellow Republican George Runner, who was also a no-show at the  meeting with educators, were given a chance to reschedule at a time convenient to them. Tony's staff has ignored a succession of emails, my source tells me, and Audra recently responded that she was busy for at least the next two months but would meet, one-on-one only, with individual superintendents in her Sacramento office.

I guess Audra thinks it is a better bargain for taxpayers to fly all 19 of our county superintendents individually to Sacramento to meet with her. Or perhaps she expects them to pay for the trips themselves and leave the mayhem going on in their districts behind.

Local parents looking to the Stricklands for leadership in Sacramento in the public education arena should just throw in the towel at this point.

Better yet, let's gather up a few pink slips to throw.

DOZENS OF SOGGY protesters made their voices heard during a driving rain out in front of Tony Strickland's state senate offices today. The protest was called by the 12th District PTA Council and they were joined in their efforts by local teachers, students, a district superintendent, several school board members and local Democratic activists.

The uncertainty hanging over everyone's heads was apparent with the number of signs calling for the state budget impasse to end. Others led chants of "What do we want? A budget NOW."

Legislators are still unable to agree on terms, but State Senate President Darrell Steinberg announced today a vote may be coming next week after many weeks of contentious negotiations.

The budget shortfall facing Californians is estimated to be $40 billion through July 2010. It is a certainty public education will be impacted in the fallout.

According to a recent presentation made to the Ventura Unified School Board, our schools could see a 16 percent reduction in their budgets with the plan the governor has offered, which includes a mix of cuts and revenue increases. "It's going to really change the way we do business in Ventura Unified and what we offer," Joe Richards, assistant superintendent of business services, explained during the presentation.

Joining the group today were parents and children who drove up from Lincoln Elementary and elsewhere in Ventura.

A recent report from Education Week gave California a big fat F on school spending. We are near the bottom and will be at the bottom after this round of cuts. They put us at $7,571, compared to the $9,963 national average.

from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2008, state spending for K-12 schools didn't quite keep up with inflation and population, falling slightly.

A PREVIOUS PLAN put forth by state Republicans and endorsed by both Tony and Audra Strickland -- who have both taken the "no tax pledge" -- calls for much deeper cuts to education spending. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll says most residents favor closing the budget gap with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases rather than just cuts.

Thank goodness there was no large counter protest mounted today, unlike the last time I covered a protest involving the Stricklands. Assembly member Audra Strickland's chief of staff Joel Angeles is now facing battery charges for his actions at the June 17, 2008 incident outside the Westlake Hyatt.

I spoke awhile with the lone dissenter in the crowd, Cathy Carlson of Thousand Oaks, who told me she didn't think budget cuts to the schools were a very big deal. Flitting around between members of the press, she was obviously trying to manipulate the media message coming out of the event. I listened politely, but sorry, Cathy, I'm just not buying what you're selling.

As for Mr. Strickland and staff, they were nowhere to be seen. Not surprising after Strickland and his wife both bypassed a recent meeting with all the county superintendents. Another meeting is planned soon and both legislators have been invited.

ALL OUR LOCAL REPUBLICAN state legislators were no-shows at a meeting held Friday by local educators to talk about the state budget and how it will affect our schools. Absent from the gathering with Ventura County school superintendents were Sen. Tony Strickland, Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, and Sen. George Runner.

Yet our local Democratic representatives made time in their busy schedules to attend. Sen. Fran Pavley,  Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, and Assemblyman Pedro Nava were all present and paying attention. "The legislators who were there took copious notes and wanted to understand our concerns. It was a really important meeting," said Ventura Unified School District Superintendent Trudy Arriaga.

The event was set up three weeks ago and all legislators were asked to attend at that time. "Our county superintendents left their districts for this meeting," Arriaga said.

WHERE OH WHERE was Tony instead? At exactly the same time as the 2 p.m. meeting with school officials, he was camped on a rainy day outside the Borders Bookstore in Goleta at an outreach event only noticed to the public the day before. Indeed, the press release sent to the media about the event was dated January 22.

It looks like Tony needed a quick excuse for ducking a meeting with school officials. But why would that be? Perhaps it was because he supports a Republican version of the budget which would cut $10.6 billion from K-12 schools and community colleges. 

According to Education Week's 2009 Quality Counts report, California spends $7,571 per student, compared to $9,963 per student nationally. The report gave California an "F" in the category of school spending and ranked it 47th in the nation in this area.

Everyone agrees that the education community will likely see some cuts when a budget plan is agreed upon, but the degree varies according to ideology. The Stricklands seem far more interested in helping their extremist friends than they in do working for our children, and were part of a recent lawsuit to stop a Democratic budget.

Where was Audra on Friday? Apparently she called just an hour and a half before the meeting and said she had a family emergency. No explanation was given for Runner's absence.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR TONY, he didn't escape the wrath of public education advocates by retreating to Goleta. He was instead peppered with questions by activists who traveled from UCSB and Ventura County to talk to him. "The event was dismally attended," said Katherine Holland, who drove up from Ventura. "His little table and chair with the State Senate sign were empty for about 30 minutes as he was inside Borders with a lone person or two and a camera."

When Holland was finally able to engage Strickland, he told her he was in favor of a "flat tax" plan.

"Strickland's attempts to raise the flat tax as a possible reform only served to reveal the extent to which ideology, rather than common sense, is holding the state budget hostage," said Holland, a political and marketing researcher based in Ventura. "The idea of raising a significant, regressive sales tax to replace the state tax system did not strike Strickland as being at odds with the current economic climate in which consumers are already reducing purchases. And it's doubtless safe to say that with the state about to run out of money in February, now is not the time to be chasing after what amount to hypothetical and whimsical fancies."

Arriaga said the superintendents plan to try again to corral the missing Republican legislators.

"We're going to ask for another meeting and our Democratic legislators said they are happy to return and are going to ask their Republican counterparts to come," she said.

Be sure to look for another last-minute "card table" event coming soon from Tony Strickland

And so it went with the final outcome of the state senate race between Hannah-Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland. Jackson lost by just 857 votes to an opponent who ran the dirtiest, most deceitful campaign I have ever witnessed.

It was the blog entry that never got written.

But today brought news that finally drew me out of the deep well I had been residing in, a well dug by a temporary loss of faith in our system of democracy. It was a pit dug even deeper by an incident that I witnessed last summer in which I once thought justice would never be served.

Today I heard that Assembly member Audra Strickland's chief of staff -- and Tony Strickland's former chief of staff -- will indeed go to trial for actions that occurred June 17 outside a Westlake fundraiser for Tony's campaign.

The State Attorney General's Office has filed a complaint in Ventura County Superior Court against Joel Angeles on four counts: interference with civil rights (involving Louis Pandolfi of Simi Valley); battery causing serious bodily injury (involving Jack Phillips of Camarillo); battery (involving Pandolfi); and battery (involving Sandy Quiring of Simi Valley). The trial is scheduled for Feb. 6.

These incidents allegedly occurred against three people gathered to protest the acceptance of more than $130,000 in direct and indirect campaign contributions from the tobacco industry for Tony Strickland.

As one of more than 50 anti-tobacco protesters at the Hyatt Westlake, I am also one of 11 witnesses who had to provide a statement about what I had seen that day. I remain unwavering in my account that Angeles' actions were unprovoked and I watched as 67-year-old Phillips, a minister, was knocked to the ground. Phillips later underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.

LEGAL EXPERTS TELL ME that Angeles could serve a year in jail for each offense, and while he could work out a plea bargain arrangement, the civil rights complaint will make it harder to do so. The violation of Pandolfi's civil rights was filed as a "hate" crime and the battery against Phillips was filed as a major crime with great bodily injury. These charges were carefully crafted to open the door for a civil lawsuit as well as restitution.

No doubt forces were at work throughout the election season to keep the story under wraps. And the file seemingly languished on Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten's desk for an eternity before he recused himself and passed it up to the State Attorney General's office.

Despite the sensitive nature of his office, Totten was a most ardent campaigner for Tony Strickland. The recusal was certainly warranted.

I am more than happy to let the courts determine the final outcome and have no wish to try this case via the press. But the decision today restored my faith that sometimes people determined to do the right thing can prevail.