Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger went back on his word to veto all bills before a budget is passed yesterday.

In order to pressure lawmakers into negotiating and settling on a budget, the Governor made a vow to veto any bills that came to him. The budget is now over 2 months late, and California lawmakers seem to be no closer to passing a budget. They have, however, sent 4 bills to Schwarzenegger, testing the governor's resolve.

The bills will go on the November ballot (hopefully). One of those bills modifies a High Speed Rail bond. A second bill is a water bond issue. The two other bills will help move budget negotiations forward, as one expands the state lottery, and the other strengthens the "rainy day" fund. All of the bills were initiatives supported by Schwarzenegger prior to his vow to veto all bills, and there had been much anticipation on whether Schwarzenegger would break his word.

One of the sticky points is that "no one knows when" is the deadline for placing items on the November ballot. Seriously. Election officials say only the legislature can put a deadline on it, but noted that the state must start sending out ballots to voters overseas by September 5. If the changes cannot be made to the ballot, officials have talked about the possibility of a special election after the general election, which would bring added financial costs.

The High Speed Rail bond, which ValleyVue is a proponent of, has been modified to add taxpayer protections. The changes include setting up a peer review committee to approve of any bond fund uses prior to them being spent. The changes will also allow private/public construction agreements and set a limit on the amount of bond funds that can be spent on non-construction related costs.

Barrack Obama's nomination celebration is underway in Denver this week. After selecting Joe Biden as his running mate last week, the Democrats plan to use this week's Democratic National Convention to show a united front and a desire to dethrone the GOP by highlighting the errors of the Bush administration.

The Central Valley of California is a study in politics that mirrors the larger American electoral map. Largely agrarian, vast portions of the Valley side with the conservative principles of the Republican party. Valley Republicans value the importance of laws reflecting religious morality, the protection of individual freedoms such as the right to bear arms and to do what they want with the property they own, and put a prime importance on the government taking as little tax from it's people as possible.

Meanwhile, much more concentrated in the urban areas such as inner Sacramento or the small University outposts such as Davis, are the Democrats. Valley Dems are more likely to favor growing government power to provide social, health, and educational programs to the most disadvantaged. Democrats value the importance of laws reflecting morality, including the Christian belief in charity, hoping to institutionalize the practice through the shared responsibility of governance.

A growing segment of the population, however, does not subscribe to either party. These voters agree with somethings in each party, but not everything. Or, they may agree essentially with almost all of one party's fiscal beliefs, but not their social programs.

In many respects, Barrack Obama has made an attempt to bridge these gaps, an attempt that is inspiring and hopeful. Obama may see what so many politicians do not appreciate. The nation, although polarized between red and blue in recent elections, is no longer a country with two parties of voters. Now it is a country with independent voters deciding between two parties. As the Republicans and Democrats increasingly polarized over the last couple decades, moderates in both parties lost a voice in decision-making. John McCain himself has made a career of being separate from the general GOP mindset, now advertising himself as "the original maverick". Obama has long centered on this theme of change, which most believe set him up to eventually defeat Hillary Clinton in the primaries.

However, Obama's choice for the Vice President, Joe Biden, makes some worry his message of change is being lost in his attempt to stop McCain's surge in national polls. In fact, many experts believe Biden may actually hurt his poll numbers, as Biden is seen as a Washington insider, a poor evoker of change. In the convention this week, Obama must recapture his earlier momentum by refocusing his campaign's message on a more hopeful and prosperous future.

Here we are, once again, in an extended California State budget battle. The down economy has left the state with lot's of tough choices to make. The problem is, tough choices are not made well by groups.

Enter the leader. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a few compromises to the state representatives in order to end the stalemate. He has proposed a boost to the state's sales tax of 1%, and he suggests building a "rainy day" fund into the budget that will require the state to save when money is flush to prepare for down economic years--like this one.

Sounds reasonable. Gives both the Republicans and the Democrats something. However, California politics are rarely reasonable. While the Republicans would love to set up a funding mechanism requiring California to be fiscally responsible and save, they are standing firm against raising any taxes, even one cent to the sales tax. Democrats wouldn't mind raising taxes to pay for the vital services the state provides, but politically, they disdain adopting a proposal from a Republican governor, and will probably not approve of the budget in it's entirety.

Why not increase the sales tax by one cent? Republicans do not want to set the precedent that if money is short, the state can just charge more to it's people. They worry the high sales tax will drive customers to Nevada, Arizona, or Oregon, which will result in business relocation. Many people also believe that if taxes are increased, rather than shoring up the budget to pay for already funded allocations, the extra funds will be used to pay for new initiatives. Hence, Schwarzenegger's rainy day fund.

Meanwhile, the Dems may be most afraid that the rainy day fund will limit their ability to use for funds for necessary social programs. Certainly, they are concerned by any cuts to the budget for education, welfare, or health programs. (Schwarzenegger has actually increased his suggested allocation to education, now funding to the Prop 98 required level.)

Maybe the budget can be fixed more. Schwarzeneggar's proposal, although it may not be fully adopted, looks like it takes an important step towards resolving the problem.

For more information on the latest proposal from the Governor, see http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/fact-sheet/10443/.

Westlands Water District is a water agency covering 600,00 acres of farmland in Fresno and Kings county. The immense size of it draws suspicion for many, and it has been involved in many controversial environmental issues since it's formation in 1952. It could be the largest water district in the United States, if not the world.

Westlands' website says it serves about "600 family-owned farms that average 900 acres in size". It goes on to say 50,000 people work on the lands watered by the district in several communities.

Westlands is currently working on several issues with its water. It's supply comes from the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta, which is the source of it's most recent controversy. Westlands has purchased a large tract of land in the lower Sacramento delta, prompting some to be concerned that Westlands may make a claim on water in the Sacramento River, or it may drill wells to supplement its flow from the Central Valley Project's water releases.

Westlands' says it has made the Delta purchase to restore habitat in the Delta to ensure water will be available later on. Scientists have suggested there is a food chain issue in the Delta due in part to pumping water out for use throughout the state. (The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California also draws water from the Delta through the California Aqueduct.) As water is primarily pumped out of the Delta from the southern end, and the freshwater enters the Delta mostly on the northern end, natural water flows have been disrupted.

As a result, water districts that use the Delta as a supplier have become more conscious about the troubles of the Delta. This is especially evident after recent court rulings have shut down pumps as being in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

As water becomes scarcer due to global warmings' effect on the Sierra snow pack, tensions about water will only grow, setting some areas of the Valley against each other.