Blue reign in Sacramento: Democrats dominate California voting

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats are on the cusp of a coveted supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate, giving them the rare power to raise taxes without any Republican support.

No single party has held such a supermajority in Sacramento since 1933.

To cement the dual two-thirds majorities when the Legislature gets down to business next year, Democrats must hold onto one of two Senate seats to be vacated and a few Assembly seats won in tight races. The Senate seats will be filled in special elections expected in March.

The supermajorities would mark a dramatic shift in Sacramento's balance of power, where GOP legislators have aggressively used their ability to block state budget plans and prevent revenue increases to scale back the scope of state government.

Coupled with the approval of Brown's tax plan, Proposition 30, the Democrats now have not only the power but also the money to break free of the deficit that has paralyzed state government for years.

The pressure on Democrats to restore funding for the many services slashed to balance the budget in recent years will be intense.

Already, activists are pressing lawmakers to pump new money into such programs as college scholarships, dental care for the needy and, of course, public schools.

But the first move Brown and legislative leaders made Wednesday was to reassure voters that they would show restraint.

They promised there would be no frenzy of tax hikes.

"Voters have trusted the elected representatives, maybe even trusted me to some extent, and now we've got to meet that trust," Brown said at a Wednesday news conference in the Capitol. "We've got to make sure over the next few years that we pay our bills, we invest in the right programs, but we don't go on any spending binges."

Still, lawmakers can appear to hold the line on revenue generation without actually doing so.

Supermajorities allow lawmakers to impose new fees to pay for infrastructure and other programs that are not technically defined as taxes.

And the same Democrats who are talking tough about fiscal responsibility this week have for years been touting the programs they want to restore or start once the opportunity is there. In addition to raising revenue, they would also be empowered to bring constitutional changes and other measures to voters without any GOP signoff — and to override gubernatorial vetoes.

Given a supermajority, "We're going to use it," Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Wednesday.

"It will be an awesome responsibility," Steinberg said. "But it's very exciting.''

Steinberg briefed the media on his desire to overhaul the tax code.

The result, he acknowledged, could be more money for the state budget.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), who vowed there would be no additional tax increases next year, laid out goals that could trigger more government spending, such as helping students pay for college.

The success Tuesday of Brown's Proposition 30, which raises billions of dollars through temporary income-tax increases on high earners and a quarter-cent surcharge on sales, gives lawmakers breathing room they have not had in years.

With one election, a deficit that has rendered Sacramento dysfunctional and threatened to ravage public schools has been largely wiped out.

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Siemens to sharpen its game with 6 billion euros of savings

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Mom of “Modern Family” actress denies abuse claims

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The mother of “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter on Wednesday denied that she abused her daughter after a judge temporarily placed the 14-year-old actress in her sister’s care.

“It’s all untrue, it’s all untrue,” Chris Workman, Winter’s mother, told People magazine. “I have my doctor’s letter that my daughter’s never been abused.”

According to court papers, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month put Winter, who plays the precocious teenager Alex Dunphy on the Emmy-winning TV comedy, under the temporary guardianship of her older sister, Shanelle Gray.

Celebrity website TMZ.com said Winter’s mother was alleged to have slapped and emotionally abused the teen, and had been ordered to stay away from her. Ariel has left her mother’s home, TMZ said.

Gray will retain guardianship of Winter at least until a November 20 hearing, a judge said.

Winter’s publicist did not return calls for comment on Wednesday.

“Modern Family” portrays the lives of three zany families and has won three consecutive Emmy award as American television’s best comedy series.

(Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Recipes for Health: Cabbage, Onion and Millet Kugel — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Light, nutty millet combines beautifully with the sweet, tender cabbage and onions in this kugel. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve this as a main dish.

 

1/2 medium head cabbage (1 1/2 pounds), cored and cut in thin strips

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

2 eggs

2 cups cooked millet

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. Toss the cabbage with salt to taste and let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes, then add a generous pinch of salt and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is quite tender and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the dill, taste and adjust salt, and add pepper to taste. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, purée the cottage cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and process until the mixture is smooth. Add salt (I suggest about 1/2 teaspoon) and pepper and mix together. Scrape into the bowl with the cabbage. Add the millet and stir everything together. Scrape into the oiled baking dish. Drizzle the remaining oil over the top and place in the oven.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the sides are nicely browned and the top is beginning to color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges.

Yield: 6 servings.

Advance preparation: The cooked millet will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and freezes well. The kugel will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a medium oven.

Nutritional information per serving (6 servings): 195 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 64 milligrams cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 148 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 10 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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DealBook: On Wall Street, Time to Mend Fences With Obama

Del Frisco’s, an expensive steakhouse with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Boston harbor, was a festive scene on Tuesday evening. The hedge fund billionaires Steven A. Cohen, Paul Singer and Daniel Loeb were among the titans of finance there dining among the gray velvet banquettes before heading several blocks away to what they hoped would be a victory party for their presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.

The next morning was a cold, sobering one for these executives.

Few industries have made such a one-sided bet as Wall Street did in opposing President Obama and supporting his Republican rival. The top five sources of contributions to Mr. Romney, a former top private equity executive, were big banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Wealthy financiers — led by hedge fund investors — were the biggest group of givers to the main “super PAC” backing Mr. Romney, providing almost $33 million, and gave generously to outside groups in races around the country.

On Wednesday, Mr. Loeb, who had supported Mr. Obama in 2008, was sanguine. “You win some, you lose some,” he said in an interview. “We can all disagree. I have friends and we have spirited discussions. Sure, I am not getting invited to the White House anytime soon, but as citizens of the country we are all friendly.”

Wall Street, however, now has to come to terms with an administration it has vilified. What Washington does next will be critically important for the industry, as regulatory agencies work to put their final stamp on financial regulations and as tax increases and spending cuts are set to take effect in the new year unless a deal to avert them is reached. To not have a friend in the White House at this time is one thing, but to have an enemy is quite another.

“Wall Street is now going to have to figure out how to make this relationship work,” said Glenn Schorr, an analyst who follows the big banks for the investment bank Nomura. “It’s not impossible, but it’s not the starting point they had hoped for.”

Traditionally, the financial industry has tended to support Republican candidates, but, being pragmatic about power, has also donated to Democrats. That script got a rewrite in 2008, when many on Wall Street supported Mr. Obama as an intelligent leader for a country reeling from the financial crisis. Goldman employees were the leading source of campaign donations for Mr. Obama, who reaped far more contributions — roughly $16 million — from Wall Street than did his opponent, John McCain.

The love affair between Wall Street and Mr. Obama soured soon after he took office and championed an overhaul in financial regulations that became the Dodd-Frank Act.

Some financial executives complained that in meetings with the president, they found him disinterested and disengaged, while others on Wall Street never forgave Mr. Obama for calling them “fat cats.”

The disillusionment with the president spawned reams of critical commentary from Wall Street executives.

“So long as our leaders tell us that we must trust them to regulate and redistribute our way back to prosperity, we will not break out of this economic quagmire,” Mr. Loeb wrote in one letter to his investors.

The rhetoric at times became extreme, like the time Steven A. Schwarzman, co-founder of the private equity firm Blackstone Group, compared a tax proposal to “when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.” (Mr. Schwarzman later apologized for the remark.)

Mr. Loeb was not alone in switching allegiances in the recent presidential race. Hedge fund executives like Leon Cooperman who had supported Mr. Obama in 2008 were big backers of Mr. Romney in 2012. And Wall Street chieftains like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, who have publicly been Democrats in the past, kept a low profile during this election. But their firms’ employees gave money to Mr. Romney in waves.

Starting over with the Obama White House will not be easy. One senior Wall Street lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Wall Street “made a bad mistake” in pushing so hard for Mr. Romney. “They are going to pay a price,” he said. “It will soften over time, but there will be a price.”

Mr. Obama is not without supporters on Wall Street. Prominent executives like Hamilton James of Blackstone, and Robert Wolf, a former top banker at UBS, were in Chicago on Tuesday night, celebrating with the president.

“What we learned is the people on Wall Street have one vote just like everyone else,” Mr. Wolf said. Still, while the support Wall Street gave Mr. Romney is undeniable, Mr. Wolf said, “Mr. Obama wants a healthy private sector, and that includes Wall Street.

“If you look at fiscal reform, infrastructure, immigration and education, they are all bipartisan issues and are more aligned than some people make it seem.”

Reshma Saujani, a former hedge fund lawyer who was among Mr. Obama’s top bundlers this year and is planning to run for city office next year, agreed.

“Most people in the financial services sector are social liberals who support gay marriage and believe in a woman’s right to choose, so I think many of them will swing back to Democrats in the future,” she said.

---

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 8, 2012

An earlier version of this article misidentified Reshma Saujani as a male.

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Democrats retain narrow majority in Senate

WASHINGTON — Democrats retained a narrow majority in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans kept their grip on the House, delivering another divided, and highly polarized, Congress.

The balance of power was likely to shift by no more than a seat or two, if at all. Neither record-low job approval ratings nor an avalanche of campaign spending appeared able to shake the dynamic that made the last Congress the most partisan since the Civil War.

"That's the sort of sad state of affairs: You're not going to have much change in Congress," said Keith Poole, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, who has researched decades of congressional voting patterns. "That's a real recipe for confrontation after the election."

Republicans had high hopes of wresting control of the Senate from Democrats, as President Obama's popularity slid and Democratic incumbents faced a less favorable political climate than six years ago, when many first-term senators won in a wave that gave their party the majority.

Democrats had nearly two dozen seats to defend, twice as many as Republicans, who needed four seats to tip the 53-47 balance — or three if Mitt Romney had become the Republican president and Rep. Paul D. Ryan the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.

But the decision by Republican leaders to stay out of the primary process ceded the field to tea party candidates who then struggled in key states. Voters rejected those conservative Republicans in Missouri and Indiana.

Republicans also lost their marquee race in Massachusetts, where Sen. Scott Brown helped launch the 2010 tea party wave by winning the seat that came open after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died. He was defeated by Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Harvard professor who had been Obama's choice to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

At the same time, Democratic candidates held their own in key swing states. In Ohio, one of the most liberal Democrats, Sen. Sherrod Brown, won a second term, while in Florida, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson was easily reelected.

In Wisconsin, Democrat Tammy Baldwin, the congresswoman from Madison, prevailed over former Gov. Tommy Thompson to become the first openly gay senator.

However, Montana's Democratic Sen. Jon Tester faced a difficult challenge from Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg.

One critical battleground, Virginia, was a race between two political giants, Tim Kaine and George Allen, both former governors. Kaine, who made an appeal to women, minorities and independents put off by Allen's conservative tilt, captured the seat. Allen, the towering son of the former football coach, had sought to retake the Senate seat he lost six years ago after uttering a racial slur.

With the once-broad playing field narrowed, the chance for a wholesale makeover in the Senate, and with it a mandate for governing, slipped away from the Republicans.

Conservative Republican Senate candidates Todd Akin in Missouri and Richard Mourdock in Indiana stirred intense controversy with remarks about rape and abortion. Akin suggested that pregnancy rarely results from "legitimate rape," while Mourdock said that even pregnancy from rape was a life that "God intended."

Missouri's Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who had once been a prime GOP target as an ally of Obama, won after Akin's comments narrowed the race. In Indiana, Rep. Joe Donnelly switched the Senate seat into the Democratic column after winning a long-shot bid against Mourdock.

One key GOP-held seat was in Nevada, where Sen. Dean Heller, who was appointed to office after his Republican predecessor resigned amid a sex and lobbying scandal, beat back a challenge from Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, the congresswoman from Las Vegas.

The Republican strongholds of Nebraska and North Dakota had been considered easy flips to the GOP column with the retirement of Democratic senators.

In Nebraska, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, once the governor, was unable to make a comeback against Republican Deb Fischer, a Sarah Palin-backed state legislator. But Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, the former North Dakota attorney general, proved to be a robust campaigner and edged out Republican Rep. Rick Berg, although he could demand a recount.

A record number of women ran for the Senate. Hawaii's Democratic Rep. Mazie K. Hirono defeated former Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, to become the first Asian American woman in the Senate.

Perhaps one race brought the most uncertainty: In Maine, the independent former governor, Angus King, has declined to say which party he would caucus with, although he is expected to join Democrats. On Tuesday, he claimed the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, one of the few moderates in Congress.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

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Exclusive - Amazon to win EU e-book pricing tussle with Apple

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ABC raises $16.8 million, MTV to hold fundraiser for NJ shore

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A “Day of Giving” across ABC television networks raised more than $ 16.8 million for victims of Hurricane Sandy, ABC said on Tuesday.

During the event, which aired on Radio Disney, ABC Family, ESPN and other units of the Disney/ABC group, viewers were encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross.

A concert and telethon on NBC last Friday raised almost $ 23 million for those affected by the storm, which came ashore in New Jersey last week and swept up the Eastern Seaboard. Thousands were left homeless and millions were without power.

MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc, is planning a fundraiser for November 15 called “Restore the Shore”. The hour-long special will feature the cast of MTV’s reality series “Jersey Shore“.

MTV said in a statement that it was partnering with the non-profit group Architecture for Humanity to collect donations aimed at rebuilding the Seaside Heights boardwalk and local businesses and homes in the neighborhood.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant)

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Recipes for Health: Sweet Millet Kugel — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Millet, a light, fluffy gluten-free grain that is a good source of magnesium, manganese and phosphorus, lends itself beautifully to both sweet and savory kugels. In fact, this kugel turned me into a millet convert.

 

2/3 cup millet

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups water

Salt to taste

1 cup cottage cheese

3 eggs

1/4 cup low-fat milk

1/4 cup mild honey or agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup (3 ounces) diced dried apricots

1/2 cup (3 ounces) raisins (or omit and use all apricots)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

 

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter or oil over medium-high heat in a heavy 2- or 3-quart saucepan. Meanwhile, bring the water to a simmer in another saucepan or in the microwave. Add the millet to the heavy saucepan and toast, stirring, until it begins to smell fragrant and toasty, about 5 minutes. Add the boiling water and salt to taste, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid in the saucepan has evaporated and the grains are fluffy. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla and nutmeg and blend until smooth. Scrape into the bowl with the millet.

3. Stir together the millet and cottage cheese mixture. Stir in the apricots, raisins and lemon zest. Scrape into the prepared baking dish. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and dot the top of the kugel with them. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the kugel is set and beginning to color on the top.

4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes (longer if possible) before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Advance preparation: This will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. It’s best if you warm it up, either in a low oven or in the microwave.

Nutritional information per serving (6 servings): 306 calories; 8 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 105 milligrams cholesterol; 50 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 149 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 12 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (8 servings): 229 calories; 6 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 79 milligrams cholesterol; 37 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 112 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 9 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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Chris Erskine: Tough break for the L.A. Galaxy, now do-or-die

As with any great opera, the tenor dies in the end, falling upon his own scimitar as the teary-eyed vixen sings her heart out. And the fat lady is nowhere to be found.

That's because the L.A. Galaxy still has a chance at resurrection Wednesday night against San Jose, in the weirdest playoff arrangement ever — a two-act series decided by total goals.

Somebody call a lawyer.

Somebody fire the playwright.

That soft sobbing you heard Sunday night coming from around the Home Depot Center was the townspeople crying in their $11 beers. They'd suffered the sort of ugly ending that haunts soccer far too often, the clearly dominant team, the Galaxy, losing 1-0 to a bunch of grave robbers renowned for such last-minute hijinks, the Earthquakes.

Now the Galaxy heads north for a do-or-die game it must win by at least two goals.

Good luck, Galaxy. My money is on you. All 11 cents.

Poor Galaxy, just when it has assembled American soccer's most interesting lineup in that beautiful little bandbox of a stadium off the 110.

Not a bad seat in the house. Kids everywhere. This is L.A.'s finest family sports value, with playoff seats going for as little as $10. There are more children at a Galaxy game than at all the Lakers games throughout history.

As such, the atmosphere is mostly PG. I heard not a single F-bomb, a moral victory for an L.A. sports crowd and something I think we can build on in the future.

Galaxy games are also mostly free of that most annoying of all L.A. creatures, the sports-loving celeb — except of course for David Beckham, who is so Euro and chic he seems to glow on the field like some sort of 3-D Armani ad.

Till he left in the 78th minute, the Galaxy so dominated Sunday's game that when San Jose finally got a couple of opportunities at the end, somebody had to throw a shoe at the L.A. defense.

How many times have you seen that in this cursed sport, the better team falling victim to a freak goal after the defense — stiff-legged and nearly arthritic after standing around for 30 minutes — suddenly needs to firehouse into action, then fails.

Poor Josh Saunders. The Earthquakes' ridiculous last-second goal looked like a Pekingese scooting under your neighbor's hedge.

The Galaxy prefers to blame the ref for Sunday's loss rather than their own passive play around the goal. God gets up early to see passes like Landon Donovan's brilliant heel kick to Robbie Keane, who then ka-zinged a shot off the crossbar. Other than that, the Galaxy tended to make the safe set-up pass rather than attack San Jose's rice-paper back line.

Now playing at the Home Depot Center: the Princeton offense.

Nobody ever listens, but if I were MLS commish I'd supersize the goals and eliminate the dubious offside rule that only muzzles scoring. Don't mean to be critical, but now and then a goal would be nice. No franchise ever suffered from too much offense.

Think of me as Halas introducing the forward pass.

But I'm pretty sure soccer will go on as always. Purists will explain that the game is like Doris Day movies, that when someone finally scores it's all the more special. Which is probably why nobody ever watches Doris Day movies anymore.

Purists might also point out that if soccer is so flawed, why are there three Galaxy fan clubs, one more nuts than the next?

There are the Galaxians, who date to the Paleolithic era, when the Galaxy played in the Rose Bowl. There is the Riot Squad, a covey of roustabouts who pride themselves on a more English style of cheering. And finally, there's the Angel City Brigade, which performed some throbby dance move late in Sunday's game that looked like a rodent giving birth to a toaster.

"We improvise a lot more, and they have a lot more structure," Riot Squadder James Demastus says of the differences.

Huh?

"What happens is that we're like a family that gets mad at each other and breaks apart," explained Galaxian Linda Pickle of the three fan groups.

That's right, Pickle. As in the situation the defending champs now find themselves.

Prediction? Galaxy by a field goal.

chris.erskine@latimes.com

Twitter: @erskinetimes

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