Ex-chief’s drug trial begins
The former second-incommand of a California city police department says he was working “deep undercover” when he was recorded talking about buying marijuana, his lawyer told jurors at the start of a federal criminal trial.
The Fresno Bee reported Wednesday wiretaps also recorded Fresno’s former deputy Police Chief Keith Foster contemplating the purchase of heroin and prescription painkillers.
Foster, 53, has pleaded not guilty to charges of distributing oxycodone, heroin and marijuana. The paper reported Foster turned down a deal to plead guilty in exchange for a nearly 4-year prison term.
SACRAMENTO (AP) – California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday dialed back his proposed cuts for schools and child care, citing an improved fiscal outlook since he outlined the cuts in January.
He said the economic picture would allow $1.5 billion more in general fund spending in his $124 billion proposal – even amid uncertainty as the Trump administration seeks to overhaul the federal health care law.
“We’re trying as much as possible to keep us on an even keel,” Brown said in reversing his proposed cuts for K-12 schools. By law, about half the state’s spending goes to K-12 education and higher education.
Brown also wants to reverse a proposed $500 million cut for low-income childcare that he sought in January and revise his proposal to shift nearly $600 million in costs to counties. After county officials warned they could not absorb the expenses, the state would now shift $141 million under Brown’s proposal.
The release of Brown’s spending plan kicks off a month of negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Legislature. His plan would need the approval of lawmakers.
“Spending has gone up far more than anybody ever imagined,” Brown said, citing a tax increase and improving economy. Yet he warned again that the economy could tank, taking the state’s budget with it and forcing sharp cuts in future years if law- makers overspend now.
“What we’re doing is fighting as hard as we can so that never happens,” he said.
Democratic legislative leaders gave a tepid response to Brown’s initial budget plan in January, rejecting his proposed cuts to college scholarships and child care providers while insisting they would push to increase spending on social welfare programs.
Brown had proposed a $122.5 billion budget that kept general fund spending mostly flat. The Democratic governor called for more than $3 billion in cuts because of a projected deficit he pegged at $1.6 billion. His administration later acknowledged it miscalculated health care costs.
His less-dire budget now cites increased revenue based primarily on higher capital gains. His finance director, Michael Cohen, said the deficit is now pegged at about $400 million.