Here's your daily briefing...
Well, that didn’t take long: The ink was hardly dry on Governor Jerry Brown’s annual budget proposal before trade associations representing the medical and dental industries pounced. Lobbyists are accusing the governor of using the new cigarette taxes to offset, rather than complement state funding for Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal.
Foreclosures lowest in decade: Fewer Californians appear to be falling behind on their mortgage payments as the number of foreclosures in the state slipped to the lowest level in 11 years. Last year, 78,000 properties in the state fell into the foreclosure process. Many homes currently in foreclosure were purchased with loans issued prior to the collapse of the housing bubble in 2008.
Did you catch today’s California Report?: While facing scrutiny on Capitol Hill during confirmation hearings, the nation’s next Secretary of Defense, General James “Mad-Dog” Mattis, is widely popular among active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton near Oceanside. Also, a harrowing tale of survival and struggle as the homeless, huddled on the margins are tempest tossed by flash floods.