California: $18.6 Billion Budget Deficit:
The governor said California may have to eliminate entire welfare programs, including the main one that provides cash and job assistance to families below the poverty line, without an influx of cash from the federal government. Ref. Source 3
Governor: State budget can pass before term ends
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger brought his message of budgetary crisis to a room full of San Diego "powerhouses," as he put it this morning, and while the message was generally bleak he let in a ray of sunshine afterward. Ref. Source 7
City Hall facing challenges of sales-tax reform
The last couple weeks of July saw some of the most furious action at San Diego City Hall in years and eventually led to a half-cent sales tax hike being placed on the Nov. 2 ballot. Ref. Source 5