Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 6

A-6 Friday, July 2, 1993 Santa Cruz Sentinel Capitol congratulates itself on budget Renters' credit measure on ballot The Associated Press SACRAMENTO The Legislature has put a measure on the June 1994 ballot to give constitutional protections to a renters' tax credit. The Senate gave the mea'-sure final approval Thursday on a 28-3 vote. It passed the Assembly on Wednesday. The constitutional amendment is part of a budget deal Legislation signed Wednesday by Wilson suspends the credit for two years to help balance the state budget. The constitutional amendment, which would take effect in 1995, would authorize a credit of at least $60 for singles and $120 for couples, single heads of households and surviving spouses to reduce their state income tax San Francisco Chronicle SACRAMENTO The state Capitol was tilled with self-congratulations from legislators proud of themselves for enacting a state budget almost on time.

With Gov. Pete Wilson's signing of the $50.59 billion spending plan only three hours before the new fiscal year started Thursday, he and lawmakers avoided a rerun of last year's drawn-out budget fiasco. "We did what we were sent up here to do," exuded Assemblyman Mickey Conroy, R-Orange. Controy, however, did not let his enthusiasm get the better of his fiscal conservatism. He voted against the budget.

It was not until September 2 that last year's budget was enacted and the state stopped paying its employees and creditors with the now-famous IOUs. Although the new budget was sent to Wilson on June 21, six days after the constitutional deadline, it took until Thursday for the final grain of the fiscal sand painting to fall into place. The Senate performed the last task by passing a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters in next June, would place the renters' tax credit in the constitution. The measure would give renters the same legal protection that homeowners now have for their tax credit and make it tougher for lawmakers and governors to tamper with the tax credit. The vote was 28 to 3.

The measure was the outcome of a deal struck between Senate President Pro Tern David Roberti, D-Los Angeles, and Wilson, who wanted to suspend the renters' credit in 1993 and 1994 to save $800 million and to help balance the budget he signed last night. Currently, single renters who earn less than $20,000 a year get a $60 tax break while couples who rent and earn less than $40,000 a year get $120. Renters who pay no state income tax still get the credit. It was that issue that caused a hang-up Wednesday. Republicans demanded that the legislation ensure that renters who do not pay taxes not receive the credit.

After that question was resolved to the satisfaction of the GOP, the legislation sailed through. One unhappy lawmaker was Senator Henry Mello, D-Watsonville, who has been served an eviction notice from his district offices from Monterey County buildings in Salinas and Monterey. Mello said the county was angry because he voted for Wilson's proposed $2.6 billion property tax shift from local governments to schools. "It's absurd that they would go to this length because they disagree with my votes," said Mello. He insisted that the eviction was illegal.

Another person breaking with the cheery mood was state Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who assailed Wilson for deleting expenditures for the Commission on State Finance, a watchdog group set up 12 years ago. The commission publishes quarterly forecasts about the state's economy, revenues and expenditures and also reports on California's shrinking defense industry. Brown noted that the commission had provided early warnings that Wilson's original budget proposals for the last three years were all out of balance. "Why would the governor want to silence such a respected fiscal voice?" she asked. "It certainly cannot be because the commission hasn't been timely and accurate in its information.

Its credibility may have proved just too embarrassing." The treasurer chairs the commission and appoints its executive director, a role currently filled by Brad Williams, one of the state's most respected fiscal analysts. Wilson's press secretary, Dan Schnur, defended the move as a logical way of saving taxpayer money. By calling for the commission to be out of business October 1, Wilson's veto saves $532,000 this fiscal year. "We've eliminated one of a cacophony of voices who provide analysis of state revenue and expenditures," which also include Controller Gray Davis and the legislative analyst, Schnur said. Schnur added that if Brown wants to continue providing a separate set of estimates, she can do so out of her own office.

The dispute has political implications, since Brown is expected to be a Democratic challenger to the Wilson in next year's governor's race. She is already contending that the new budget is based on an overly optimistic economic forecast by the Wilson administration, and the commission's reports could provide her with ammunition to bolster that claim. LA's new mayor appeals for healing i a 't X) 1 lJ The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Richard Riordan, the Republican millionaire voters turned to for leadership amid recession, budget slashing and ethnic tension, was inaugurated Thursday as the city's first new mayor in 20 years. "My fellow Angelenos, the time has come for all of you to take part in the healing of our great city," Riordan said after taking the oath of office before a crowd of officials and supporters on the City Hall lawn. Riordan pledged an administration that will seek to unify the city's diverse 3.5 million citizens, make its streets safer and be friendly to business.

But he said success was really up to the people. "I will work closely with President Clinton, Gov. (Pete) Wilson and the City Council to turn our city around. But in the end it will be you that will turn L.A. around," said Riordan, 63, a lawyer, venture capitalist and philanthropist whose fortune is estimated at $100 million.

With the Rodney King beating, the 1992 riot and its frayed ethnic relations all in recent memory, Riordan said the city was under a spotlight. "The nation looks to us today," he said. "This is a challenge, an opportunity, to show that all of us, of every race, gender and religion, can strive together to make a better Los Angeles." Elected on the strength of his appeal to white voters, Riordan reached out to other groups that opposed him in the election or simply didn't vote. He also mentioned the homeless, people with AIDS and teachers as being important to him. "I will be a mayor for the whole city," he said.

Riordan succeeds Tom Bradley, the city's first black mayor, who was given a warm round of applause before Riordan's swearing-in ceremony. "Mayor Tom Bradley looks awfully relieved," Riordan joked. "I haven't seen him so relaxed in 20 years. Maybe he hasn't told me something." Riordan inherits the last budget signed by Bradley, a $3.9 billion spending plan calling for 130 layoffs and maintaining a salary freeze on city workers. The Associated Press Riordan raises Bradley's hand just before ceremony Thursday.

LSD distribution ring broken up State digest GRAND OPENING II II TTII fft 8 JULI 3 in The arrests more than doubled the previous U.S. record four years ago in Santa Cruz. NTERNA TIONAL BRIDES Coma on In and enter our drawing for a FREE BRIDAL DRESS The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO State and federal authorities announced Wednesday the arrests of five people suspected of running a LSD distribution ring with a potential annual profit of up to $60 million. A sixth suspect remains at large. It is estimated that 90 percent of the LSD in the United States is manufactured in Northern California.

The arrests more than doubled the previous U.S. record four years ago in Santa Cruz. California Attorney General Dan Lungren said at a news conference that the group, which was based in the Marin County town of Bolinas, produced about 1 million hits of LSD each month with a street price of $2 to $5 a dose. The ring distributed in California and 12 During its four-year investigation, undercover agents purchased 1.5 million doses, much of it at Grateful Dead concerts and in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. The investigation culminated Tuesday with the arrests of four Bolinas residents: Sage Appel, 50; Marcella Whitefield, 27; George Horvath, 33; and Neal Evan Dry, 38.

A grand jury indicted all four late last month. The four are being held at Alameda County Jail. The case may take as long as year to get to trial, Kennedy said. Another indicted suspect, alleged ringleader Carolyn Holly Fried, also known as Sara Bernhardt, remains at large, Lungren said. drawing wfll Aug.

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Bikes. Skiers, Multi-Gyms, Heart Monitors. All equipment on display and in stock. IMTnTr1 FITNESS 2121 41st Avenue gPVMH- PRODUCTS 462-4050 Tioga Pass opened to tour buses YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK Pressured by merchants east of the park, Yosemite officials on Thursday lifted a weight restriction that kept tour buses off Tioga Pass because the road base was soggy from winter snows. Crews tested state Route 120, also known as Tioga Pass Road, on Thursday and found that the water table had dropped enough and the base had solidified enough to support heavy load vehicles, spokesman Steve Kelley said.

Fearing the road base might crumble, Park Superintendent Michael V. Finley had barred vehicles weighing more than 15,000 pounds from using the pass over Yosemite's high country until conditions were drier. BART warns of fare hikes OAKLAND Bay Area Rapid Transit officials warn that higher fares or layoffs are imminent despite having trimmed $7.4 million from next year's budget. The BART Board of Directors approved a $224 million budget on Wednesday but didn't decide how to raise more than $800 million needed to repair deteriorating trains and stations. From Sentinel wire services FRIDAY'S VVALANCE! 22 1 DOZ.

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