It was in 2006 that i ___ to california

In the wake of an environmentally-hostile federal administration, California has all but been crowned the sustainable savior of the United States, largely due to its long history of climate change policy and strong rhetoric of the state’s leaders at present. The state has been set up as something of a resistance leader, meant to guide other like-minded states and localities throughout our nation toward a greener future; but how deserving are we of this reputation, and how prepared are we to take on this daunting mantle? California has earned this status thus far through pushing ambitious policies that have set the standard for others. Most prominent among them has been AB 32 , which mandated that the state revert back to 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. The legislation garnered national attention when it was passed in 2006 for putting into effect the largest cap-and-trade system in the nation and was recently extended through 2030 via AB 398 , which passed through the legislature this past year with the vehement support of Gov. Brown. This recent bill even went as far to acknowledge California’s reputation as a harbinger for progressive environmental policy, declaring that the state “has long been a national and international leader on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts,” and revealing that California’s current body of policymakers see themselves as at the forefront of the movement. This is not a new trend in the state’s poli...

The 2006 midterm elections, held after the successful re-election of President George W. Bush, saw turnover in federal and state races across the country. The election was a wave election in which Democrats regained control of both Houses of Congress, picked up gubernatorial offices, and flipped large numbers of state legislative seats. California, however, bucked the trend. Incumbent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican candidate who had won the replacement vote in 2003 when prior Governor Gray Davis was recalled over issues with the power grid, ran for re-election in this Democratic wave environment. This was the second-to-last gubernatorial election to be held without the top-two primary method, which was approved in 2010 during Governor Jerry Brown’s third run for office. Schwarzenegger’s challenger, the Democratic State Treasurer Phil Angelides, was the Democratic party nominee. Other candidates in the race were Green Party candidate Peter Camejo, American Independent candidate Edward Noonan, Libertarian candidate Art Olivier, and Peace & Freedom candidate Janice Jordan. The Election In the general election, Schwarzenegger won a resounding victory, likely due to his moderation on social and fiscal issues before the campaign. He managed to do this by performing exceptionally well with Whites and Asian-Americans. He also made an impressive showing among African-Americans, Latinos, and mixed-race Americans. It should be noted that State Treasurer Angelides won Af...

SAN QUENTIN— California prison officials executed 76-year-old murderer Clarence Ray Allen at the state prison here early today after his final appeal was turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court. His death was announced at 12:38 a.m. by Elaine Jennings of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Allen, who turned 76 Monday, was by far the oldest of the 13 convicts executed in the state since California restored the death penalty in 1977 and the second oldest in the nation. That status, however, may not endure. California has the nation’s largest death row -- 646 inmates -- but executes a relatively small number. As a result, the ranks of the condemned grow steadily more elderly, and now include five older than 70, 34 in their 60s and 155 between 50 and 59. Lawyers for Allen argued that his lengthy time on death row, age and ill health should have barred his execution; he recently had a heart attack, suffered from diabetes, was legally blind and used a wheelchair. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a series of courts rejected those pleas over the last several days. On Sunday night, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that Allen was already 50 years old and incarcerated at Folsom State Prison for another killing when he orchestrated the triple murder for which he was handed the death penalty in 1982. Evidence at that trial showed he had paid another inmate $25,000 to kill three potential witnesses against him. “His age and experience...