Bill change underscores the need for journalists - Dan Walters - Fresnobee.com:
"A batch of amendments to a massive water bond bill was submitted to the state Senate's clerical desk Monday, and one of them, as it turned out, had nothing to do with water.
Later that evening, as the bond bill was being debated on the Senate floor, Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, asked about the opaquely worded new provision, and was given a vague answer.
However, two reporters for The Sacramento Bee continued to pursue the language on Tuesday because it made an oblique reference to the Sacramento Unified School District. And under questioning, Senate President Pro tem Darrell Steinberg admitted to them that the amendment would earmark $10 million for his pet project, a Sacramento cultural tolerance center."
"A batch of amendments to a massive water bond bill was submitted to the state Senate's clerical desk Monday, and one of them, as it turned out, had nothing to do with water.
Later that evening, as the bond bill was being debated on the Senate floor, Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, asked about the opaquely worded new provision, and was given a vague answer.
However, two reporters for The Sacramento Bee continued to pursue the language on Tuesday because it made an oblique reference to the Sacramento Unified School District. And under questioning, Senate President Pro tem Darrell Steinberg admitted to them that the amendment would earmark $10 million for his pet project, a Sacramento cultural tolerance center."