by Bill Balderston
On July 28, Governor Arnold Schwarz-enegger signed the “final” version of a budget which appears to resolve the $26.3 billion deficit faced by the state through a series of last-minute cuts and a number of accounting maneuvers as well as an end to the 40-year moratorium on off-shore oil drilling.
The cuts are centered in child welfare and healthcare, services for the elderly, AIDS treatment, and state parks.
The governor cut over $9 billion for kindergarten through 12th grade public education, on top of $11.6 billion in previous reductions.