In the NYT today, California is once again front and center in a piece about cash-strapped states entering the new year with nothing but swaths of red on the books. The Governator is expected to continue shaking his tin cup at President Obama when he makes his State of the State address at 10 a.m. today, saying that when the new fiscal year begins in July, California will be unable to pay for any social services without aid from the federal government. The stimulus funds of last year are going to start running out, and it's about to get really ugly, with Medicaid patients here already being denied dental benefits and unemployment funds teetering in the balance as well. Happy New Year! more ›

The fine folks over at the Bay Area Reporter have word that local health officials will postpone "cutting AIDS contracts until mid-October in order to give the Board of Supervisors time to respond to a nearly $4 million cut in state funding." The nearly $60 million cuts to AIDS health care and HIV prevention services, which could prove disastrous, might even get restored. Somehow. While vacationing in Provincetown, San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty told the BAR, "'It should be a top priority, that is what those funds are for. I will start by asking for full restoration and see where we end up,'" going on to say, "'Neither myself, nor Supervisor David Campos, nor my other colleagues on the board will stand by and let agencies be decimated because of this state action.'" Read more about it here. more ›