Weekly News Update

August 4, 2008 |
Valor

Week of July 28th
LA Times: “State legislators meet but make no progress on budget”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders “convened Sunday night in hopes of ending a budget stalemate that is entering its sixth week, but they made no progress and dispersed after less than two hours, according to several participants.”
Oversight Hearing on Sexual Assault in the Military
Last week, the House held a hearing on sexual assault in the military.
Rep. Louise Slaughter reintroduced the Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act. The act would “establish an Office of Victims Advocate (OVA) within DoD, bring the Family Advocacy Program under OVA, and create a Director of OVA to oversee and coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to cases of family violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking within the military and among military families.”
For more on the hearing, see:

Bill would require paid sick days for most
As many as 5.4 million working Californians don’t get any paid sick days – and they tend to be both sicker and poorer than employees who do receive sick leave, according to a report released Wednesday.
Officials monitor transient sex offenders
The Contra Costa Times reported last week that, “Voters said paroled sex offenders cannot live near a school or park, so more are saying they don’t live anywhere while bouncing from place to place to avoid the tight living restrictions of Jessica’s Law.”
The state is planning on barring “those ‘transient’ sex offenders from staying at any address for more than a few hours, while allowing them to settle in homeless camps, under bridges or at bus stops, including those near schools or parks.”