‘California Connected’ Roundtable Interviews Schwarzenegger, Four Former Governors on State Challenges
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and former Govs. Edmund Brown (D), Gray Davis (D), George Deukmejian (R) and Pete Wilson (R) will address the budget and other state issues on an installment of "California Connected" to air Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports (Mecoy, Sacramento Bee, 2/18). Schwarzenegger's proposed $99.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2004-2005 would reduce state funding for health care programs by more than $900 million, with about $880 million in spending cuts to Medi-Cal, including a provider reimbursement rate cut of 10%. In addition, the proposal would cap enrollment in Healthy Families at its current level of 732,300 and would increase monthly premiums from $9 to $15 per child for some Healthy Families beneficiaries (California Healthline, 2/17). The panelists also will discuss last November's recall election, the issues making the state "particularly difficult to govern" and steps that can be taken to bring the state's economy "back from its current challenges" (KVIE release, 2/4). California Connected is a weekly, hour-long newsmagazine produced by PBS stations in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco that covers state events and issues. Check local PBS listings for show times. Audio and video versions of the program will be available online in Quicktime or Windows Media formats after the broadcast.
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