If you or I harbored a fugitive of the law, we’d be prosecuted.

Remember the accomplices who helped to shield Newman cop killer Paulo Mendoza after he shot Deputy Ronil Singh? They were prosecuted.

So nothing would give me more pleasure than to see these so-called elected officials who are enacting illegal sanctuary city and sanctuary state laws be prosecuted federally for interfering with law enforcement. I’d enjoy seeing Gavin Newsom and Rob Bonta handcuffed in a perp walk.

Something to think about.

* * * * *

Remember how Newsom came under fire recently for failing to tell local officials when he visited their county up north? 

Well, the governor was in Turlock on Monday and his staff didn’t bother informing the local media about a news conference in its hometown or home county. Turlock Journal editor Kristina Hacker was livid when she caught wind of the event after he left town to go get some face time at the funeral of Jimmy Carter. Apparently all he cares about is TV and state news agencies.

I’m used to this neglect. Just days after being sworn into office for the first term, Newsom stealthily visited the Monterey Park Tract just miles outside of Ceres and didn’t tell local media.

* * * * *

Republicans are ripping the governor for his budget preview – announced in Turlock at Stan State.

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher and Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chair Heath Flora responded to Gov. Newsom’s budget “preview,” calling for real action to improve the lives of Californians.

While Newsom was slapping himself on the back about passing a budget with no deficit – a talking point he will be sure to use when he runs for president against J.D. Vance in 2028 – the GOP sets the record straight.

Newsom’s budget is only balanced with $7.1 billion pulled from the rainy day fund.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office is expecting deficits of $20 billion to $30 billion for three straight years starting in 2026.

Newsom’s budget will grow general fund spending by $17.4 billion from this year’s levels.

Newsom is also backpedaling from last year’s promise to eliminate 10,000 vacant state jobs and reduce spending by $4.9 billion to operate more efficiently. Now he plans to cut 6,500 positions, falling short on operational efficiency savings by $1.4 billion.

There is no additional funding for drug treatment programs that will be necessary thanks to the passage of Proposition 36.

Newsom’s $322 billion budget is mostly a placeholder as California awaits potential cuts in federal funding from incoming President Donald Trump. Sacramento and Trump could go head-to-head over various issues including climate policy and immigrant rights.

About a third of California’s budget depends on federal funding.

* * * * *

I write a lot of crime stories and typically the ones you have seen in the last couple of years has been the drunken drivers who get pulled over after doing something stupid like running stop signs or speeding. The thought always occurs to me that for every DUI suspect arrested there are perhaps 10 others out there getting away with it. That’s a scary thought.

Over a focused two-day period, from Dec. 24 at 6:01 p.m. to Dec. 25 at 11:59 p.m., the California Highway Patrol conducted a concentrated effort to find and arrest drunk drivers off the roads. This year they arrested 308 for DUI! They also issued 3,835 citations, including for speeding, seatbelt violations, and other traffic infractions.

Aside from impaired drivers causing havoc on our roads and endangering all of us, stupidity and impatience have been chief reasons for other deadly crashes.

Take for instance the Dec. 26 crash on Highway 132 east of Roberts Ferry in Stanislaus County. That evening, Mr. Dead Driver Guy in a 2005 Saturn sedan decides to pass another car over a set of double yellow lines on a curve and goes head-on into a pickup coming from the opposite direction. Mr. Dead Driver Guy – who incidentally didn’t have the brains to wear a seat belt – was killed instantly. He also inflicted major injuries on the two occupants in the oncoming pickup.

The CHP has not determined if Mr. Dead Driver Guy was drunk at the time but I’d say the odds are very high that he was.

* * * * *

There is a new law in California because of what Democrat lawmaker Wendy Carrillo did on Nov. 3, 2023. In the middle of her campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, Carrillo was over double the legal limit to drive when she crashed into parked cars in Los Angeles. She was arrested and pleaded no contest. So she authored a bill that requires  that schools now provide instruction about the short- and long-term harms of excessive drinking — including alcohol’s link to chronic diseases, mental health problems and deaths.

The law takes effect as she left office because she lost her council bid and her legislative term expired.

Reading her comments makes me wonder just where her head was growing up. It’s like she’s excusing others instead of blaming herself for her own actions.

“I wish I would have known in high school what I know now,” she said at one hearing. “I would have made different choices.”

Wait. This woman had some intelligence to get elected to state office and KNEW it was illegal to drive while drunk but she did it anyway. You can educate until you’re blue in the face but most people who drink and get behind the wheel do so because they don’t want to be inconvenienced. I’m certain she wanted to get home and felt she could handle a car already.

Most teenagers already know that it’s not okay for them to drink and drive while drunk. But no amount of schooling can prevent people from doing stupid things. Isn’t that right, Wendy?

* * * * *

As we all know, labor unions rule Sacramento leadership. They buy the best politicians money can buy. That’s why Newsom and company have no made it against the law for employers to require workers to attend “captive audience” meetings which can have political, religious or anti-union messaging. Newsom signed the law, SB 399 by Senator Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, last year. The new law allows the California Labor Commissioner to fine companies up to $500 for “subjecting, or threatening to subject, an employee to discharge, discrimination, retaliation, or any other adverse action” if the employee does not attend a captive audience meeting.

Not taking the new law sitting down is the California Restaurant Association. Its president, Joe Condie, said: “Employers have the right to express their views and opinions on many issues. SB 399 creates restrictions that are unworkable, and the unintended consequences of this new law outweigh any perceived benefit.”

Captive audience meetings have been seen by labor unions as a union-busting tactic and were part of the initial round of complaints mentioned by the first wave of unionized Starbucks stores in 2021 and 2022. In one such meeting, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was recorded asking employees, “If you hate Starbucks so much, why don’t you go work somewhere else?”

* * * * *

California voters rejected Proposition 32 which would have increased the state minimum wage to $18 per hour. I believe it was defeated because people realize that if you have to pay workers more, prices go up – and they are already insanely high. The rejection of Proposition 32 followed the California Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act) which set a new $20-per-hour minimum wage for workers in most fast-food restaurants in April 2024.

Well, the minimum wage went up Jan. 1 anyway, from $16 per hour to $16.50 because the minimum wage law is automatically adjusted for inflation, even though it can’t decrease if the Consumer Price Index falls in any given year.

This will have an effect on prices and a chilling effect on the job market.

If only California lawmakers would lower our taxes so we can pay for this hidden tax.

* * * * *

It’s a sign of the times. Businesses are struggling, especially in California where minimum wage, taxes, expenses and regulations are highest.

A new sign that was posted at La Morenita in Ceres rubbed at least one customer the wrong way. The sign’s main paragraph reads: “All menu prices are listed as cash pricing, however, all credit card and debit card transactions will incur a charge; according to the specific card company’s percentage charge. Under the former system, while everybody else was reaping the benefits of points, miles, promotions, etc., we have been paying about $50,000 annually in credit card fees, and in this current economic climate, that is no longer a sustainable business model. So please take advantage of our cash prices.”

The sign goes on to announce a new app and partnering with Door Dash.

Well, the sign about swipe fees didn’t go well with Nick Maynard who posted this “rant” on Facebook: “RANT: I love eating at La Morenita, but this sign has always rubbed me the wrong way. The part that says, “while everybody else was reaping the benefits of points, miles…” feels unnecessary and misplaced.

“How is it the customer’s fault that credit card companies charge fees to businesses? Accepting various payment methods is part of running a business — it makes it easier for more people to support you. The fees a business pays are just part of the cost of doing business, plain and simple.

“It’s like a customer saying, “When I eat at your restaurant, you’re reaping the benefits of charging me nearly $20 for a burrito that costs you $3 to make!” A little gratitude for your loyal customers would go a long way! Without your customers, your business doesn’t exist!”

That prompted someone else to complain about the business charging for chips (normally free at Mexican restaurants) and another saying that they were charged $3.50 when the husband’s plate was too much and they wanted to share the meal.

I understand both sides.

What frosted me was the time years ago when I was in San Francisco at Mel’s Drive-In and I saw a charge to pay for employee healthcare costs; or the time in November 2018 when I walked into the Turlock Pizza Hut to see a sign saying I’d be charged a “service fee” to cover “the high cost of doing business in California.”

While President Trump wants to enact a temporary 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates, I doubt that anything will be done to cap swipe fees charged to businesses.

 This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation.  How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com