I attended a program earlier today, "Exporting California: California's Influence in 2008 and Beyond", hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California, the James Irvine Foundation and the New America Foundation. The main fare centered around our state's influence on the 2008 Presidential election and also on "Making Policy in the 'Nation-State' of California. There will be some articles on that tomorrow.

But what caught my attention were some comments by Michael Villines, the Republican leader in the Assembly and Governor Schwarzenegger on prison reform and their suggestion that a deal is imminent.

Villines' comments came first during a freewheeling panel where there was a fair amount of bonhomie and visions dancing in his head and that of Speaker Nunez of bipartisan cooperation. They had both just landed back from Washington, D.C. where they and a number of their colleagues had met with members of the California Congressional delegation and other Senators and Members of Congress...

For the complete article, please visit the California Progress Report website.