CASH STRAPPED CALIFORNIA !

In case you missed it: California has received $2.1 billion less this year in tax revenues than projected in the February budget, according to State Controller John Chiang.

It's another bad sign as state leaders prepare for the May revised budget later this month.

The California Citizens Compensation Commission will meet in Burbank on May 20, the day after the special election, to take a second run at cutting salaries for elected state officials by 10 percent.

An SEIU official has taken aim at Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, for his efforts to delay passing the union's new contract with the Schwarzenegger administration.

Coming in tomorrow's Bee: With the Santa Barbara fire raising the specter of a long and expensive fire season, cash-strapped California is likely to need to depend more than ever on federal assistance to protect lives and homes. Peter Hecht reports.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened a new can of worms this week by saying that while it's not time to legalize pot, he's willing to discuss it as a revenue-raising measure. Jim Sanders has that story.

Susan Ferriss writes about Propositions 1D and 1E. Would approval begin to unravel the idea that special taxes can be levied for specific purposes?

Dale Kasler reports that CalPERS moved Friday toward requiring its money-management firms to disclose the fees they pay their "placement agents," controversial middlemen who help secure pension investments.

California water officials are fighting back against federal protections for an iconic Delta fish, a tactical shift that threatens to derail a cooperative attempt to fix the state's water problems. Matt Weiser has that story.