VALLEY'S METH LABS ON GOVERNOR'S HIT LIST

Davis Reportedly Wants $50 Million To Fight Drug

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gray Davis will include $50 million to fight
methamphetamine production in a budget proposal to be released next week,
one in a hodgepodge of spending initiatives to improve the economy and
quality of life in the Central Valley.

Administration officials, speaking on the condition they not be identified,
said Davis plans to step up methamphetamine enforcement by adding $40
million in state funding to specialized drug-enforcement units set up by
the federal Department of Justice in five regions of the state, including
the Valley.

His budget also will include $10.5 million to replace federal funding for
methamphetamine enforcement that is likely to expire next year.

The Valley is a major production area for the drug -- also known as crank
- -- which is distributed around the United States.

San Joaquin County Assistant Sheriff Bruce Agnew said law enforcement isn't
even close to eradicating illicit laboratories despite intensive federal
enforcement efforts in the past several years.

"Our own officers in our department who are assigned to narcotics are
spending 85 to 90 percent of their time working on methamphetamine," Agnew
said. "There doesn't seem to be any wane in the terms of the numbers of
cases that continue to come in. There's everything from simple possession
to major labs."

Many of the governor's other initiatives are aimed specifically at the
Fresno and Bakersfield areas, but several proposals will have a direct
impact on San Joaquin County and the Mother Lode. They are:

* $162 million to recruit faculty and begin construction of the University
of California, Merced, campus, which the governor hopes will open by fall 2004.

* $19.6 million to continue efforts to eradicate Pierce's disease, which is
spread by an insect called the glassy-winged sharpshooter and threatens to
devastate winegrape crops. The budget proposal also will include $3 million
to support the University of California's Pierce's disease research program.

* $20 million for construction projects, other than transportation, that
will stimulate economic development in the Valley. The money would be
allocated through competitive grants and is not yet allocated to specific
projects.

* $18 million to fund expansions of rural transit systems. An
administration official said some of the money might be used to set up
service that would shuttle residents from rapidly growing foothill
communities, such as Calaveras County, to employment centers in the Valley.

Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, said the governor's commitment to fight
methamphetamine production is good news for San Joaquin County, which is
often saddled with the hazardous waste left over from illegal labs.

"If you take a look at it, dealing with the meth labs comes out of local
coffers," Machado said. "Hazardous-waste handling, all too often it
exhausts local coffers. That's why I think it's a very important project."

Republican lawmakers released their own spending plan for Central Valley
improvements Thursday and had far more ambitious spending plans than the
Democratic governor.

Sen. Charles Poochigian, R-Fresno, said the $5 billion transportation plan
passed by the governor and Legislature last year shortchanged Valley
counties in favor of the Los Angeles and San Francisco urban areas.

Poochigian said transportation is just one of many areas where the Valley
has been left behind by state government over the years.

"When it comes to programs and services, the Central Valley of California
doesn't get its fair share," Poochigian said. "This is not a criticism of
the administration. It's not partisan."

The Republicans propose to spend $500 million to restore rural roads, $400
million to build and expand county jails, and expand tax credits for food
processors and companies that build plants in rural areas. They also
propose creating a tax credit for businesses in counties with high
unemployment rates equal to the difference between the state minimum wage,
now $6.25 an hour, and the federal minimum wage of $5.15.