Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks little changed: Perhaps investors are back to reading the gloomy headlines about Libya and Japan. Dow is down 15 points.

Field Poll finds support for Brown: Those who approve of the governor's performance outnumber those who disapprove by more than 2-1. Also, a majority of voters support Brown's proposal to hold an election on taxes. From the Sacramento Bee:

Californians are maintaining their dreary mood about the overall direction of the state, with 64 percent of voters saying it is on the wrong track. That assessment is more positive, however, than in September, when 81 percent of voters felt the state was on the wrong track.

Wealth gap for California schools: Three years of budget cuts have diminished the quality of education in the state, and students in the poorer communities are especially feeling the effects, according to a UCLA study. From AP:

The report, based on a survey last summer of 277 high school principals throughout the state, said that while $18 billion in budget cuts have hit all school districts, wealthier schools have been able to weather the financial crunch better. Those schools have tapped parents to pay for items such as athletics and field trips, as well as for donations to preserve arts and music electives, while schools in low-income communities have not.

L.A. departments told to stay on budget: City Controller Wendy Greuel says that the Police Department, City Attorney's Office, and Department of General Services have accrued $31 million in unbudgeted costs. (Daily News)

Anthem reduces rate hikes: Average increases will be reduced to 9.1 percent from 16.4 percent. It's the second time in less than a year that the California health insurer has scaled back increases. (LAT)

KB Home offering solar: The L.A.-based company will outfit homes in 10 new Socal developments with six-panel photovoltaic systems capable of producing about 30 percent of daily energy use for an 1,800- to 2,000-square-foot home. From the LAT:

Although the solar panel industry has grown rapidly in recent years, particularly in California, the move to incorporate solar panels as part of a development was noteworthy because the market for newly built homes remains dismal, analysts said.

Jobs' reelection to Disney board is questioned: A shareholder advisory firm notes that the Apple CEO (and Disney's largest shareholder) has attended fewer than 75 percent of board and committee meetings in three of the last four years. (LAT)

Hot Topic CEO steps down: Betsy McLaughlin, who has been chief executive of the City of Industry-based teen retailer since 2000, will be replaced by Lisa Harper, 50, a former CEO at specialty retail chain Gymboree Corp. (LABJ)

Geiger counter shortage: They're being bought by businesses and ordinary consumers. From the NYT:

Radiation detectors come as hand-held devices, wrist watches and pager-size gadgets that hang from the belt. Their cost varies from $150 for a self-assembled kit to $4,000 for a more sophisticated version that stores radiation readings along with the GPS coordinates of where those readings were taken. Technically, Geiger counters are just one type of radiation detector. But many people use the term to describe all radiation detection equipment.