Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks back in the red: More not-so-wonderful economic news. Dow is down about 80 points.

UCLA Forecast sees slow growth: California's unemployment rate, now at 11.9 percent, won't fall below double digits until the end of 2013, according to the report. Sluggish construction and financial services sectors are largely to blame, as is a reduction in state and local employees. From the OC Register:

[UCLA senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg] noted that California has a deep unemployment hole to dig out of. Not only did the state lose 1.3 million jobs during the recession, but population growth has added to the demand for jobs over the past three years. He said the biggest job gains going forward will be in professional and business services, education, health care, exports and technology, especially in the Bay Area and in coastal areas. Inland areas will continue to stagnate until imports, migration and new industries begin to take hold later in this decade, said the forecast.

L.A. inflation easing up: The Consumer Price Index rose 3.1 percent over the last 12 months. Energy prices slowed down last month. (BLS)

California Democrats close on budget: The spending plan includes cutting universities, raising car registration fees, and extending a quarter-cent sales tax - all in an effort to close the remaining $9.6 billion deficit. Deadline is today. From the Sacramento Bee:

Some of the most controversial components of the Democratic plan include additional fees - and one tax. One bill would raise $900 million by partially unwinding a labyrinthine 2004 tax swap involving local governments. Though the state sales tax is slated to decline by one cent in July, the Democratic proposal would lead to a three-quarters-cent reduction - or a quarter-cent more than shoppers would otherwise have to pay. Democrats believe they can pass this on a majority vote, though anti-tax groups have questioned that notion in the past. The plan also includes a $12 increase in the state's vehicle registration fee - a different charge than the higher vehicle tax Brown is seeking.

Support slipping for Jerry Brown: The honeymoon is over - the governor's approval rating has slipped to 46 percent from 48 percent, according to a Field Poll, while 31 percent disapprove of his performance, up 10 points from March.

DWP proposes rate hike: The increase would boost bills by more than 15 percent over three years. That would add $2.24 to the average water bill per month and $4.04 to the average power bill each month. From the Daily News:

Among the reasons for the rate hikes are new state regulations to increase the amount of renewable energy and local policies to reduce reliance on coal. The city also needs to find new water sources to reduce the costs of importing supplies. In addition, both water and power systems are aging and need to be replaced. "We are now at the point where we replace our (water) pipes every 100 years and our power poles every 145 years," [said DWP General Manager Ron Nichols]. "We need to do better."

Council signs off on bus lane plan: Nearly eight miles of Wilshire Boulevard would be covered between MacArthur Park and the edge of Santa Monica (excluding a stretch of Beverly Hills), with officials estimating that 11 minutes of commuting time can be shaved. From the LAT:

Only a half-mile segment would need an additional lane, [said Brad McAllester, Metro's executive officer for long-range planning and coordination], and there would be other improvements to the corridor such as widening in some areas, restriping, signal improvements and changes to some left/right-turn lanes. Only buses would be allowed in the designated lanes from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Officials hope to begin construction of the lanes in the summer of 2012 and open them in mid-2013.

Good month at Port of L.A.: Outbound container traffic rose almost 15 percent in May and inbound was up 5.5 percent, better numbers than at the Port of Long Beach.

Buyout talks for owner of OC Register owner break down: Irvine-based Freedom Communications and MediaNews Group, publisher of the Denver Post, couldn't agree on price, reports the WSJ. Freedom is now considering other suitors and could soon sell itself in whole or in pieces.

Both Freedom and MediaNews purged debt through speedy bankruptcy reorganizations last year, handing control to hedge-fund creditors. Since then, momentum has emerged for these companies and other newspapers to consolidate. Alden Global Capital, for instance, which owns interests in both Freedom and MediaNews, and has been mulling folding together its newspaper holdings.

Sour view of electric cars: The internal combustion engine remains a better bet for reaching fuel-efficiency targets over the next decade, according to a new study. From the WSJ:

"Electric cars will undoubtedly play an increasingly large role in many countries' plans in the decades ahead as energy independence and environmental concerns intensify," said Xavier Mosquet, a Detroit-based senior partner, global leader of BCG's Automotive practice and lead author of the study. "But they will gain only modest ground to 2020. Gas- and diesel-powered vehicles are improving faster than expected and will continue to dominate the global landscape."