WASHINGTON

SCHWARZENEGGER: DON’T CALL STATE OUTLAYS ‘SPENDING’

Governor Schwarzenegger of California said in an interview yesterday that the continuing growth in his state’s budget, including a $222 billion, ten-year infrastructure program he proposed, should be considered an investment, and not spending.

“We are investing in the future,” Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We should start building now. We need more space. We need the universities built out. We need more classrooms. We need 40,000 new classrooms. We need to fix our levees. We need to fix our highways.”

Mr. Schwarzenegger, who is up for re-election in November, insisted that he has cut spending, although his budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes a boost of about $7.5 billion in operating expenses.

When the TV program’s host, Timothy Russert, described the governor’s plans as “spend, spend, spend,” Mr. Schwarzenegger took umbrage. “No, it’s invest, invest, invest. Tim, you’re wrong. It’s invest,” the governor said, adopting rhetoric often used by President Clinton, who regularly described new spending programs as “investments.”

Mr. Schwarzenegger, who was in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association, offered a mixed verdict on the proposed takeover of facilities at some American ports by a Dubai-owned company. He warned that the Arab world has been “villainized” by Americans, but went on to say of the port deal, “It freaks everyone out, and rightfully so.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MIDWEST

SHOOTING IN DETROIT CHURCH KILLS ONE WOMAN, INJURES CHILD

DETROIT – A man opened fire at a church service Sunday, killing an 18-year-old woman and wounding her child before shooting another man outside, according to police and broadcast reports. Second Deputy Police Chief James Tate confirmed that three people were shot, one fatally, at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, about 11 a.m. The child did not have life-threatening injuries, WWJ-AM reported. The third victim, who was shot when trying to protect his wife from a carjacking attempt by the shooter, was in critical condition, the station said. Church members helped police identify a suspect, Mr. Tate said. Officers were looking for Kevin Lorenzo Collins, 24, who is considered armed and dangerous. The shooting was the result of a domestic dispute, Mr. Tate said.

– The Associated Press

NORTHEAST

CONGRESS COULD KILL PLANNED WIND FARM, BACKERS SAY

BOSTON – A proposal before Congress that would limit the construction of wind turbines near shipping lanes could effectively doom plans to build the country’s first offshore wind farm near Massachusetts, the project’s supporters say.

Officials at Cape Wind Associates LLC say that the rule, being considered as an amendment to a bill in a House-Senate conference committee, would rule out so many crucial sections of Nantucket Sound that there would not be enough space for their 130-windmill complex.

“This is a dire moment for us,” said Mark Rodgers, a Cape Wind spokesman. He said the rule “would be totally fatal” for the project.

The Cape Wind project, begun four years ago, has proved consistently controversial: Though environmentalists have praised it for providing a renewable source of energy, Cape Wind has determined opponents who are concerned about its impact on fishing, navigation and beachfront views.

– The Washington Post

WEST

CALIF. PRISON SYSTEM CHIEF TO RESIGN

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The head of California’s prison system, a reform-minded appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he’s resigning after more than two years on the job because his efforts lacked political support. Corrections Secretary Roderick Hickman, 49, said the governor would receive an official letter of resignation today. “I think we’ve built an excellent foundation, but I just don’t see the courage and will we need to get it done across the board in the government of California,” Hickman told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday’s edition. The governor’s office said yesterday the department’s undersecretary, Jeanne Woodford, will temporarily fill the top post.

– Associated Press