Meanwhile, in Sacramento CA...Stem Cells!

From KFMB Channel 8...CBS:

Schwarzenegger Gives $150M Loan To Stem Cell Agency
Last Updated:07-20-06 at 6:38PM

A day after President Bush vetoed a measure that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday authorized a $150 million loan to fund the state's moribund stem cell institute, which has been stalled by lawsuits.

The move has distinct political benefits for the governor who is seeking to put as much distance as possible between himself and the deeply unpopular president as he seeks re-election this year.

Schwarzenegger said the state cannot afford to wait to fund the critical science associated with stem cells."I remain committed to advancing stem cell research in California, in the promise it holds for millions of our citizens who suffer from chronic diseases and injuries that could be helped as a result of stem cell research," Schwarzenegger said in a letter to his finance director authorizing the loan.

Lawyers with ties to anti-abortion and anti-tax groups have sued, arguing that the state's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is unconstitutional. Voters created the agency in 2004 when they passed Proposition 71, which authorized $3 billion in bonds to be sold to fund 10 years of research that the federal government will not fund.

On April 21, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled the institute was a legitimate state agency. But if opponents continue to contest the agency in court, they could hold up the institute's financing until at least next year.

Wrap....