Alan Arkatov, 48, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the State Board of Education. He has served as president of Changing.edu since 2008. Previously, Arkatov was chief strategy officer for The Rogers Group from 2005 to 2008 and national education practice chair and Southern California chief executive officer for Burson-Marsteller from 2003 to 2005. He was president of eEducation Group from 2001 to 2003 and founder and chairman of OnlineLearning.net from 1991 to 2001. Arkatov served as vice president and West Coast director for Doak and Shrum from 1985 to 1991. He is a member of the Alliance for College Ready Public Schools and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. This position requires Senate confirmation and compensation is $100 per diem. Arkatov is a Democrat.

Benjamin Austin, 40, of Beverly Hills, has been appointed to the State Board of Education. He has served as executive director of the Los Angeles Parents Union and Parents Revolution since 2008 and as an assistant city attorney for Los Angeles since 2006. Previously, he was a consultant for Green Dot Public Schools from 2006 to 2008. Austin was consultant for First 5 California and Rob Reiner from 2002 to 2006 and assistant city attorney for Los Angeles from 2001 to 2002. He served as deputy mayor for Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan from 2000 to 2001 and was communication director for the Host Committee for the National Democratic L.A. Convention 2000 from 1999 to 2000. Austin was a litigation associate for Irell and Manella from 1998 to 1999. Prior to that, he served the White House in the Office of Presidential Advance from 1993 to 1999 and as a deputy in the Office of Political Affairs from 1994 to 1995. Austin was a media relations deputy for the U.S. General Services Administration from 1993 to 1994, press advance for the Presidential Inaugural Committee from 1992 to 1993 and advance for Clinton/Gore ’92. This position requires Senate confirmation and compensation is $100 per diem. Austin is a Democrat.

David P. Lopez, Ed.D., 57, of San Jose, has been reappointed to the State Board of Education, where he has served as a member since 2006. He has served as president of The National Hispanic University since 2003. Previously, Lopez served as professor and administrator at California State University, Fresno from 1981 to 2003. He served New Mexico State University as assistant and professor from 1978 to 1981 and doctorial candidate in curriculum and instruction from 1976 to 1979. Lopez was an intern and teacher for the West Las Vegas School District from 1974 to 1976 and instructional aide and intern for Albuquerque Public Schools from 1970 to 1974. Lopez is a member of the Silicon Valley Children’s Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and the California Postsecondary Education Commission. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lopez is registered decline-to-state.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today returned to the La Ventana Homes project in Fresno where he kicked off his campaign to extend and expand the hugely successful homebuyer tax credit to sign legislation that will do just that. AB 183, authored by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) and Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), will provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 to Californians who are buying their first home or purchasing a brand new home. This legislation, part of the Governor’s larger California Jobs Initiative, will play a key role in getting our economy moving again by encouraging home ownership and stimulating job creation.

“I have been up and down the state pushing this important housing bill that will get people off the fence and into homes while creating jobs and stimulating our economy – and today I am proud to take action and put it into law,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Creating jobs is my number one priority and I am glad that I have been able to sign two job-creating bills in two days. I applaud the legislature for their great work and encourage them to keep it up and pass the remaining job-creating elements of my California Jobs Initiative.”

AB 183 was passed by the legislature on March 22 and gives the Franchise Tax Board authority to extend a total of $200 million in tax credits to California homebuyers; $100 million for buyers of new, unoccupied homes and another $100 million for first-time buyers of existing homes. The credit will be extended from May 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. The tax credit will be available to buyers on a first-come, first-served basis and is applied in equal amounts over a period of three taxable years. To qualify, the buyer must not be a dependant and must purchase a home that does not belong to a relative.

Governor Schwarzenegger fought hard to extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit after its successful run in 2009. That $100 million tax credit, which was approved in February 2009, ran out after just four months with 10,659 Californians claiming the credit – increasing home purchases, jumpstarting building projects and boosting local economies. In fact, La Ventana Homes saw a 300 percent increase in sales when the tax credit went into effect.

The homebuyer tax credit is a part of the larger California Jobs Initiative that the Governor proposed in his State of the State address in January to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Today’s bill is the second piece of it to be approved by the legislature. A sales tax exemption on green-tech manufacturing equipment was also approved to encourage green businesses to relocate and invest in California. The Governor signed that yesterday.