Schwarzenegger Drops Nurse-Staffing Fight

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Days after a stinging defeat at the ballot box, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has laid another political battle to rest: he is no longer feuding with California nurses over staffing levels.

Without his legal challenge, the state rule requiring one nurse for every five patients stands. Nurses union Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro called the decision "an enormous victory" because Schwarzenegger "is going to stop going after registered nurses and patient ratios."

For the past year, Schwarzenegger tried to block the rule in favor of a 1-to-6 ratio, a fracas that escalated in December 2004 when he labeled the union a special interest and boasted, "I'm kicking their butts."

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