I posted stories on the main page this morning so early, I missed this gem (it wasn’t up on the Sacramento Bee website yet).

In this column, Dan Weintraub focuses on the role of State Senate President Pro-tem in the BIG BOND$ process. He starts with the analogy below, and then details later in the column where Perata has staked out positions on some of the Governor’s demands. The two of them DEFINITELY do NOT see eye-to-eye.

The column starts:

The University of California‘s PR problem over compensation packages given to high-ranking employees doesn’t seem to be going away. And it shouldn’t. UC officials continue to give weak answers about why some employees have received such bloated compensation packages and why the public hasn’t been fully informed about the deals.

Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) held a hearing last week on the issue and will hold another one on Feb. 22. In today’s San Francisco Chronicle, the legislator says that UC President Robert Dynes has yet not provided clear answers to questions about UC employee compensation packages.… Read More

The campaign Adam Probolsky’s orchestrating against Stanton’s mandatory home inspection ordinance has beginning to gain attention outside the blogosphere. For example, today’s item from OC Register columnist Frank Mickadeit:

God bless Adam Probolsky, though. He did two things to ease my funk. First, he was sitting there with some kind of cranberry drink, which allowed me to ask him rather loudly whether he had a yeast infection and thus divert ridicule in another direction, and, second, he slipped me a delicious example of political hit mail the good people of Stanton should have found in their mailboxes yesterday.

Stanton recently passed a law that requires the seller of every home to pay $150 to have a city building inspector check out the dwelling, both inside and out if he wants.

I don’t want to get into the propriety of such a law or note that this is something the private sector already does – I might find myself coming… Read More

There are a number of ‘must read’ stories today — but start with the exclusive column from State Senator George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. This dynamic husband-wife legislative duo have been the main driving force behind the qualification of the Jessica’s Law ballot measure which, if passed, would enact in the Golden State some of the toughest anti-sexual-predator laws in the nation. They have collected enough signatures, they believe, to qualify the measure for the ballot, and will start turning them in this week, says the consultant handling the measure, Dave Gilliard. … Read More

This post on OC Blog about the campaign my friend and colleague Adam Probolsky is running against the Soviet of Stanton reminds me of some intelligence I’ve picked up recently in this matter that reveals how stunningly out of touch Stanton apparatchiks and their captive City Council are. [For those just tuning in, click here and here for a briefing on the City of Stanton‘s brilliant home inspection scheme]

This ordinance in question — and a virtually identical one targeting rental units — is being fought by the Pacific West Association of Realtors (PWR) and the… Read More

There are a number of ‘must read’ stories today — but start with the exclusive column from State Senator George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. This dynamic husband-wife legislative duo have been the main driving force behind the qualification of the Jessica’s Law ballot measure which, if passed, would enact in the Golden State some of the toughest anti-sexual-predator laws in the nation. They have collected enough signatures, they believe, to qualify the measure for the ballot, and will start turning them in this week, says the consultant handling the measure, Dave Gilliard.

I will try to post more to the FR blog later today, but I have to run out the door very early this morning. When you review the main page, note the link to the SF Chronicle political news page – this is there because the Chron doesn’t update their page until 6am, and I am posting this close to 5am. You can check yourself if they have any stories on California politics, or… Read More

There really is no argument too ridiculous that opponents of completing the 241 tollway in South Orange County will not employ it. I was reading this Dec. 20, 2005 letter to Governor Schwarzenegger from the California State Park Rangers Association, urging him to "pursue every means available to avert this potential disaster from occurring."

Following some customary blather about California‘s leading role in envirionmental protection, the CSPRA unveils a reason for opposition I hadn’t heard yet:

Or, the "How to Know You’re In Good Company" Award…

I know this isn’t state news, although I’m sure the incidentwill be late nite talk show and Handgun Control fodder for several days…

If my memory of history serves me correct (and please tell me if I’m wrong), the last person other than Harry Whittington who can actually say they were shot by a sitting vice president was Alexander Hamilton. Of course, Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton died within the next day or so, after his duel with VP Aaron Burr.

So, Harry, consider yourself in very esteemed company…and only you lived to tell about it.

I’ll let some statistician let us know what the odds are now….

You can always email me a history lesson here.… Read More