San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has been in the headlines this week for embracing the idea of providing free wire Internet access for his city’s residents. He ballparks the cost at $8-20 million (by comparison, Philadelphia, which is three times the size of SF, just inked a deal with Earthlink to do citywide wireless at a cost of $10-15 million).

This raises two questions:

1) Will whatever system SF ends up with be on the cutting edge by the time it’s operational (imagine the stupidity of having done citywide DSL system five years ago)?

2) What does this say about the Mayor’s priorities?

While Newsom wants to boldly venture into cyberspace — exploring strange new worlds, seeking new life and new civilization, and bolding spending money where few mayors have spent before — he’s playing hardball with the San Francisco Fire Department, which wants to refit the city’s hydrants to accept standard 2-1/2-inch fire hoses. Newsom’s leery of the $800,000 price tag. He’s right to be cautious, but I’d like to see him likewise holding Google’s and oth er wannabe… Read More

….not in Yolo County she doesn’t…..she takes sanctuary.

Surely, The Cult’s hit song would have received little or no airplay on local Yolo County radio because Big Brother doesn’t like music…especially if it were popular today. You see, the word Take (as in Taking) rolls of the tongue so much easier to the supporters of AB 1747, the politicians in charge, and The Rumsey Band of Indians.

AB 1747, what I’ll call The Conaway Ranch takings bill is currently sitting on the Governor’s desk. It should be vetoed. And because I’m not the smartest guy on Earth, my reason is simple: We live in America.

The parcel in question, the17,000 acre Conaway Ranch, has been held privately for over a century and serves as sanctuary for a vibrant waterfowl habitat and a sanctuary to the current owners who perceive managing the land, the water, and the habitat as the key to their success.

With AB 1747, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk and Yolo County have provided a… Read More

Wow. A fight is brewing in Los Angeles over a bill sponsered by Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and Republican CongressmanDavid Dreier over cop killers from Mexico. Mexico refuses to extradite cop killers and other accused of murder and some other crimes because the United States may executethe poor little cop killers or sentence them to prison for a long time.

The big case in Los Angelesis the murder of Deputy David March.

The bill would have originally stripped Los Angeles Distirct Attorney Steve Cooley and other locals from prosecuting killers of peace officers and given it to the federal government. The want the US to stop aiding Mexico until they turn them over. Dreier has voted against this approach.

Cooley and the Los Angeles Police Union were furious. Cooley went on the John and Ken radioshow to denounce it. Schiff-Dreier made some changes that still didn’t satifsy Cooley and Company. Read it here.

Enter Steve Ipsen, the head of the Assocaition of Deputy District Attorneys, who appeared at the re-eletction kick-off of Dreier to counter… Read More

Excerpted from the Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2005

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made two big announcements at last month’s Republican state convention. The first was that he will seek a second term in 2006; the second was a formal endorsement of Proposition 75, a ballot measure in the November 8 special election that would affect how public-sector unions can spend members’ dues. The second is more important to the state’s long-run future. Mr. Schwarzenegger’s goals as governor include shaking up Sacramento, where an intransigent legislature beholden to special interests had turned the state into an economic basket case. Arnold does have something to show for his efforts to date, insofar as the fiscal bleeding seems to have stopped. California’s credit rating is out of the gutter, and the economy has created a quarter-million new jobs in the past year.

Still, important reforms remain unaddressed, and the passage of Proposition 75, also known as “paycheck protection,” would go a long way toward ending California politics-as-usual. By forcing public-sector unions to get written permission from employees… Read More

Today’s SF Chronicle reports that Proposition 76, the Governor’s budget reform initiative, may be starting to see its financial support being redirected toward other Schwarzenegger ballot priorities.

"Campaign finance reports released last week showed that supporters of Prop. 76, which would give the governor more power over the state budget, had only $7,600 in the bank on Sept. 24, compared with $914,000 for Proposition 75 and $3 million for Proposition 77." Go to the story here.

Maybe this is just a natural ebb and flow that happens when the same donor base is funding four initiatives. But if this is part of a considered strategy, it’s a smart move. If you’re going to be outspent, it makes sense to target your resources as narrowly as possible. Passing redistricting reform and/or Paycheck Protection is enough for Team Arnold to claim victory, so concentrating their fire on one or both of them increases their chances for winning. Even if the budget initiative loses, Arnold can still legitimately make… Read More

Who is this man? He is an official with the Bush Administration, and he may run against State Senator Chuck Poochigian for the GOP nomination for State Attorney General.

Read more in my daily commentary posted with the news each day on this website.

There is always something going on in California politics. And I guarantee you and my fellow contributors and I will always have something to say about it.

Take care, Jon… Read More

BUSH OFFICIAL TO JOIN GOP AG PRIMARY? The top story in the FlashReport news link section today is from the San Francisco Chronicle, and is a must read. Pierre Richard Prosper, who is a Bush Administration war crimes investigator, hails out of Oakland, is black, and is ‘presumably moderate’ according to the story. He has praises heaped on him in the story from former State GOP Vice Chairman Mario Rodriguez, and from former Ambassador to Spain Billionairre George Argyros. Of course, up to this point (and still, since this is just speculation) the field has been clear for GOP State Senator Chuck Poochigian of Fresno. Poochigian is very popular with the GOP and has raised a lot of money (over $2 mil) so far. Of course, on the Dem side, the battle royale is between former Governor Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown (now Mayor of Oakland) and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Analysis for now: Unless he ducks out quickly, look for Prosper to understand exactly NOT FUN it is to be in the crosshairs of strategist… Read More

Tuesday’s special election for the 48th Congressional District was decided more by interlopers than the voters of the 48th CD. The East Coast-based Main Street Partnership decided that the candidate endorsed by moderate Republican Governor Arnold Swartzenegger and the California Republican Party…not to mention many members of the California congressional delegation, was not good enough so they spent a few hundred thousand dollars attacking the lead GOP candidate. Here’s the list of things we can thank Main Street for:

Bringing Marilyn Brewer up to 16% from 10% Taking John Campbell down from 50+1% to 46% Putting this seat on the radar for Democrats Forcing Orange County taxpayers to pay for, and endure, a 3rd election in 3 months Keeping the slim House Republican majority one vote slimmer Wasting hundreds of thousands of Republican dollars by forcing a run-off, not to mention, the money they wasted leading up to Tuesday Giving John & Ken a forum (and … Read More