If reporters were among the animals allowed on Noah's ark, it must have looked something like
the scene in the governor's press office Tuesday. Two-by-two they lined up, waiting for their ten-minute chat with the governor -- all except the LA Times, which was dissed by Schwarzenegger for coverage the administration finds unfair and unflattering.
The governor had about nine consecutive interviews with 16 various news outlets. The media onslaught continues with 5-minute television interviews today. Today, each paper reports their own little nugget of news from its sit-down with the guv.
During an interview in his Capitol office yesterday, Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed shareholder protection, which would require corporations to seek shareholder approval before making political contributions, reports Capitol Weekly.
"'It's not right to force people to do that,' he said when asked about the use of corporate money for political purposes without consent. 'What's good for the goose is good for the gander ... I support anything [that prohibits political spending] where people are not asked. People must be asked.'"
There is currently a
measure in circulation, which would require 373,816 valid signatures by December 30.
"But the governor said he was not endorsing a specific proposal '
It's all hypothetical, but I'm all for it across the board,' he said."
What about spousal approval for their partners' political contributions? Now
that would be fun!
"'Backers of the idea were skeptical at best. 'If you believe that, then I've got a bridge,' said Democratic consultant
Gale Kaufman who is leading the campaign against some of the governor's initiatives on the November ballot. 'This is what he does. He promises one thing and turns his back on his promises.'"
The guv's chat with Capitol Weekly was part of
a series of interviews the governor offered to print media. The big papers received private interviews, the small and medium papers shared their time with the gov, and the state's largest paper was intentionally left out altogether. "
Amazingly, the third largest daily newspaper in California -- the San Diego Union-Tribune -- was put in with the small-paper group."
"
Notably absent from the list was the state’s largest and most powerful newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. The paper was intentionally snubbed by the governor’s office as part of a running feud with the paper over their coverage of the governor’s contract with American Media Inc."
Among the other items to emerge from the chats, the Chronicle reports the governor the
wants President Bush to cancel a put off trip to California until after the special election.
"'In the next two months,
it would be better if we just do the fundraising,' Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Chronicle. "Then let us go (past) our special election -- and then they can pick it up again, the (Republican) national committee."
The Bee reports the
governor supports the idea of requiring parental notification before a minor receives an abortion, but stopped short of endorsing Prop. 73. "Despite what he called his belief in "the concept" of Proposition 73, Schwarzenegger, who supports a woman's right to have an abortion, said
he's not sure whether he'll endorse the measure."
"'I have a daughter,' Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Bee. 'I wouldn't want to have someone take my daughter to a hospital for an abortion or something and not tell me. I would kill him if they do that.'"
Not exactly kinder, gentler family message proponents want out there.
Hank Shaw reports in the Stockton Record that the governor would
consider a state bond to pay for levee repairs in the Central Valley.
"Schwarzenegger has taken a more active interest in California's levees than any other governor in recent years. One reason: his visit to the Jones Tract levee break west of Stockton in June 2004. Schwarzenegger said it shook him."
"'I was very upset about the fact that so many people had to suffer because we as a state did not keep up with the levees,' he said. 'It was a failure of the state and local government. It was a lack of leadership. And I said it should never happen again.'"
When asked about the timing of his reelection announcement, the guv
compared the Merc's Kate Folmar to his wife,
Maria Shriver. "The governor made light of the question. 'If I would have [announced later], you would have said, why didn't I announce it earlier? So it doesn't matter what I say. You're like my wife now: 'Why did you do it?'"
Steve Lopez
discusses the possible suitors of the Times, including political super-contributors
David Geffen,
Eli Broad and
Haim Saban.
The Times's Paul Pringle writes that Proposition 75's proposed restriction on union dues is
garnering the opposition of at least one relatively conservative group--police officers. "'Cops in campaign spots can be a potent weapon against conservatives,' said
Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican political consultant in Los Angeles.
"'How can we attack the union without attacking the profession?' Hoffenblum said."
And firefighters and teachers and nurses...
Meanwhile, as expected,
Fabian Núñez endorsed
Phil Angelides yesterday. Kevin Yamamura writes for the Bee that the
race for endorsements is on, and Angelides is winning handily. "'Speaker Núñez, I'm so honored to have your support,' Angelides said. 'I'm so honored to have you join Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein as my co-chairs.'"
"'My opponent is a longtime Sacramento insider, and the speaker's endorsement is not a surprise,' Westly said by phone. 'I think personal endorsements will have little bearing on the campaign. Many people can barely name who their elected officials are. But I think endorsements like public safety show people what you stand for.'"
R.E. Graswich reports that Capitol Public Radio's
Mike Montgomery, 'a mainstay for three decades as a newsman with Capital Public Radio in Sacramento,
has been fired by his beloved organization. 'I'm going to make the best of it,' Mike said. 'I hope people continue to support Capital Public Radio, and if anyone has any suggestions for me, I would love to hear from them.' Neither Mike nor the radio group would explain the dismissal. Mike was four months from his 30th anniversary with public radio."