JLAC chair Nicole Parra and embattled Secretary of State Kevin Shelley have begun a volley of correspondence over if and when Shelley will appear before Parra's committee, and
The Roundup has obtained copies of the letters. He's checking with his lawyer before testifying before JLAC, and she's giving him until Thursday to decide whether to voluntarily comply with her formal "invitation" to appear before the committee. Amazing what getting
thumped by your hometown editorial board will do.
The Bee and
the Times have stories on Parra's new backbone.
The Union-Tribune
scores an interview with governor, who says he's open to amending the state's term limit system.
Matsui set to announce her candidacy today The special election to fill Matsui's seat will be March 8, with a May 3 runoff if nobody receives a majority. Doris Matsui will
announce her candidacy today, while
Grantland Johnson dips his toes into the water.
As for that
other special election Peter Nicolas reports on a new coalition of business groups that will likely
bankroll the governor's special election initiatives, part of the effort to
keep labor unions on the defensive. While the gov's proposals look like a "great leap forward" to business, state labor fed chief Art Pulaski isn't happy with the "
cultural revolution."
The Senate Rules Committee will hold an election of their own today, as Democrat Reed Hastings will most likely be removed from the state Board of Education. Was it the $100,000 against Davis's recall or the $10,000 to Mike Machado that they didn't like? As reported in
Political Pulse, Democrats voted against Reed Hastings' renomination to the Board of Education in a divisive caucus meeting Tuesday. EdVoice is running
a full-page ad today in the SacBee to pressure Senate Dems. But Hastings's fate has apparently already been sealed.
Ouch. There's one thing worse than losing an election. It's continuing to have to
write checks from your family trust to pay the bills months later.
Uh, now what do we do? Education, health and human services organizations were left without a strategy yesterday when legislative Democrats
abandoned their calls for a tax increase. But not all liberals are unhappy with the governor. The Advocate is
praising the Governor's budget, which boosts funding for the purchasing assistance program for AIDS drugs.
Around the State• Under pressure from consumer groups and Bill Lockyer, the PUC has postponed its vote to
repeal the cell phone user's bill of rights.• Will
the real Surf City please stand up?
• Riverside-DA-in-waiting
Rod Pacheco makes the list of his hometown newspaper's "people to watch" in 2005. Somewhere, Brad Pitt is beside himself with jealousy.
• Meanwhile, another
former legislator gets dinged by the FPPC for campaign violations.
• From our
Planet San Francisco files, the Board of Supervisors passes new regulations on dog houses, dog food nutrition.