We thought long and hard about boycotting today's Roundup, but then realized we wouldn't get our per diem if we did. So here we go...
California cities are bracing for another round of huge protests today. In
Los Angeles, "Many businesses along Wilshire plan to close for most of the day — some so that workers can join the protests, others in hopes of avoiding potential problems. Parents were figuring out how to pick up their children from school, while some residents — such as
Ted Moreta of Hancock Park — were getting out of town altogether.
In "
Sacramento, Capitol employees received some helpful advice last week from the Joint Rules Committee: Bring your lunch today. One Capitol cafeteria will be closed and another will have limited service in anticipation of today's nationwide one-day boycott of work and school as a protest against federal legislation to increase penalties on illegal immigrants."
"Both houses usually have a floor session on Mondays, but leaders instead scheduled a "check-in session" today. That allows members to get a $153 per diem payment for setting foot in the Capitol but doesn't require them to attend a scheduled floor meeting - and allows some to go to protests instead."
Phil Angelides picked up the California Democratic Party's endorsement over the weekend,
capturing the votes of 67% of the conventioneers.
The LAT's Michael Finnegan and Mark Barabak take a
look at how the endorsement affects the race. "USC political scientist
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said although the endorsement may buoy Angelides, it won't make up for an ad campaign that she and many others consider subpar up to this point."
"'He has to go back and do what he didn't do early on, and that's define himself,' Jeffe said. Saying, 'Hi, these are my daughters, and they think I did well on Wall Street' fighting corruption — as she characterized Angelides' latest spot — is not going to win him the nomination, Jeffe said. Still, winning the endorsement beats the alternative."
The endorsement will help Angelides close the fundraising gap between his campaign and [
Steve] Westly's, with the party planning to send out millions of slate cards and to take over much of the get out the vote effort.
"Political experts said Sunday that if Phil Angelides wants to have any lasting value from this weekend's party convention triumph
he had better follow it up quickly with an ad campaign -- one that tells voters just who he is," writes Stephen Harmon in the Merc News.
"'In a seat with both candidates not well-known and support for both is not that solid, I'd say having a brand name as the Democrats' choice is a great one to have,' said Kam Kuwata, a Democratic consultant, who is not affiliated with either campaign. '
It's potentially significant, but it's a one-day story unless the Democratic Party and the Angelides campaign broadcast it to a wider audience.'"
The Bee's Peter Hecht
looks at the fight ahead, which my get bloody. "After his nomination, Angelides told reporters his television campaign will draw 'real contrasts' between him and Westly on the issues. But whether he will air negative ads to cut into Westly's lead is an open question."
"'I think if he decides to go negative on us on the air there's going to be a very heavy price to pay,' said South, a veteran of some bare-knuckled campaigns whom Angelides dubbed the 'King of Mean.' 'Whenever you go negative there's always collateral damage to your own candidacy.'"
"South also said the
Westly campaign would retaliate with its own airwaves attack if Angelides goes negative, adding, '
I want Phil Angelides going to bed tonight thinking about that.'"
George Skelton writes that, even among party faithful, there was a certain
lack of energy in the convention hall around the gubernatorial candidates. "'
These are two uninteresting people saying uninteresting things,' one Democratic consultant told me before the candidates' convention speeches. He isn't working for either one and didn't want to be identified because someday he might be."
"The relatively placid mood in the convention hall seemed to reflect the mainstream Democratic electorate. Delegates cheered denunciations of President Bush and Gov. Schwarzenegger, but didn't jump up and down for either of their potential gubernatorial nominees."
As the Legislature
considers how to spend more than $3 billion in unexpected tax revenue, Dan Walters writes that
education spending in states does not correlate with the proportion of students graduating. "Some high-spending states rank high in graduation, and some do not. Some low-spending states rank low in graduation, and some do not. There's simply no correlation. In fact, 17 of the 25 states that fall below California's $7,748 in spending outperform California in high school graduation rates, including No. 2 Iowa and No. 4 North Dakota."
"Clearly, money alone is not the panacea that advocates in the educational community would have us believe. Other factors - ethnicity, peer pressure, families, culture, English proficiency, curriculum, instructional quality, etc. - evidently play powerful roles in determining whether students make it through high school and thus acquire the fundamental basis for successful adult lives."
The Chron's Tom Chorneau takes a look at
lobbying gifts reported to the state. "Corporations and trade groups treated state lawmakers, their staffs and members of the governor's office to $940,000 in gifts last year that
included rounds of golf at exclusive resorts, ski outings, hunting trips and seats to watch the Rolling Stones and WrestleMania, according to a Chronicle analysis."
As a reminder, The Roundup has no journalistic ethics and is happy to partake in such entertainment.
"The largesse came as corruption scandals in Washington involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former U.S. Rep.
Randy 'Duke' Cunningham rocked Congress and prompted calls for reform from across the nation."
"Ameriquest Capital Corp., whose lending practices are a frequent target of regulators, spent nearly $30,000 to entertain lawmakers and staffers at Rolling Stones concerts in November."
"AT&T, which is pushing legislation aimed at opening the cable TV market, spent almost $28,000 taking lawmakers and their staffs to Giants baseball games, Kings and Laker basketball games, an 'American Idol' concert and WrestleMania."
Alright, who accepted tickets to an American Idol concert?
LaMalfa, we're looking at you...
Ron Burkle sits down with the LA Times and talks about his potential foray into journalism. "In a recent interview, Burkle said his confrontations with the Fourth Estate merely demonstrated his commitment to the integrity of the press.
"'I didn't want to do it,' Burkle said of the Stern sting. 'But I think it actually speaks to the fact that we want to see good journalism…. If I wanted to be disingenuous, I would have worked out some kind of an arrangement [with Stern] and no one would have ever heard about the whole thing.'"
"Burkle said he was ready to remain on the sidelines and let editors run any newspapers that his L.A.-based Yucaipa Cos. succeeds in buying from McClatchy, which put 12 Knight Ridder Inc. dailies up for sale after it agreed in March to acquire the San Jose-based chain."
"'You put good people in and you let them manage,' he said. 'I don't think anyone decent in the newspaper industry will work with you if you try to meddle.'"