"Mexican President
Vicente Fox said Thursday that
border walls and aggressive policing by themselves won't stop illegal immigration, while pledging that his government would create enough jobs that people won't want to flee to the United States," write Peter Nicholas and Nancy Vogel in the Times.
"Speaking at a joint session of the California Legislature at a time when immigration issues have riveted much of the U.S., Fox said the two nations need to enact 'comprehensive reform' and work cooperatively to gain better control of the border."
Not everyone was welcoming Fox with open arms. Some even wore pins normally used for last call at El Torito.
"Sen.
Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) passed out yellow lapel pins to fellow Republican lawmakers reading, "No Mas" — no more. At least eight lawmakers were seen wearing the buttons."
"Seven Republican lawmakers boycotted Fox's speech: Assemblyman
Russ Bogh of Cherry Valley; Assemblywoman
Sharon Runner of Lancaster and her husband, Sen.
George Runner; Assemblyman
Chuck DeVore of Irvine; Assemblywoman Mimi Walters of Laguna Niguel; Assemblyman
Ray Haynes of Murrieta; and Sen.
Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, a former gubernatorial candidate."
Their seats were taken by seven of the nine zillion security guards and police officers swarming around the Capitol yesterday.
The Bee's Jim Sanders reports "Assembly Republican Leader
George Plescia, of La Jolla, said the speech was '
nothing more than a carefully orchestrated political stunt.'"
And as the new Assembly Republican leader, Plescia's going to have to get those stunts down pat.
"'President Fox could have used the occasion of his address to give Californians some insight on his government's plans to stop the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico into California,' Plescia said in a prepared statement. 'Much to my disappointment, he spoke in generalities and talked about 'shared responsibility' without taking any responsibility for his policies that encourage Mexican residents to cross the border illegally. We heard a monologue, not a constructive dialogue.'"
While the media and security circus was taking place at the Capitol, political consultants were pouring over the latest campaign finance reports.
Dan Morain
tallies up the dough. "With the Democratic primary fight for governor turning ever more bitter, state Treasurer
Phil Angelides and state Controller
Steve Westly reported spending a combined $56.9 million in their quest to challenge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November."
"In a state where 30-second television ads often sway the electorate, Angelides has spent $16 million on broadcast and cable TV, while Westly has spent upward of $30 million on airtime, according to campaign reports filed with the state Thursday. The reports reflect spending through last Saturday."
"Westly, a wealthy former EBay executive, is using his personal fortune to finance his campaign. He gave his campaign a $2-million infusion Thursday,
pushing the total of his own money spent to $34.5 million.
"Schwarzenegger, who has no opposition in the June primary, is nevertheless spending heavily —
$6.6 million so far this year. He has paid $1.5 million for consultants, $778,000 for campaign workers' salaries and $1.2 million on fundraising and public appearances."
The Chronicle reports Angelides
dumped $1.5 million of his own money into the race yesterday. "His campaign received another boost Thursday when his long-time friends and political allies, Sacramento-area developer
Angelo Tsakopoulos and his daughter
Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, dropped $2 million into an independent expenditure committee that's running television ads for Angelides."
Meanwhile, "Democratic candidate for governor
Steve Westly made a campaign stop Thursday in Modesto for a backyard discussion of his plans for the Central Valley if he's elected."
"California's controller spoke to about 30 people gathered at the home of
Robert and Wendy Farrace in northeast Modesto."
"'The governor barely comes out here. He barely talks about it and, to be honest, he's a movie star,' Westly said after Thursday's event. 'I think I am the one person who is spending time campaigning in the valley and who has a message to win statewide.'"
The LAT's Evan Halper looks at the races for treasurer and controller and finds that, despite the influence of the offices on the finance industry, the leading candidates
would rather be running for another office.
"State Sen.
Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove), running for the Democratic nomination in the controller race, says he is well aware of the weight the office carries — even though he would rather be attorney general."
"'There is no question that my No. 1 choice was to be attorney general,' he said. 'At some future day, I hope to become attorney general.'"
"His Democratic opponent in the primary, State Board of Equalization Chairman
John Chiang of Los Angeles, says he's the more qualified candidate because of his background in tax matters."
"But the controller's contest wasn't Chiang's first choice either; his plan was to run for treasurer. He backed out when California Atty. Gen.
Bill Lockyer dropped his bid for governor and entered the treasurer's race."
"Underdog attorney general candidate
Rocky Delgadillo on Thursday
unveiled a five-point plan to battle the growth of gangs in California, vowing to spread many of the tactics he embraced as Los Angeles city attorney," reports Eric Bailey in the Times.
"'I want to plant the seed of hope so that the weeds of fear and violence don't spread,' said Delgadillo, flanked by several police officials. 'We must do more.'"
Now if he could only do something about controlling
Jerry Brown's poll numbers...
"The California Democratic Party is heading into the election with far more money than the state Republican Party.
The GOP reported $2.45 million in the bank, compared with $8.8 million for the Democrats. Political parties play a key role in campaigns, using their money and organization to boost their party choices."
Both sides in the Proposition 82 universal preschool fight
are reaching out to Latino votes, writes Seema Mehta in the Times.
"Latinos are sought after by the measure's proponents, because they are more likely than whites to support the proposition, according to recent polls. And many proponents argue that Latino children, particularly English learners, will be among the biggest beneficiaries if the measure is approved."
Rick Claussen, who is running the no campaign, managed to hedge the upcoming neck-and-neck vote by grumbling about his underfunded campaign. "'
If we had had more money and had been able to spend anywhere near what the other side did, I probably would have made the case much stronger that Hispanics probably have a much greater interest in voting no on this than a lot of other groups,' he said, 'because this ought to be means-tested so it goes where it's needed most, and not to the people who already can afford to send their kids to day care.'"
The LAT's Lee Romney checks in on the
campaign for Oakland mayor.
Ken Lay was convicted of defrauding investors, but
Gray Davis says
Enron still has a debt to pay in California.
Davis spoke to the Chron's David Lazarus yesterday after the Lay verdict came down. "'I would vastly prefer that they were convicted for their crimes in California,' said former Gov. Gray Davis, who was handed his hat by California voters in the 2003 recall election largely because of the energy crisis. 'But I take solace that they'll be going to jail for a long time."
He said Lay's and Skilling's conviction is '
not pure justice, but it's poetic justice.'"
Just think -- if it weren't for Ken Lay, Arnold Schwarzenegger may not be governor...
From our
Foie Gras Files: "As if crop circles weren't proof enough that extraterrestrials are among us, an
alien has now been found in the stomach of a duck."
Yes,
there's a x-ray.
"That, at least, is the conclusion reached by workers at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Cordelia (Solano County) when they viewed an X-ray image they took of a sick mallard."
"Right there, in the duck's ventriculus, or gizzard, is the shocking image of a grimacing, bald-headed being. How it got there, nobody knows, but when an autopsy was performed after the bird died of unrelated causes, the alien had mysteriously disappeared."
"Ducks sometimes eat grain or even gravel and use it as a kind of internal grinding mechanism when they are digesting food, [rescue center director
Jay] Holcomb explained.
An autopsy Thursday revealed some grain in the bird's stomach, but nothing else out of the ordinary."