"A relaxed Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger participated in his first online town hall on Tuesday, answering nine of the several hundred questions e-mailed from Californians across the state," writes Kate Folmar in the Merc News.
"Over the course of 20 minutes, which were videotaped and aired online live, the governor answered nine questions on everything from gay marriage and high gas prices to his lifestyle while in office and his favorite color."
"Now running for re-election, Republican Schwarzenegger told an e-mailer from Yreka that his beliefs have remained the same, despite last year's special election, which many Californians viewed as too conservative."
"'I stand exactly where I was when I was elected governor, which is that I'm in the center,' said Schwarzenegger, who wore a tan suit and amber tie. '
I've been saying this, you know, my whole life, that the action politically is in the center. It's not to the right. It's not to the left.'"
"An adviser to Schwarzenegger's Democratic challenger, Treasurer
Phil Angelides, called the forum a campaign stunt."
"'What Schwarzenegger needs to do is hold a real town hall,' said
Bob Mulholland, Angelides' senior adviser, 'not one on the Internet,' And he questioned the timing of the forum. '
He's a governor facing deadlines on a $100-billion plus budget, and he does a Webcast?'"
We'll be sure to reprise this quote during Phil Angelides's inevitable first Webcast.
By the way, Phil, what's your favorite color?
Meanwhile, Angelides has been building
his Myspace profile, where he's looking to meet "Californians interested in a better future for our state!"
The guv will spend part of the day on a helicopter tour of the California-Mexico border, before holding a brief press conference later this morning.
The Chron's John Wildermuth reports on two initiatives that have
already qualified for the November ballot. "An initiative that would require parents to be notified before a minor could receive an abortion will be on the November ballot, along with another measure that would boost cigarette taxes by $2.60 a pack to pay for a variety of health-related services.
The two initiatives each collected far more than the nearly 600,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. This brings the number of measures on the November ballot to 10, with a handful of other initiatives still needing to get approval before the June 29 deadline.
"The Sierra Club plans to shift millions in campaign cash from Congressional races to state and local campaigns this fall, a sign from the nation's oldest and largest environmental group that Washington is becoming less relevant to its cause."
"In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Sierra Club Executive Director
Carl Pope said his group is dedicating about a third of its anticipated $5 million to $10 million campaign fund
to competitive state races this year."
"In past years, it has invested only 5 percent of its political money in state legislative campaigns."
"'We are putting 10 times as much energy into state races,' Pope said. '
We've never made that national investment in state races before.'"
"Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa moved closer Tuesday to reaching a legislative deal in his bid to take control of the troubled Los Angeles public schools, predicting at one point that he could be ready to unveil a detailed bill as early as today," reports Duke Helfand and Nancy Vogel in the Times.
"After a frenzied series of meetings Tuesday with leaders throughout the capital, the mayor said he was trying to reach agreements with the state's largest teachers union and its Los Angeles affiliate on "core principles" that would give him a strong measure of authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District."
He was also wooing Republicans over the Governor's salad.
"At Lucca Restaurant in downtown Sacramento, Villaraigosa met over lunch with Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and a group of legislators, including four Republicans. One of the GOP lawmakers,
Keith Richman of Northridge, put forward a plan that would give the mayor control of the district for five years, after which local voters would be asked to choose between two options: continuing mayoral control or splitting up the 727,000-student system into much smaller districts."
While you're at it Antonio, can you get us a budget deal?
The guv and Villaraigosa had nothing but nice things to say about each other just days after the mayor and gubernatorial Phil Angelides tangled publicly in the press. "I just appreciate that you've been so supportive and I'm hoping that we can bring a bipartisan coalition together to make this work for our kids," the mayor told Schwarzenegger at a media availability yesterday. The governor replied, "You can count on me. You can count on me, absolutely."
So, so sweet...
Antonio was quick to cite a new report finding that
only 44% of LAUSD students graduate high school within four years.
Joel Rubin reports in the Times: "The report — and the mayor's use of it to bolster his case — drew quick ire from top school district officials, who rejected the study's findings as inaccurate and outdated."
"'The first thing that people in this town need to know,' is that the mayor's program 'is being sold on false information,' said Supt.
Roy Romer. 'It's a terrible way to treat people, to give them false information. The mayor should know better.'"
From our
Not Dead Yet Files: "Legislation to make California the second state to allow doctor-assisted suicide by terminally ill patients
returned to the spotlight Tuesday after more than a year on a Capitol shelf," reports Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"Moral and ethical questions abounded in a nearly three-hour informational hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but one thing was perfectly clear: The lengthy delay hasn't quieted controversy."
"Assemblywoman
Patty Berg, D-Eureka, vowed to keep fighting nonetheless."
"'I believe in it with all my heart,' she said of
the bill."
"The committee is expected to vote on the measure next Tuesday. A Senate floor vote could follow."
First, someone steals
Paris Hilton's home video. Now, it seems like someone got a hold of
Connie Chung and Maury Povich's private collection. There's just no other way to explain
this horrible piece of footage, brought to you by the folks at YouTube.com. Parental warning -- cover your ears if you're going to click. Consider yourselves warned...