After three years of lawmakers' failed promises, a coalition of activist groups filed an initiative Tuesday to
strip the Legislature of authority to draw its own political districts," reports the Bee's Jim Sanders.
"The initiative filed Tuesday calls for redistricting to be handled by a 14-member citizens commission of five Democrats, five Republicans and four independent or minor-party voters.
The panel would draw legislative and Board of Equalization districts, but not those of Congress, a concession to Democratic congressional leaders that is likely to inflame opposition."It doesn't pass the sanity test," Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines said of excluding Congress. "I think it's a mistake."
But it does pass the Pelosi test..."Exhausted and sometimes discouraged,
firefighters struggled for a third day Tuesday to wrest control of more than a dozen wildfires in Southern California that threatened such familiar landmarks as the Mt. Palomar Observatory and the resort communities around Lake Arrowhead," reports the LA Times.
"Fire crews threw everything they had at the fires, but though there were notable successes, the toll of acreage, homes and lives lost continued to rise -- as did the volume of criticism from those who said the region was woefully unprepared for the cataclysm."
And from our Political Lessons of Katrina Files, "
President Bush will visit Southern California on Thursday to view the wildfires and monitor federal firefighting and recovery efforts, a White House spokesman said today.
"Deputy White House Press Secretary Scott Stanzel said Bush arranged the trip in a telephone call with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."
Matier and Ross report there is "
Quite a food fight breaking out between Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's camp and his one-time allies in the California Nurses Association - and it's all over who's spending the most on perks."
Really? We thought it was over single-payer health care...
"Núñez is already under fire for spending campaign funds on travel in Europe and South America. He's also taking flak for his wife's work as a lobbyist for hospital interests.
"So he was none too happy when the nurses - who were upset with him for not backing their single-payer health care plan - joined the pileup, asking that Núñez recuse himself from health care issues.
Now, Núñez operatives are shooting back.
"
I wonder how many of the hardworking rank-and-file members of the California Nurses Association know that the organization pays Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro $207,403, plus another $10,333 in expenses," Núñez lieutenant Steve Maviglio wrote on a largely Democratic Web site, the California Majority Report."
And what, pray tell, does the speaker pay his staff?Just a side note, Matier and Ross want you to know that "You can also cast your vote on dealing with California's wildfires and play the President Bush poses with an owl caption contest."
Throw in a bowl of tater tots, and you've got yourself a weekend!
And from our
First Lady, Second Wife Files,
Maria Shriver sat down with five potential US First Ladies, reports the Bee's Kevin Yamamura.
"The wives of three Republican candidates -
Cindy McCain, Ann Romney and Jeri Thompson - participated with Democratic wives
Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama at the annual conference hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Shriver, a former NBC News anchor, moderated the hour-long discussion, asking questions that seemed grounded in her own experience as the wife of a politician.
"She asked Obama what she was afraid of before her husband, Democrat Barack Obama, entered the presidential race. Shriver was considered a reluctant spouse before Schwarzenegger ran in the 2003 recall."
"Shriver noted that Thompson, wife of Republican
Fred Thompson, had been characterized as a "mastermind" of her husband's campaign. But Thompson sought to downplay that characterization, describing her main role as being the mother of a 1-year-old and 4-year-old."
She then shot fire out of her eyes and
laughed like this...From our
Phone Home Files, Shirley MacLaine reports that
Dennis Kucinich had a close encounter while visiting her home in rural Washington several years ago.
We're not quite sure where to begin with this one. We figure the middle is as good a place as any. "'Kucinich, she writes, 'had a close sighting over my home in Graham, Washington, when I lived there. Dennis found his encounter extremely moving. The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him. It hovered, soundless, for ten minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."
Representatives of Kucinich's presidential campaign and congressional office have not responded to calls and e-mail asking whether the Cleveland Democratic congressman in fact saw a UFO or if there is another explanation for MacLaine's recollection.
MacLaine is a well-known believer of UFOs and reincarnation. And she's been close to Kucinich for decades. MacLaine is the godmother of Kucinich's daughter and attended Kucinich's 2005 Cleveland wedding to third wife, Elizabeth, who's often campaigning by his side."
Hey, if each one of her pesonalities were an electoral vote, Kucinich could be a presidential front runner...