"Yorba Linda state Assemblyman Mike Duvall resigned from office today after he was caught on video bragging about having sex with two women – neither of whom appear to have been his wife," Brian Joseph reports.
"In the video, a portion of which originally aired on KCAL-TV late Tuesday, the 54-year-old Republican appears to not realize his microphone is on during a lull in a July 8 Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing at the state Capitol. Duvall, a father of two, is shown leaning back in his chair and talking to Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, as Duvall's intermittently muffled voice describes his exploits with two women. At one point, Duvall tells his colleague that one of the women turned 36 that week and let him spank her."
Just when you thought nobody cared about state politics, all it took was a good-old-fashioned sex scandal to get some tongues wagging, and TV cameras humming.
In other news, Capitol Weekly looks at the end-of-session drama .
"A frantic and frenetic Capitol atmosphere gave way to an all-out war between the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in this final week of the legislative session.
"Major deals remained elusive on major issues including
water policy, renewable energy and changes in the state’s prison system, frustrating legislative leaders and
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"With lawmakers hungry for a legislative win, and the
governor casting an eye toward his legacy, the typical
end-of-session frenzy had devolved into a round of political
chicken and sweeping threats."
The much-awaited Los Angeles NFL stadium plan appeared in print yesterday. That would be AB 81 XXX by Assemblyman Isadore Hall, for all of you following at home.
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor head Maria-Elena Durazo released a statement supporting the plan. "Today, the over 800,000 workers of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor joins with a broad based coalition of business, labor and community-based groups in support of SB 81XXX. With working families facing one of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we believe that this project is a crucial step in rebuilding our economy."
The LA Times crew looks at some of the other legislative fun from the day that was.
"State lawmakers forged into the final 72 hours of their legislative
year by passing a flurry of measures Wednesday that
included a jab at
the Culligan Man, a bow to breast-feeding mothers and an effort to
thwart the potential perils of cosmetic surgery.
With the fate of California's biggest issues -- including a potential
re-plumbing of the state's water system -- still unresolved, lawmakers
churned through scores of bills as the clock ticked
toward the
end-of-session deadline at midnight Friday.
The Senate approved a measure, dubbed the Donda West Law, inspired by the death of rapper Kanye West's mother."
And then there was the stuff they didn't do -- like pass a ban on the chemical BPA. Margot Roosevelt reports, "
|
The
California Assembly put off a final vote on whether
to ban the chemical
bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles and infant formula and baby food
containers Wednesday after an emotional debate over
children's safety.
The measure, favored by a 35-31 vote, twice fell short of 41 necessary
for passage. It was scheduled to come up for another
vote today."
Malcolm Maclachlan looks at how the coming lite gov vacancy may impact the oil drilling debate.
"Lieutenant Governor may be the Rodney Dangerfield office of California politics, but there is one key area of policy where that post has shown itself to be quite important this year: offshore oil drilling.
"In January, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi cast the deciding
vote against a major new offshore project in his role
as one of three voting members of the State Lands Commission.
With Garamendi almost certainly heading to Congress
in November, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have the
task of appointing a replacement.
The oil drilling debate could add more intrigue to
an appointment that is rife with potential danger for
the governor. Political watchers have widely speculated
that he might use the pick to reward an ally or remove
a threat—or use it to help push some part of his agenda for
his last year in office."
And finally, some bad news for your barrista . "The California Supreme Court will not review a appeals court ruling that wiped out an $86 million judgment against coffee giant Starbucks over tip sharing at its stores in the state.
"The court did not explain why it refused to take up the case at its weekly conference Wednesday. In 2008, a San Diego County Superior Court judge ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay millions in restitution to baristas who had to share their tips with supervisors.
In June, the 4th District Court of Appeal reversed that ruling, saying that supervisors perform the same job as baristas and should get their share of collective tip jars."
Score one more for management.