The saga of Meg Whitman and her undocumented maid gets a full airing. The political bottom line: The episode may affect Whitman's standing in the Latino community.
The LAT's Mike Mishak and Phil Willon report: "Whitman, who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration,
said her family hired Nicandra Diaz Santillan through
an employment agency to which Diaz Santillan had provided
documentation suggesting she was an American citizen.
Whitman said Diaz Santillan showed her a copy of her
Social Security card and California driver's license,
and campaign officials distributed those documents
to the media."
"Whitman said she fired Diaz Santillan in June 2009 after the woman revealed that she was living in the
country illegally."
"...The controversy poses potential threats to Whitman's campaign. A similar incident severely damaged Michael Huffington's effort to be elected U.S. senator from California in 1994. Whitman has made a point in her campaign that employers should be held responsible if they hire illegal workers."
Speaking of Meg and Jerry, the former governor did better than Whitman at the debate this week, says the Times' George Skelton.
"It was good to see Jerry Brown again — the spontaneous guy with some humor and wit."
"He reminded many who were around back in the 1970s of who he is and showed others who never knew him
why people have always found him so interesting. Until
Tuesday night's debate at UC Davis with Republican
Meg Whitman, the former Democratic governor had been
mostly out of sight or seen as an angry old man."
Not everyone is so enthralled with the Brown camp -- or Gloria Allred, for that matter. Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders wonders whether "Maid Gate" was a cheap political shot.
"What proof does Allred have that Whitman knew? Allred alleges that the Social Security Administration sent a letter informing the Whitman household that their housekeeper's Social Security number did not match her name."
Meanwhile, Capitol Weekly takes a look at the California Medical Association, a powerful Capitol player in the midst of transition.
"Nearly one-third of California doctors are over the age of 60 – a higher percentage than any other state. Two-thirds of the state’s doctors are over the age of 45. Like many other organizations, CMA is working to reach out to younger potential members amid increasing competition from other medical organizations."
"As older doctors retire and young doctors replace them, the nature of the practice of medicine and the needs of doctors are changing dramatically. Meanwhile, economic pressures are leading more doctors to become specialists, in part to pay off massive debts incurred during years of medical school. Specialists typically make more money than general practitioners."
The administration' numbers used to describe the level of fraud in the troubled In-Home Supportive Services program are soft indeed, reports Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan.
"But so far neither the administration or the Department of Social Services (DSS) have any aggregate numbers on the fraud they have uncovered."
“We are working with stakeholders and counties to set
up a process where counties would report to us on their
fraud findings,” said spokeswoman DSS Lizelda Lopez. She said they
did not yet have a date when this information might
be available."
Remember the budget? Remember the "framework" of agreement? CW's Anthony York looks at why things are hung up.
"Leaders have apparently come to an agreement on some kind of budget reform, but no details were available. The issue of changing the state's tax system, another Schwarzenegger demand, is apparently unresolved and may not be a part of this budget."
"We offered up an intelligent tax-reform proposal, and it doesn't appear they are interested
in it," Trost said.
"Budget negotiations remain unresolved as the state
enters the second quarter of the fiscal year without
a spending plan in place. The 92-day standoff is already the longest in state history."
And from our Tales from Cholame files, let's take note of the 55th anniversary of the death of James Dean in his Porsche 550. Talk about fast and furious.
"Those hypnotic, rolling hills at the bottom of the
Polonio Pass that would have sucked up the sound of
the crash are still the color of yellow death. The
stubborn, suffocating breeze still blows hot, and the
fading autumn sun that kissed this curvy machine a
blink before it was crushed by the big Ford is dipping
fast into the hills."
"It's like the headless horseman ride, that last ride
Dean took. It was a death ride, an ironic, matador
type of death that strikes many as romantic. It resonates
because Dean was so mysterious, and he seemed to be
speeding away from life. When you visit the site today,
it feels almost the same as it must have been back
then, which adds to the intrigue, because all of a
sudden you're in that same exact space with him."
Getting poetic here....