One powerful political figure in California isn't running for anything, but she has an enormous impact on the race for governor. Meet Anne Gust -- wife, strategist and confidante to Jerry Brown.
From the LAT's Mike Mishak: "Friends, aides and former staffers say Gust is the
common-sense counter to Brown's philosophical whimsy, a former
corporate lawyer attuned to detail and deadlines who
tempers her husband's frenetic ways. It's a role she
has played before, as his previous campaign manager
and as de facto chief of staff in the attorney general's
office. She could reprise it if Brown, who decades
ago served two terms as governor, is elected Nov. 2."
"Gust has her critics, who say her outsize role in
the campaign has made Brown less receptive to outside
counsel, walling off what they describe as an insular,
ego-driven operation. They ask: How can Gust, someone with little professional political
experience, run a campaign for California governor
from a cubicle in an Oakland warehouse, with a dozen
paid staffers?"
Meanwhile, Brown's billionaire rival, former eBay chief Meg Whitman, is pushing campaign spending further into the stratosphere, reports the Bee's Dan Smith and Jack Chang.
"Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman spent nearly $23 million the first 16 days of October, bringing her record-breaking spending total to $163 million for the campaign, according to finance reports filed Thursday."
"Democrat Jerry Brown, meanwhile, had spent $14.6 million between Oct. 1 and 16, more than half of the total $25.3 million his campaign has spent this year."
Stepping away from the campaign trail for a moment, we take a look at a landmark decision by Central Valley air-equality enforcers. The Fresno Bee's Mark Grossi has the story.
"The Valley's air board voted Thursday to make motorists -- not industry -- pay a $29 million dirty-air penalty intended for pollution-emitting businesses. The decision, first of its kind in the nation, would add $12 to vehicle registration fees in the Valley beginning next year -- if air-quality activists don't successfully challenge it in court."
"The penalty was triggered when the region missed an ozone cleanup deadline this year. Air officials said the penalty would not be fair for businesses, which have spent $40 billion over the past three decades to reduce their pollution by 80%. Most of the Valley's ozone problem comes from vehicles, officials said."
Further south, the Inland Empire congressional battle between incumbent Republican Mary Bono Mack and Democrat Steve Pougnet is gaining momentum -- as if it needed any.
"In one of expensive House races in Inland history, Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, and Pougnet, a Democrat , have squared off on numerous issues ranging from their records in office and political stances to their portrayal of the region and use of school children in attack ads," reports the Press Enterprise's Ben Goad.
"Bono Mack's bid for an eighth term could be buoyed by an expected Republican wave that political handicappers say could be large enough to wipe out the Democrats' congressional majority. But Pougnet is banking that all incumbents, not just Democrats will feel the wrath of an angry electorate on Nov. 2."
And finally we turn to our "Well Hung" file to find the tale of the 12-foot-high statue of Adam at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan. Adam is a very popular guy.
“The thing was the statue’s genitals, which are uncovered and at eye level to the adult viewer. She was being metaphorical. They didn’t actually strike Ms. Aderhold in the face. But they could have.”
“Ms. Aderhold kept walking, but all day long, shoppers and tourists alike stop at the bubble-figured 12-foot-tall Adam by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero that greets visitors and provides perhaps the most memorable Manhattan meeting spot since the clock in the Biltmore Hotel. And when they stop, they often touch, grasp, pat or rub the statue’s small but prominent penis, while a friend or relative takes a photo.”
“Grab. Smile. Click. Next.”
Another bite from the Big Apple...