"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Baja California counterpart
embraced Monday and took part in a video chat with schools on both sides of the Mexican border," reports the AP.
"'Great to have you here, my friend,' Schwarzenegger said as he and Gov.
Eugenio Elorduy appeared at George K. Porter Middle School in Granada Hills."
"The governors sat with 28 students in a seventh-grade science class at the San Fernando Valley campus and kicked off a sister-school program by taking questions via videoconference with students at Martires de Tacubaya Middle School in Tijuana."
Steve Westly begins the project of
chisling out space in the political center, this time by smacking Gov. Schwarzenegger. Today,Westly will host a conference call with reporters to "discuss Governor Schwarzenegger’s failure to step up to the plate on environmental protection and his silence in the face of the Bush Administration’s threat to California."
Meanwhile, Sen. Jackie Speier, she who says she will run for governor when California is ready for a female governor, is touting some moderate credentials of her own. Speier received a 67 percent from the California Taxpayers’ Association on their 2005 legislative score card, the highest score of any Democrat.
Tookie Williams: Actor Danny Glover
starred in a rally for
Stanley "Tookie" Williams in San Francisco yesterday, reports Brian Babcock in the Oakland Tribune.
"The 200 people crowded inside the theatre did hear Williams' voice when a cell phone was put up to a microphone, and Williams started speaking."
"'Can you hear me?' he asked. The group screamed 'Yeah!' in unison and then erupted into applause that drowned out Williams' voice."
"After the applause dissipated, Williams thanked the crowd for being there and staying 'true' to him. 'Even those who don't believe in the love of God could feel the warmth ... that you have given tonight,' he said.'"
Williams is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 13. His lawyers will meet with Gov. Schwarzenegger at a private clemency hearing on Thursday.
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura reports "Critics of the state's $436 million youth prison system on Monday
attacked its latest reform package as woefully lacking in detail and demanded a major overhaul of the Division of Juvenile Justice beyond what the Schwarzenegger administration has proposed."
Leading the charge is Sen.
Gloria Romero."'If (conditions) are unacceptable now, what happens to the youth that are confined to this over the next six years?' Romero said. 'There are violence issues, there are mental health issues, there are risk issues. And I think most importantly, there are litigation issues.'"
"Chief Deputy Secretary
Bernard Warner defended his division's latest plans as comprehensive and warned against taking 'reactionary' measures."
"'I think you even suggested blowing up DJJ,' Warner said to Romero. 'While these plans do not do that, I think they do significantly reform the system in a more meaningful way than has existed in California for many years.'"
"Romero said the department
would have to justify every dollar it seeks when its budget comes before her subcommittee in the coming year."
"'We in this committee do not want to run the DJJ, but as representatives of the taxpayers of California, there is shame in this system,' Romero said. '
California DJJ is the shame of the nation.'"
Speaking of hearings, the Senate Education Committee
will hold hearings into compensation by the University of California early next year, report Tanya Schevitz and Todd Wallack in the Chron.
"'My concerns are the lack of transparency that was revealed in the Chronicle articles,' said [committee chair
Jack] Scott. 'A lot of people didn't know anything about these bonuses.'"
"'
The committee hearings are going to be fantastic,' said [Senator
Abel] Maldonado. 'They are going to be fair, they are going to be balanced, and we are going to put all the facts on the table.'"
Fantastic, indeed, for those running for higher office. Not so much for University of California executives.
From our
America's Former Finest City Files, Jerry Sanders is sworn in as mayor, while a former city official
takes the Fifth in the pension case. "Former City Manager
Michael Uberuaga refused to testify yesterday at a court hearing in the San Diego pension scandal, becoming the first major city official to
publicly assert his right against self-incrimination in the case. Uberuaga and five other witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment right after being called by prosecutors pressing conflict-of-interest charges against six former pension board members."
It's
runoff day in the 48th Congressional District, and
John Campbell is widely to emerge from what has turned into an ugly campaign down the stretch.
Jim "Gilchrist, 56, the candidate of the American Independent Party, finished a surprising third in the Oct. 4 special election, propelled by his activism against illegal immigration. Gilchrist is a long shot, but his growing popularity among voters and donors underscores the potency of immigration as an issue among conservatives."
"The other candidates are Democrat
Steve Young, 51, a Newport Beach attorney; Libertarian
Bruce Cohen, 44, a real estate broker from Irvine; and Santa Ana high school teacher
Bea Tiritilli, 42, the Green Party nominee."
The Bee
names the legislators who refused the pay raise that went into effect yesterday. "According to data compiled to date by the state controller's office,
Jeffrey Denham, R-Merced, is the only state senator who refused the pay raise. But a spokesman for state Sen.
Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, said Monday that Maldonado would also decline the raise."
"Thirteen other Assembly members have said they will refusepay raise. They are
Juan Arambula, D-Fresno;
Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park;
David Cogdill, R-Modesto;
Lynn Daucher, R-Brea;
Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate;
Shirley Horton, R-San Diego;
Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View;
Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield;
George Plescia, R-La Jolla;
Keith Richman, R-Northridge;
Juan Vargas, D-San Diego;
Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel; and
Mark Wyland, R-Del Mar."
"
Lawmakers who opt out of the pay raise must notify the controller's office by Dec. 16. Otherwise, the pay increase is automatic."
Dan Walters reviews the new PPIC poll to
read the mood of the voters. "Neither the election nor the newly proclaimed spirit of cooperation, however, resolves the very knotty conflicts that underlie the budget crisis and other issues. The fact remains, for example, that Republicans want to hold down spending to close the budget gap and Democrats want to raise taxes, and their inability to reconcile those two viewpoints has led to a half-decade of deficits and tens of billions of dollars in borrowing to cover them."
"Voters may have implicitly rejected both approaches, but that still leaves the conflict intact, especially since
there's nothing in this year's election or last year's to indicate what voters want Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to do."
"Angry they may be, but voters should accept some of the blame for the Capitol's gridlock since they don't appear to know what they want either."
Meanwhile, from our
Soothing Racial Tension Files, the Los Angeles Latino officer who shot an African-American youth that tried to ram the officer's patrol car with a stolen car
will not be charged, reports the AP.
District Attorney Steve Cooley, in a 21-page report prepared by Deputy District Attorney
Christian Gullon, said there was 'insufficient evidence to initiate criminal proceedings against Officer
Steven Garcia for the death of
Devin B. As a result of these findings, we are closing our file and will take no further action in this matter'."
And from our
Hells Angels vs. the People of San Jose Files, The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way today for the
San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels to sue city and county officers for killing three dogs and hauling away truckloads of items, including motorcycles and part of a driveway, during 1998 raids.
"'You just can't treat American citizens like this,' said
Karen Snell, an attorney in San Francisco who represented the Hells Angels. 'These were citizens, taxpayers, parents and dog-lovers. ... It's not illegal to be a Hells Angels member.'"
From our
Tis the Season Files LA Observed reports: "Big turnout of politicos and journos last night at Republican campaign legend
Stu Spencer's annual Wheelspinners holiday party in the Crystal Ballroom at the Biltmore. Villaraigosa worked the mostly GOP room, which included former Reagan strategist
Ken Khachigian, ex-DA
Robert Philibosian, Schwarzenegger adviser
Joel Fox, The Target Book's
Allan Hoffenblum, ex-Speaker
Bob Hertzberg, LAT columnists
George Skelton and Patt Morrison, former UC Regent
Velma Montoya, Bill Boyarsky, Joe Cerrell and
Hal Dash,
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Scott Schmidt and Board of Equalization candidates
Michelle Steel and Eric Siddall, among others.
Huell Howser was there with a camera recording greetings to Spencer.
We're happy to run any embarrassing holiday party stories and/or photos in this space. Just send the anecdotes and jpegs to
tips@capitolbasement.com.
