From our
Evel Knievel Schwarzenegger files,The governor took
a quick trip to the emergency room Sunday after getting into
a minor motorcycle accident with his eldest son, Patrick.
"With a security detail from the California Highway Patrol, Schwarzenegger and his son were taken to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. Both were released after being treated for minor cuts and bruises, Thompson said. She added that the governor received 15 stitches in his lip."
The guv is expected to be back at work today, fat lip and all. Guess we'll all see just how good his makeup is at the budget press conference tomorrow.
It's not going to require make-up to persuade George Skelton, however, who
lauds the governor's building initiative. "Of course, Schwarzenegger thinks it will help him get reelected. But it also will help any supportive politician who isn't personally running against him."
"What's noise-polluting is all the Democratic whining about Schwarzenegger stealing their ideas. They should declare victory and rejoice.""So far this year, the governor deserves cheers, not jeers."
Andy Furillo reports on the fight shaping up over the
increase in the state's minimum wage.
The fight is not over the $1 increase over the next year, but whether future increases will take place automatically. Schwarzenegger spokesman
Rob Stutzman says it ain't gunna happen. "Stutzman, the governor's communications director, said Schwarzenegger is prepared to veto any minimum-wage proposal that comes to him with an indexing provision.
"'The governor made it clear last year he thinks that is bad public policy to do indexing," Stutzman said. 'It's not going to happen.'"
Look for some potential squabbling between the two Democratic legislative leaders on this issue in the weeks ahead...
Speaking of which,
is the Legislature beyond repair? That is the question taken up by Dan Walters this morning. Saying the body has become "endemically incapable" of dealing with the state's problems, Walters warns "
It would be a sham, for example, if a supposedly independent redistricting commission were to be controlled by politicians. Producing an honest redistricting and term limit reform package will be a test of whether the Legislature really wants to improve itself, or just talk about it and continue to deteriorate."
In Sunday's Bee, Dan Weintraub
took issue with those that say the governor has backed down following his special election defeat. "Having lost everything on Nov. 8, Schwarzenegger was expected to retreat. But his proposal last week to map out a 10-year strategy for building schools, roads, transit, prisons and water projects is the very goal he said he was moving toward during last year's campaign."
"Schwarzenegger's signature proposal for the coming year, then, is not a return to the small-ball he played in his first year in office.
It's every bit as audacious, in its own way, as the agenda he laid out in year two. And it might be just as difficult to achieve."
Phil Yost takes a look at the
term-limits two-step that occurs every election cycle, focusing on the three-way battle for
Liz Figueroa's Senate seat between
John Dutra, Ellen Corbett and Johan Klehs.
"One of the three legislative races promises similar intensity: the Democratic primary for Senate District 10, which runs from Berryessa in San Jose north through Milpitas and Fremont to San Leandro. Sen. Liz Figueroa, a Democrat, will complete two terms and is running for lieutenant governor. Three current or former members of the Assembly, all ineligible for more terms, are in a contest that looks to be a donnybrook in which candidates will spend upward of $1 million apiece."
In the race for
Rebecca Cohn's
Assembly seat, "
Ana Ventura Phares, the mayor of Watsonville, is officially running. Rumors persist that her opponent could be
Anna Caballero, mayor of Salinas. But Caballero has made no announcement."
Finally, when Giants fans return to SBC/AT&T Park this spring, there will be
no more "Splash Landing," after homeruns are hit out to right field. Old Navy has pulled it's sponsorship, and is taking its trademarked name with it, report Matier and Ross. "There was a feeling that with
Barry Bonds on his last legs -- and the prospect of fewer home runs being knocked into the bay -- Old Navy wasn't going to get the bang for its buck."
Translation: There's corporate concern that Bonds may in fact be off the juice, once and for all. Allegedly.
