"Two and two the animals went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth." -- Genesis 7:9California has been hit with enough rain in recent weeks to warrant building an ark. Maybe that's why Democrats with statewide ambitions are gathering two-by-two for media appearances around the state, just in case.
Thursday,
Jack O'Connell joined Treasurer
Phil Angelides in their critique of the governor's budget. (Will they still be arm in arm when they're running against each other for governor in 2010?) And down in Oakland, would-be Attorney General
Jerry Brown joined would-be Lieutenant Governor
John Garamendi in opening a new "cyber cafe" in the East Bay.
Speaking of statewide office holders,
Bill Lockyer scored a victory for
free Internet porn Thursday. (Don't get excited, it's just a link to a press release). The A.G. announced a settlement against two adult Web site collection agencies for failing to protect children from gaining access to pornographic material. The settlement "would require the defendants to drop claims to $17 million in unpaid consumer bills and credit up to $22 million to consumers who challenge their bills." (No word on whether "I was looking for the
Farm Bureau Web site" will be accepted as a valid billing challenge.)
Sending out an SOS: Shelley sends his RSVP to
Nicole Parra for the Feb. 3 JLAC hearing. Parra says the scope of the committee's questioning will be
limited to the state audit. Parra warmed up for her press conference yesterday by
going on air with Snatch the Sidekick. "This shows that she's a multi-tasker," Snatch said. "It shows she understands that when there's business on the table, there can still be love in the air."
The feds
indicted a senior VP for Fleischman Hilliard yesterday in connection with the investigation of corruption at LA's city hall. If you're a legal geek, the Times has the
court filing. This
can't be a good day for
James Hahn, who
faces reelection on March 8.
The gov predicts that
workers' comp costs will climb 30 percent this year. But there
is some good news. I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.
BART fares are also expected to climb as the system struggles to close a $51 million budget deficit.
Dan Walters writes a postmortem on the
Reed Hastings "ideological jihad," and becomes the first person to claim that
Hastings was Borked.
"Moonbeam and Pooch" The Stockton Record profiles
Charles Poochigian's bid for Attorney General. A Quinnipiac poll finds that Connecticut
Governor M. Jodi Rell is more popular than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pardon us for asking, but ... Who?
Just asking Why can't two of the state's two most prominent Democrats, both of whom are running for governor, find anyone to take jobs in their communications shops? Those ads have been in the Morning Report for weeks!
Introducing the Gil Cedillo Haiku Contest!A press release from Cedillo spokesman
Edward Headington takes umbrage with his boss' derogatory moniker, “One Bill Gil.” But as Edward explains, it "is actually a misnomer; 'Thirteen Bill Gil' is more appropriate. What is lost on many is that Senator Cedillo authored 13 bills during the 2003-2004 legislative session, including SB 614, a tax reform bill that brought in $1.8 billion to the state coffers last year. He was also recognized as 2004 Legislator of the Year by two separate industries – housing and chiropractic."
Edward then launches into poetry, Haiku to be exact, offering these two entries:
It’s Thirteen Bill Gil
For those who like to keep score
Listen up Sacto
Shock jocks John and Ken
Growling over immigrants
Mean talk KFI
We at the Roundup, poetry lovers that we are, are inviting you, our loyal readers, to
send us your own Gil Cedillo haiku. Each stanza must be three lines long. The lines must be five, seven and five syllables long respectively. The haiku may be as many stanzas as you wish. Winning entries will be published in this space next week.
The Roundup will take its first official holiday on Monday, Jan. 17. We'll be back on Jan. 18.
