There's a new opening in the California Congressional delegation, though not the one most Rocklin-area Democrats were hoping for. The LA Times reports on
the passing of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. "Millender-McDonald, a California Democrat whose House district encompassed Compton, Carson, much of Long Beach and parts of south Los Angeles, died of cancer Sunday. She was 68 and had served in Congress since 1996.
The one-time Carson City Council member and state legislator capped a precedent-setting career earlier this year by becoming the first black woman to head the House Committee on Administration, which oversees federal elections and the House's day-to-day operations.
Millender-McDonald's death is likely to set off "a major scramble" for her seat, said Dymally, who was California's lieutenant governor in the mid-1970s.
"Since the constituency is largely based in Long Beach, an elected official from there likely would be the odds-on favorite to win the seat, said Allen Hoffenblum, a political consultant who specializes in analyzing local races. He cited
state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, a Democrat from Long Beach, as a potentially strong candidate."
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan reports on
a dust-up between massage therapists and chiropractors that is heading for a legislative showdown. "
Massage therapists don't want to be seen as sex workers. Chiropractors want to defend their sovereignty over human joints. And the Governor doesn't want to add any new boards or commissions to state government."
It all adds up to an unusual case of an industry trying to force the state to regulate it--and having to walk through a political minefield to get there.
SB 731 would establish a private, nonprofit called the Massage Therapy Organization (MTO) to enforce uniform licensing and regulations on the approximately 36,000 massage therapists working in California. The MTO would include a six member board, with two massage therapist outnumbered by city and state representatives and a member from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
The Bee's Judy Lin reports on the rising need, and exploitation, of
the legal defense fund as a campaign fundraising loophole.
These accounts are slowly growing in popularity. One lawmaker, Sen.
Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, used one to raise over $150,000 after his legal issue was resolved. Moreover, nearly half the money raised for his legal defense fund went toward "fundraising" expenses at tony venues: one of the Pacific Northwest's premier golf courses, two restaurants in Hawaii and a Lake Tahoe day spa.
"Unlike campaign accounts, which have a $3,600-per-donor limit for legislative candidates,
legal defense funds aren't subject to contribution limits. Politicians are free to solicit as much money as they see fit, and the law gives them wide latitude on spending, saying the funds can be used to "defray attorney fees and other related legal costs."
"
The law doesn't require politicians to reveal the nature of legal troubles that triggered the creation of the defense fund -- meaning no one is verifying that the funds are opened for valid reasons or closed in a timely manner."
Lawyers for mentally ill prisoners will ask a federal judge today to force the state to take drastic action to
stem a staff exodus from California's mental hospitals that has
jeopardized patient safety and left psychotic inmates to languish in jails and prisons without proper treatment," reports the LAT's Lee Romney and Scott Gold.
"U.S. District Judge
Lawrence K. Karlton in February ordered the state Department of Mental Health to formulate a plan to reverse a staff exodus from the state's beleaguered hospitals in recent months. The staff departures occurred after the same court had ordered raises for prison mental health staff that made prison jobs more attractive than those at hospitals."
The Times reports on
the latest in the Santa Barbara newspaper wars. "In the latest in a series of charges and countercharges at the Santa Barbara News-Press, the newspaper alleged in
a front-page article Sunday that
the computer hard drive used by former editor Jerry Roberts had once contained images of child and adult pornography."The article came after months of turmoil at the paper. In July, Roberts and a number of other key personnel resigned over what they described as meddling in editorial content by News-Press owner Wendy McCaw. In the months since, some three-quarters of the editorial staff has been fired or quit.
"At a news conference Sunday attended by a dozen former staffers in a show of support,
Roberts dismissed the report as "utterly false, defamatory and malicious," calling it "a desperate attempt to ruin my reputation."
Speaking of damaged reputations, it appears Gov.
Gavin Newsom may not have given up on his ambitions for higher office. Or at least his girlfriend hasn't. Matier and Ross report "someone passed us an invite to a fundraiser that mayoral sweetheart Jennifer Siebel is hosting for Gavin Newsom in L.A. tomorrow night -- and apparently she sees a golden road ahead for her boyfriend.
"While he is running for re-election as mayor of San Francisco,'' Gavin's actress girlfriend wrote in e-mail that went out along with the invite, "he is also a top candidate for the upcoming California gubernatorial election.''
But the real dirt in the article comes for their report of
a meeting between current Black Caucus members and former Speaker (and current tribal lobbyist) Willie Brown which didn't exactly please the current speaker.
"Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is reportedly steaming over a recent tutorial that former Speaker Willie Brown held with the Assembly's Democratic Black Caucus -- which included tips on working certain key legislation past Núñez."
Like maybe a certain tribal gaming compact perhaps?
"'The speaker absolutely was upset,' said one Black Caucus member, speaking on background, who not only confirmed the account but said Núñez subsequently let Brown know just how he felt.
"'If anyone should be telling the members how to vote, it's the speaker and not the former speaker,' added a Núñez confidante, also aware of the tiff."
And we close today with
good news for alcoholic health freaks.
A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.
Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found."
It also will boost your standing in the Iowa straw poll by four points. "Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture."
