The good, the bad, and the corned beef

Mar 7, 2005

'Tis the night before election, and all through L.A.,
Candidates are pandering, while staffers pray for pay.
Antonio is hoarse, Bobzilla is schmoozing,
Mayor Hahn is speaking to a crowd that is snoozing.

Alarcon will be back in the Senate, no doubt,
Planning to run for a seat in the lower house.
Parks and Moore fight for a minute,
But only get coverage of why they can't win it.

After tomorrow, there will be but two,
Stealing the Roundup's fodder from us and from you.
We've enjoyed providing a distant glance,
We LA ex-pats who love this political dance.

One last little plug
In this mayoral rhyme.
Our thoughts that were published
In yesterday's LA Times.

Mark Barabak reports that, less than 24 hours before the polls open, "many are undecided or lack passion about their choice." But Gregory Rodriguez says that apathy may be a good thing.

Rick Orlov reports that Hahn has trained his sites on Hertzberg, which led to Sunday's Showdown at Canter's Deli.

(Director's Note: Cue Ennio Morricone music)

"Hertzberg tried to present Hahn with a stainless silver kitchen sink when they crossed paths campaigning at Canter's deli, saying, "You've thrown everything but this at me." Hahn's breezed past him, but Hertzberg followed him into the restaurant. "Let's sit down, and I'll buy you a corned beef sandwich," Hertzberg said as the two shook hands.

Hahn then shook his head and walked away, muttering, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.'"

Wow, Hertzberg goes to the corned beef card. This race really has gotten ugly.

(Fade to black)

Meanwhile, at Arnold Fitness Weekend, the governor announced that he wants to bring health food to your kids, replacing the chips and cookies in school vending machines with fruits and veggies. No word on whether cigars will be available...

The Times covers the gov's flea market at the event, "Next to the main stage was the Schwarzenegger booth. For sale was all manner of Schwarzenegger kitsch: pewter sculptures of the seven-time Mr. Olympia in a double bicep pose ($75), a coffee mug bearing a picture of the governor ($54), a humidor with his signature ($269) and cufflinks bearing the California state seal ($54)."

The Chron's Mark Martin takes a deeper look at the difficulty the governor is having with conveying his reform proposals to the public.

A.G. wannabe Jerry Brown boosts his tough-on-crime credentials in a piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Brown said "Look, I have a record of reducing crime...I live in a high-crime area, where I walk the streets. I deal with it. I get people arrested."

"'That's the hallmark of Jerry Brown – he changes. And this is his latest phase,' said political scientist Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California Berkeley. 'Being mayor and looking at people's problems from the grass roots have clearly moved him to the right.'"

Don't worry, he's not that boring. He still lives with his girlfriend "down the street from a porn shop and a wig emporium."

Is Fran Pavley fronting for ChoicePoint? Dan Walters looks behind the so-called "blind date bill," Pavley's AB 1681.

Meanwhile, the competition between California cities to lure the state's new stem cell institute continues to resemble a fight for the summer Olympics. Matier and Ross look at the latest development in San Francisco, and preview the upcoming Assembly race between Fiona Ma and Janet Reilly, wife of former mayoral candidate Clint Reilly.

Political trend alert Keep an eye on a number of parcel tax measures on the ballot tomorrow, including tax proposals in ten Sonoma County school districts. Increasingly, local residents are opting to tax themselves to pay for better schools.

"The number of parcel tax measures has jumped considerably in recent years - a time when many educators have complained of tight budgets and the forced cutback of programs. Forty-three districts put forth tax measures last year, with 23 winning. Another 34 were sought in 2003, with 17 succeeding."

Vic Pollard writes on a series of new water deals that are driving up the cost of water around the state. "Agencies that once had the relatively simple task of irrigating Central Valley crops are cutting multimillion-dollar deals to ship some of their water out of the valley to developers as far away as Palm Springs.
That upsets many environmentalists and slow-growth advocates who say farmers may be so eager to sell the water that they are not fully considering the environmental damage to their own areas or the damage caused by the urban sprawl they are supporting."

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For: Carly, don't pack your bags yet. It seems that you might have to battle Bono for that World Bank gig.