Radio waves

Oct 21, 2009

Jack Chang looks back at Jerry Brown's career as a talk-show host.

 

"What he said then, as he interviewed poets, activists and the likes of leftist icon Noam Chomsky, promises to resurface this coming year as the 71-year-old former governor ponders running for a historic third gubernatorial term.

 

"During his three years on the air, Brown repeatedly blamed corporate malfeasance and political corruption for undermining American democracy and even causing deaths, according to edited excerpts of the radio broadcasts.

 

"Brown regularly attacked President Bill Clinton as a lackey for business interests and in one excerpt stated, "I don't believe Clinton is different from Richard Nixon."

 

He called capital punishment "state murder" and said U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats, had "sold out" U.S. truck drivers by letting their Mexican counterparts drive uninspected vehicles into the United States.

 

In one of the most controversial excerpts, Brown called the prison system a racket that pumped profits out of the poor's misfortunes and into the pockets of prison guards."

 

Which will make the CCPOA endorsement all that much sweeter...

 

So much for Proposition 1A. The Bee reports, "A coalition of local governments and transportation advocates has submitted an initiative to block the state from borrowing local government funds . The measure, which the groups are planning for next year's ballot, would also ban the state from taking, borrowing or redirecting gas tax and Highway Users Tax funds and other public transit funds."

 

Maybe the state should just go back to stealing it fair and square...

 

Andy Furillo reports George Runner doesn't like the way Jerry Brown descibed his latest ballot measure . 

 

"State Sen. George Runner has sued Attorney General Jerry Brown to force California's top cop to rewrite the summary on a ballot measure that would require people to show a picture ID before they could vote.

 

"Runner, a Republican from Lancaster, charges in the lawsuit filed Oct. 14 in Sacramento Superior Court that the Democratic attorney general tried to "mislead the public" with a slanted ballot measure."

 

Jim Miller reports the economy is hurting local governments' funding from tribes.

 

"Gov. Schwarzenegger recently signed legislation to extend the program that has provided $85 million in grants to Inland public agencies to mitigate the impacts of the region's tribal casinos.

 

But the new lease on life does nothing to solve the account's underlying problem. It's running out of money.

Michael Corbett, a Sacramento lobbyist for Riverside County, said the fund's future is unclear.

 

"We're going to have to have some candid discussions about what people really want," said Corbett. "Under most scenarios, Riverside County could be a loser."

 

AP reports on the new immigration policy adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

 

"The supervisors voted Tuesday to overturn an existing ordinance that allows police to hand over juvenile illegal immigrants after they have been arrested on felony charge.

 

"The supervisors' 8-2 vote is enough to override an expected veto from Mayor Gavin Newsom.

 

Calling the new policy "unenforceable," Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Newsom, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the mayor would continue to direct law enforcement officials to hand over undocumented youths charged with felonies after their arrest.

 

Carla Marinucci finds proof that Meg Whitman did indeed register to vote in San Francisco.

 

"Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman -- who disputed media reports that she had never voted in the 1980's -- was a registered Republican voter in San Francisco during that decade.

 

"Whitman registered to vote in San Francisco on Sept. 22, 1982, and was on the city voter rolls as of 1985, according to elections data stored in the San Francisco Public Library and obtained under the city's sunshine law.

 

"The records from the San Francisco Department of Elections were recovered from storage earlier this month."

 

"One nurse at Napa State Hospital made $733,000 in overtime in the last five years -- 66% of his total earnings -- by logging 51 extra hours each week during that period, according to the report by State Auditor Elaine Howle."

And finally, from our No Officer, That's Just My Dildo Files , "A man has been arrested for breaking into three cars after police spotted him carrying a suspicious bag he said was filled with his former wife's sex toys. Michael Conway was ordered Monday held on $5,000 cash bail for felony larceny. However, he was detained without bail on the probation violations

 

"According to a police report, the 34-year-old was seen by a Salem patrolman around 3 a.m. Monday walking around town with an empty bag. An hour later, police saw Conway with a full bag.

 

"Conway told police he was carrying his former wife's sex toys. But inside police said they found credit cards, an iPod, a GPS device and a number of other items."

 

Kinky.