If you're looking for clues to next year's elections, check out the race to replace Jane Harman: Janice Hahn's victory in the 36th Congtressional District primary is an excellent example of how the new "top two" primary system is going to work, in this case with a moderate gaining ascendancy as the liberal vote is split.
From the Bee's Dan Walters: "Hahn leveraged Winograd's potential candidacy to great
benefit, at one point challenging Bowen to "pledge" support for
Israel. Bowen took the bait, and it created a schism on the left as Winograd
then jumped into the race."
"Subtly, Hahn's campaign magnified Winograd's differences
with Bowen. The ploy worked perfectly, splitting the liberal vote."
"Meanwhile, a Republican candidate's well-financed
campaign indirectly bolstered Hahn's strategy. It pushed him into a
second-place finish by a handful of votes, preventing Bowen from winning a
place in the runoff
election."
"Hahn thus will face right-wing Republican Craig Huey in
the July 12 runoff. In the heavily Democratic district, she is virtually
guaranteed a win."
The long-standing fight over the property that Barbra Streisand donated to the state years ago has intensified dramatically, following Gov. Brown's proposal to sell off surplus state property. Timm Herdt in the Ventura County Star tells the tale.
"Brown's suggestion that the compound be sold has
triggered a flurry of reaction, with park proponents launching a "Don't
Sell Ramirez Canyon" video on Facebook and YouTube, a coalition of
conservation groups firing off a letter to legislative budget-writers calling
the idea "shortsighted," and a neighborhood group launching a
lobbying effort to promote the sale for what it calls "compelling public
policy reasons."
"Brown administration officials said there is no urgency
for the lobbying."
"The proposal, said Finance Department spokesman H.D.
Palmer, is to have the Department of General Services review state properties
and come up with a list of ones that could be potentially sold. That list, he
said, would be included in Brown's budget proposal next year."
"There hasn't been anything proposed that impacts
the 2011-12 budget," Palmer said. "The governor has put forth a
series of proposals to achieve greater savings and efficiencies in the
management of state properties, and he indicated some examples."
Meanwhile, lawmakers beat back an attempt to ban gifts to themselves, a move that good-government advocates said showed the Legislature can't police itself.
From the LA Times' Patrick McGreevy: "The score is lobbyists 1, public 0,"
said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause."
"State Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) said his proposal would not have been a cost burden. He cited comments by the state's former ethics czar that any expense was likely to have been covered by fines collected from violators."
"Once again, the Legislature failed to act on good-government reforms to improve the culture and transparency in the Capitol," said Blakeslee, who also supported an unsuccessful proposal to regulate automated political calls. "Instead, Sacramento yet again killed reform bills behind closed doors."
"Committee members said Senate leaders made the decision not to advance the bills, in part, because the state Fair Political Practices Commission is already considering broader regulations."
The Arnold love-child story is deep in the tabloid landscape. The latest tale: The National Enquirer did a piece this week on the former governor's behavior at the Hyatt Hotel, with his security detail helping him get girls. Everybody has denied everything. The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci took a look.
"The National Enquirer's editor-in-chief Tony Frost told The
Chronicle Thursday he stands strongly by the paper's explosive story charging that former Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger used taxpayer-funded security to cover
"inappropriate" behavior at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency. And Frost
also staunchly defended the story's source, "law enforcement veteran"
William Taylor -- whom he said was a contract security official at the Hyatt."
"Frost's paper even posted an
online letter of recommendation confirming that -- prior to Taylor's private
security gig -- he was "captain of security'' at the offices of California
Secretary of State Debra Bowen, where he was considered a "trusted and
valued" worker."
"The Enquirer story published Wednesday quoted Taylor
extensively, and said he passed an extensive polygraph test. Taylor told the
paper that on three occasions, California Highway Patrol officers in
Schwarzenegger's security detail -- driving black Ford Crown sedans -- arrived
at the Sacramento Hyatt and escorted young "scantily clad" women to
the governor's penthouse suite."
The city of Vernon is back in the news -- was it ever out? -- with the disclosure that a fomer city administrator has accepted as plea for using public funds for such things as golf, travel and massages. The LATimes' Hector Becerra and Sam Allen have the story.
"The plea on Thursday involved Bruce Malkenhorst, who led Vernon for
decades and was at one time California’s highest paid government official. He
also holds the distinction of having the state’s highest public pension,
receiving just over $500,000 a year."
"Los Angeles County prosecutors accused Malkenhorst, 76,
of illegally reimbursing himself for expenses -- including paying off his
personal Visa card –- and getting the city to pay for political donations he
made. For five years, he denied the charges, and case remained in legal limbo."
"The state Assembly voted overwhelmingly last month on the
bill to dissolve Vernon, which has been dogged for decades by claims that it is
a fiefdom run by a small group of people. The state Senate is expected to
address the bill, AB 46, sometime next month."
And from our "What's My Name and Why Am I Here?" file, we learn that it's harder and harder to concentrate on things. Apparently, the pivotal age is 38.
"You misplace your keys, waver between work assignments and YouTube, and daydream during conversations. Some of it’s normal—life can get pretty hectic—but how do you know if you have a more serious problem? For adults who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this chronic inattentiveness becomes debilitating."
“We see an influx of adults being diagnosed around age 38,” says Timothy Wilens, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “That’s right around the time people start multitasking more, juggling jobs, families, a home, and other personal obligations—and problems focusing and staying alert seem to get worse,” he says.
"But not everyone who slacks on work or forgets appointments has ADHD; there are plenty of other reasons you may be losing focus. Here are five things that could be sucking your attention span dry..."
"See your doc if: You have a difficult time sitting still (like during a meeting or at your desk) and have an urge to constantly get up and move around the office. Or seek help if you’re self-medicating by exercising too much—say, two to three hours a day—just to keep your restlessness at bay."
Can't remember his address....
