The Capitol was shaken yesterday by the
death of 39-year old former assemblyman and senate candidate Marco Firebaugh. "Firebaugh, a Democrat from Whittier, died at UCLA Medical Center. Doctors attributed Firebaugh's death to influenza and liver failure, Firebaugh spokesman Ricardo Lara said."
"The Tijuana-born son of Mexican immigrants and one of five children, Firebaugh took his stepfather's name after his mother divorced and remarried," reports the Los Angeles Times.
"He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Berkeley in 1993 and a law degree from UCLA in 1997. A protege of former state Sen.
Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), Firebaugh credited Polanco with helping him generate thousands of dollars in contributions and an endorsement for his 1998 run for the Assembly.
"Firebaugh, who was divorced, is survived by his mother, Carmen Ramos Garcia; his children, Tlalli Ariana and Nicolas Andres; his brothers, Carlos and Jesse; and his sisters, Cecilia and Esmeralda."
"Funeral services are pending."
Meanwhile,
Tom Umberg is suing elections officials to
remove Lou Correa's name from the ballot in
Senate District 34, blogs the Register's Martin Wisckol. "To qualify for the ballot, candidates must submit 40 valid voter signatures from the district, and can submit no more than 60 total. The suit alleges that Correa turned in 101 signatures -- and that if only the first 60 had been used, only 26 of those would have been valid. The defendents in the suit are Secretary of State
Bruce McPherson and acting county Registrar of Voters
Neal Kelley."
Here's
the complaint.
McPherson was also
sued by critics of recently certified voting machines. "The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, requests that a judge quickly rescind certifications of the Diebold touchscreen and optical scan voting systems that were conditionally granted a month ago by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson."
"If a court agrees, the systems would be decertified for use in November's elections. They could still be used in June balloting, however."
"The Diebold system 'has been shown time and time again to have serious, fundamental vulnerabilities to fraud and vote manipulation,' said
John Eichhorst, a lawyer representing the 24 Californians who filed the lawsuit against McPherson. Also named in the suit are the elections officials of 18 counties where the machines are to be utilized this year, including Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, Tulare, Los Angeles and San Diego."
"Defying Senate Republicans' wishes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday said he
would not replace director Rob Reiner from the chairmanship of the state agency First 5 California," reports the Bee's Laura Mecoy.
"The governor told the Fresno Bee's editorial board that he was standing by his 'friend' Reiner until there is evidence of wrongdoing. 'Innocent until proven guilty,' Schwarzenegger said."
"Senate Republicans had asked the governor to replace Reiner in the chairman's job because the agency spent $23 million in tax dollars on an ad campaign promoting preschool while Reiner was qualifying a universal preschool initiative - Proposition 82 - for the June 6 ballot."
Maybe the governor can trade Reiner's political hide for a couple of votes for a bond package...
For all out antique buffs out there, "the ill-gotten spoils from former Rep.
Randy 'Duke' Cunningham's bribery scheme -- a household of valuable antiques, rugs and home furnishings --
will be auctioned by the government Thursday."
"The public Tuesday was given a preview of the loot, which was laid out in orderly rows in a warehouse near Los Angeles. The items were purchased for Cunningham -- who is serving a prison term for taking $2.4 million in bribes -- by defense contractors in exchange for his influence in the award of government contracts."
"There is a leather sofa festooned with brass tacks. A solid cherry sleigh bed. Nearly a dozen rugs, splayed over wooden skids. Marble-topped nightstands, armoires and sideboards, many featuring stained glass, brass fittings and intricate carvings."
"Together, they provide a peek into the lifestyle of a corrupt, privileged congressman."
"'There's a real mix of different styles -- art deco, French provincial, American pioneer,' said
Britney Sheehan, who works for the company that will auction the goods."
Good to know our criminals have taste, and diverse tastes in furnishings.
But if none of that sounds like you,
we've got a bridge to sell you, or at least the rights to rebuild one. Matier and Ross report that today is the day"new bids [will be taken] on that budgetary boondoggle known as the Bay Bridge."
"Those in the know predict the renewed bids will probably fall in the $1.5 billion range. That's actually about $100 million more than the last bid that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tossed out because it was nearly twice what the state had budgeted for the already over-budget job."
Still no takers? Well, maybe you want to buy a couple of newspapers. As rumors swirl about
Dean Singleton's potential purchase of the San Jose Mercury News and other Knight-Ridder papers, the LA Times
takes a look at how the company does business. "When Denver press baron
William Dean Singleton bought the Long Beach Press-Telegram just before Christmas in 1997, he
gave everyone in the newsroom 15 minutes to re-interview for their jobs. Feature writer
Debbie Arrington, who had followed her father and grandmother onto the newspaper's payroll, ... survived the culling only to see the paper's pay, benefits and morale fall sharply. She left after a year. But even as the newsroom ranks thinned and circulation stalled at about 100,000, the Press-Telegram's profitability soared, according to Executive Editor
Rich Archbold, producing a handsome return for Singleton's MediaNews Group Inc., now the nation's seventh-largest newspaper chain, with daily circulation of 1.8 million."
Looks like
fees could be going up in California's state parks. "A $900 million maintenance backlog and a shrinking budget critically threaten the 278-unit state park system, according to an annual report released Monday by a nonprofit park foundation." Part of the Senate's bond proposal would have funnelled about $600 million to be used for those deferred maintenance costs, but without a bond, fee hikes may be inevitable."
Does anyone else think it's odd that there are $900 million in maintenance needs, and yet the state has spent money placing wireless Internet access in some parks?
Finally, we check in with our Texas bureau, where "TABC agents and Irving police swept through 36 Irving bars and
arrested about 30 people on charges of public intoxication. Agency representatives say the move came as a proactive measure to curtail drunken driving."
"
At one location, for example, agents and police arrested patrons of a hotel bar. Some of the suspects said they were registered at the hotel and had no intention of driving. Arresting authorities said the patrons were a danger to themselves and others."
"'
Going to a bar is not an opportunity to go get drunk,' TABC Capt.
David Alexander said. 'It's to have a good time but not to get drunk.'"
The 30 arrested hotel drunks were immediately sent to the electric chair.
