The biggest news in California Tuesday came from Massachusetts,
where Republican Scott Brown's U.S. Senate victory has Republicans eyeing
pick up across the country -- including California.
Carla Marinucci reports, "Their message: it's on. And look at these opening reactions and
their themes as the shot across the bow to appeal to
those 1 in 5
voters in California who are independents; those Californians could
play a role in what promises to be a very lively, hard-fought race here
in Democratic-leaning California, where Boxer will be front and center
in the GOP target."
The second-biggest piece of news came from Capitol Weekly's announcement that they had joined
forces with the Los Angeles Times on a new California politics blog. Of course, we just think that because your Roundupper-in-chief is now the Times's blogger extraordinaire.
Matier and Ross report the race for insurance commissioner may be in flux. "San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who
was paralyzed below the waist in a skiing accident
as a teenager,
injured her leg a couple of months back - an injury that has left her
on the sidelines at City Hall and raised questions
about the future of
her run for state insurance commissioner.
"Details of the supervisor's injury are sketchy. Her
husband, Tom Pier, would say only that Alioto-Pier "required surgery, and she is going to need time to recuperate."
Alioto-Pier hasn't attended a board or committee meeting since
Dec. 15, and rumors about her health have been swirling."
"At this point, she is not altering her run for insurance
commissioner," Pier said.
Maybe, but then we also hear Alioto-Pier is looking to challenge a
city attorney's ruling that she is termed out from
the Board of
Supervisors after this year.
John Myers gives the governor and legislative leaders a proper
send-off as they head to DC.
"Those of us in public radio and TV are quite familiar
with big pitches
for big cash (tote bag, anyone?) on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps
that's why the 48 hour pledge-a-thon by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders that begins today feels so
familiar.
The quest, based largely on the governor's call for
upwards of $8 billion from the feds to solve California's budget
woes, is likely to be full of high profile meetings and
words of encouragement from Capitol Hill and the administration
of President Barack Obama.
But the trip will ultimately have to be measured on
whether it moves
the needle on Schwarzenegger's long running demand
for more federal
assistance."
Speaking of legislative leaders, we've got our third
new one in six weeks, as Assembly Republicans formally
selected Martin Garrick to be their next leader.
"The 56-year-old telecommunications company founder is now part
of the "Big Five" of California's leadership, which
includes the
governor and top Assembly and Senate leaders from each
party," reports the NC Times' Chris Nichols."Garrick
will have a direct role in trying to solve California's
$20 billion budget deficit, among the state's worst-ever fiscal
crises."
Meanwhile, Danny Gilmore sent his Dear John letter to the state
Legislature.
"If I could sum up in one word my feeling about serving
in the
Legislature, that word would have to be 'frustration,'"
Gilmore said in
a statement today. "This most recent phase of public
service does not
suit my family or me."
Gilmore's statement was a blistering critique of Sacramento
political culture. "There are those who enjoy political games and
legislative intrigue. I'm just not one of them," he
said.His departure puts his Central Valley Assembly seat
back in play for
Democrats, who held the seat for a decade before Gilmore's
election in
2008."
And finally, from our Things to Do While Robbing Someone Files, "An eastern Pennsylvania man was charged after he
allegedly broke into a home, cut his hair and prepared
fried chicken before being discovered. The man was charged with
breaking into the home in Easton, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia. According to court documents, the homeowner returned
home Sunday to discover him watching TV and cooking
chicken."
Probably didn't do the dishes, either.
