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Our First-ever Chronnie Awards, GOP Convention edition: Politics at its Finest -- The state GOP convention had it all: drama, hosted bars (thank you, Meg Whitman), mariachis (thank you, State Sen. Abel Maldonado), 24-hour Meg TV, Meg Whitman press conferences (two!), even a non-Meg Whitman candidate (GOP Secretary of State hopeful Damon Dunn) who said he once "slopped the hogs." Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 3/14/2010 GOP Day 2: The Breakup -- Leave it to Tom McClintock, long the favorite son of the California Republican Party, to say what only others hinted about all weekend. Heck, what they'd hinted about all year. Arnold Schwarzenegger, we're breaking up with you. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 3/14/2010 Hollywood rallies around Boxer -- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is pulling in some of the biggest names in Hollywood for her Golden State re-election bid — think Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, David Geffen and Kate Moss — among tens of thousands of others. J. Taylor Rushing The Hill -- 3/14/2010 Poizner and Whitman battle for title of speech-maker in chief -- The Republican candidates for governor will test their mettle head to head in their first debate Monday night. But one of the candidates, Steve Poizner, was already trying to prove his oratorical superiority at the party's convention Saturday evening. Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Lots of tough talk at state GOP convention -- In a midterm election year when angry voters are turning on Democrats and turning out at Tea Party protests, California Republicans are talking up volatile issues that have historically resonated in hard times, including getting tough on environmental regulations and undocumented immigrants and their children. Carla Marinucci, Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/14/2010 GOP hopefuls spar over their ideological purity -- At their weekend convention in Santa Clara, they pummel Democrats Brown and Boxer but also make conservatism an electoral litmus test. Michael Finnegan and Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Tom McClintock: Whitman would be 3rd Schwarzenegger term -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner told the California Republican Party's convention in Santa Clara that he's the true conservative in the race while delivering his standard campaign speech with a few variations tonight. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert Joe Garofoli Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 3/14/2010 Both candidates veer right in Calif. GOP gov. race -- Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman is trying to persuade fellow Republicans this weekend that she is the only GOP candidate with a legitimate shot at winning the governor's race next November in California, where Republicans are a distinct minority. JULIET WILLIAMS AP -- 3/14/2010 Maldonado: GOP can’t just serve tacos and expect Latinos to sign up -- State Sen. Abel Maldonado, the moderate Santa Maria Republican running for lieutenant governor, opened his speech to party convention delegates Saturday afternoon by acknowledging the discomfort many of them have with him for supporting new taxes, among other votes he has taken. Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times Joe Garofoli Chronicle Politics Weblog -- 3/14/2010 GOP Senate candidates tear into Boxer at convention -- In a year when Republicans believe they have a serious shot at defeating three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, the three GOP candidates this weekend downplayed the social planks that ordinarily would go a long way in winning support from the party's conservative base. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 Chuck DeVore: Other candidates will be drowned out by guv race ads -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore said he expects to be have a hard time being heard this primary amid the Republican gubernatorial primary ads that will hit the airwaves this spring. It's a complaint other candidates have made as gubernatorial rivals Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner prepare to fight an ultra-expensive primary battle. Jack Chang SacBee Capitol Alert -- 3/14/2010 Chuck DeVore renames Fiorina video and says he's related to Jerry Brown -- Forget about Hot Air, the name Carly Fiorina's campaign gave its new surrealistic video short featuring the elongated head of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) floating across the state. Seema Mehta and Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Fiorina assails Washington, Boxer as out of touch -- Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on Saturday attempted to win over California Republicans by attacking two of their strongest dislikes - incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer and a federal government she says is broken and on an out-of-control spending spree. KEVIN FREKING AP -- 3/14/2010 State Republican delegates see a new "bizarre" video, and hear another ex-CEO -- Carly Fiorina unveiled her campaign’s newest strange video production, Hot Air, over lunch at the California Republican convention Saturday. Michael Rothfeld in the Los Angeles Times Ken McLaughlin in the San Jose Mercury Carla Marinucci Chronicle Politics Weblog Ken McLaughlin in the Contra Costa Times Ben Smith Politico -- 3/14/2010 CalBuzz: GOP Extra II: New Boffo Hit By Demon Sheep Auteur -- Cue the dancing bears: Wannabe Senator Carly Fiorina rolled out a full-throttle, multi-media extravaganza for her turn in the limelight Saturday, the Republican state convention’s most boffo box office so far. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 3/14/2010 Packard heir travels to GOP convention to raise money for Carly Fiorina foe -- An heir of one of the founders of Hewlett-Packard traveled west this weekend to rail against Republican Senate candidate and former HP chief Carly Fiorina -- and to raise money for one of Fiorina’s GOP primary opponents, Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Carly Fiorina: Working the GOP like Oprah...uh, if Oprah were a Republican -- Still, one of the weekend's top speakers on the crowd reaction meter. Wrote much of it herself -- even her staff didn't know what the final, final product would be. And she's sounds like she's ready to go bare-knuckles on Sen. Barbara Boxer....should she survive the primary. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/14/2010 A Candidate Finds Much Changed, and Little -- In the 32 years since Lowell Darling, an artist, last ran for public office in California, Ronald Reagan was elected president, a bodybuilder was elected governor and the entire state has toddled perilously close to fiscal disaster. JESSE McKINLEY in the New York Times -- 3/14/2010 Walters: Candidates for California governor all agree on silence -- The level of fundamental agreement among California's three candidates for governor is truly remarkable. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 Morain: Lacking big bucks, Ted Costa keeps getting dissed -- Ted Costa is getting Bigfooted. Again. Costa is sitting at the desk of his musty office in a strip mall sandwiched among other strip malls on Arden Way. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 A Time to Consider Local Fuel Fees -- Democrats in the Legislature threw a fiscal lifeline to public transit last week, bolstering financing for buses and trains at a time when the state is cutting just about everything else. DANIEL WEINTRAUB in the New York Times -- 3/14/2010 Valley Democrats Cardoza and Costa are key to big health care vote -- With a Capitol Hill showdown only days away, two San Joaquin Valley congressional Democrats remain crucial and undecided votes on a controversial health care bill. Michael Doyle in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 Lopez: Rep. Richardson's flight of fancy -- The Long Beach Democrat requests two emergency services helicopters to give her and 19 staffers an aerial tour of Southern California. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Online database follows campaign contributions -- Labor unions are the single largest contributor to 2010 candidates for Contra Costa offices, based on results of the first local, online, searchable and sortable campaign finance database. Lisa Vorderbrueggen and Daniel Willis in the Contra Costa Times -- 3/14/2010 Quinn: Initiatives don't need 'reining in' by courts -- Peter Schrag's Feb. 28 column "Justices must do more to rein in initiatives" asks the state Supreme Court to wander further than it has into the political thicket. That's a bad idea. Tony Quinn in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010
Silicon Valley company to replace every window in the Empire State Building -- Some people don't do windows. Kevin Surace does. In a very big way. The Silicon Valley CEO is about to oversee a green-building project on the most high-profile stage in the world when his company — Serious Materials, in Sunnyvale — begins replacing all 6,514 windows in the Empire State Building. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury -- 3/14/2010 Years after homeowners default, collectors may still come after them -- Homeowners defaulting on mortgages today may be surprised to learn years from now that they still owe thousands of dollars – and a collection agency is coming after them to get it. Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 Legislative push aims to tax Internet sales in California -- The days of browsing in the Apple Store at the mall, then dashing home to buy that iTouch online at Amazon.com – just to save the $25 or so in sales tax – could be coming to an end. M.S. Enkoji in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010 Borenstein: State must act on county's pension abuse -- Using Contra Costa as the poster child, some legislators in Sacramento are looking to put an end to egregious public employee pension spiking practices. Daniel Borenstein in the Contra Costa Times -- 3/14/2010
Campus protesters stand on '60s legacy -- Consider: At local colleges and universities in the last five weeks 11 students were arrested for interrupting the Israeli ambassador, 17 others were arrested during a sit-in to "democratize education." And 10 days ago, hundreds of students joined statewide protests over tuition hikes. DAVID WHITING in the Orange County Register -- 3/14/2010
Bill aims to fight Chino Hills electrical tower construction -- With Southern California Edison moving to bring green wind energy from Central California to the Southland, city officials and a local lawmaker have devised a multi-pronged attack to slow the plan. Neil Nisperos in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 3/14/2010
Volunteers provide free healthcare for uninsured -- While President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats push for the House vote on a health care overhaul bill, local volunteers are taking the matter into their own hands. Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 3/14/2010 Group pushes back against medical marijuana law -- Seeking to overturn the city's medical marijuana ordinance even before it takes effect, a loose-knit coalition of Los Angeles collectives is quietly gathering signatures to force a referendum on the law. John Hoeffel in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Sacramento County budget cuts change mental health treatment -- Thousands of mentally ill people who have been cut from county programs during the past year are straining the area's health system, with hospitals and private clinics struggling to fill gaps in care. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee -- 3/14/2010
Obama Calls for Sweeping Overhaul in Education Law -- The Obama administration on Saturday called for a broad overhaul of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, proposing to reshape divisive provisions that encouraged instructors to teach to tests, narrowed the curriculum, and labeled one in three American schools as failing. SAM DILLON in the New York Times Nick Anderson in the Washington Post Richard A. Serrano in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 Obama's reluctant populism irks left -- Sometimes in the fight for health reform or tighter rules on Wall Street, President Barack Obama unleashes his podium-pounding, “Yes, we can” side. And sometimes, critics say, Obama’s just a part-time populist. CAROL E. LEE Politico -- 3/14/2010
The dream: Plant a tree for each veteran -- Hoping to go national, the nonprofit Veterans for Trees starts with 11 seedlings in a Kern County park. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010
Justice's wife launches 'tea party' group -- The nonprofit run by Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is likely to test notions of political impartiality for the court. Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times -- 3/14/2010 |
