September 6, 2010

After months of being pounded on TV by Meg Whitman and her allies, Jerry Brown takes to the airwaves this week, introducing himself to younger voters, reminding older voters of better times and reassuring them all – especially moderate and independent swing voters — that he will not raise taxes without a vote of the people. His first ad is here.

Krusty the General’s first 30-second spot – released at 7 a.m. on Labor Day — asserts that when he was governor in the 1970s and 80s, “He cut waste, got rid of the mansion and the limo; budgets were balanced; four billion in tax cuts; world-class schools and universities; clean energy promoted; one-point nine million new jobs created. California was working.”

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Uffer

Testimony sought in civil suit against county
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 09/05/2010 03:56:59 PM PDT

The attorney representing former San Bernardino County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer in a lawsuit says he will ask the court to compel Supervisor Paul Biane to give a deposition if one isn’t scheduled soon.

Sanford Kassel is pushing forward in the lawsuit, and the county has scheduled 11 depositions over the next 30 days.

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11:08 PM PDT on Sunday, September 5, 2010

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County supervisors revamped the search last week for a law firm to handle criminal defense for those who cannot afford lawyers.

Soliciting new bids is intended to preclude the favoritism accusations that arose in March when proposals from two firms came within $100 of each other on a $6.9 million contract.

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10:48 PM PDT on Sunday, September 5, 2010

By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
The Press-Enterprise

A Riverside County case scheduled to be argued Tuesday before the California Supreme Court will affect how courts statewide handle criminal cases on the verge of dismissal because of constitutional speedy-trial deadlines.

People v. Engram emerged from three years of severe courtroom congestion in Riverside County Superior Courts that saw dismissal of about 350 cases — most of them misdemeanors — because they had reached those limits.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/05/2010 09:58:13 PM PDT

Grand Terrace officials say confidentiality agreements still prevent them from discussing possible repercussions of the recent discovery that elected officials have never paid taxes on their stipends, and it is unclear when those agreements will end.

The Internal Revenue Service defines elected officials as employees of the city they serve, required to withhold part of their income. Members of the City Council and Planning Commission have not done so since Grand Terrace was incorporated in 1978.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 09/05/2010 03:18:39 PM PDT

Over the past 15 years, Assembly candidate and former Minuteman Tim Donnelly has skipped most elections, something his opponent says seems hypocritical.

Donnelly, the Republican candidate in the 59th Assembly District, has voted in 13 of the last 30 elections, according to records from the county registrar’s office. Many of the 17 he skipped were local elections, but he’s also missed statewide and federal elections.

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Republicans Whitman and Fiorina and Democrats Brown and Boxer bring different levels of wealth, history and intensity to their races in an unpredictable year.

By Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times

September 5, 2010

The California campaigns for governor and senator can look like one big unwieldy whole, moving inexorably toward November, cluttering television screens and radio airwaves and mailboxes statewide. Close up, they are four campaigns distinct in style and personality. There is Republican Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor, where nothing is accidental. There is Democrat Jerry Brown’s challenge, reveling in its just-out-of-bed disorganization. There is Barbara Boxer’s campaign, that of a Democratic senator staring down her toughest challenge in an anti-incumbent year. And there is Carly Fiorina’s campaign, with its first-time candidate trying to replicate other come-from-behind Republican victories this rambunctious year.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Monday, Sep. 6, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

It’s been 28 years since Californians have seen simultaneous, too-close-to-call duels for the governorship and U.S. Senate.

It was 1982, and it was a big Republican year. Attorney General George Deukmejian very narrowly defeated Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley for the governorship, and San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson clobbered outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown for a vacant Senate seat.

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Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day usually signals the beginning of the traditional election season – but this year, when it comes to California’s four big races, it’s more like the final furious stretch.

“All four races are close, and all for different reasons,” says Field pollster Mark DiCamillo.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer, left, the incumbent and a Democrat, responds to a question during her debate with Republican challenger Carly Fiorina. Fewer than a million people are believed to have watched. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez, Pool Photo / September 1, 2010)

By George Skelton, Capitol Journal
September 6, 2010

From Sacramento-
Political rookie Carly Fiorina should book every televised debate with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer that the senator will permit.

The Republican Senate nominee is trying to do just that, actually. But Boxer has been skittish, as incumbents usually are, not desiring to share the stage with a lesser-known challenger.

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Brown

By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Sep. 6, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Slicing apples and spooning in mouthfuls of food, housekeepers from the Sheraton Grand Hotel are spending a Friday afternoon lunch break talking about politics with union members.

Aamir Deen, an organizer for the labor union UNITE HERE Local 49, sits down at a table, references a flier with a red check next to a picture of Democrat Jerry Brown and explains in English and Spanish why the gubernatorial candidate is union-endorsed over Republican Meg Whitman.

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Whitman

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, September 6, 2010

Meg Whitman has done her best to distance herself from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, succeeding so well that her fellow Republican has declined to endorse a candidate in the governor’s race. But they agree on at least one thing – California can dig itself out of its budget hole by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse in state spending.

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By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Sep. 6, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

Here’s what state workers see when they look at their jobs on this Labor Day:

Their boss routinely blasts their job security. They’ve endured a 15 percent cut in hours and pay, and now their employer wants them to kick in more for their benefits. The state budget situation is so bad that their next boss – whoever that is – will have to consider laying them off.

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