by Kevin Shaw [courtesy of Blog for America]

State Senator and DFA member Vincent Fumo, besieged by legal, health and political problems, is expected to announce today that he is dropping out of the race for re-election to the first senatorial district seat.

This, of course, busts the upcoming Democratic primary wide open for another DFA candidate for the seat, Philly for Change founder Anne Dicker.

You can give Anne's campaign a boost by contributing at her ActBlue page.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Our friends at The Politico are reporting that the story first reported here on CMR by Steve Maviglio yesterday morning is being confirmed by "House GOP insiders". Scandal-plagued U.S. Rep. John Doolittle will announce later this week that he will not run for re-election and will instead support his even-farther-to-the-right partner-in-political-intolerance former State Senator Rico Oller.

by Be_Devine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Chutzpah. As in Carole Migden.

An article on the the West Marin-focused blog Sparsely Sage and Timely discusses Carole Migden's recent meeting with a group of people campaigning to protect the White Deer from slaughter by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore. But:

Unfortunately, the majority of guests had little chance to spend much time discussing their concerns with Migden. Instead they mostly had to content themselves with listening to a loud, brash, sometimes-witty, and sometimes-abrasive performance by their state senator.

Ah, yes. That's the Carole we all know and . . . . Well, know.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Evidence of Post Partisanship Between Governor and Legislative Democrats
• But Reflects That Not a Single Republican Legislator Voted for Entire Flood Package

Governor Schwarzenegger Shakes Senator Machado's hand after signing flood package surrounded by Democratic legislators--and Gary Patton of the Planning and Conservation League on the left

By Frank D. Russo

Democratic State Senator Mike Machado, author of one of the flood bills passed by the legislature and signed into law delivered the weekly radio address of Governor Schwarzenegger on the flood package.

A bit unusual--but entirely understandable. Out of the 47 Republicans in the Senate, there is not one that voted for all of the bills in the package of six that he signed. In contrast, the Governor had his pick amongst a number of Democrats who could host his radio spot.

Not only did the bills pass due to Democratic votes--all of them were authored by Democrats. So, the bipartisanship--post-partisanship--or whatever you want to call it is between the Democrats and the Governor on this one. This one speaks volumes as to how far out of the mainstream the Republican gang in Sacramento is when it comes to this issue.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By State Senator Sheila Kuehl
Chair
Health Committee

The Year of Magical Thinking is the title of a memoir by Joan Didion detailing her state of denial, inexplicable behaviors and, finally, coming to grips with, the death of her husband. It’s also an apt description of the Governor’s 2007 approach to reforming our broken healthcare system, with the glaring difference that he still hasn’t come to grips with the truth. (After all, if a complicated movie plot could be resolved in less than two hours, who not fix healthcare in California in nine months?)

Beginning in January, the Governor ordered his health advisors to sketch the outlines of a plan that would magically “cover” all Californians by simply requiring them to buy health insurance. To this moment, he has refused to negotiate any of his major points with the Legislature. The language for his plan was finally drafted five months later, and shown, under wraps, to a few, select people. Not one legislator agreed with it, and no one would carry the bill as legislation.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

State Senator and Flash Report Lapdog Jeff Denham's sappy district ad has been remixed to more closely resemble reality...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed legislation that would provide unfettered media access to the state’s prisons, thus joining the ranks of former governors, including Gray Davis andPete Wilson, who also vetoed similar bills. According to the SF Chron,State Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), the sponsor of the bill,believes that it would improve the transparency of the state prisonsystem, while the Governor believes it would “glamorize murderers” and“traumatize crime victims and their families.” On the other hand,there's nothing glamorous about the condition of our prisons, either.

Acommittee commissioned by the Governor to come up with a proposal toimplement the reduction in carbon emissions mandated by AB 32 has endorsed setting up a carbon cap-and-trade systemfor the state of California, according to the Torrance Daily Breeze.Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols supports setting up amarket for carbon credits, but many Democrats and environmentalists arerightly insisting that strong regulations be put in place first. TheSan Jose Merc outlines the report’s specific recommendations here.