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 Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans terminated? Not likelyBy Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times Over tea this spring in Redondo Beach, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Tony Blair to seek the former British prime minister's advice for his new role on the world stage, now that his seven-year stint as California's governor had ended. Schwarzenegger was launching an ambitious new phase: accepting lucrative offers for a Hollywood comeback, carving out a new role as an ambassador for green technology companies, reengaging his charity work and flying around the world delivering speeches at rates commanded by former presidents. But the stunning revelations in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times that he had fathered a child out of wedlock more than a decade ago with a member of his household staff shifted interest far from those pursuits. As Schwarzenegger's personal misconduct reverberated around the world Tuesday, public condemnation was swift. |
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 Maria Shriver on Schwarzenegger's paternity admission: 'Painful and heartbreaking'By Mark Z. Barabak and Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times California First Lady Maria Shriver on Tuesday called "heartbreaking" husband Arnold Schwarzenegger's admission that he had fathered a child with a former household staff member more than a decade ago. "This is a painful and heartbreaking time," Shriver said in a statement, her first since the former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted paternity of the child Monday night in response to questions from The Times. "As a mother my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment." Shriver and Schwarzenegger, who have been married for 25 years, separated weeks ago, after she learned of the child. Shriver, the parent with Schwarzenegger of four children, ages 13 to 21, has moved out of the couple's Brentwood home.  Schwarzenegger's love child and his legacyBy Marisa Lagos and Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle Over his seven years as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger worked to craft a spotless public image - portraying himself as a loving father and husband and politically as a post-partisan reformer who cared about business and the environment. Now the former governor's legacy has been perhaps irrevocably marred by his admission that he fathered a child more than a decade ago with a longtime member of his household staff. Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, had announced their separation May 9, and he has long been dogged by rumors of infidelity and sexual misconduct. Yet Tuesday's revelation shocked the Golden State. It also raises questions about what the future will hold for Schwarzenegger, 63. While he indicated that he does not plan to run for office anytime soon, he has not entirely left politics.  Schwarzenegger's secret child crushes his political future, say analystsBy David Siders, Sacramento Bee For more than a decade, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to keep secret the fact that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff, misleading not only his family, but millions of Californians who may not have elected him had they known. As news of the reason for his recent split with Maria Shriver sank in Tuesday, those who worked with him over the years saw it as another disappointing postscript to his time at the Capitol. Battered for years by California's financial problems, Schwarzenegger's public approval rating had dipped to 23 percent before, on his final day in office, he shortened the manslaughter sentence of political friend Fabian N��ez's son, angering his shrunken pool of supporters. If that act had not already ruled out any political future, observers said, his most recent acknowledgment almost surely did.  Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the master of 'True Lies'By Dan Morain, Sacramento Bee You have to wonder how many lies Arnold Schwarzenegger has told and whether he can keep them all straight. California's former first couple's marriage is disintegrating in full view, the result of Schwarzenegger's transgression more than a decade ago in which he fathered a son by one of his household employees. Amazingly, the woman remained on his domestic staff and payroll through January, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first disclosed the sordid tale. We'll learn far more in the coming days about this episode and others. It will be fodder for Internet gossip sites and print and television tabloids. I feel sympathy for Maria Shriver and her children, and question whether Schwarzenegger is embarrassed, or if he is beyond embarrassment. This past weekend, he was seen yukking it up over lunch and cigars at a Beverly Hills restaurant with his old pal, Sylvester Stallone, not at all humbled. In the Governor's office: Gov. Brown’s Budget Showdown By Katy Grimes, CalWatchDog Yesterday’s May Budget Revise with Gov. Jerry Brown started off as a”No surprises” press conference. However, while the swords are still drawn in the political party duel over spending, revenue and tax increases, I am wondering if anyone noticed that Brown was not his usual jovial, glib self. The governor seemed distracted, and almost distant while explaining the budget slides to the press audience. Perhaps it is because he is debating himself now on the finer points of the budget – and that’s not a fun place to be. California's revenue surge might stymie efforts to stabilize finances By Evan Halper and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times The cash pouring into state coffers may seem like good news for Gov. Jerry Brown, who this week announced a surprise $6.6-billion surge. But the joke in the Capitol is that he might have served the public better by burying the windfall in the backyard. Propelled by the higher wages and investment incomes of the rich, the new money could actually stymie meaningful change in California's broken budget system, experts say, leaving state books unbalanced indefinitely. The dilemma is part of a familiar pattern in California, where state funds are at the mercy of taxes paid by top earners whose bank accounts are subject to unpredictable swings. One bad year for them can, and does, throw state finances into turmoil. Alternately, the accounting misery is quickly forgotten when the economy starts to rebound and tax receipts mushroom. Revised California budget softens blow for schools By Diana Lambert, Sacramento Bee California school leaders are cautiously optimistic about Gov. Jerry Brown's revised state budget. Largely because of rosier revenue projections for the coming year, budget experts at the Capitol say schools gained a cushion against cuts – even if Brown fails in his effort to extend 2009 increases to income taxes. The result appears to be flat funding for school districts in the coming year, says Ron Bennett, president of School Services of California. The revised budget brings Proposition 98 funding to $52.4 billion, an increase from the $49.4 billion proposed in the January budget. Proposition 98 guarantees minimum funding levels for education. But most districts, worried the budget will change again or the tax extensions won't be approved, are taking a more cautious stance. 'Closed' signs going up on Jerry Brown's website? By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News Visitors to Gov. Jerry Brown's official website are dazzled with a rotating display of photos highlighting the natural beauty of California. One problem: If the state follows through with Brown's budget-cutting plans, one-third of the places featured will be padlocked and off-limits to the public. The top of the governor's site -- http://gov.ca.gov -- and California's official state website feature jaw-dropping images of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Diablo, Santa Monica Pier, Yosemite Valley, Garrapata State Park on the Big Sur coast and Gray Whale Cove, a beach in San Mateo County just south of Devils Slide. But on Friday, Brown included Garrapata and Gray Whale Cove on his list of 70 parks slated for closure as part of his budget plan. The irony that the governor plans to put up "no trespassing" signs on the parks his administration chose to represent the best of California hasn't been lost. In the Legislature: Card Check Bill Boosts Union Punch By KATY GRIMES, CalWatchDog California’s agriculture workers can expect to be unionized very soon. A bill that would allow labor unions to organize farm workers passed the Assembly Monday. SB 104 is authored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and is sponsored by the United Farm Workers union. It has been sold as a bill that would “allow” farm workers to decide on unionization, and as an option to the secret ballot, the current system of determining whether a workplace is unionized. Steinberg is a Sacramento Democrat and a former union lawyer for the California State Employees Association. SB 104 is his third attempt at legalizing card-check elections for agriculture workers. In card check elections, workers can be intimidated and coerced into signing a card saying that they want union representation. The election is not held using the secret ballot — workers must sign the cards publicly. After a majority of the cards are signed and the employee’s vote has been made known to the union, if more than 50 percent of the cards are signed, employees are then required to join the union. What’s most egregious is that the union pushing the election does not have to disclose to the employees that the purpose of acquiring their signatures means a vote for unionization. And cards can be signed up to one year in advance of use. Many have questioned the real intent behind this provision. Campaign and election news: Janice Hahn, Craig Huey appear headed for Congress seat runoff By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times In a seemingly major upset in the race to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), Republican Craig Huey appears to have captured one of the spots in a July 12 runoff. With all of the election night ballots counted late Tuesday, Huey squeaked past California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, by 206 votes. If the outcome stands after outstanding ballots are counted, Huey will face Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a Democrat.  Steve Cooley won't seek 4th term as L.A. County district attorneyBy Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Tuesday that he would not run for a fourth term as the county's top prosecutor, ending intense speculation and setting the stage for the most competitive district attorney's race in more than a decade. Cooley had remained coy for months about his political future and his decision promises to have a dramatic effect on the 2012 election campaign, which features several candidates who had promised to pull out if Cooley ran again. Cooley told The Times that many of his law enforcement supporters encouraged him to seek reelection but that he decided instead to help Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacquelyn Lacey in her bid to become the first African American and first woman to hold the post. Cooley, a Republican who narrowly lost a bid to become state attorney general last year, was first elected district attorney in 2000, beating incumbent Gil Garcetti to the nonpartisan post. The largely low-key prosecutor managed to draw political support in a county dominated by Democratic voters and in an office that has been unforgiving to some of his predecessors. In 2008, he became the first person to win three terms as L.A. County district attorney in more than 70 years. | Arnold Schwarzenegger's lies have a familiar ring By Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times I can't say I was surprised by Tuesday's news that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with a longtime member of his household staff. Yeah, the details were sensational, but the whole mess fits the narrative of a man who has always seemed to live in his own celebrity world by his own twisted rules of privilege and entitlement, his life an orgy of self-glory. The tale of the Governator and the baby By Debra J. Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday the Los Angeles Times reported that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with a longtime member of his household staff before he became governor. The story follows news of the couple's separation. The tragedy of this whole story is that Shriver fell into a classic female trap. She thought she had found a man who would deliver her from a toxic family pattern, only to discover that in the end, she married, well, another Kennedy. She deserved better. Will Spending Cutters Rot in Hell? By WAYNE LUSVARDI, CalWatchDog In my hometown of Pasadena, and I suspect statewide, there is a concerted effort of local religious leaders to bombard local newspapers with letters advocating a state increase in taxes to save public schools. What is being sought from religious leaders is to convince the public of the moral legitimacy for a tax increase. But is it ethical to ask misinformed religious leaders to advocate for a state tax increase for public schools that may be unneeded? It sounds more like the moral high ground might be to cut political job earmarks and pork-barrel programs rather than continue their funding in a time of widespread austerity and inflation in gasoline and food prices. Latest numbers reveal two-tier California By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee A quarter-century ago, I wrote a series of articles about California's megatrends that transmogrified into a book, "The New California: Facing the 21st Century." My chief premise was that intertwining cultural, demographic, economic and political forces were radically transforming the state. I quoted one academic study that saw "the possible emerging of a two-tier economy with Asians and non-Hispanic whites competing for high-status positions while Hispanics and blacks struggle to get low-paying service jobs." Last week's release of detailed 2010 census data and this week's unveiling of a massive statistical study of Californians' educations, incomes and health confirm that what was theory in 1985 has become reality. | ||
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