September 2009 Archives

Have you heard gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's latest explanation of why she didn't registered to vote until 2002 and then proceeded to skip most of the subsequent election? Sonny Bono didn't vote either.

Nope, that's bad enough, but there's a new one. "I was focused on raising a family, on my husband's career, and we moved many, many times," Whitman told reporters Tuesday in Davis.

Give me a break. That's the lamest excuse I've heard in almost 25 years from a candidate who didn't bother to vote.

So who outdid Whitman?

Meet Tony Hope, son of Bob, who ran for the House in 1986. A former Ford administration official and a partner in a Big Five accounting firm, he returned to Los Angeles to run for office, and he looked like a good bet to win. He had name i.d., raised plenty of money, knew politics and business, and he was an affable guy who clicked with voters. Well, he clicked with them until he explained that he failed to vote (or even register) because Republicans weren't allowed to register in Washington, D.C.

Tony insisted that registration cards marked Republican were simply discarded. Yet his wife managed to register. So did thousands of other Republicans, though D.C. elections were (and still are) one-sided affairs dominated by Democrats. That's probably why he didn't register. Well, his soft-shoe routine wasn't as popular as his father's, and he lost big in the primary to Elton Gallegly, who still holds the House seat today.

To his everlasting credit, Tony didn't take the news reports about his voting record too personally. In fact, he called me a couple days after the election and suggested that I drive by his house. There was a for sale sign in the front yard. Tony moved back to Washington and later served as chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission during the first Bush administration.

Whitman may overcome her failure to vote. It helps to get that kind of news out early, and the primary is still eight months away. But you can bank on seeing TV ads like the ones that helped sink Democrat Al Checchi, an airline mogul, whose spotty voting record came up during the 1998 gubernatorial campaign: "Al Checchi didn't care enough for vote the last time we elected a governor. Now he wants to be governor?"

-- Jim Sweeney

Here's a Roman Polanski headline from the Huffington Post that's typical of several others this week: France and Poland want him out.

Perhaps we've got a potential solution here. Maybe we can send all of our convicted pedophiles to France and Poland. None of us want them in our neighborhoods

Yet something tells me that most residents of France and Poland aren't interested in having a convicted pedophile as a neighbor, either - even if he has an Oscar to go with his rap sheet. Just my intuition? Not entirely (though it's almost certainly right). After a couple days of news reports long on celebrities and politicians defending Polanski and denouncing Los Angeles prosecutors for trying to extradite him, the New York Times is reporting a backlash from other French officials, who apparently hew to the advice of another Hollywood (alleged) miscreant: If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

This crime wasn't pretty. Polanski was accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He made a plea bargain for a lesser charge of having unlawful sex with a minor, then skipped the country before sentencing.

Polanski's case against extradition boils down to his victim forgave him (after a civil settlement, the details of which were not made public) and a publicity-hungry judge was going to reject a plea bargain and send him to prison.

He's hardly the first defendant to suspect a judge of bias. Maybe he's right. It's not unprecedented. Well, we've got a great system to pursue that issue: the appeals courts. And they aren't averse to siding with defendants who have been wronged in trial courts. But, so sorry, you don't get to argue your case from a Swiss chalet or the Left Bank. And even the most feckless president isn't likely to pardon a convicted pedophile ...

Maybe Polanski just convinced himself that real life was reflected in these lines from "Chinatown:"

Evelyn Mulwray: What were you doing there?

Jake Gittes: Working for the district attorney.

Mulwray: Doing what?

Gittes: As little as possible.

Mulwray: The district attorney gives his men advice like that?

Gittes: They do in Chinatown.  

-- Jim Sweeney

Joanne Sanders, a registered Republican until recently, gears up for run in Democratic primary

Sonoma City Councilwoman Joanne Sanders, a former mayor, is making plans to go up against Assemblyman Noreen Evans in the race to succeed Pat Wiggins as representative of the 2^nd District in the state Senate.

The interesting thing is Sanders, who often provides a more conservative perspective to issues before the city, is planning to run as a Democrat. According to voter rolls we checked earlier today, Sanders was registered as a Republican in 2006 and 2007 before apparently changing her registration to Democrat in early 2008.

Regardless, it looks as if she already has lined up some key endorsements including those of Santa Rosa City Councilman John Sawyer and Benicia City Councilmember Mike Ioakimedes.

 "It's been too easy for some legislators to finger point and say, 'I'm trying ... but we can't solve the budget problem because of the other party or because of the Governor,'" Sanders said in a prepared statement Monday, announcing that she had begun fund-raising.  "So they just let it slide, massage the numbers, steal from the cities and let the next generation of politicians deal with it."

This could be interpreted as a direct dig at Evans, who was chair of the Assembly budget committee during this year's financial struggles. Either way, it's clear that Sanders is positioning herself as a moderate civic leader and Sacramento outsider who's ready to help change the politics in the capitol.

We'll see if that's strong enough to overcome Evans' name recognition for the primary on June 8.

Sanders, who  has served on the Sonoma City Council since 2004, also serves as a Sonoma County delegate on the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. A graduate of Sonoma State University, she's the founder and president of Sonoma-based Bolt Staffing Service.

The 2^nd District of the state Senate includes parts of Sonoma and Solano counties and all of Napa, Humboldt and Lake and Mendocino counties.

The live, online town hall meeting that we had planned for Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the closure of state parks has been postponed due to the governor's announcement Friday that no state parks will be shut down this year. We plan to reschedule the debate once more specific information is available on the future of state parks such as Annadel and Petaluma Adobe, which reportedly they had been targeted for closure.

- Paul Gullixson

Journey includes reunion with woman Reid hadn't seen since 1945

Recently, I wrote about Oakmont resident Robert Reid, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, who flew to Belgium two weeks ago to participate in ceremonies honoring the 65^th anniversary of that climactic World War II battle.

Reid returned late last week saying it was "the most incredible trip I ever took in my life."

Earlier, I noted how he unveiled a plaque in the town of La Roche, Belgium, honoring the 84^th Infantry Division, "the Railsplitters," which defended and/or liberated villages in that area from German troops. The following day he and his son, Steve, participated at the dedication of a street in the town of Soy in honor of the 84^nd Infantry Division.

Reid, the sole representative of the division, was escorted to the ceremony in a restored American two-star general staff car. "The siren was blowing, the red light was on," Reid said with a laugh. (See photo below. Reid is in the back of the car. Steve is seated in the passenger seat.) "There were well over 100 people at the dedication of the road sign . . . They had an American flag over the street sign. It was my job and somebody else's to take the flag down. It was quite emotional." Reid said.

Bob and Steve Reid also visited Bastogne, scene of the prolonged engagement between U.S. and German troops that was featured in the HBO series Band of Brothers.

But the highlight of those days was his reunion with a woman he had not seen since 1945.

In mid-January of that year, Reid and his battalion were given a break from the fighting and we're taken off the main lines to the town of Biron, Belgium. There, along the side of the road, he met a couple of 14-year-old local girls who had walked a couple of miles just to meet and thank American soldiers. "They were such cute girls that I just had to take their picture as I had a camera," Reid wrote. "I somehow or other found their names and, when I had the pictures developed, I wrote their names on the photograph."

Years later, during an earlier visit to Belgium, he told his tour guide about the photo and later sent him a copy. The guide took it to a local newspaper which published it, asking readers if anyone recognized either of the young women identified as "Denise and Maria Louise." Lo and behold, a reader recognized Denise. (Maria Louise, her cousin, passed away a few years ago.)

"Michael, our guide, arranged for Denise and me to meet again after all of these years, and on our first day in Belgium, we were reunited at her home . . ." Reid wrote. (See photo of reunion below.)  "It was a very emotional meeting of this 14-year-old Belgian girl, now 79, and a 20-year-old soldier, now 85."

The woman, Denise Lambree, ended up joining Bob at the other festivities as well, where the two were frequently interviewed together by reporters from local media.

"The mayor of Soy, at a reception after the street was named after the 84^th Division, had a beautiful bouquet for me to present to Denise at the reception," wrote Reid. "It was indeed a very wonderful experience to reunite with this attractive 79-year-old 'girl.'"

- Paul Gullixson

Well, if the price is right, you can own a state office building.

That's right, a warren of bureaucrats that you call your own.

Altogether, the state is looking to sell 11 office buildings, including the Joseph Rattigan State Building in downtown Santa Rosa.

Desperate for cash, the plan is to sell the buildings now and lease them back for about years. The goal is to raise $2 billion.

As the Sacramento Bee pointed out on Friday, it's a reversal of the policy established in the early '90s by Gov. Pete Wilson, who wanted to put state offices in state-owned buildings to save on rent payments. But that's going the way of extreme makeover.

With an estimated market value of $7.8 million, the four-story, 61,000-square foot Santa Rosa building is far and away the least expensive offering. If you want to get a look before the multiple-listing tour, it's on D Street near Sonoma Avenue and has the large, angled windows on the upper floors and a large atrium inside. Current tenants include the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the Board of Equalization and several legislators.

No word if naming rights come with the deal.

The governor's garage sale went well, and buyers flocked to this week's sale of revenue-anticipation notes. But with all the empty office space around the state, I wonder how many investors have the cash for this deal ...

-- Jim Sweeney

Several major banks are backing off overdraft policies that result in hefty fees for customers who go a few dollars over their balances in debit transactions.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase all announced new policies on Tuesday. Public complaints about the fees have been mounting, Congress is considering new rules and newspapers, including The Press Democrat, have published editorials criticizing the avaricious policies. Click here to read ours.

(For the record, I claim no parallel between our editorial and the new policies.)

Wells Fargo says it won't assess fees on overdrafts of $5 or less. The bank also said it will allow customers to opt out of overdraft coverage, which many banks grant automatically. The announcement came a day after B of A said it wouldn't assess fees on overdrafts of less than $10. Both B of A and Chase say they will require customers to opt into overdraft coverage. Even existing customers will have to opt in at Chase.

The fees, which can run $35 for each transaction, are expected to generate $38.5 billion in revenue for banks this year, and consumer groups say banks are likely to adopt new fees or possibly drop free checking programs to make up the lost revenue.

What was the old auto repair slogan? You can pay me now ... or pay me later.

- Jim Sweeney

President Obama's policy choices on Afghanistan aren't getting any easier.

Consider these news items:

-- From the Washington Post: "The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict 'will likely result in failure,' according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by the Washington Post."

The memo identifies three main insurgency groups, at least two of which have ties to al-Qaida.

-- From the Los Angeles Times: "Federal authorities have tied as many as a dozen people to a suspected al-Qaida-linked bomb plot on U.S. soil, and are urgently trying to gather evidence to indict the young Afghan immigrant at the center of that case on terrorism charges, law enforcement officials said Monday."

The war in Afghanistan has been about neutralizing al-Qaida from the start. During his campaign, Obama emphasized the need to focus on Afghanistan and al-Qaida, a theme we've echoed in editorials for several years.

Pressure is mounting on Obama to scale back U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. By most measures, the war is going badly - casualties are climbing, insurgent groups are increasing in strength and influence, the Afghan government is corrupt and the recent election appeared to be fixed. Polls show most Americans are losing patience, some of our NATO allies are talking about pulling out and even some leading conservatives are advocating withdrawal.

Now comes the reminder that al-Qaida is still stalking U.S. targets.

Law enforcement appears to have gotten ahead of the terrorists this time. But in making his choice, Obama must weigh the risk to domestic security along with the embarrassment of letting Osama bin-Laden get away with the 9/11 attacks.

I'm not yet ready to give up the hunt. But that's easy for me to say from 7,000 miles away and long past the age where I could enlist ...

What do you think?

- Jim Sweeney

All of us are pretty familiar by now with the main arguments against closing Annadel State Park and 99 other parks around California. (The list of 100 parks to be closed is due out soon, possibly this week. Annadel is expected to be on that list.)

For example, how exactly do you keep the public out of a "closed" park? There's also the problems of deferred maintenance and vandalism.

But an 11-page memo issued last week by attorneys for the State Parks Department points out a number of other problems associated with closing parks. (To see the memo, click here.)

For example, what about the 188 concession contracts the state has with various entities throughout the State Park System? "State Parks is required to provide the concessionaire the right, privilege and duty to develop, equip, operate and maintain a concession operation on park premises," the memo states. If a park is closed, "it is likely that State Parks would be in breach of contract and concessionaire would be entitled to the profits . . . "

Legal experts also conclude that the state will certainly be on the hook for any harm done to any endangered species in a "closed" park.

But the most intriguing argument to me is found on page 10. It raises the possibility of action by the California Coastal Commission to block the closure of parks in its jurisdiction.

The memo states, "The California Coastal Act contains, among other goals, the goal 'to maximize public access to and along the coast and maximize public recreational opportunities in the coastal zone....' With this goal, the California Coastal Commission has zealously guarded public access to the coast . . . "

The commission could force the state to obtain a "development permit" to close a park, which would be so costly and complicated as to be "untenable."

Regardless of what the Commission decides to do,  the memo concludes, "it is extremely likely that a number of entities desiring to keep parks open will sue state parks for CCA compliance in hopes this will prohibit or at least delay closure of a park."

And you don't have to be a legal expert to see that coming.

- Paul Gullixson

As we report in our Sunday editorial, it looks like a majority of Sonoma County residents support the Sonoma County Water Agency's decision to drop plans to draw more water from the Russian River. But many have questions and concerns about what this means for the county's ability to meet its future water needs.

To take the survey for yourself, click here.

Here are some of the more than 80 comments that readers left at the end of the survey. To read them for yourself, click on the link above.

"What other alternatives are there to increase water availability in the future? Is it possible to take water from Lake Sonoma and the river in the winter and store it in reservoirs created in the low lands west of Santa Rosa and Petaluma?"
-- Gene Zingarelli, Santa Rosa.

"Pro-growth advocates have long enjoyed public subsidies, of which cheap and plentiful water is primary. Now that we are reaching the capacity of the land to sustain our lifestyles and global warming is decreasing rainfall totals, we are arriving at yet another tipping point. Future water supplies will be more costly than in the past .<TH>.<TH>."
- Jack Swearengen, Santa Rosa

"The need for more power and water will no go away, despite wishful liberal thinking. Wind, solar and other alternative energy sources are not going to solve the power needs and will only make water shortages worse, since solar and biofuels are water hogs. The answer is, and has been, obvious. Nuclear power for energy and desalination."
- Michael B. Combs, Gualala

- Paul Gullixson

Bad news from Sacramento

State parks officials have delayed releasing the list of the 100 parks in California to be closed due to budget cuts. The list is expected to be released any day.

But a Sacramento source told me this afternoon that Annadel State Park in Sonoma County is among the parks slated for closure.

"Annadel is going to be on that list," the source said.

One of the problems for Annadel is that while it is a popular park, particularly among mountain bikers, hikers and horse riders, few actually pay to access it. So it doesn't appear on paper to be very well used, at least to those in Sacramento. Annadel's access fee recently jumped from $4 to $6. But relatively few pay that. As Randi Rossman noted in a recent story, there's only one pay entrance to the park, but there are at least 11 other entrance points.

Even with Annadel on that list, locals may still be able to keep it open if they can organize an effort to raise money and identify a local group to manage the property.

That will certainly be the main topic of discussion - here and in many locations around the state - once this list comes out.

- Paul Gullixson

Dispatch from Belgium: Send more suitcases for the wine bottles!

On Saturday, I wrote a column about Santa Rosa resident Bob Reid, a World War II veteran, who returned this week to an area of Belgium where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge 65 years ago. (Click here if you missed it.) Reid, a former mortar man, is the sole representative of the 84^th Infantry Division, which is being honored for defending and/or liberating a number of communities from the Germans.

I talked to Reid and his son, Steve, by cell phone this week, and it sounds as if they have been getting the celebrity treatment from village to village.

"People come up to him and thank him. They take pictures. They ask for his autograph," said Steve Reid about his father's reception. "We have so many bottles of wine that people have given him, I'm going to have to empty a suitcase to bring them home."

For example, on Saturday, Bob Reid was invited to the town of La Roche to unveil a plaque - inserted into part of an old Sherman tank - honoring the 84th Division. The ceremony was broadcast by a local TV station. "There were more people there than we expected," said Steve Reid. "Officials from the town were there with sashes on . . . Then my father gave a very nice speech thanking them for remembering his division."

At that point, Reid took off his cap - the one with his division's "Railsplitters" insignia - and honored the 114 residents of La Roche who died when the Americans shelled La Roche in their efforts to liberate it from the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge.

"The local people seemed to like that tribute very much," said Steve Reid.

Earlier in the day, Reid and his son also visited a man who has the Railsplitters insignia, 15 feet wide, painted on the side of his house. "When he greeted me, he came out and gave me a great big kiss," said Bob Reid with a laugh. "And then he started to cry."

In his backyard, the man has a flagpole with an American flag on it.

So why are all of these tributes happening now when the actual anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge isn't until late December?

To Reid, the answer is obvious. "Nobody wants to do this in the middle of winter."

He remembers all too well what winters are like in that part of the world.

(I'm hoping to hear more from Bob and Steve today or tomorrow. They hoped to e-mail  some photos, but they were having technical problems. The photos may have to wait until they get to Antwerp later this week)

- Paul Gullixson

Meet Cheronda Guyton, a Wells Fargo senior vice president, make that ex-senior vice president, who spectacularly failed Having a Clue 101.

Guyton, who was responsible for commercial foreclosed properties, apparently moved into to a bank-owned home in the exclusive Malibu Colony, a gate oceanside neighborhood whose residents include actor Tom Hanks and other high-rollers. The former owners, according to a Los Angeles Times report over the weekend, lost a bundle to swindler Bernie Madoff and gave up the home to settle bank debts.

Neighbors complained that a Wells Fargo executive appeared to be living in the house and using it for lavish parties, including one where guests arrived by yacht. Real estate agents told the newspaper that the bank wouldn't allow them to show the house to potential buyers.

Reporters tracked a car parked at the house to Guyton. When they went to the door, a woman answered (on an intercom, naturally) and had nothing to say.

At first, Wells Fargo didn't have much to say either. But by Monday, the bank confirmed that Guyton had been fired. Perhaps Wells Fargo's management got a clue after planning a junket to a pricey Las Vegas casino shortly after collecting $25 billion (following a $2.3 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008).

Here's a link to the original story in the L.A. Times.

And, for grins, here's a photo gallery of the beach house courtesy of a Malibu real estate agent.

-- Jim Sweeney

I usually leave sports commentary to my able colleagues from the sports section, but I can't resist after reading Lowell Cohn's lament this weekend about Cal eliminating its media guide.

My hat's off to Lowell because I was beginning to wonder if writers - and especially broadcasters - had stopped reading them. Why's that? I keep hearing about "former" first-round draft choices and former MVPs.

Just how do you become a former first-round draft choice? I suppose if Michael Crabtree doesn't sign with the 49ers and gets picked by someone else in the fourth round next year that would do it. Otherwise, I've just assumed broadcasters and writers were too lazy to look it up and say someone was a first-round pick in 2004 or MVP in 1999.

Then again, by the prevailing logic, perhaps Rickey Henderson and Joe Montana are former hall-of-famers. Induction day has passed after all.

- Jim Sweeney

In our main editorial today, we report on the results of our latest online survey, this one about recent Santa Rosa planning decisions concerning Lowe's and In-N-Out Burger.

So far, 266 people have responded to our invitation to take this survey and nearly half have left written comments concerning these issues.

If you'd like to take the survey yourself, click here. 

Among the findings we didn't have room to report in the editorial, 53 percent of respondents say they'reconcerned that Santa Rosa and the county in general are not doing enough to develop the local economy.

When asked "what measure are you most likely to support to help your city or town bring in more revenue to balance its budget," 24 percent said "Attract more retail businesses including a big box store." Twenty-three percent said "Attract more retail businesses but not big box stores."

Twelve percent said they would most support a local ballot measure including possibly a sales tax increase.

If you would like to be added to our e-mail list to receive future surveys, send me a note at paul.gullixson@pressdemocrat.com.

- Paul Gullixson

It wasn't a great surprise when Washington Post columnist George F. Will followed up his call to end U.S. involvement in Afghanistan with a column saying it's time to get out of Iraq, too.

It will, however, be a surprise if Will (or Ann Coulter or Charles Krauthammer or any of the thundering voices of the right) say that perhaps, just perhaps, those who opposed the war in Iraq to begin with (or the one in Vietnam for that matter) weren't un-American, advocated of cut-and-run or somehow disrespectful of the troops deployed to the war zones.

Will might enhance the credibility of his new view by offering some insight on how it evolved from his Feb. 10, 2003 column, which started thusly: "In estimating the potential impact of Colin Powell's U.N. presentation on persons bent on believing there is no justification for a military response to Iraq's behavior, remember the human capacity for the willful suspension of disbelief."

Full disclosure: I opposed the war in Iraq from the start. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. And so are the leaders of Iran, Somalia, Syria and a long list of other countries that I'm not interested in invading. But there were no WMDs, and Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. Afghanistan was another matter, and I'm not persuaded that we should give up there, certainly not before giving Gen. Stanley McChrystal, an expert on counterinsurgencies, a chance to fully assess the situation and make his case to Washington.

Maybe it's interesting to see a prominent conservative voice express a contrarian view on the war; I suppose it's big news in Washington salons. As for me, I'll check my thesaurus for a really big word for ho-hum.

- Jim Sweeney

You won't believe who is saying we should get out of Afghanistan - and Iraq

Be sure to check out this syndicated column we've posted. (Click here) It also appears in Thursday's print edition, on page B7. 

I know that the conservative George F. Will is not one of our most popular columnists here in Sonoma County, but this column may surprise readers.

He says America should pull its troops out of Afghanistan.

He quotes from an e-mail from a Marine in Afghanistan named Allen who told of giving blood for a soldier who stepped on a mine. The soldier did not make it.

"Allen and others of America's finest are also in Washington's

Hands," Will writes. "This city should keep faith with them by rapidly reversing

the trajectory of America's involvement in Afghanistan . . ."

I was putting this piece on tomorrow's page when Jim noticed this advisory come across our wire service this afternoon:

 ADVISORY FOR WILL CLIENTS: George F. Will is writing

a column that will serve as a corollary to the piece that demanded an end to the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan column has touched off a fresh debate and was the single most-read piece on washingtonpost.com. His next column, which we believe may have an even greater impact, will be sent Thursday for immediate Web publication and print publication on Friday, Sept. 4."

We will post that column as well as soon as it comes through. (It's in. He's now saying we should get out of Iraq as well. Click here to read it.)

Also, on Thursday's opinion page we've got a package of letters from locals about Rep. Lynn Woolsey's town hall meeting Monday on health care. We're also publishing a column by Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists who were captured by North Korean border guards on March 17 and were held until their release in early August with the help of former President Bill Clinton.

This is first time that I'm aware of that they've offered details on what happened to them.

Here's an excerpt:

"Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back. Midway

across the ice, we heard yelling. Looking back, we saw two armed North

Korean soldiers with rifles running toward us. Instinctively, we ran. We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us . . .  In the days before our capture, our guide had seemed cautious and responsible, as concerned as we were about unnecessary risks. That is in part why we made the decision to follow him across the river. We didn't spend more than a minute on North Korean soil before turning back, but it is a minute we deeply regret."

It's a great lineup. I just wish I was more creative in my design. Not much room for art.

Oh well.

- Paul Gullixson

You've been comatose for three months if you don't know that Congress (and by extension the country) is fighting about whether to include a public option as part of a health insurance overhaul plan.

However, you may not know about the paradoxical fight in Sacramento over worker's compensation insurance.

You see, for 95 years, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, or SCIF, has sold insurance to cover medical and disability costs for workers injured on the job. It's required by the state Constitution - and has 23 percent of California's market share, a figure that private insurers must envy. It's especially popular with small businesses, which have trouble affording the higher rates charged by private worker's compensation insurers. When premiums skyrocketed about 10 years ago, the state fund's market share jumped to almost 60 percent.

Let's call it, ahem, the public option.

Well, as they staggered under an enormous deficit this summer, Democratic legislators and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to sell off some of the the nonprofit agency's lucrative business, predicting that they could raise $1 billion by spinning it off to the private sector. The bill to get the state out of the insurance business passed over almost unanimous Republican opposition.

But before the fund and its 6,200 employees could be posted on eBay or displayed at the governor's garage sale, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a Republican who is running for governor, filed a lawsuit to halt the sale.

In doing so, he turned the argument of Washington Republicans (that a government program shouldn't compete with the private sector) on its head: "This $1 billion sale of SCIF assets could not only endanger the solvency of SCIF, but is a direct affront to the state's jobs and business climate."

Most likely, Poizner is right that it would be a mistake for the state to scale back or get out of the worker's compensation insurance business. Several other states have tried and run into legal obstacles. But who would have guessed that Republicans would argue that California's business climate was safeguarded by ... the public option.

- Jim Sweeney

If you want to hear an audio-cast of the meeting click here

I've heard from a few readers today who were at the town hall meeting in Petaluma last night who said how disappointed they were at the disrespect shown Rep. Lynn Woolsey and those with opposing views.

"I thought we lived in a time when people were more polite," said one.

So did I.

At the same time, I don't think the majority of people who packed the Veterans Memorial Hall came to get information. They showed up to express something: support, opposition, ideas, stories, emotions, etc. This was an opportunity to vent. And they took full advantage of it.

Yes, I could have done without the Hitler references and the expletives.

I also could have done without all the Bush bashing and endless complaints of corporate greed.

In the end, I learned little new information other than some heart-breaking personal stories about loss of medical coverage and jobs, and soaring costs and limited choices for small business owners.  

I'm guessing few, including Woolsey, probably had their minds changed by what happened last night.

But that wasn't what this was about. I think this was about being heard - and, for some, making a scene.

That's why this, at times, felt more like a boxing match or a demolition derby. People didn't bring their video cameras to film Woolsey. They were there to see the drama, to film the wrecks.

And they got what they came for.

"This is good entertainment," the man in front of me turned to say at one point.

Yes, entertainment. That's what it was. 

- Paul Gullixson