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1.20.2009
Some Inauguration Observations

Some Inauguration Observations

From Nancy Miller, Sacramento lawyer and restaurant reviewer:

The transportation went without a hitch whether it was cab, metro or bus…kudos to the planners. The inauguration was unbelievable. The crowds were intense but the sentiments soaring.  Welcome to the new age!

I’m in the Hyatt bar where the California delegation is.    Read more »

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1.19.2009
A National Treasure

A National Treasure

Martin Luther King Day, January 19, 2009

“This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

The highlight of the “We Are One” Concert January 18 at the Lincoln Memorial Sunday was 89-year-old Pete Seeger — introduced as the “father of American folk music” by Bruce Springsteen — anchoring a rousing version of “This Land is Your Land,” the anthem written by his late friend, Woody Guthrie, another father of American folk music.    Read more »

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1.16.2009
Dim Sum Slut Basks in Afterglow

Dim Sum Slut Basks in Afterglow

As a dim sum slut, I bask in the warm afterglow. Had I not ditched cigarettes at 11:47 a.m. January 25, 2003, I would smoke after.

This is the post New Canton groove, to date the gold standard for dumplings in Sacramento. I’ve tee’d up Tea Cup on 21st St. Chowed down at the venerable King’s of West Sacramento and spent decades of quality time at Capital Tea Garden on T St.    Read more »

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1.15.2009
Proposition 98 and the Budget — Who’s Right?

Proposition 98 and the Budget — Who’s Right?

A central part of this year’s budget negotiations is funding for schools and the intricate workings of Proposition 98, the voter-approved 1988 initiative whose formulas dictate the level of state financial support for public education. 

Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing schools receive $6.6 billion less during the current school year –  $2.5 billion in actual cuts plus $4.5 billion in deferrals and transfers the administration says are aimed at not harming classroom instruction.     Read more »

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1.15.2009
Mixed Messages

Mixed Messages

Governor Schwarzenegger’s brief State of the State Speech January 15 focused largely on the need to pass a budget, a deed that can only be accomplished with the aide of the Legislature – particularly a handful of its Republican members. 

Schwarzenegger called on the Legislature to “be courageous” for California. 

“The Legislature is currently in the midst of serious and good faith negotiations to resolve the crisis, negotiations that are being conducted in the knowledge we have no alternative but to find agreement,” the GOP governor said.     Read more »

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1.13.2009

Young Turk?

“Yes, although I tried not to share that with the Armenian community.”

                                — Former Gov. George Deukmejian, asked at Former Assembly Speaker Bob Monagan’s memorial if he became a “Young Turk” after his election to the Assembly in 1962. The original Young Turks were Monagan of Tracy, Houston Flournoy of Claremont and Bill Bagley of San Rafael, all elected to the Assembly in 1960, and Jack Veneman of Modesto, elected in 1961.      Read more »

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1.12.2009
Legislative Staffing

Legislative Staffing

“When I was first elected in 1960, a legislator was entitled to a secretary in the Capitol and a secretary in their district office, and then, if you were a committee chairman or had other responsibilities, there was additional staff. But everybody was entitled to that staffing. 

“Well, then it got to be a second secretary in Sacramento, and then it got to be a second secretary in your district office, and then it got to be an administrative assistant.    Read more »

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1.09.2009
Samosa Garden — Chaat House

Samosa Garden — Chaat House

 

“Once in awhile you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right” is one of the Grateful Dead’s many open-ended aphorisms.

Light shown at Samosa Garden Taste of India 6608 Florin Road.

California is the first place in civilization where such a diverse population has been brought together as equals.    Read more »

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1.08.2009

Bob Monagan Remembering Jack Veneman

(Editor’s Note: The following says volumes about both men. The introductory comments are by Gabrielle Morris who interviewed Monagan for his 1982 oral history.)

Robert Monagan kindly agreed to inclusion of the following brief remarks he made at the memorial service for former Assemblyman John Veneman, held on April 13, 1982, at the Congregational Church in Modesto.    Read more »

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1.07.2009

Bob Monagan, Former Assembly Speaker, Dead at 88

Former Assembly Speaker Robert Monagan died January 7 of natural causes at a Sacramento nursing home. He was 88.

The courtly and moderate Republican was GOP leader of the Assembly from 1965 until becoming speaker in January 1969, succeeding Democrat Jess Unruh. Monagan held the speakership until January 1971.

The former mayor of Tracy, Monagan was first elected to the Assembly in 1960, representing the 12th District, whose voter registration was two-thirds Democratic.    Read more »

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