So much for getting a break from the state budget.

On this week's Capital Notes Podcast, we take a look at this week's prediction of a $20.7 billion budget gap and what that means for lawmakers once they return to Sacramento.

Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I also discuss the staffing changes inside the governor's office, and what it might mean for Arnold Schwarzenegger's last year in office.

The headline, rushed online yesterday by news outlets looking for a scoop, makes it clear the state's budget woes aren't getting better. Maybe even worse.

But deeper inside the new in-depth analysis of the Legislative Analyst's Office are examples of a government budget system that's evaporating faster than the polar icecaps.
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There simply can't be any member of Congress who now doesn't know what's coming when they're interviewed by Stephen Colbert.
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Not that you missed us.

Our hiatus has come to an end for the Capital Notes Podcast, and we're back with our mostly snarky, occasionally thought provoking weekly dish on politics.

This week: a look back on the big water deal, the guessing game of who gets to be California's next "lite guv," and the tempest over recording phone calls at the office of the Attorney General.

(Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I mention in this podcast transcripts of those recorded phone calls, which can be read here.)

Consider it the first big news in the 2010 race for governor of California, and it came 221 days before the June primary: the nomination of the state's dominant political party appears to be safely in the hands of a guy who hasn't even officially said he wants it.

If you love politics, it's a great story.
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The Great 'Give Me Water or I'll Give You Vetoes' Showdown of 2009 is now over. And as is often the case around the Capitol, everyone lives to fight another day.

Just after 9:30 pm last night, Governor Schwarzenegger released a statement that ended the long-running saga over a deal on water issues, and whether lack of said deal would trigger a mass veto of legislation worked on all throughout the year.
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If you've logged on to this blog recently and wondered why I'm not covering, well, anything... there's a simple explanation.

Last weekend, Jonah Henry Haines Myers decided to finally arrive... a great relief, as you can imagine, to my wife. And me. Jonah is our second child, joining little Elena; as such, I'm spending a few weeks on paternity leave.

There will hopefully be a few bloggings and Twitter posts during that time, overnight feeding schedules allowing. Thanks for your patience...

Dispatches from day two of this weekend's California GOP confab from my KQED colleague, Scott Shafer.

Meg-a Problem? Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman gave a somewhat lackluster speech to the state Republican convention Saturday afternoon. She touched on all her usual themes -- cutting taxes and regulation, staying tough on crime, etc. But one thing she didn't mention was her personal voting record.
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[With me close to home these days expecting some family news, my KQED colleague Scott Shafer is covering this weekend's biannual California Republican Party convention. He's also filing a few short journal entries for CapNotes. Listen for his GOP confab coverage this afternoon on the newsmagazine edition of The California Report, starting at 4:30 p.m. on many public radio stations statewide. --JM]
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Sorry, folks. We seem to be having some scheduling troubles... looks as though the weekly podcast is again MIA. Given the lack of activity in Sacramento, the timing isn't as bad as it could be. Stay tuned...