Podcast: Checking In On 2010
Next year's big contests for governor and for the United States Senate are closer than they seem.
On this week's Capital Notes Podcast, we take a pause from weekly events to check in on where the candidates and campaigns stand as 2009 comes to a close.
The gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns will become high profile, high cost endeavors by the time it's all said and done. Capitol Weekly's Anthony York and I take the pulse of the campaigns, and what lies ahead.
Soulmates Arnold & Abel, Soul Searching For Dems

Let the political handwringing begin.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lieutenant Governor-designate Abel Maldonado made their big debut this morning at an event in Los Angeles, with the Guv calling Maldo his "soulmate," and the GOP senator offering an almost tearful thank you amidst a recounting of his immigrant family's path to the American Dream.
But now what? What are Maldonado's odds of getting the thumbs up or thumbs down from legislative Democrats who are in complete control of what happens next?
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Maldo Gets The Nod. Now What?
The guessing game is over, now that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used the most unlikely of platforms — a national TV talk show — to announce a political decision that only matters here in California, his choice for lieutenant governor. And even its relevance to Californians may be debatable.
Podcast: Seeing Red, Again
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.
$21 Billion Deficit Now, Worse Later
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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Skateboarding With Speier
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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Podcast: We're Back
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.)





