Newsom Gets Restraining Order

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has a scary new friend. "He has stopped taking medication prescribed to him, wears purple latex gloves because he believes purple is a sign of divinity and royalty, and believes police planted purple gloves in his car earlier this month."

McCain's Heavy-Hitting Finance Team Big On California

U.S. Sen. John McCain, the co-father of modern campaign finance reform, has a rich rich rich group of influential people lined up to raise money for his presidential campaign.

Californians working on his finance team include media mogul Jerry Perenchio, Irvine company billionaire Donald Bren, builder George Argyros (the former ambassador to Spain), and Cisco Systems' John Chambers. McCain also has engaged Marty Wilson, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief moneyman, to help him raise money in California.

There are 70 names on the McCain finance team list - two of them women. Read the full list after the jump. (Photo: Kevin P. Casey / AP)

Bowen Rejects 'Hack Test,' Wants Deeper Look at E-Voting

When Riverside County activists questioned the results from last fall's election, supervisor Jeff Stone issued a challenge to skeptics of electronic voting machines. He would allow them to hack into a Sequoia Voting System machine used by the county.

"I'd like to set up an appointment with one of our machines and I'd like him or her to verify that they can manipulate that machine," said Stone (pictured below). "And I'm gonna bet a thousand to one that they cannot do it. ... I'll make that challenge."

But California's elections chief isn't buying it. Secretary of State Debra Bowen has rejected Stone's request to participate in a "hack test" on the machines in Riverside County, one of the first places the nation to introduce touch-screen voting. And it's not because Bowen knows the Sequoia machines are safe and can't be compromised. She writes in a letter reprinted by Bradblog:

"As you know, voting equipment is subject to tampering in a wide range of settings. This test you have proposed wouldn’t address the issue of whether someone who can reach around the back of the machine undetected or can bring a tool into the voting booth without being noticed by a poll worker will be able to gain access to the machine."

With another presidential race nearing, Bowen is under pressure from critics of electronic voting machines. Those same people helped with a grassroots effort to unseat incumbent Republican Bruce McPherson, and Bowen herself ran a campaign built on fears about the manipulation of public elections through e-voting. Bowen now has begun a "thorough review" of California's electronic voting systems, part of which will be conducted in secret because the voting software is considered proprietary.

(Photo: Steve Yeater / AP)

The Liberal Battle Plan

The war in California between progressive liberal Democrats and the moderate Democratic Leadership Council is explained by a progressive. "California is burning and sparks are gonna fly from this Wild West brush fire, so be prepared. Oh, and will the last person to leave the DLC please turn out the lights."

Meanwhile, Scott Whitlock at the conservative NewsBusters says CNN is encouraging the GOP to mimic Schwarzenegger's centrist path through compromise with Democrats. "This is not the first time that CNN has urged Republicans to embrace Schwarzenegger's liberalism."

'Well, It Has Certainly Changed YOU'

The Times' Peter Nicholas witnessed a funny exchange between Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday. Schwarzenegger was wrapping up a visit to Washington D.C. when Feinstein peppered the governor with questions in front of the media. He writes in his story here:

Feinstein was asked about the governor's "post-partisan politics," his phrase for how Republicans and Democrats in Sacramento are hatching ideas in concert, rather than working at cross purposes.

"Post-partum politics?" Feinstein said, perplexed.

The discussion turned to Schwarzenegger's plans to strip state lawmakers of the power to draw congressional and legislative voting districts. [Snip.] Feinstein didn't know those details and seemed skeptical about the project.

"Who would do it?" she asked.

"The people of California would draw the district lines," the governor said.

Feinstein: "The people would draw? How many people?"

Schwarzenegger: "So it's going to be fun."

Feinstein laughed. "Oh, yes. I think I ought to study it some more."

Nicholas e-mailed Political Muscle later with another exchange at the end of Feinstein's meeting with the governor. The senator and Schwarzenegger started talking about Susan Kennedy, a former Feinstein aide who now works as the governor's chief of staff.

Feinstein: "You've got a great chief of staff." Looking at Kennedy. "There she is."

Schwarzenegger: "I know. I believe you have to have Democrats and Republicans working together on your team. You get different positions; you get the best of the best.''

Feinstein: "Well, it has certainly changed YOU!''

Schwarzenegger: "I didn't change. ... I just needed to learn a little bit more.''

(Photo: Associated Press, from 2003.)

Gov.'s Tree Plan And Global Warming

To compensate for every pollution-spewing private jet ride he takes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to plant or protect trees. He is beginning his effort with the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation, which has 2,100 acres in Humboldt County. This "off-set" is designed to make Schwarzenegger carbon neutral - it effectively reduces the amount of global warming gases his travel is producing. See earlier post.

But he might want to read a report by the Carnegie Institution and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. They found that planting and protecting forests in subarctic Boreal zones may actual contribute to global warming. And they documented "little or no climate benefit when trees are planted" in temperate zones, such as California. Instead, tropical forests should be protected because they absorb carbon dioxide and produce clouds that cool the planet. By the year 2100, forests in mid and high latitudes will make some places up to 10 degrees warmer than if the forests did not exist, the report found.

"The darkening of the surface by new forest canopies in the high latitude Boreal regions allows absorption of more sunlight that helps to warm the surface. In fact, planting more trees in high latitudes could be counterproductive from a climate perspective," said Govindasamy Bala, lead author of the research that will be presented on Dec. 15 at the American Geophysical Society annual meeting in San Francisco.

Another study found that forest fires in Boreal areas may in fact help cool the planet. U.C. Irvine researchers said cooling may occur where burned trees - and reduced canopy cover - "exposes more snow, which reflects the sun's rays back into space. This effect may outweigh the climate warming impact of the greenhouse gases released by forest burning."

For an individual with two homes and weekly private jet travel, Schwarzenegger is a big consumer of energy. The Carnegie-Livermore study recommends he best way to curb global warming would be to reduce consumption. "We must focus on effective strategies," said Ken Caldeira, a co-author of the study from the Carnegie Institution, "and not just 'feel-good' strategies."

UPDATE: James Everett, the conservation finance manager with the Pacific Forest Trust, says the Carnegie-Livermore study doesn't apply to Schwarzenegger's plan. (The Pacific Forest Trust will manage the governor's carbon offset by protecting and managing the Humboldt County forest mentioned above.)

The Carnegie-Livermore was a computer model that looked at what happens when trees are planted on open ground such as grasslands. Open ground reflects sunlight and can help cool the planet through reflectivity; planting trees on grassland, for example, would help trap heat and possibly contribute to global warming. But Schwarzenegger's carbon offset through the Pacific Forest Trust simply allow the Humboldt County forest to grow larger - allowing it to absorb more carbon dioxide. "If you're just growing these trees older and larger, you are storing more carbon but you are having zero effect on reflectivity," Everett said.

(Photo: Shaun Walker / Times Standard via AP)

Last Day In The Swamp

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the rounds on Capitol Hill today seeking help for his universal health care plan and lecturing Washington lawmakers about cooperating on immigration, infrastructure and other issues. He held a press conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (pictured) afterward.


(Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Afternoon Roundup

• Court upholds California's stem cell initiative. L.A. Times.


• Schwarzenegger dodges U.S. Senate question again. Or rather, says he honestly doesn't know whether he would run for the office. S.F. Chronicle.


• New report based on Census data shows immigrants have boosted wages of California workers "It's certainly not a negative." SacBee.


• New legislation that would make companies developing genetically engineered crops liable for damages if their work results in contamination of other fields. AP.


• Full text of Chief Justice Ron George's state of the judiciary address. "Courts have been forced to shut down civil courtrooms — in some cases countywide — because criminal cases facing dismissal have priority under the law and there was an insufficient number of judges to handle all the cases."


• President George W. Bush gets a laugh at governor's confab at the expense of his brother.

Schwarzenegger To Put His Jet On Global Warming Registry

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves a big environmental footprint for one man, specifically with his frequent use of private jets to ferry him throughout California and the world. His two estates are large enough to house small villages. And the champion of environmental controls to curb global warming pumps far more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than an ordinary citizen, by far. He is driven everywhere in a caravan of two black SUVs and, sometimes, a lead sedan.

Depending on the private jet he chooses from NetJets - usually it's a relatively large one, to include staff and CHP bodyguards - Schwarzenegger and his posse could dump as much as 8,700 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for a single one-hour flight from Santa Monica to Sacramento, according to data from TerraPass, the carbon retailer.

The governor has favored Gulfstream jets like the one pictured below, which he used in 1997 to promote "Batman and Robin." Helium Report has a chart showing how much private jets like that can pollute. By contrast, a single person traveling alone on a commercial flight from L.A. to Sacramento contributes 477 pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Schwarzenegger is the most traveling governor in California history - sometimes twice-weekly flights to Sacramento and numerous weekend trips to his Idaho estate, to Maui, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and other out-of-state places over the past three years. (His campaign picks up the multi-million dollar tab.) It should be noted that Schwarzenegger has unique security needs that probably require private travel. He is considered an icon of the Western world and he's married to a Kennedy. Enough said.

Given his needs, Schwarzenegger would have to spend a lot of money to be "carbon neutral." He has tried to make up for it in other ways. Schwarzenegger signed legislation last year, AB 32, to curb global warming through state government regulations. Schwarzenegger made the macho, polluting Hummer a success, but lately he has tried to make up for it by developing a version that runs on hydrogen. Yesterday, he signed an agreement with four other Western governors to set up a regional trading system to curb emissions.

Celebrities and politicians have been fretting about their carbon footprint in recent years. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, author of the global warming legislation Schwarzenegger signed, himself was mindful of his carbon output when he traveled to the Davos conference in Switzerland. He purchased $136 in carbon credits for his trip, which helped pay for a mini hydro plant in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Schwarzenegger now has another plan: offset the pollution created by his private jet travel.  Spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor is developing a program that would calculate his carbon emissions from Jan. 1, 2007, forward. Cal-EPA confirmed they are looking at putting the governor's travel on the California Climate Action Registry, which would offset his carbon emissions by planting or protecting trees and other efforts.

UPDATE: Cal-EPA says the governor will work with the Pacific Forest Trust to calculate the cost of his carbon emissions, including the damage associated with the crew, staff and anyone else traveling with him. The Pacific Forest Trust is included in the California Climate Action Registry. The cost of Schwarzenegger's travel then will be "annually invested" in sustainable forest management projects, starting with the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation, which has 2,100 acres in Humboldt County.

Schwarzenegger is in Washington D.C. this week, but then flies to the Arnold Classic bodybuilding contest in Ohio. By private jet.

(Photo: Damian Dovarganes / AP;  Charles Platiau / Reuters)

We're Just Givers

Presidential candidates don't just come to California because we're rich. They come because we spend more money on national campaigns by proportion than any other state. Dan Morain cataloged the examples:

"A UCLA linebacker shells out $11,100 to help a Republican senator in Pennsylvania. A businessman from the small Northern California town of Eureka spends $515,000 to defeat a powerful Democrat in South Dakota.  A Silicon Valley couple funnels cash to elect Democratic secretaries of state in swing states like Ohio who will oversee voting in the coming presidential election"

That's the gravy. Here's the potatoes: "Californians spent at least $502 million on federal campaigns in the last four years, federal campaign records show — 24% more than runner-up New York and about 13 % of all federal campaign funds raised nationally."

Read the story here.