California Gov. Schwarzenegger offers $100G reward in L.A. wildfire arson

California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just offered a public reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist(s) who set the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County's history.

Authorities have traced the ignition point just off a public road and say they found the substance used to start the historic blaze, but they would not identify it.

The so-called Station fire has now consumed growth and structures on more than 154,000 acres, or more than 234 square miles. That's an area more than 10 times the size of New York's Manhattan island. It's still not contained and has cost millions of dollars to fight with resources coming in from all over the country and Canada.

Two firefighters have died while combating the blaze, which began Aug. 26.

The huge reward, the largest allowed under state law, comes at the request of L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca and supplements any local rewards. It indicates, however, that authorities do not have many or any concrete leads on the criminals' identity.

The governor's full, unedited proclamation is published below. More fire photos are available here.

Governor's Proclamation, Sept. 4, 2009:
WHEREAS, on August 26, 2009, I proclaimed a State of Emergency in Los Angeles County due to a fire that started on August 26,2009, now known as the Station Fire; and

WHEREAS, the Station Fire has burned approximately 150,000 acres, continues to burn and is not yet contained; and

WHEREAS, two firefighters were killed while fighting the Station Fire in Los Angeles County; and

WHEREAS, state and local officials have determined the cause of the fire is arson; and

WHEREAS, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca requested that a state reward be offered, in supplement to an existing reward, to encourage individuals with information about this crime to contact law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, public assistance is vital to law enforcement, and rewards often encourage public cooperation essential to apprehend those who have committed serious offenses; and

WHEREAS, the Governor is authorized by Penal Code section 1547(b) to offer rewards up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person who kills a firefighter in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, the reward will be paid in accordance with Penal Code section 1547.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby offer, effective immediately, a reward in the amount of $100,000 for new information, voluntarily given hereafter, leading to the arrest and conviction in a California court of the person or persons responsible for setting this fire.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed at Sacramento, California this 4th day of September 2009.  

/s/ Arnold Schwarzenegger  

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times; Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times (Dave Morgan); Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times.

                      

California state garage sale: Many things must go

Well, the countdown is continuing for the Great California Garage Sale this Friday and Saturday.

The Golden State is in so much financial distress that it lost its lease and everything must go. Not really, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to mark the end of soft news summer days with a sale of surplus, unused or wasteful state property.

To enhance interest and bidding, the ex-movie star even autographed the sun visors of some vehicles for sale.

They'll be selling hundreds of items, including highly used state cars, computers, BlackBerrys, desks and even some CHiPs motorcycles (see photo).

To get the buzz going, the state has listed some stuff on EBay and Craigslist so the online world can have a hand in raising money for the beleaguered state. [Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to Craigslist as Craiglist.]

Some of the cars are fixed price, some auction. All will be operating with the goal of reducing the state fleet by 15%. The event will take place at a warehouse in Sacramento.

It'll be a great story for television news at week's end.

But perhaps the more interesting untold stories are how in the world the state of California ever came into possession of some of this stuff. The surfboard for sale, no doubt, was used by Gray Davis during one of his wild days.

But what about the diamond and gold rings? Dentist chairs? A fishing boat? Or an antique piano, an Xbox 360 with Halo 3 cover and a racing bicycle?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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California's political fire season underway: Carly Fiorina files to explore 2010 dump Boxer bid

Carly Fiorina, the 54-year-old businesswoman who was a ubiquitous spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain's doomed Republican presidential campaign last year, filed papers today to explore her own campaign next year to unseat California Democratic incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The move, obtaining a tax registration number and establishing a committee named "Carly for California," allows her to legally raise money for such an effort in one of the most politically expensive states in the country.

In a written statement, the former head of Hewlett-Packard said Californians have "serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of our lives."

Sounds like concerns that could apply these days to pretty much any state.

Personal wealth is a good thing if you're in California politics. Fiorina is that -- in California and wealthy.

She'll begin fundraising and meeting with advisors immediately. If Fiorina proceeds, most likely a foregone conclusion, she'll face Chuck DeVore, a state assemblyman from Irvine, in the Republican senate primary next June.

If successful, her bid could make for a heated statewide race between two outspoken women. A three-term Brooklyn native, Boxer has made headlines in recent months with what many regarded as unusually peremptory comments in Senate committee hearings, including dressing down an Army general for calling her "Ma'am" instead of senator.

And she had a verbal confrontation with a black business association leader, as The Ticket reported here.

In 2010, the nation's most populous state will also be convulsed by 53 House races and a statewide gubernatorial battle to replace term-limited Arnold Schwarzenegger.

There, another wealthy businesswoman, Meg Whitman of EBay fame, is facing State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the GOP primary, along with Tom Campbell, Schwarzenegger's former finance director. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is already running on the Democratic side, expected to be joined by ex-governor, ex-mayor and current state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

Linda Ronstadt has not yet filed for any office.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

Schwarzenegger briefed on California's 11 major fires

Just returned from the Massachusetts funeral of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, his mother-in-law, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a full briefing on the coastal fire situation Saturday afternoon in Watsonville.

The funeral for the mother of California's First Lady Maria Shriver and the founder of Special Olympics was on Friday in Hyannis, as reported on The Ticket here.

Saturday Schwarzenegger met with state wildfire fighters and (above) Matthew Bettenhausen (left) and Del Walters, director of CAL FIRE. Bettenhausen is acting secretary of the state's Emergency Management Agency.

Schwarzenegger said there are currently 11 major fires burning across the nation's third largest state. Forces have made some progress but worry over impending weather changes in the north. And he told local citizens, "We will do everything in our power in order to save properties, to save lives and to save your memories.”

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Justin Short / Office of the Governor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver's political impact: 'You taught us to stand tall'

Arguably, she had more impact on public life than any of her famous brothers -- President Kennedy, assassinated in his prime, as was his brother, New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; or even Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, ailing now, battling brain cancer, the Lion of the Senate, unable to attend today's funeral mass.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics that gave mentally and physically challenged Americans a place to compete and find glory, will be buried today after a Mass at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis, Mass. For years this was the family summer parish, the church where her daughter, Maria Shriver, married Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1986.

Today's service is not open to the public, but yesterday's wake was. And what an outpouring of public appreciation.

In just one example, a group of adults from Cape Abilities, an organization that helps people with disabilities, clutched bunches of flowers as they waited in a line that snaked down to the parking lot. One of them, Mike Rhodes, held a card they had all signed. “You taught us to stand tall,” said the 25-year-old Rhodes said as he read the card. “She did. She [stood] tall for all of us and loved us."

The Mass will be streamed live from 6:30 to 9 a.m. PDT at www.eunicekennedyshriver.org.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Nah-nah! Obama gives California more flu-fighting bucks than anyone

Kathleen Sebelius -- the Obama administration's secretary of Health and Human Services nominee who did not have big back-tax problems -- announced this afternoon that she's sending $30,516,050 to California immediately to fight flu.

That's nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it's nearly 10% of all the flu money that HHS is distributing nationwide to those other puny states. See, there is a reason for having Nancy Pelosi. And Oprah, though she's only a California part-timer. Payback for those 55 juicy electoral votes last Nov. 4? And keep those Golden Staters healthy and alive.

(Or as loyal Ticket reader Kenneth tweets: "That leaves only 90% for the other 56 states.")

We weren't going to bother writing about such piddling chump change as millions, given the trillions we've moved up to discussing since January.

But that extra 50 bucks at the end pushed it over the top and clearly showed the transparent commitment to public health of both the Democratic president and Sebelius (shown above demonstrating how to spread a flu virus as quickly as possible).

In an additional multimedia sign of Obama's commitment to public health, Sebelius notes she's launched a contest for ordinary germy citizens to make their own anti-flu public service videos. After all these public health grants, however, there's only $2,500 left for a prize; talk about chump change. (And no prize for pro-flu videos.)

We were just enjoying the middle of summer when Sebelius warns, "With flu season around the corner, we must remain vigilant and do all we can to prepare our nation and protect public health. These grants will give states valuable resources to step up their flu-preparedness efforts.”

All right, it is chump change for the most populous state, given California's gabillions of dollars in red budget ink. But you'd think 30 mil would pretty much guarantee good health around California for everyone as long as we seal the border with Oregon. And maybe Arizona.

Perhaps some other less-important states would be willing to forfeit some or all of their federal flu-fighting funds so that Californians could avoid sneezing and continue to enjoy the sunshine that makes its way through the smog.

There's way too many numbers in the announcement to really bother with. Suffice to say, there are grants for public health -- L.A. alone is getting $8,510,041.

But, disturbingly, there are also immense grants for hospital preparedness. This would seem to indicate that the feds are not really counting on total prevention of the various flus that, according to media reports only a couple of months ago, threatened the human race with extinction.

Never mind washing your hands frequently. The only answer is obviously more money.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

Budget keeps Schwarzenegger in California--and away from Vegas

Sigh -- another California tourist lost.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggerwas scheduled to appear in Nevada today to celebrate the extension of the California High Speed Rail Corridor to Las Vegas. But there were 29,000 IOUs between him and a Sin City trip.

Instead, Caltrans Director Will Kemptonexplained Schwarzenegger’s absence to a group sweating under a white canopy downtown. "There’s something about a budget crisis in Sacramento. ... Believe me, he’d rather be in Las Vegas," Kempton said.

Wondering what he missed? Here’s a rundown: The corridor extension should help Southern California-to-Vegas rail projects secure government loans. Two have been competing for, in particular, the backing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(D-Nev.): a somewhat troubled project, which would link to Anaheim, and the DesertXpress, a high-speed train to Victorville. (Yes, that’s the housing-crunched Inland Empire city where a developer recently bulldozed homes.)

Today, Reid -- joined by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood-- reiterated his support for DesertXpress, which is privately financed, closer to breaking ground and backed by Sig Rogich, a Republican heavyweight who’s supporting Reid’s reelection efforts.

California’s Governator also missed the view from downtown Vegas: a concrete truck, homes with barred windows, a rent-by-the-month motel and a bail bonds shop. Almost made Sacramento seem delightful. Almost.

-- Ashley Powers

In death, Michael Jackson gets politicians' (cautious) admiration

The sudden, so far unexplained death of pop singer Michael Jackson at age 50 this week prompted an immense outpouring of grief and curiosity and, among politicians at least, caution.

While expressing admiration for his musical and dancing skills, these elected officials were careful to distance themselves from the pop icon's troubled personal life. President Obama did it only secondhand through a spokesman.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, while praising Jackson as "one of the most influential and iconic figures in the music industry," was also careful to mention "serious questions about his personal life."

Obama, a noted music fan who's had entertainers such as Stevie Wonder perform at the White House, was noticeably absent from any public statement. Knowing questions would come up at the daily news  briefing, it was left to spokesman Robert Gibbs to provide a low-key, arms-distance description of the president's feelings.

We'll publish the entire White House exchange concerning Jackson below. What Gibbs basically said was the president saw Jackson as "a spectacular performer" but there were aspects of his life that were "sad and tragic."

Friday the House of Representatives paused briefly for a tribute moment of silence.

There also reemerged, thanks to the Associated Press, a 1980s memo written during the presidency of Ronald Reagan by a then-young White House attorney named John G. Roberts Jr., now chief justice of the Supreme Court. The issue was . . .

Gov. Schwarzenegger: Michael Jackson "great entertainer" despite...

Following is a statement issued minutes ago by the office of California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding the death of pop star Michael Jackson:

“Today, the world has lost one of the most influential and iconic figures in the music industry. From his performances with the Jackson 5, to the premiere of the ‘moonwalk’ and ‘Thriller,’ Michael was a pop phenomenon who never stopped pushing the envelope of creativity.

"Though there were serious questions about his personal life, Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our shock and sadness over his death and our hearts go out the Jackson family, Michael’s children and to his fans worldwide.”

-- Andrew Malcolm

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L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opts out of California governor race

Antonio Villaraigosaof Los Angeles, mayor of the United States' second-most-populous city, has decided not to seek the Democratic Party nomination for governor of California in next year's election.

Villaraigosa's local popularity has slipped to 55% in recent months, following his divorce and revelations of his romantic affair with a second female television reporter. That's about the same tepid percentage as he got in the mayoral election against political nobodies. A recent Times poll indicated 47% did not want the mayor to run for governor.

The Democrat's decision would have added to a competitive, crowded field containing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and expected to include state Atty Gen. Jerry Brown, seeking a replay of his Moonbeam gubernatorial days from a generation ago, as the former Oakland mayor continues his effort to be elected to evbery office in California. .

In a somewhat awkward and goofy setting this afternoon, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, while describing stories such as Iran's ongoing protests, kept teasing to the mayor's upcoming announcement on "The Situation Room" and flashing to the mayor sitting alone in front of an L.A. camera with one of this year's most forced grins.

The Democratic primary winner will likely face one of two Republicans. Businesswoman Meg Whitman, who lead EBay to such success, is already lining up numerous GOP endorsements across the state and from such national party luminaries as John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The other prominent GOP candidate is Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner and also wealthy, as is required in the Golden State. His supporters point out that he's collected endorsements from 70% of the state's minority Republican legislators, as well as numerous state chairs and local officials.

The winner will succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ousted Democrat Gray Davis in a recall effort.

Villaraigosa, the former speaker of the California Assembly, said he felt compelled to stay and didn't want to walk away from the city's pressing issues. He was not asked about his romantic affairs but did cite his desire to spend time with his teenage daughter as she completes high school. We have the interview's full transcript below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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