Schwarzenegger vows 'swift action' after Maria Shriver caught driving with cellphone

Uh oh! Maria Shriver better call for help.

After pictures surfaced of Shriver behind the wheel with a cellphone held up to her ear, the public turned to the celeb's husband -- who also happens to be the governor of California, a state where in-car cellphone use without a hands-free set is outlawed.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a message on Twitter today, writing, "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention, @harveylevintmz. There's going to be swift action."

So, do you suppose the Republican will ground his Democratic spouse or take away her overflow minutes?

Harvey Levin, whom Schwarzenegger addressed in his tweet, is the editor of TMZ, which posted the pictures of Shriver's naughty chat-ride.

What kind of swift action might that be? At the very least, we expect her to pay the $20 fine. Hey, when the state government is bankrupt, every dollar counts -- even if it comes from the governor's bank account. (Although, in fairness, we should note the governor has accepted no state salary since taking office.)

-- Mark Milian

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Photo credit: Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom holds his own election -- on his campaign logo

In classical Greek, logos generally means the expression of thought through speech, but in advertising and especially politics, it has come to mean the basic symbol that will define and carry a campaign and build the buzz so important to sales – or election.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is going one better, holding an election for people to chose the image that will mark his race for the Democratic nomination for governor and then for the California general election in 2010 if he captures the nod.

“How you campaign says a lot about how you will govern, once elected,” according to a letter attributed to campaign manager Nick Clemons. “So we’re going to do things differently. Usually, the process of deciding on a campaign logo is a big, guarded secret. Well, not this time.

“We put together a group of six different logos on our website, and your vote will determine the official Gavin Newsom campaign logo,” according to Clemons.

The vote closes at midnight Sunday, and the winner will be announced Monday. You can view all six choices at: http://www.gavinnewsom.com/actions/logo.

At least four of the logos play off the idea of the sun rising over a new day, an idea that Barack Obama used so successfully in his campaign for president.

Of course not every logo is a winner. When the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit group founded by Al Gore, who donated his Nobel Peace Prize to the group to fight global warming, unveiled its new logo, the response was, well, cool at best.

The logo, a stylized "WE" within a green circle, was criticized by some as being derivative of other advertising campaigns, including one for sneakers.

The group and its ad agency defended the choice, saying it played off of the “We the people” opening of the U.S. Constitution.

The Newsom logo candidates are mainly in blues and reds, even a sort of rust. Presumably, he avoided browns so as not to give an opening to his Democratic opponent Jerry Brown. 

– Michael Muskal

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Images: Newsom for California Committee

Statuary Hall's newest resident -- Helen Keller

 
For those who’ve read their history, or at least seen "The Miracle Worker," it’s an indelible and inspiring moment: The deaf and blind Helen Keller, under the guidance of her teacher Anne Sullivan, successfully spells out in sign language the word "water" while at a water pump.

That’s the moment captured in a new bronze statue, which was unveiled today at the Capitol. The ceremony took place in the Capitol Rotunda, but the statue will be installed in the famed Statuary Hall.

The hall has been in the news of late. A 7-foot-tall bronze of Ronald Reagan was installed this year, replacing one of Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian minister who was credited by President Lincoln with helping keep California on the side of the Union during the Civil War.

The Keller statue will take the place of a statue of Jabez Curry, whose likeness will be transferred to Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. (Currey, whose full name was Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry, was a congressman, lawyer, diplomat and officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.)

Follow this link for more on the historic personages in Statuary Hall.

And follow the jump for an image from the famous film.

Meg Whitman still explaining decades of not voting

Meg Whitman is still fending off questions about her spotty voting record.

Whitman, you may recall, is the former eBay CEO who spent most of her adult life not registered to vote. She also is hoping to become the GOP candidate for governor in California. Presumably, this would be accomplished through a decidedly un-high-tech fashion — people (or to be precise, registered voters) going to the polls or filling out absentee ballots and popping them in the mail.

As our friends over at the political blog The Swamp report, Whitman had to answer more questions about voting this morning on the Fox Business Network. "I’ve been very straight-up that my voting record isn’t perfect,” Whitman told Neil Cavuto. "I did not consistently vote. Like many Americans, I’ve missed too many elections ... ” Here's the full report.

So how will California voters react? Two letters to the editor in the Opinion section of today’s Times offer instructive examples.

Audrey Wicks of Irvine says Whitman has the abilities to be a great governor and doesn’t mind that Whitman had not registered until a few years back.

“She was very busy not only running a large company but furthering it, making it a big success,” Wicks writes. “She puts all of her energies into the job for which she’s responsible. This is to her credit. There are too many people who vote because they think it’s the American way. There are too many people who do not study the issues and merely vote without thought on the issues. This is one of the factors that has our state in such a detrimental status.”

Vincent J. Carollo of Upland takes a decidely different view and Whitman has to hope he's in the minority:

“I have two signs for the campaign trail: ‘Sorry Meg, I will be too busy to register and vote for you.’ And: ‘Meg, ever heard of the absentee ballot?’ ”

Meanwhile, the Whitman campaign announced today that she has won the endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In a statement the campaign says she’s already been endorsed by former California Gov. Pete Wilson, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain. No word yet on whether Whitman will be tapped for any GOP get-out-the-vote efforts.

 -- Steve Padilla

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Photo: Meg Whitman speaks at the California Republican Convention in Indian Wells in September. Credit: Associated Press

California gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom's town-hall meeting [Updated]

Did you hear? Gavin Newsom, the Democratic front-runner for California governor, held an online town-hall meeting today.

No? You didn't hear?

The San Francisco mayor hosted yet another teleconference at noon today, taking questions from Facebook and Twitter users.

The live-stream video was embedded on Newsom's Facebook page, but didn't draw much of a crowd.

[Updated, 6:10 p.m.: Nick Clemons, a representative for Newsom's campaign, called to tell us that the viewership numbers reported earlier in this post were deceptively low. The numbers were taken from UStream’s live report. Due to technical problems that caused the video stream to periodically cut out, UStream's report was inaccurate.  UStream says 4,500 people tuned in over the course of the hourlong chat, company representative Shari Folds wrote in an e-mail that was forwarded to us by Clemons. An early headline on this item described the town-hall-style meeting as "lonely."]

 

Viewers drifted in and out as Newsom answered questions about taxes, parks and marijuana decriminalization. The latter is a popular topic online, and one that President Obama faced during his own town-hall meeting.

"You could not find a stronger supporter of medical marijuana," Newsom said, referring to his pot policies. "I'd love to see that happen."

Newsom is no stranger to taking on controversial subjects. Addressing the idea of a healthcare public option, which San Francisco has ...

Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen step up to support Jerry Brown for California governor

Hollywood’s three top political heavyweights didn’t waste any time throwing their support behind Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who announced Tuesday that he was filing papers to explore a run for the Democratic nomination for California governor.

An adviser to Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen disclosed this afternoon that the three men would be hosting a fundraiser for Brown on Nov. 18.

The location is TBA, but expect it to be west of La Cienega Boulevard, which, as Angelenos know, is where a lot of money resides.

“This should be a huge launching pad for Brown’s candidacy,” said Andy Spahn, who's organizing the event.

The details are still being worked out, but this much is certain: when the SKG boys get together, the take is usually huge. (Just ask President Obama, who raked in millions at the threesome’s fundraisers.)

Up until now, Brown, a former governor and Oakland mayor, has been quietly raising money in Hollywood, tapping his old friends from the 1970s, including Cindy and Glenn Frey, Sharon and Don Henley, Jena and Michael King, Deborah and Jeff Wald, and Ellen and Ken Ziffren.

Also making the money rounds is San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is admired in Hollywood for his leadership role against Proposition 8, the statewide measure that banned gay marriage.

The question: Will the industry back the guy they’ve known for years (Brown is 71) or the fresh young face (Newsom is 41) in California’s 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary?

There’s still eight months between now and the June 8 election to find out.

— Tina Daunt

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Top photo: Jerry Brown in Los Angeles in September. Credit: Getty Images. Bottom photo: David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg in New York in 2004. Credit: Associated Press.

Sarah Palin, read this! Gavin Newsom's media advice

Bipartisan note to Alaska's Republican Sarah Palin from a direct-action California Democrat:

Stop whining about negative coverage from newspapers that don't like you and never will except if you help promote their publisher's favorite local charity and even then the affection will be short-lived.

Instead, simply help those nattering nabobs of negativity go out of business, one angry subscriber at a time.

Gangsters knew intuitively not to sue/argue with newspapers because of the resulting drumbeat of new negative stories. But it took longer for politicians across the ideological spectrum to learn the conventional wisdom: Don't argue with people who buy newspaper ink by the barrel.

Grumbling and worse over the media is sometimes warranted and always chronic among those in the public eye, who depend on the publicity but don't like it all.

Lyndon Johnson blamed negative media coverage for much of the Vietnam War opposition and the self-imposed end of his political career. Richard Nixon was not a huge fan of the Washington Post, which through Watergate helped him move along to memoir-writing a couple of years earlier than planned.

Of course, the media can create a handy target to help unify political followers against a perceived common enemy. Think Ron Paul's well-covered claims of being ignored last year and Republican convention delegates turning en masse to boo the overhanging media booths in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center. 

And Palin is likely to re-mention media bias toward her and her family in her eagerly-awaited book, now set for publication Nov. 17. (Countdown now at 49 days.) She's particularly aggrieved over some mainstream media that took local blogs/gossip at face value. It's all sure to provide juicy new reasons to love and hate her, which Harper's corporate parent, News Corp., is unlikely to mind at all.

Who knows, you might even see Palin on another News Corp. property, Fox News. The way you just happen to see CBS stars show up on CBS talk shows and actors from Universal movies appear on NBC.

But now liberal San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who would like to be California's next governor, has added a novel twist to media-bashing. He got a Tweet from a follower feeling aggrieved about coverage of Newsom.

Not surprisingly, the mayor was sympathetic to the sympathy. He did not mess around or waste one of his 140 characters.

Newsom Twittered out to all 1.1 million-plus followers, specific advice on how to terminate their newspaper subscription, to at least one San Francisco publication.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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California GOP governor's race III -- Meg Whitman

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities often have been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

Over the weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. Speakers included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But since this is the de facto start to the public campaign, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered text of the speeches given by each declared candidate and provided by their staff so that readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We've published them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order. Campbell's speech text was posted earlier today. Poizner's speech text was posted earlier today.

Click here for Whitman's campaign website. 

As always, feel free to leave your civil comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Remarks by Meg Whitman to the California Republican Party Convention, Sept. 26:

Thank you for that wonderful introduction. I’m so happy to be here today. And let me acknowledge some friends in the audience.

Earlier this week I made it official and announced my commitment to seek the Republican nomination for governor. I’m the first Republican to take that step. And I did it because our crisis....

California GOP governor's race II -- Steve Poizner

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities have often been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

This past weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address the party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. This included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But because this is the de facto public campaign start, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered speech text given by each declared candidate so readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We'll publish them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order and add links to each when all are posted. Campbell's speech text was published earlier today.

Poizner's campaign website is here.

As always, feel free to leave your civil comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

But first, click here for Twitter alerts on each new Ticket item. Or follow us    @latimestot

Remarks by Steve Poizner to the California Republican State Convention, Sept. 26:

Thank you. Good evening.

First of all, Dennis, thank you very much for that fantastic introduction. I have to say a word or two about Sen. Hollingsworth. Now, I get to watch him closely in Sacramento. The fact is, Sen.Hollingsworth is a fantastic Republican leader and you know what? I've learned a lot by watching how tough he is.

The fact is, you don't have to compromise all the time. You don't have to give in all the time. Sen. Hollingsworth has shown that if you stand tall on Republican conservative principles, you can win.

So, this is my 10th California Republican Party convention in a row, and it's nice to see all my friends and all kinds of folks I've been working with over a long period of time. I have to....

California GOP governor's race I -- Tom Campbell

As the nation's most populous state, California has even more voters than the new Obama White House has policy czars.

The state's politics and personalities have often been harbingers of trends, policies, tax revolts, etc. that eventually work their way across the country and draw international attention.

This weekend, California's Republican Party held its state convention, a prime podium for its major gubernatorial hopefuls to address party faithful and lay out their initial profile and policy declarations. This included former Rep. Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and businesswoman Meg Whitman.

They've each been raising money and endorsements for months, of course, with varying degrees of success. But since this is the de facto public campaign start, The Ticket decided to run the unfiltered speech text given by each declared candidate and provided by their staff so that readers can get a feel for who's coming, how they choose to describe themselves at the outset and what to watch for.

We'll publish them here this morning about two hours apart in last-name alphabetical order and add links to each when all are posted.

Campbell's campaign website is here.

As always, feel free to leave your civil Comments at the bottom.

-- Andrew Malcolm

But first, click here for Twitter alerts on each new Ticket item. Or follow us  @latimestot

Remarks by ex-Rep. Tom Campbell to the California Republican State Convention Sept. 25:

What we Republicans all share is a commitment to less government, more freedom and individual liberty. Those are the undying principles of our party and, I believe, the strong ties that unite us more strongly than any primary battle can divide us.

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself, because there are many new members of our party present – some who weren’t even born when I attended my first....