"Although
Whitman and Poizner are widely perceived as moderates,
Poizner hinted
that the ads will draw a clear distinction between
their philosophies
and skill sets.
"Voters will get to know him as "Steve Poizner the
tax-cut guy," said Poizner, who dismissed Whitman as someone
who
"didn't vote for most of her life."
That's odd. We seem to remember Steve Poizner as the
lower the vote threshhold to make it easier to raise
taxes for education guy. But to be fair, that was all
the way back in 2004. Probably a youthful indiscretion.
John Myers and yours truly look at the guberntorial
race and the other happenings in state politics this
week in the the Capital Notes podcast.
The gov was out stumping for Abel Maldonado on the heel's of next week's confirmation hearing.
"State
Sen. Abel Maldonado, who is bidding to become California's
lieutenant
governor, got another blessing from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
on
Thursday at a gathering of top Silicon Valley business
leaders.
"I
love this guy," said the governor, casting his fellow Republican
as a
pragmatic, middle-of-the-road lawmaker who can help steer the state
through its financial straits. "He is a great, great
leader... He only
works for what's best for the people of California,
not for his party."
Marc Lifsher looks at the fiscal woes of the teachers' retirement fund. "Another pension alarm bell is ringing in Sacramento,
this time at the
teachers retirement system, where the nation's second-largest public
pension fund is reporting a $43-billion shortfall.
The
California State Teachers' Retirement System said that
as of June 30,
2009, it could meet only an estimated 77% of its future pension
obligations -- far less than the 100% recommended by actuaries."
And finally, looking for a business that's recession
proof? Maybe it's time to join the mafia.
"Italy's mafia crime syndicates bucked the recession
in 2009 to raise
'profits' by almost 8 percent with the financial crisis making
companies and even the stock market even more vulnerable
to cash-flush
mobsters.
"Mafia Inc. is reinforcing its position as the number
one Italian
company," said a report published on Wednesday by a
body whose members
bear the brunt of mafia extortion and crimes, the small
business and
shopkeepers' association Confesercenti.
"It estimated that the impact on business equaled about
7 percent of Italy's economic output, enjoying healthy growth in a year
when the Italian economy shrank by almost 5 percent.
