Got a call today from a frustrated Larry Wasem, business partner of Dan Tocchini Jr, who is taking over the lease of the Rialto Cinemas Lakeside. Let’s just say that Wasem did not agree with our editorial “Save the Rialto,” which encouraged local government officials to lend a hand in helping the [...]
I’ve written before about robo-letters, the pre-packaged letters to the editor pumped out by groups like moveon.org and Organizing for America. We try to screen them out, and they’re usually pretty obvious. But I love the one that started showing up this morning. It asked the ersatz authors to take [...]
Jill Ravitch and Stephan Passalacqua, the candidates for Sonoma County district attorney, started adding some details to their claims in their debate Monday in Santa Rosa. Ravitch said the “loss of confidence” in local enforcement stems from Passalacqua’s handling of officer-involved fatality investigations. She said the reports are taking up [...]
Here’s some free advice for Stephan Passalacqua and Jill Ravitch: “Trust me” isn’t a winning campaign slogan in 2010. It probably never was. Politicians, used car salesmen, alas, journalists. None of us are on top of the polls when the question involves credibility. Yet the two candidates for Sonoma County [...]
In the end, it came down to do a margin of just seven votes - as close a finish as any March Madness game. After a raucous and theatrical day of debate, the House voted tonight 219 to 212 to approve a long-awaited health care reform package, handing President Barack Obama the biggest victory of [...]
Santa Rosa Assemblywoman Noreen Evans is out as Budget Committee chairwoman but joins the Democratic leadership as majority whip under assignments announced today by the new speaker, John Pérez. The move serves several purposes. Evans, who is term-limited and running for the state Senate, won't have as many conflicts between [...]
Given Santa Rosa’s dire financial situation, why isn’t the city going for a tax measure on the June 8 ballot? Here’s one explanation: Two of the area’s most respected political consultants told city officials last month that they didn’t stand a chance of success. We’ve recently learned that Mayor Susan Gorin invited [...]
My colleague Brett Wilkison reported today that Santa Rosa Councilwoman Veronica Jacobi abstained on a vote to cut $5.9 million from the city budget because she objected to some of the particulars. That sparked a sharp response from former councilman Mike Martini. Here’s an excerpt from his letter to the [...]
Meg Whitman may have bought a horse race with her early ad blitz. The former eBay chief executive has left Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the dust, according to a Field Poll released today that gives her a 63 percent to 14 percent lead among likely voters in the Republican [...]
Sonoma County residents started receiving their 2010 Census forms today. But some addresses, they say, are wrong – as in they don't even have the right city. Virginia Pressler, a Santa Rosa teacher, first alerted me to the problem a week ago. She has lived in Santa Rosa for 18 years, but she said [...]
Paul Gullixson
Jim Sweeney
This blog is written by Press Democrat editorial writers Paul Gullixson and Jim Sweeney.