Category: Short Takes

Every dime that Jerry Austin collected for the presidential campaign of Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago ended up going for bail. Until then, Austin had suffered through a nominee identity crisis, first supporting Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy, then be...

Featuring new work in the realm of the liturgical arts is one of our stated goals here at LAJ. After all, we are not only interested in the tradition of liturgical art in its historical manifestations but also in its living one's. Traditional liturgical arts are not, after all, consigned to be mere ...

[caption id="attachment_157" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Prices at the pump are widely expected to go up early next year.[/caption] California’s cap-and-trade system expands next year. And while the program has already discreetly impacted energy prices, consumers will likely get their first dir...

Just 24 hours after some California Democrats complained that President Obama’s fundraising here is giving short shrift to key issues key issueslike the Affordable Care Act, the White House says the president will now discuss about the benefits of the Obamacare during his trip on Thursday. From Whit...

It’s a scenario that’s all too familiar: President Obama will visit Silicon Valley this week – but the only Californians who will see or hear from him will pay at least $2,500 for the privilege. As the president begins his 20th trip to California since entering office, the seemingly endless capacity...

In a bit of cognitive behavioral therapy — or masochism — leaders of the California Republican Party have invited a Democratic strategist to a retreat this weekend to tell them, more or less, how bad they are. The strategist, Garry South, has been highly critical of the Republican Party’s inability ...

Former Republican state senator Jim Brulte, likely soon to be chairman of the California Republican Party, and Democratic political consultant, Garry South, now both partners at California Strategies, often appear around the state together discussing the California political scene. They brought thei...

There are black lists, grocery lists, sh..t lists and graduation lists. Then there’s Capitol Weekly’s 100 List, which is a little bit of all of them, and more. We’re the first ones to complain about lists – Forbes immediately comes to mind – but we make a shameless exception for ours, which at least...

Time and time again, the state Capitol is the place for unresolved local conflicts. The fiercest local fights, that often have big money attached, find their way to Sacramento where they escalate. We saw it last year when Majestic Realty came to Sacramento to help leverage the City of Walnut. And we...

Capitol Weekly spent weeks talking to top California political professionals to get a consensus on the top influence peddlers, power brokers and political players in California. The list is varied – there are Democrats and Republicans; labor leaders and captains of industry; people who are little kn...