Today, On As The Gav Turns...
First off. Alcoholism is a serious problem and we hope Gavin Newsom (.pdf) gets help and support.
Second of all. Blue tie alert! (see picture from this afternoon at right.)
We're tag-teaming in for an exhausted Editor SFist Jon, who's taking a much-needed break from his nonstop Gavin news coverage this week, to give you the latest in Newsom news around the web.
--Gavin will be getting counseling from Mimi Silbert, the head of the Delancey Street Foundation -- though it sounds like as of now, they're not entirely sure how it's going to work. Update: The Chron's updated its original story, and now includes more anecdotes about how Newsom told his staff about his problem, a listing of the times that Newsom was seen drunk in public previously, and Newsom's blowup at the media for taking his picture this afternoon.
--The Board of Supes moratorium on attacking Newsom is now off: Jake McGoldrick calls for Newsom to resign ("What he has been trying to do in portraying himself as the victim is totally Machiavellian"), Ed Jew says he's "shocked" by all the revelations and calls for "an executive who can do the job," and Chris Daly asks, "Is Gavin Newsom capable right now of attending to the very important business of the city?" On the pro-Newsom side, Michela Alioto-Pier called Newsom "courageous," and Sean Elsbernd wishes Newsom the best, but wants to know exactly how much time the mayor expects to be spending in counseling.
Update: This story is updated as well, with more comments from other supervisors and local politicians. McGoldrick now also says he thinks others will call for Newsom to step down as well, saying "I didn't come here to be mildewed with caution in a corner." What does that even mean?
Other local media, bloggers, and chatboarders: Mildew with caution in a corner with us, after the jump!
--The local news media jumps in too -- KCBS's Barbara Taylor podcasts that "we have all seen [Newsom] after hours in an intoxicated state," while ABC 7's Dan Noyes has been trying to find out if it's a violation of campaign finance laws for Newsom to pay Alex Tourk a "severance package" out of reelection donations. Meanwhile, the the Guardian reflects on the stories behind the stories as the saga continues.
--Not to be outdone, NBC 11 features an interview with Newsom plus-one Jennifer Siebel, trying desperately to promote her movie premiere in Cinequest San Jose, as she's asked questions about her boyfriend of five months. She claims she knew all along about the affair with Ruby Tourk, that Newsom is "an amazing man," and that it's too bad people don't know "the truth" about what's going on. Siebel did not elaborate on what exactly that truth was.
--And what about online? Fog City Journal is reporting that Dianne Feinstein is going to ask Newsom to step down. (Update: Feinstein's office denies this.) SFPartyParty announces that Gavin will be joining the cast of Desperate Housewives, while GavinWatch gives us the links. On YouTube, obviously_human has some raw footage of last week's press conference with Peter Ragone (our favorite part is when Ragone shows up onscreen, and you hear someone mutter, "Byorn.").
--And the chatters? We're a little disappointed -- the SFWall and the Junto are relatively quiet today. The Chron's blog comments are reliable as always -- but for sheer entertainment, we're going with the Craigslist local politics board. We can't repeat any of the jokes, unfortunately, but we do love how people always spell it "Newsome" over there.