California State Senate President pro tempore Don Perata's car was recovered today in Richmond after Saturday's carjacking. The auto theft happened while he as en route to Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente's house to deliver a holiday gift. It seems that while waiting at a stop light at 51st Street and Shattuck Avenue in his red four-door 2006 Dodge Charger - very masculine and patriotic, Senator - a young man came up......

It's our turn to read the Weeklies this week, and we start with SFist Sarah L's pick of last week, the newly-re-indied East Bay Express. Congrats! The letters hate on the UC Regents. Something about racial bias in contracting, we didn't really understand it. The story behind those "nappy headed hos" t-shirts at Bear Basics. Cover article: Some well-paid lackey of "Golden Pig" Don Perata. Bless their hearts at the EBX! They've also started summarizing......

--Are you into those Iowa Futures Market invisible-hand-of-the-marketplace economic-based ways of predicting political races? Usual Suspects has started one for the SF mayoral race. Gavin Newsom is pegged to win at $36.78. --The ACLU is going to sue a San Jose company for arranging those "rendition" flights for outsourcing torture. --Don Perata and his spendthrift ways win him a Golden Pig! --Midwifery in San Francisco suffers another blow. --Wow, the real estate market must......

Now hating the war isn't just the domain of tree hugging hippies and the Defeatocrats-- it's the entire state of California. Today, State Senator Don Perata announced that he wants the entire state to vote on a referendum on pulling troops out of Iraq. Perata might be announcing it, but we see the evil workings of Barbara Streisand behind all this, probably in cahoots with David Geffen and Michael Moore. And even if Rosie lives on the East Coast, she probably has something to do with all of this too...

Here's the daily wrap up of the news...

A little bit more of those tapes that the Angelides camp got their grubby little hands on months ago were released and if you dial a 1-800 number you could listen to them. No, wait, that's the new Arcade Fire song, not these tapes. Either way, the Governator's people aren't happy that they got put out there. But since the CHP deemed nothing illegal on what happened, there's nothing they can do about it....

Man, we are starting to get a headache trying to stay on top of the convoluted machinations of the San Francisco 2008 State Senate race. You may remember that current State Assembly rep Mark Leno floated a trial balloon to run in two years for the seat currently held by his former friend Carole Migden. After pooh-poohing the rumor, Migden then promptly started floating trial balloons of her own that she might run against Gavin......

-Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata proposes health care for all workers in California. -Da Mayor to host Inauguration party for Da Governor. -Theme of party? "We Belong Together." -In a story we're all going to get sick of, rain screwed up yesterday and this morning's commute. - Mo' bond money to cause mo' problems for Bay Area. This story is one we can pretty much cut and paste in for the next few years.......

A former San Carlos mayor is filing an appeal of his conviction for defrauding the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department out of $13,000, by using public funds to pay for a political consultant who failed to win a campaign back in 2003. The fountain at San Jose State smells bad. An occupational therapy major says it's this year's "stank smell," as opposed to last year's, which was their trees. However, a business management major says he......

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: They didn't make the drop at our usual pick-up spot today, so we're stuck with the web version (which is always so much less satisfying). Bottom Feeder addresses SFist Jon's concerns about Pombo's vulnerability and the Shirek post office! Maybe SFist Jon should also start looking into the Alameda County supervisors' race, which is Bottom Feeder's third topic. Vote no on 80! Like we have any idea what any of these propositions even are yet! (80 = power plants). Don Perata's private investigator. Oakland's favorite Idol, LaToya. And getting baked at the Chabot Center planetarium (the music of Moby is featured). The SF Weekly: Hee hee! PUNI says Google buys SF! And renames Gavin G-New! Hee! And MUNI's renamed G-Cruiser! Hee hee! A totally fascinating story about this attorney who busts cults, grew up in a upper-crust family with a closeted father, and annoys San Anselmo residents with his large left-wing signs. Movie critic doesn't like 24 Hours on Craigslist. Make it stop, we can't bear the Meredith Brody. Soup in Noe Valley. Clap Your Hands Say Pitchfork. Cover article: hip-hop blogs. And -- yoikes -- check out Savage Love's collection of letters about the man who thinks he might have been raped. The Guardian and the pick of the week after the jump! (Sorry, we had Metro distribution problems again.)...

The Governator delivered his State of the State last night. We were stuck at work so we missed it and had to read the transcript and listen to the audio of the speech and the reaction from Don Perata [RealPlayer from the Sacramento Bee]. Like any salesman, Schwarzenegger led off with a telling joke: "In these State of the State speeches, governors often begin by listing their accomplishments of the past year. I will do......

The Bay Bridge's proposed single-suspension design is under attack by the Govenator. But the legislature has to approve the change to a skyway design....

you know what always catches our eye? That's right, a throwdown! So our attention was finally piqued when Adriel Hampton, the Examiner political correspondent, posted the following j'accuse on his blog: if you scroll past the tedious Don Perata interview, you'll see that Matier and Ross republished his scoop as their own! Without credit! Poor journalistic sportsmanship, M&R! ...

Yesterday the Democratic Caucus of the California State Senate voted to replace termed-out senator John Burton [D-San Francisco] with Don Perata [D-Oakland] as the new President Pro-tempore of the senate. Considered the 'second most powerful' political position in Sacramento, Bay Area lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief - an appointment of his rival for the post, Martha Escutia of Whittier, would have signaled a complete shift in power to Southern California (sorry, LAist). Perata is a former teacher in Oakland's public schools, having earned his credentials at the University of California, Berkeley. Generally considered left-of-center even within the California Democratic Party, he has fought for gun regulation, improved funding for public schools and even has a pet-project website, OaklandSchools.com, set up for students, teachers and parents to report problems and lobby legislators on behalf of their beleaguered school district. He's currently working to oppose the huge new casino in nearby San Pablo. This appointment comes on the heels of allegations, investigated by the Chron, of improprieties during his campaign related to business relationships with his son, Nick Perata, and local businessman and college friend Timothy G. Staples. It's also interesting to note that Perata was Burton's pick, and coincides with a number of political moves that Burton has made as his stint in the State Senate draws to a close. EssEffist would like to point out that they don't call it the "Brown-Burton Machine" for nothing....