After California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to fathering a child with a member of his household staff, his wife Maria Shriver filed for divorce. Adding insult to injury, Schwarzenegger doesn't want to pay spousal support according to a court filings. (Though, what with Shriver being a wealthy Kennedy in her own right, she doesn't really need it, does she?) However, according to KTVU, "The dispute may have little impact on the divorce, since the former Hollywood couple is expected to reach a confidential, out-of-court settlement." more ›

As we mentioned last week, redevelopment funds looked to be on the chopping block in Jerry Brown's budget, and it was. The governor is looking to save $2.7 billion by cuttting off any tax revenue earmarked for redevelopment and not already promised or committed to a bond. Redevelopment agencies statewide are crying onto their spreadsheets today, and it remains unclear to many which projects will be impacted. The Chron mentions Oakland's hope for a new A's ballpark and the planned MacArthur BART transit village as possibly dead in the water, as well as affordable housing on former freeway parcels in S.F., which we assume are those narrow lots along Octavia. Any hope of reviving the the Mid-Market Redevelopment Plan also looks gone. more ›

Jerry Brown scored another coup (not that it will matter) when the state's prison guards' union endorsed him for governor. Sacto Bee reports, "California Correctional Peace Officers Association President Mike Jimenez said in a news release that the union's decision was guided by at 'tremendous need for reform and a pragmatic approach and understanding of the crisis that we see within the correctional system.'" more ›

According to a new Field Poll (pdf), California voter give Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "the lowest rating for a sitting governor in more than 50 years," trumping Gray Davis as one of California's worst governors. A scant 22 percent of voters approve of Schwarzenegger's job performance, while 70 percent disapprove. Four out of five voters, it seems, say the state "is on the wrong track." But the onetime movie star turned politician isn't the only one with Death Valley-like low approval ratings. CBS 5 reports, "Just 16 percent of respondents approve of the way the Legislature is doing its job." Ouch. more ›

After staying off the radar for months now, Jerry Brown has officially entered the California gubernatorial race. Ta-da. If elected to the position for a second time, Brown will, as SFist commenter MalcoveMagnesia pointed out, "will be older than Reagan was when he became President." more ›

Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown is expected to toss his hat into the gubernatorial ring today, making his candidacy official. Brown had filed to form an exploratory committee in September of last year, but he "resisted making it official while two would-be Republican contenders have openly battled for their party's nod," reported the LA Times. "The winner of that primary contest in June, whether it be former EBay chief Meg Whitman or California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, will have substantial personal wealth with which Brown will have to contend in the general election." Other possible Democrats who either fizzled or never emerged were L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Senator Dianne Feinste. more ›

Newsom's out. Here is the official press release. more ›

Topped off with one of the harshest headlines aimed at Gavin Newsom yet ("The Impending Implosion of CA Gov Hopeful Gavin Newsom"), Newsweek scribe Daniel Stone says that the San Francisco Mayor's current white-hot streak in the relatively nascent gubernatorial race is in danger of cooling off. Fast. more ›

If elected, the former eBay CEO -- a bigot who, at best, considers the homosexuals second-class citizens, or at least that's what she would lead the public to believe -- will cut state spending "by another $15 billion," prune California's current state work force "by 17 percent," and further the stereotype that female Republicans must sport garish blonde hair in order to be successful. Welcome to the race, Meg! more ›

Even with Newsom lapcat Bevan Duffy supporting part of Chris Daly's Renter Relief Package, the mayor still vetoed what might have provided a modicum of financial relief for SF renters. (As opposed to, say, homeowners who have seen some help from the government during the recession.) Ted Gullicksen of the San Francisco Tenant’s Union had this to say about Newsom's veto. more ›

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced today that "she is resigning from office at the end of the month, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race," according to AP. more ›

Last night, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom "officially kicked off his campaign" for governor of California 2010. That is to say, you'll see even less of Newsom over the next year or so. If that's even possible. Which is fine with us. Because "Mayor Nathan Ballard" has a nice ring to it. Oh, come now. Ballard is a funny guy. Period. And a smartypants too. And that's good enough for us. more ›

While trolling over in Sacramento this past weekend at the Democratic convention, Mayor Gavin Newsom, according to Matier et Ross, threw a $100,000 block party. Would you expect anything less? Anyway, the possible future governor of California spared little expense, featuring 1,500 reusable aluminum water bottles, embossed with Gavin's name; plenty of nibbles and booze; and a performance by (the notoriously prickly) Wyclef Jean. Even Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson made an cameo to declare the"next governor of California." (Booze? block party? hip hop? How very urban of you, Gavin.) The bill, M&R go on to report, was collected from sponsors such as AT&T, PG&E., the California Teachers Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 6, and Greentech California. In related news, Siebel doesn't seem to be showing yet. more ›

During this weekend's state Democratic convention in Sacramento, Gavin Newsom took aim at 71-year-old attorney general Jerry Brown. Newsom, who officially tossed his hat into the gubernatorial ring last week, told the crowd that the race for governor came down to a choice between a "sprint into the future" (i.e., Gav) or "a stroll down memory lane" (i..e, Brown, who earned the moniker "Governor Moonbeam" when he held the job way back in the 1970s). While not directly calling out Brown, who wants the job again in 2010, Newsom went on to say, "We're not a state of memories ... We're a state of dreams. We're Californians. We're not content to relive history. We're going to keep making it." In related news, an advisor for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, another contender in the Democratic primary for governor, slammed Newsom, saying Villaraigosa would not "Twitter while Rome burns" if he were elected. Ouch. more ›

After announcing his bid for candidacy for California Governor this morning, Mayor Gavin Newsom sent this message via Twitter, "We've raised $15,000 online today. Thank you for the support. Help us reach our goal of $20,000. Please ReTweet: http://tr.im/ji64 ." $15K?! Jesus. (You totally owe us an onion bagel with cream cheese, Gav, for SFist's major linkage to your contribution links. Seriously. And we want it lightly toasted too. We digress.) So, yeah, the internet is cool and stuff. Who knew? Anyway, read more about Newsom's online world wide web internet "blitz" with this deeply fellating article. more ›

"It"s Official" more ›

March 17, 2009 will go down in the history books, and Ryan Seacrest will be looked back on as the Woodward/Bernstein of our time. See, the American Idol host blew the lid off of one Gavin Newsom's biggest secrets yesterday. While on his Golden State tour, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's finally --finally! -- revealed his haircare product of choice on on KIIS-FM (102.7). more ›

Aw boo. more ›

Mayor Gavin Newsom sent out his latest exploratory missive about running for Governor for the state of California. Yay. more ›

Noted Republican, Silicon Valley resident, and gay-marriage hater Meg Whitman is all set to take over Sacramento, at least according to an AP article. "The person was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity," the article boasts, going on to say, "He [the secret source] said the 52-year-old Republican hopes to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 but is not ready to make a formal announcement." So, we guess, she's officially throwing her can of Aqua Net in the ring. more ›

Oh, Gavin. more ›

During some sort of pre-meeting to see if maybe, perhaps, possibly Newsom wants to throw his hat into the California's Governor race, the San Francisco Mayor held a "beta meeting" at his alma mater, Redwood High School, in Larkspur. Prefaced by the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up," more than 100 Marin residents sat in Newsom's old school library to participate in the town hall-ish meeting. more ›

Part of Mayor Gavin Newsom's plan or save the Earth/become Governor of California, Civic Center has been declared "a sustainable vision for the heart of San Francisco." That is to say, it's the neighborhood...OF THE FUTURE! more ›

Gone are the days of free love, free LSD, and freedom to eat whatever you want. After last week's historic decision to make San Francisco the first in the country to ban the sale of cigarettes in pharmacies Walgreens and Rite Aid stores, City Hall isn't stopping there. The Board of Supes also wants to bar you from lighting up in city parks, ATM lines, and common areas of apartment buildings; voted for chain restaurants to post nutritional information on menus; have shunned delicious trans-fats (which is semi-ridiculous since high fructose corn syrup is the real enemy, but that's an entirely different post altogether); charge restaurants a fee for selling sugary sodas (which is good since Diet Coke tastes better); and close down city streets in an effort to get you to participate in mass jazzercise. more ›

In a move most everyone expected, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi announced this morning that he'll run for governor in 2010. The Democrat has been trying for years to get in that office, starting with his first attempt back in 1982. Considered a "B-list" candidate, he faces such strong (not to mention younger) candidates as Attorney General Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. (SacBee) more ›

If you're anything like us, you decide who you want running your country, state, and/or city based off of their spouse. And if you're even more like us, you love pitting women against each other in order to keep the patriarchal system running smoothly. That said, who do you prefer as your First Lady of California, the possible one, Jennifer Siebel, or the current one, Maria Shriver? more ›

It seems Gavin took his biggest step yet away from San Francisco and toward Sacramento today. According to the Sacto Bee, San Francisco Mayor Newsom "launched an exploratory committee Tuesday to consider a 2010 run for governor." This makes San Francisco 40-year-old mayor the first Democrat to formally take aim at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's job. Exciting stuff, folks! In other news, Attorney General Jerry Brown also plans on jumping into the race to replace Schwarzenegger. Isn't that adorable? Read more about it here. more ›

When he's not gracing photo exhibits at Valencia Street art gallery parties with Todd Oldam and John Waters (the latter, we hear, now lives in Nob Hill now. Who knew?) with his stellar bone structure, he's off in D.C. lecturing East Coasters about (alleged) global warming. According to his schedule: more ›

It's been an incredible success, yes? He's gone to Israel in order to (allegedly) build a bridge between the Bay Area and Israeli business leaders. (See what you've wrought, Rainbow Groceries?) And according to his schedule, Newsom started out in NYC today, but will be in WeHo later this afternoon to accept some silly award. Behold: more ›

Mayor Gavin Newsom puffed up his chest yesterday after leading the lawsuit that will "challenge a cut in the reimbursement rates paid to doctors that treat Medi-Cal patients." (That is to say, he's upset that the state has now decided to cut payments to doctors who accept low-income patients. Thanks, Arnold.) But the real story here is whether or not Newsom finally answered the big question about a possible run for Governor of California. And whether or not he's the next Jed Bartlet. KQED's John Myers reports: more ›