So the blog LA Observed ran a caption contest for the picture you see at your left, of Paris Hilton with their mayor-about-town Antonio Villaraigosa. They got the usual level of "that's hot" Paris references and obscure "I'd like to join YOUR LA school board" inside-politics commentary, but, entertainingly enough, look who else got invited to the Villaraigosa-Hilton party! Here's two of the winning captions: --Wait until Gavin Newsom sees this picture. and --So, um,......

A reader passed along a picture from today's press conference with City Treasurer José Cisneros and City Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, where they bragged about how they collected $24 million more than expected in property assessments. Of that $24 mill, about 10% is from the backlog that Ting inherited from previous management and 50% is from mid-year reassessments. We're not entirely sure we know what that means, but we'll certainly take that extra $24 million......

Well, that was certainly a mortified apology and a hasty retreat. We'll take Chris "The High Road" Daly's cue and refrain from comment about the principal players in this sad story -- but we are wondering: what's the effect of this on our current issues of obsession in the current political scene? What about..... Question Time?: The SFWall's done a 180 on this, with people now seeming to agree that maybe Gavin should suck it......

And what are we to make of the news that Gavin occasionally goes all "Alias" and travels throughout his realm incognito to see how his public fares? That considering he's trying to bust some Cable Car Conductor thieving ring, maybe he's doing research for some sort of Private Eye/TV show thing? You know "Mayor by Day, Crime Solver by night." Or that with his newly single status, maybe it's his way of meeting someone cute and dating someone who might not be found in his usual Swigian soirees and upper-crust society balls for the hoity toity? You know, like it'll be a soon-to-be a major motion pictures starring Reese Witherspoon as a Starbucks barista and Mark Ruffalo as the newly divorced bachelor Mayor who falls in love with her while killing time during a public transportation break down. Was he the Marina-ite looking way out of place and nervous at Zeitgeist last weekend? Or was he the one who elbowed us out of the way while we were trying to get us some haggis at Burns Night at the Edinburgh? ...

Passing along news about public figures in an attempt to distract ourselves from the pain of everyday existence: your Political Junkie gossip roundup for the day! Our soon-to-be-former first lady Kimberly made it official and filed for divorce in San Francisco Superior, asking, among other things, for her legal name of Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle back. Both parties are represented by the same lawyer, Max Gutierrez, from the law firm of Morgan Lewis and Bockius. Maybe Gavin and Eminem can compare Rot In Pieces Kim tattoos after this is all done. Now that Gavin's free to date again, two other ambitious ladies are now suddenly available -- both Mabel Teng and Fiona Ma have announced their divorces as well. Sorry, gals, he's Matt's now! And finally, it was a teary-eyed swearing-in for our new Board of Supes for Ammiano and Elsbernd (along with a Sandoval diatribe about the need to recycle batteries). Ruth Dewson, she of the hats on Fillmore Street, disparaged the man tears: "I'm so sick and tired of grown men crying." Ammiano brought the smack right back, responding, "Get a life. I have one," and citing his partner, Tim Curbo, who died of AIDS five days before Ammiano's first election in 1994. Oooooh, death. Score that one for Ammiano. Your dirt is always welcome here!...