Schwarzenegger Begs, Polanski Files, Environmentalists Sue, Junior Race-Baits, and Bar Dancers Get No Love

Don’t get your hopes up that Gov. Schwarzenegger’s hitting up President-Elect Obama for a gazillion dollar bailout investment in California public works projects will get us out of the budget mess.  We need the feds to invest in infrastructure projects because everything is crappy and falling apart and sure, in the next couple of years it’ll help create jobs, but expert-types are saying it won’t be enough to get us out of the budget mess.  [SF  Chronicle]

Roman Polanski has filed to have his 30-year old statutory rape conviction overturned once and for all.  This is not surprising in the wake of this year’s can’t-miss HBO documentary Roman Polanski Wanted and Desired showed how Polanski got railroaded by a judge with some serious mental health problems.  [LA Observed]

Is it possible that Antonio Villaraigosa is not pursuing a job in the Obama administration because he does not want to answer all those annoying questions?  Couldn’t be.  Mayor Villaraigosa’s got nothing to hide!  Right?  [Ron Kaye L.A.]

There’s giant pumps up there in the Sacramento River Delta that supply water to 25 million California residents.  A lawsuit was filed yesterday to turn the pumps off until a whole bunch of environmental standards are met.  This is far more interesting than it sounds,  Aquafornia blog does a much better job of explaining it than we ever could.  Their entire blog is great, they explain California’s water problems simply and clearly.  Good stuff.  [Aquafornia]

So there’s this bar up in Redding where they’re allowed to have live bands and karaoke, but fully clothed women are not allowed to perform as dancers.  But give them a guitar or a microphone and they can do whatever they want?  Huh?  [Redding Record Searchlight]

Freshman Congressman Duncan Hunter, Jr. just took over his dad’s Congressional seat. Seems that Junior is a chip off the ‘ol anti-immigrant-race-baiting block. Junior thinks that Tijuana is more violent than Iraq and Afghanistan. [Hat Tip: Voto Latino Blog]