Former governors may return in 2010
 
History repeats itself, first as tragedy and second as farce, claimed Karl Marx, whose doctrines encouraged both outcomes. CALIFORNIA Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown (D), no Marxist, is hoping for a happier result as he strives to become governor of the Golden State again 27 years after he left that office. He is not alone. At least four former governors will seek their old jobs in 2010, and former MARYLAND Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. could join the list. Definitely running in addition to Brown, are Roy Barnes of GEORGIA, Terry Branstad of IOWA and John Kitzhaber of OREGON. On the face of it, it might seem unlikely that so many ex-governors would attempt a comeback at a time politicians are in disrepute and states face their worst fiscal crunch since the Great Depression. In fact, it is the very unpopularity of present officeholders that encourages these politicians of the past to seek an encore. Polls show these former governors more popular than the current ones and also leading their prospective opponents.
 
But why would anyone want to be governor during an economic crisis that has forced states to the wall and is likely to linger for at least two years? Political demographer Michael Barone suggests these former governors may be banking on an economic recovery that would give them an opportunity to do something other than balance the books. "Governors have power," said Barone, co-author of the authoritative Almanac of American Politics. "In normal times, it's a good job." The other calculation, to judge from statements made by Barnes and Branstad, seems to be that these ex-governors believe they can do a better job than the present occupants. 
 
Branstad, 63 and the only Republican in the group (unless Ehrlich does get into the race), is IOWA's longest-serving governor. Elected four times, he served 16 years, ending in 1999. His first year in office, 1983, coincided with a national recession; IOWA land values plummeted and 38 state banks closed. Branstad weathered the storm. Today, he is a persistent critic of Gov. Chet Culver (D) and the Democratic-controlled Legislature, which Branstad contends put IOWA in the hole by engaging in a "spending spree." In a Rasmussen poll in September, Branstad led Culver by 20 points. 
 
Kitzhaber, 62, a former emergency room doctor and energetic fly-fisherman, is also popular. He won the governorship of OREGON narrowly in 1994 but was re-elected in 1998 with nearly two-thirds of the vote after pushing through the innovative and controversial Oregon Health Plan, which provides broad but rationed medical coverage. Termed out in 2003, he left office with high approval ratings and seems poised to succeed the present Democratic governor, Ted Kulongoski, who will be termed out in 2010. OREGON can be unpredictable, as Kitzhaber realizes. He told the New York Times that he wanted to win but "was not afraid to lose." 
 
In GEORGIA, Barnes struggled for years to regain his confidence after his unexpected defeat in 2002 by Sonny Perdue, a veterinarian and political neophyte. Barnes, now 61, initially blamed his defeat on his successful effort to persuade the legislature to drop the Confederate battle flag as the state's flag, which did not sit well with rural voters. He now acknowledges that there was more to his defeat than that. Barone observes that Perdue scored points by challenging Barnes' ambitious agenda, which included creation of the Georgia Regional Transit Authority —satirized by critics as "Give Roy Total Authority" — and an education reform measure that included annual testing. Teachers didn't like the law. Barnes, described by his political foes as imperious, has struck a contrite tone in his new bid for office. "Listening is something I didn't do enough of when I was governor," he said. "I tried to do too much, too fast. My heart was in the right place but I was impatient and didn't consult enough different people outside the Capitol." Perdue is termed out in 2010, and early polls show Barnes with an inconclusive lead in a crowded field. 
 
Brown, 71, is the oldest of the comeback quartet. As governor of CALIFORNIA from 1975-1983, he was at once a visionary and a pain in the neck. Brown succeeded Ronald Reagan (R), but in many respects contrasted more with his father, Edmund G. (Pat) Brown (D), whose two-term governorship is remembered as the apogee of CALIFORNIA's emergence as a nation state. Under Pat Brown's leadership, CALIFORNIA constructed the largest water aqueduct in the world, made the University of California a showcase, expanded the state college (now state university) system, and built more freeways than any state has done before or since. CALIFORNIA stepped back a bit under Reagan, but far less than conservatives wanted or liberals feared. In his first year in office Reagan won approval of the largest tax increase ever proposed by any governor of any state, and a progressive one at that. He negotiated a far-reaching welfare reform bill with a Democratic Assembly speaker, who said that Reagan's "bark was worse than his bite." 
 
In contrast to his predecessors, Jerry Brown celebrated a minimalist approach to government that matched his Spartan lifestyle. He took himself too seriously, appointed a mental health director who believed the mentally ill were faking it, and reduced the budget for higher education. Two years after he was elected, a university lobbyist who had battled Reagan over budget issues, told me, "I want Reagan back." 
 
But on environmental issues, Jerry Brown was ahead of his time. He appointed many women and minorities to government or judicial posts. He was chock-full of creative ideas, including a never-realized plan to put a CALIFORNIA space satellite in orbit that earned Brown an enduring nickname, "Governor Moonbeam," from Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko. Even so, Brown argued long before Bill Clinton came along that there were limits on what government could accomplish, a useful insight for anyone seeking the CALIFORNIA governorship in 2010. 
 
After losing a U.S. Senate race to Pete Wilson (R) in 1982, Brown embarked on a series of personal reinventions. He spent six months in Japan studying Zen and Buddhist practice, worked with Mother Teresa in India at the Home for the Dying and served two years as chairman of the California Democratic Party. In 1998, he returned to electoral politics by winning the mayoralty of Oakland, a poor and embattled city that Brown improved with a hands-on approach that had eluded him as governor. Crime decreased, and Brown opened two charter schools that are still flourishing. In 2006, he was elected state attorney general, a post once held by his father. 
 
In terms of recurring deficits, CALIFORNIA ranks worst of the 50 states. The state's last two governors, Democrat Gray Davis and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, with much help from clueless legislators, have made a compelling case that CALIFORNIA is ungovernable. Beyond its fiscal mess, CALIFORNIA has failed disgracefully to help its less fortunate citizens. Because of a dysfunctional system the state was six weeks late in sending out November unemployment checks to 2.3 million jobless Californians. Meanwhile, only 48 percent of residents eligible for food stamps receive them. In contrast, the top eight states enroll more than 80 percent of food-stamp eligibles; MISSOURI provides nearly every eligible resident with food stamps. The Los Angeles Times blames CALIFORNIA's arcane rules, including a requirement shared by only three other states that food-stamp applicants be fingerprinted. 
 
Brown, still months away from a formal announcement of candidacy, has stayed mum about his agenda if elected governor again. He has kept himself in the public eye by using both the powers and the bully pulpit of the attorney general's office to go after alleged consumer and mortgage lending frauds and environmental violations. Political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, cautiously optimistic, believes Brown has the potential to be a successful governor. "He's mellowed, and he's learned from being mayor of Oakland," she said. Brown is unopposed for the Democratic nomination and would be heavily favored against any of the three Republicans now in the field. 
 
Note: Since this is the last Cannon Perspective of 2009, I wish to start 2010 with a clean slate by making amends for past errors. In my June column, in the course of lauding The Forgotten Man, an evocative book by Amity Shlaes, I misspelled her name. Mea culpa. And in my November column, because of an editing error, Denise Merrill, the majority leader of the Connecticut House, was wrongly identified as a Republican. She is a Democrat. I regret the error, as does State Net Capitol Journal.

Many states expecting budget gaps through 2012
 
States closed a $145.9 billion aggregate budget gap going into FY 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' latest budget update. But since then, $28.2 billion in new budget gaps have opened up in 36 states. And despite a growing consensus that the national recession is over, eight states are projecting shortfalls through FY 2011, and 17 are expecting deficits through FY 2012. States cite the cutoff of federal stimulus dollars as a contributing factor in those projected gaps.

GAMBLING GROUPS BETTING ON INTERNET POKER IN CA: Gambling interests are planning to make CALIFORNIA lawmakers, bracing for continuing multi-billion dollar budget troubles, an offer they may not be able to refuse. The consortium that includes the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and Commerce Casino intends to ask the Legislature next month to allow Internet poker sites to operate in the state. 
 
Globally, $347 billion is wagered online each year, according to industry experts. Much of that total comes from U.S. residents using their credit cards to bet on Internet poker games they play against other virtual gamblers on their personal computers. 
 
Federal law doesn't specifically bar American citizens from playing Internet poker, but it and state laws do prohibit the operation of Web-based gaming sites inside the country. 
 
Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the Morongo band, said, "About 1 million Californians are playing poker offshore right now" and by authorizing and regulating that gaming, the state could ensure its legitimacy and grab a share of the revenue currently going abroad. Whittier Law School Professor I. Nelson Rose, an expert on gambling law, said the state's share could be as much as $250 million a year. 
 
Rose also said that if CALIFORNIA's Internet poker sites were operated entirely within state borders and served only Californians, they would be exempt from federal restrictions. U.S. attorneys say otherwise, and legislation aimed at legalizing Internet poker has been introduced in Congress by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MASSACHUSETTS). 
 
But even if federal law doesn't prohibit the Golden State from authorizing in-state, Internet poker, there is another legal issue to contend with. CALIFORNIA law grants Indian tribes the exclusive authority to operate electronic games of chance. Sen. Roderick Wright (D), chair of the Governmental Organization Committee, which reviews gambling measures and has scheduled hearings on Internet poker in February, said any legislation would not only have to prohibit expansion of gambling that competed with Indian slots but also be supported by Indian tribes, which could be a problem. 
 
In a letter to legislators, Robert Smith, chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance wrote, "Card game gambling on the Internet would take business away from brick and mortar casinos." He also called the Internet poker proposal "a Trojan horse for the wholesale expansion of non-Indian, off-reservation gambling."
 
 
Still, some lawmakers seem optimistic. 
 
"I think it is workable and a potential source of new revenue," said Sen. Dean Florez (D), another member of the Senate's Governmental Organization Committee. "How you structure it is the key." (LOS ANGELES TIMES) 
 
BUDGETS IN BRIEF: High-speed rail projects planned in the Northeast Corridor - the busiest rail artery in the country and home to the nation's only high-speed train, the Acela - won't be eligible for the $8 billion in federal stimulus money set aside for high-speed rail because the strict environmental review required by the Obama administration would take years to complete. The first grants, scheduled to be announced next month, are expected to go to high-speed rail projects in CALIFORNIA and the Midwest (BOSTON GLOBE). • Legislation that would allow poker and other games at PENNSYLVANIA casinos was approved by the Republican-controlled Senate last week. But changes made to SB 711 prior to the 27-22 vote are likely to keep the bill from winning passage in the Democrat-controlled House before the end of the year (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER). • The ALABAMA Legislature may have to cut the state's general fund by as much as 30 percent to balance next year's budget, state finance experts said last week (TUSCALOOSA NEWS). • ARIZONA Gov. Jan Brewer (R) ordered a special legislative session last week to address the state's continuing budget crisis. But legislative leaders said they don't have the votes to approve the package of bills she favors, which includes a temporary sales tax increase (ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES). • NEW YORK's Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously approved the deepest service cuts to New York City's transit system since the 1980s in order to address a $400 million shortfall in state funding that emerged a few weeks ago. The cuts include the elimination of two subway lines, reduction of service on dozens of bus routes, and the phasing out of free fares for students (NEW YORK TIMES).

MUTINY IN MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE: Having ended their formal sessions for 2009 last month, MASSACHUSETTS lawmakers have been meeting informally over their six-week holiday recess to deal with uncontroversial issues. But that certainly didn't appear to be the case last week when four Democrats blocked all floor action in the House. 
 
The unusual insurrection didn't have anything to do with what was on the agenda but, rather, what wasn't: a vote on whether to order an independent audit of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-covered legal bills linked to former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's (D) indictment on corruption charges. 
 
"We're just asking for accountability and transparency," said Rep. Lida Harkins, one of the four disgruntled Democrats. "I get a lot of calls on the misuse of funds from constituents who want to know why their tax dollars are being diverted for legal purposes. And we don't have any accounting for it." 
 
Harkins said the bills from the Boston law firm Gargiulo/Rudnick - hired by Dimasi before he resigned in January to represent the House during the federal probe into whether he accepted money from a software firm in exchange for help getting a state contract - seem "out of whack" for what was required. She said legal fees incurred in connection with investigations of two state senators last year were only a fraction of what Gargiulo/Rudnick charged. 
 
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D) initially sent the four lawmakers' request to the House Rules Committee - a tactic routinely used by House leaders to quietly kill undesirable measures - saying it needed to be studied. 
 
"We'll have to review what they are seeking and act accordingly," he told reporters. "We'll see how the order goes through the process of going through the House rules review. What the particular order says, I'll review with the chair of the House Committee on Rules and act accordingly." 
 
After two days of inactivity in his chamber, however, DeLeo agreed to hire a private lawyer to investigate the legal charges but stopped short of authorizing the appointment of an independent auditor. While that decision seemed to appease at least one of the four Democrats, at least one other remained defiant. 
 
"It doesn't do it for me," said Rep. Thomas M. Stanley (D). "It should be performed by an outside auditor independently of the speaker." 
 
But the issue may be about more than just the proper investigation of the legal bills. Some say it's a reflection of a growing sense of dissatisfaction among some House Democrats with DeLeo's leadership. 
 
"He has some growing problems because of lack of organization and lack of goals and agenda and now lack of accountability," said Harkins, who had backed a rival of DeLeo, former majority leader John H. Rogers, in the succession struggle following DiMasi's departure. 
 
Rep. Vincent A. Pedone (D), chairman of one of DeLeo's key committees, put it more bluntly. 
 
"They're upset Speaker DeLeo is speaker of the House," he said. (BOSTON GLOBE) 
 
POLITICS IN BRIEF: Supporters of a measure to legalize marijuana in CALIFORNIA say they've collected enough signatures to qualify their proposal for the November ballot. The petition drive has reportedly collected over 680,000 signatures, about 57 percent more than the 433,971 required (LOS ANGELES TIMES). • PENNSYLVANIA Gov.-elect Chris Christie (R) has nominated a Democrat for one of the key roles in his new administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow will be the state's new attorney general (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER). • A NEVADA legislator is taking a 6 percent pay cut in solidarity with state workers forced to take furloughs and teachers forced to accept salary cuts. Although none of Assemblyman Ed Goedhart's (R) colleagues are following his lead, most of the state's constitutional officers are voluntarily reducing their pay (LAS VEGAS SUN). • Only 17 percent of CALIFORNIA and NEW YORK voters approve of the job their respective states' lawmakers are doing, according to separate polls by CALIFORNIA's Public Policy Institute and NEW YORK's Quinnipiac University (STATELINE).

QUINN BACKS GITMO PRISONER TRANSFER: ILLINOIS Gov. Pat Quinn (D) refuted accusations from political rivals that he is moving too quickly on a federal proposal to move terrorist detainees from a U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a mostly-vacant prison near the state's border with IOWA. President Barack Obama last week ordered his administration to move forward with buying the Thomson Correctional Center and preparing it to hold as many as 100 prisoners currently housed at the Guantanamo Bay site. 
 
The announcement infuriated Prairie State Republicans, who accused Quinn of not having the authority to sell state property without lawmakers first approving the deal. State Sen. Tim Bivins (R) said he and a group of fellow senators posed that question in a letter sent to state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, but Madigan has not responded. Bivins specifically complained that Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-ILLINOIS) are fudging state rules in order to expedite the sale over lawmakers' objections.  
 
"My understanding is that Gov. Quinn plans to designate Thomson as 'surplus' property, and by doing so he would have the authority to sell the prison," Bivins said.  
 
"You have two people, Gov. Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin, who are acting like real estate agents on this issue. We're talking about the sale of state assets here, and the public is being completely cut out of the deliberation process," he said.  
 
Quinn scoffed at that assertion, saying the process has been "deliberative" and "thoroughly discussed since it was first announced," adding that "at the same time, we have to move forward. We can't just run in place." He said more information would be forthcoming at a public hearing scheduled for this week.  
 
The deal was announced just days after Quinn cancelled a state prison system program that had granted early release to more than 800 prisoners since September after Corrections Director Michael Randle secretly dropped a policy requiring everyone to serve at least 61 days before becoming eligible for good-conduct time off. Many prisoners, some convicted of violent crimes and weapons charges, walked away after serving only a few days in lockup. Quinn, who called off the policy after it was revealed by the Associated Press, at first said he wasn't aware of the change before reversing himself and saying he was informed of it beforehand.  
 
That brought a stinging rebuke from state comptroller Dan Hynes, who is challenging Quinn in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. In a statement released after the Thomson deal was announced, Hynes said the release program could portend badly how Quinn would manage the high-security prisoners who would come from Guantanamo.  
 
"Gov. Quinn's bungled handling of and obfuscation on this program does nothing to instill a climate of competence and confidence that the people of ILLINOIS need at a time and situation like this," Hynes said. 
 
State and Congressional Republicans also slammed the Guantanamo transfer proposal, saying it would make the state a terrorist target. Quinn countered by touting the move's potential economic impact on that part of the state, including the potential to add 600 jobs and $1 billion in development. While acknowledging it would be "a major challenge," Quinn also sloughed off claims that the prison would endanger the community.  
 
"We're not afraid of anybody or anything," he said at a news conference. "I believe the people of our country and our state can handle any challenge whatsoever." (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, MSNBC.COM, PEORIA JOURNAL-STAR) 
 
HOUSE WON'T IMPEACH SANFORD...YET: A SOUTH CAROLINA House panel decided last week to censure but not impeach Gov. Mark Sanford (R). The House Judiciary Committee determined that Sanford's indiscretions — including carrying on an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina and lying about a trip he took last summer to meet with her — did not met the "serious crimes" or "serious misconduct" standard required by the state Constitution to remove him from office. Although the vote likely kills the impeachment movement, Sanford still faces a January State Ethics Commission hearing on his possible violations of ethics law and up to $74,000 in state fines. Attorney General Henry McMaster is also still reviewing evidence gathered by the Ethics Commission, and could potentially charge Sanford with criminal violations or transfer the case to a local or federal prosecutor who would do so. The full House and Senate must also endorse the censure, and the House could ultimately revive the impeachment process if criminal charges are filed against Sanford. (THE STATE, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR)  
 
GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: Speaking from the world climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, WISCONSIN Gov. Jim Doyle (D) said that the United States should move forward with federal cap-and-trade legislation if international climate negotiators at the conference are unable to reach agreement on it. He called for a 15-year phase-in period for states to meet emissions reductions goals (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL). • KENTUCKY Gov. Steve Beshear (D) issued Executive Order 2009-1198, which bars state employees from sending or receiving cell phone text messages while driving state vehicles (LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL). • NEW MEXICO Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said he would support legislation in 2010 to make talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $200 (SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN). • FLORIDA Gov. Charlie Crist (R) asked the state's inspector general to conduct an inquiry into state Department of Transportation e-mails with headlines containing "code words" that FDOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos and her chief, Kevin Thibault, used to potentially skirt a public-records request for agency correspondence concerning rail issues for the just-ended special legislative session. Some lawmakers called on Crist to hold off signing the bill in question, which will fund several high speed rail projects in South FLORIDA. The governor, however, signed that measure (HB 1 b) last Wednesday (NEW YORK TIMES, MIAMI HERALD). • A new Public Policy Institute of CALIFORNIA poll shows that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) approval rating has dropped to 27 percent, an all-time low for his tenure. The PPIC poll indicated that state lawmakers are doing even worse, with only 17 percent of Golden State residents saying they are doing a good job (LOS ANGELES TIMES).

BUSINESS: The OHIO Senate endorses SB 162, legislation that revises regulation of the Buckeye State's traditional landline telephone industry. The bill's many provisions would collectively give telephone providers greater freedom in handling customer service issues, setting service rates and marketing new products to low-income customers. The measure is now in the House (TOLEDO BLADE). • MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) signs a package of five bills that protect low-income and elderly customers from having their power shut off during the winter. The five bills govern shutoff notices and procedures for customers of municipal utilities (SB 554); protect eligible low-income and seniors from utility shutoffs (HB 4673); allow the attorney or a customer to bring a civil suit against a municipal utility in shutoff cases that cause serious injury or death (SB 557); require communication by the state with providers regarding eligible individuals for energy assistance programs that defray energy costs or prevent or delay utility disconnection (SB 553); and require utilities to make efforts to identify customers who are 65 or older (HB 4658). Granholm signed three related bills (HB 4386, HB 4650 and HB 4655) last month (DETROIT NEWS, STATE NET, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR'S OFFICE). • Still in MICHIGAN, the House endorses a package of bills that would bar insurers from increasing rates on good drivers who are not at fault in an accident, using a driver's credit or employment history in setting their coverage rate, and selling a consumer's personal information without their consent. The package would also establish a two-year waiting period after leaving office for the state insurance commissioner to work for an insurance company. The measures now move to the Senate (DETROIT NEWS).  
 
CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The VIRGINIA State Crime Commission declines to recommend legislation that would make "sexting," sending explicit pictures through text messages, a crime. The Old Dominion's 120 state prosecutors can currently use their own discretion to determine whether to charge sexters who send pictures of a person under age 18 with possessing or transmitting child pornography (WASHINGTON POST). • President Barack Obama orders federal officials to purchase a nearly-empty prison in Thomson, ILLINOIS and use it to hold up to 100 detainees currently held in the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The purchase is part of the administration's plans to shut down the controversial detention center (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). • A federal court allows a lawsuit challenging the FLORIDA prison system's use of Christian and other faith-based programs to move forward. The state had sought to have the case tossed out. It now moves back to a state trial court (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES). • The OHIO Supreme Court rules that police cannot search the contents of a suspect's cell phone without a court order unless doing so would protect them from imminent harm. The court said such warrantless searches violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (COLUMBUS DISPATCH). • The WISCONSIN Assembly and Senate overwhelmingly approve SB 66, which would require ignition interlocks for all repeat drunken drivers and for first-time offenders with blood-alcohol levels of 0.15 or greater. The bill would also make a fourth drunken driving offense a felony if it occurs within five years of a previous offense. First offenses would also become a misdemeanor if a child under 16 is in the car. The bill moves to Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who has promised to sign it (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL).  
 
EDUCATION: The OHIO Senate endorses HB 19, a measure that would require Buckeye State public schools to incorporate dating violence prevention into health classes for students in seventh through 12th grades. The measure would also add school bus drivers to the list of school personnel who are barred from employment if they have been found guilty of certain crimes, including murder, kidnapping and sex-related offenses. It returns to the House for review of amendments made in the Senate (COLUMBUS DISPATCH). • Still in OHIO, the House approves HB 60, a bill that would bar or restrict public schools from selling unhealthy snack foods, including candy, in vending machines and school stores. Approved foods and drinks would generally have to contain less than 200 calories, contain no trans fat and have limited saturated fat, processed sugar and sodium. It will now move to the Senate (COLUMBUS DISPATCH).  
 
ENVIRONMENT: An unexpected rapid rise in the black bear population leads KENTUCKY wildlife officials to hold the Bluegrass State's first bear hunt in over 100 years. Officials say that as late as the mid 1990s, no bears were known to inhabit the state. At least 300 bears are now thought to be located in the three counties where the hunt was authorized. The harvest was limited to 10 total, or five females (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER).  
 
SOCIAL POLICY: The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals rules that CALIFORNIA must pay the full cost of care for thousands of children in group homes. The ruling reverses a lower court finding that state payments covering 80 percent of the expense were sufficient. The court remanded the case back to a federal district court for action (VENTURA COUNTY STAR [CAMARILLO]).

ON UNFRIENDLY TERMS: Social networking may be all the craze these days, but in FLORIDA, friendship definitely has its limits. As the New York Times reports, the Sunshine State Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee recently ruled that judges who hobnob on sites like Facebook will no longer be allowed to "friend" lawyers who may ultimately appear before them, lest it give the appearance that said barristers have undue influence over those judges. Alas, the committee says it is still okay for lawyers to become a "fan" of judges "as long as the judge or committee controlling the site cannot accept or reject the lawyer's listing of himself or herself on the site." 
 
A REAL WORKPLACE ROMANCE: We've all undoubtedly heard of people who are married to their job. But last month, OHIO Rep. Dan Stewart took that a step further when he and his fiance actually got married on the job. As the Columbus Dispatch reports, Stewart and girlfriend Catherine Thomsen took their vows in the Capitol Rotunda, with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a former judge, officiating at the ceremony. Stewart said the decision to tie the knot just steps from where they spend their workday was an easy one, calling it "hallowed space." While the nuptials went off without a hitch, the state's protracted budget battle has forced the couple to call off their planned honeymoon to the Caribbean. The happy pair will instead head to Pasadena to cheer on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, followed by a few days in HAWAII. 
 
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA: The natives are getting restless in CALIFORNIA, where lawmakers will soon begin trying to resolve yet another monstrous budget shortfall. But according to a recent poll, a fair amount of Golden State residents think lawmakers have had their chance and now it is time to bring in someone who can fix the state's chronic financial problems once and for all. That someone, reports the Sacramento Bee, is none other than pop singer Britney Spears. According to the poll, which was commissioned by a Los Angeles man who wants the state to repeal the temporary 10 percent income tax hike it adopted to help resolve last year's whopping budget hole, a third of the respondents said they would rather place the state's financial well being with the notoriously unstable pop tart than with lawmakers. All of which can only mean the former Mouseketeer's gubernatorial run is not far off. 
 
SLAM DUNK OR AIRBALL? That's the question, now that former NBA center Chris Dudley has announced his campaign for the OREGON governor's office. The 6-foot-11 Dudley brings zero political experience into the race, though the one-time Portland Trailblazer proved during his announcement that he already is well versed in getting up in an opponent's face, saying he considers it a "strength, not a weakness" not to have spent the last 30 years in politics. As The Oregonian reports, that seemed a clear reference to former Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat with three decades in state government who is seeking to reclaim his old office. Dudley barely noted his own hoops background, though Bill Schonely, the team's former announcer, couldn't help doing so. "If Chris makes his free throws, things will be right for us," Schonely joked. Dudley was one of the worst free throw shooters in NBA history.