• The trial on prison overcrowding began today. This could blow another hole in our budget, or could end up in a mass release of prisoners. Either way, this is yet another sad day for a failed corrections system in the state.

• We’ve already run out of money in our fire fighting budget, and exceeded the budget allocation by over $200 million.  Tack it on to the 12Billion in deficit, I suppose.

• Jerry McNerney as the Secretary of Energy?    It seems like more rumor than fact, and his spokesman is denying any contact with Barack Obama.  But this would start a chain reaction and would likely set up a contested special election.  McNerney hasn’t been the best Congressman, but he does have fairly substantial knowledge about energy issues, particularly wind power.

• Markos has an important post on the Prop. 8 protests, the Human Rights Campaign, and grassroots politics.

• Disgraced conservative former SF Supervisor Ed Jew pleaded guilty to lying about where he lived in order to run for Supervisor. Ed Jew lasted only a few months before trying to shake down a business in the City. SF is better for his absence.

• “America’s Sheriff” Mike Carona’s exploits are getting detailed in his corruption trial. Yesterday we learned that one of his contributors got something of a “get out of jail free” card.  Fun, just like a board game!

• In election counting news, Tom McClintock’s lead over Charlie Brown is down to 562 votes, with provisionals to come, which usually favor Democrats.

Ed Jew, SF District 4 Supervisor, has been “suspended” by the Mayor and City Attorney Dennis Herrera today, putting him one step closer to irrelevance. Interestingly, the Mayor stuck close to home when picking a successor, and plucked Carmen Chu from his budget office.  Many were expecting Newsom to appoint Doug Chan, his pick in the District 4 elections last year.  But, well, “Many”, you were wrong! Hah! Rubes! (The fact that I thought it was going to be Chan myself as late as yesterday are merely coincidental. I, of course, am no rube. There, it’s on the internet, so it’s Permanent!)

Anyway, I’m trying to get some more information on Ms. Chu.  Local women’s groups had been applying pressure to the mayor to appoint a woman, and they seem to have been successful, at least on that score. 

One more interesting quote from the article:

Chu has an address on Ulloa Street in the Sunset, the mayor’s office said.

Local Blog-gadfly “marc” at leftinsf reports that Ms. Chu has voted exactly once in San Francisco. Interesting pick so far. If you have more info on her, leave it in the comments or shoot me an email.
UPDATE: Here’s this the press conference announcement (w/video).

That gets busted for being greedy, doing something stupid, and ends up in jail.  Well, here in SF, our simple-minded conservative is Ed Jew and he’s in lots and lots of trouble. Not only did he lie about his residency, but Supervisor (at least for a little while) Jew also, allegedly, took bribes in some sort of extortion scheme.

Yesterday, the Feds indicted him, and he’s in federal court today.  The Mayor has demanded that he resign his position. And rightly so, the Mayor, and all of the supervisors and most other City/County officials have called on him to resign. He should do so, like yesterday, and let SF move on.

So, your humble (haha) front page contributer knows a thing or two about City Attorney investigations. In fact, I once had to go down and have two investigators grill me on tape for an annoyingly long time. I didn’t complain. I didn’t hire an attorney. I didn’t hide, because I had done nothing wrong. Which, from my personal knowledge of the dynamics, makes in my mind this look even sketchier.

I know we’ve had a lot of SF politics on the front page, but only because it has been interesting. And the last thing this state needs is wannabe SF politicians getting the Paris Hilton treatment.

Not only was Kamala’s timing in charging Ed Jew interesting, but it looks like her investigators knew exactly where to go.

Sources close to the case said Tuesday that evidence collected included interviews with Jew’s neighbors — both on 28th Avenue and in Burlingame, where his family lives — as well as voter registration, Department of Motor Vehicle, utility and other records that would show where Jew had actually resided.

The conclusion was that Jew had owned property on 32nd Avenue in District 4 when he first ran for supervisor unsuccessfully in 2002, but that he had sold it soon afterward. By the following year, he was allegedly creating a paper trail for his subsequent run — among other things, registering to vote at the 28th Avenue address owned by his parents.

Yep, Kamala knew where those breadcrumbs were a long time ago. Everyone did, because Jew left them for everyone to see.

The California Water Conservation Authority announced Friday that it had appointed Ed Jew as California’s first Water Czar.  Jew, a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, said “I am delighted to share my experience of strict water conservation to help all of California during this difficult time.” 

More on the flip

Jew has a proven track record of water conservation.  As a resident of San Francisco’s Sunset district, Jew and his family somehow were able to live using very little if any water during the entire time they lived there.  And he has the water bills to prove it. 

Jew’s experience goes far beyond residential water conservation.  “Jew’s experience running a flower shop that didn’t even have a water account  will help California’s farmers develop ways to grow plants without the need for water,” said Tap E. Ocha, a member of the California Agricultural Water Board.  After a bone-dry winter, all of California is bracing for a drought this summer.  For example, Sonoma has instituted mandatory rationing and Southern California’s Metropolitan Water District has taken the harsh measure of asking people to please not water their precious Southern California lawns.  Oh the humanity! 

But this is where Ed Jew can help.  “Somehow Ed Jew was able to institute measures that reduced his family’s and his flower shop’s water use to almost zero,” said Q. Rick Lee, the Deputy Commissioner of the Water Conservation Authority.  “We are hopeful that Ed can teach other Californians to live a water-free life like him.” 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked the CWCA to conduct a study of the financial impact of Jew’s water conservation program.  “I believe that by reducing California’s water usage to almost zero, we will be able to sell our water to other states, or maybe even to Mexico, and make enough money to cover the lavish expenditures of the out of control Democrats who want to fund education.” 

Jew is commonly known as “Tapioca Ed,” apparently a reference to the ability of tapioca pearls  to absorb and retain large amount of water.  A rally  is planned for today to launch Jew into his new position. 

Jew was last seen leaving his San Francisco residence singing “Rain drops keep falling on my head.” 

  *********

This is a report of the Calitics Fake News Service.  All facts sated herein and all quotes should be presumed to be made up in a sad attempt at satire. 

Ed Jew — the $40,000 man — is out on $135,000 bail and headed for arraignment on 9 felony counts. Know as “Supervisor No” for his record, it appears “no” was also the answer to whether he lived in San Francisco and was honest with investigators.

With a good chance of a special election being combined with the November recall, it is important to consider how this — taken with the recall campaign against Jake McGoldrick in the district to the north — could change the strategic dynamics for ballot measures in San Francisco in the next 12 months.

These two conservative westside districts (the Sunset and Richmond), along with Gavin Newsom’s expensive GOTV effort could make this fall an awful time for progressive initiatives. Pretty much the opposite of next June. San Francisco has always played an important role as an incubator lab for progressive policy that can then be exported across the state and nation. But will this be a year for defense instead?

And what cool ideas would you suggest to take advantage of the overwhelming progressive potential next June?

Forget about Tapiocagate. Forget about rumors of arson, tax fraud, illegal evictions, and activity surrounding the pot club in one of his buildings. Forget even about questions surrounding his own residency is San Francisco. This alone proves that Supervisor Ed Jew is a liar.

Ed and Lisa are raising their 8 year old daughter in the Sunset District.

LIE! Ed’s wife and daughter live in Burlingame.

Jew claims to live in San Francisco, while his wife and young daughter, a spokeswoman for Jew said, reside at a one-story home in Burlingame. Jew’s neighbors in San Francisco reportedly assert that his home is vacant.

So, which is it Ed? Are you saying that the city you work, hold office and claim to live not good enough for your family? Is it good enough for mine? At the very least Ed, don’t make up stories about your kid.

Hey, maybe Ed Jew is a fun guy after all!

An Ocean Avenue building owned by the family of embattled Supervisor Ed Jew houses a medicinal marijuana dispensary, as a deadline nears for such facilities to obtain Health Department permits.

The NorCal cannabis club, at 1545 Ocean Ave., operates in a building owned by Howard and Anne Jew, according to city records. An employee at the club Tuesday confirmed that the club deals with Howard Jew, Ed Jew’s father, as a landlord..

The ownership of a building housing a medicinal marijuana club, although legal, could create problems for the Jew family as legislation goes into effect at the end of June requiring permits for the operation of such dispensaries.

Under legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 30, 2005, cannabis clubs in San Francisco have until June 30 to obtain San Francisco Health Department permits.

Medical cannabis dispensary owners have complained that the June 30 deadline is unrealistic because of city permitting delays. On May 16, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier introduced legislation that would extend the deadline.

Maybe his dad will bribe him to get the permit.