Politically Correct With Koula Gianulias

Poizner’s Turn

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:35:16 GMT

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner admits no one really knew who he was until he became the star of Meg Whitman’s attack ads. In this candid interview, he calls out his opponent for trying to “buy the office.” Poizner also sets out a detailed plan for how he’d close California’s $20 billion budget gap…while putting cash back in your pocket by slashing sales and income taxes.

Meg's Answering Questions

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:03:20 GMT

After avoiding reporters at a recent “press event,” Republican Meg Whitman gave us full access today. She sat down with me one-on-one to answer my questions, and she also took questions from the audience at the California Taxpayers’ Association annual meeting. Then, following the event, she answered more questions from reporters (after the print and radio reporters complained because they were left out of the one-on-one interviews). In all three Q&A sessions, Whitman focused on her top priorities: creating jobs, fixing education and cutting government spending. Watch the interview below and please post your comments...including questions you’d like me to ask the next time I speak with her.

Speaker Perez' Staff Raises

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:53:48 GMT

A total of eight staffers from Speaker Perez's office were recently given raises.

Seven staffers were at Speaker Perez's office prior to his speakership. They are as follows:

Krista Bridgeford: From $45000 to $47256
Nicole Curran: From $54,996 to $74,748
Miguel Martinez: From $45,000 to $50,004
Lizette Hernderson: From $32,004 to $36,000
Suzanne Ordaz: From $33,000 to $40,008
Sara Ramirez: From $125,256 to $190,008
John Vigna: From $40,800 to $60,000

Veronica Ortiz-Torres was transferred to the Speaker’s staff. She was given a raise from from $65,004 to $74,748.

One-On-One with Jerry Brown

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:18:03 GMT

Will he raise taxes to deal with California’s $20 billion deficit? What will he do about crowded classrooms and teacher layoffs? Has he changed his political views since the last time he served as Governor? Is he really up for the job at age 71? Click on the link below to hear Jerry Brown’s candid answers to these questions, and a few questions we solicited from viewers here in Sacramento today.

Watch clip

Prisoners Free

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:19:51 GMT

“Violent criminals will be out on the street”…”no one will be watching”…”sex offenders will run wild”….”prisons will unlock the gates today.” These are the types of statements frustrating the Department of Corrections right now. True, today kicks off a controversial plan to release an estimated 6,500 inmates up to six weeks early to save California about a half billion dollars. But no one will actually be released today (believe me, I tried to get an interview with the first inmate out the door). Turns out, it will take months for inmates to earn enough credit to get out early. They score points by completing educational, vocational or rehab programs. Plus, their risk level will be reviewed before they’re turned loose, according to Corrections Secretary Matt Cate. He also insists violent criminals and sex offenders are NOT eligible for this program. But that’s not enough to ease the fears of critics. There may be a lot of false information out there….”spin” as we like to call it in the media….but the fact is thousands of convicts will get out early, and they’ll no longer be supervised on parole. We wanted to know the types of crimes they’ve been convicted of, but the Department of Corrections didn’t hand out a list today (on their web site, they simply list crimes that do NOT qualify for early release). So click here for the list compiled by Assemblyman Ted Lieu to see which crimes may qualify for early release. And let us know what you think of the plan.

Secret Gifts?

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:42:10 GMT

View letters issued to politicians who didn't declare gifts (42-page .pdf file)

Fancy dinners at Ella’s…$250 Kings tickets….a $1,000 tab for meals and spa treatments at a Pebble Beach resort….and free concert tickets to Billy Joel and George Strait are just a few examples of lavish gifts given to California legislators. Some of you might be surprised they’re even allowed to accept these gifts from lobbyists, but that’s just part of the story. According to the Fair Political Practices Commission, legislators failed to report all the gifts listed above. The FPPC uncovered thousands of dollars worth of gifts by cross checking the expense reports that lobbyists are required to file. Now they’re calling out 40 Senators and Assembly Members for failing to report them, and threatening them with a fine up to $5,000 per violation if they broke gift-limit rules. CBS 13 filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get our hands on these letters…and we’ve posted them below so you can see who failed to report, and the gifts they were given. Stay tuned to find out if any legislators are found in violation and end up paying a fine.

Goodbye Gov: Final State of the State

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:48:52 GMT

When I interviewed Governor Schwarzenegger a few months ago, I asked him if he ever wakes up in the morning and regrets taking this job. He said no way…he loves serving the people of California. But I wonder if he’ll struggle to sleep tonight. It’s the eve of his final State of the State address, and California is a mess. After he approved painful cuts and taxes to close a $60 billion-dollar gap in the last year, he now faces a $21 billion-dollar deficit. So this will be a critical and challenging speech. A political expert I was chatting with the other day says it’s all about his legacy. He’ll have to deliver an optimistic message that includes reforms he can actually accomplish in his final year. Should be interesting to see what he says. Of course he’ll have some help. He’s hired accomplished Republican speechwriter Landon Parvin who wrote for Reagan and the Bushes.

UCD Student Comedian

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:24:59 GMT

As a UC Davis graduate, I love any chance to get back to campus. But I was especially excited about my story on Kevin Wu. Before meeting him, I watched his You Tube clips in the newsroom and laughed out loud. He’s so popular that he was labeled a “Top You Tuber” and companies started paying to advertise on his video clips. So Kevin’s now making enough money to pay for college….and he’s also donating thousands of dollars to charity. To watch his videos click on http://www.kevjumba.com/ and for more information on Kevin’s comedy event at UCD Wednesday night to raise awareness about Hepatitis B, go to http://www.willyoubhere.com/.

Link to full story on CBS13.com: http://cbs13.com/local/ucd.youtube.2.1274765.html

Governor Heckled

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:21:07 GMT

If you haven't seen the video, check it out below. It makes President Obama's "YOU LIED!!" attack seem subtle. On Wednesday, Governor Schwarzenegger dropped by a democratic fundraiser in San Francisco to say hi to Willie Brown, and ended up getting booed and yelled at. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco can be heard shouting "kiss my gay a**" and other choice words I can't include in this blog. Ammiano's refusing to say sorry...do you think he crossed the line? Or, did the Governor have it coming for crashing the Dems party? Post your comments below.

Education Cuts: Reality Sets In

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:45:09 GMT

oday I found myself asking the same questions over and over again, because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You might cut all sports? You mean football too? Really, all the athletics programs?" The spokeswoman for Elk Grove Schools patiently confirmed the dire details for me. The district has to slash another $40 million dollars from next year's budget because of state education cuts. Hard to imagine schools losing libraries, new text books and saying goodbye to another 250 teachers. But the thought of these students losing all sports programs really struck me. So many students are motivated to stay in school because of sports...and the games are a big part of American high school culture. As one sad student put it: "There goes our spirit. There goes everything." Let's hope they put their heads together and figure out a way to save those programs. The district will host a total of 8 parent meetings to talk it out and come up with solutions.