January

Gov. Schwarzenegger breaks a leg and proclaims 2007 the year of health care reform. Coincidence? Meanwhile, Donna Summer, Bob Saget and a walking asparagus rock the inaugural ball. The state Assembly welcomed 34 freshmen to work. Cap Weekly analyzes behested payments. Sally Lieber wants to ban spanking. Legislature wants to move the presidential primary.
The Legislature tries to keep the 49ers in San Francisco. Jerry Brown puts his wife in charge. Nancy Pelosi becomes the new speaker. Gov’s budget targets welfare and public transportation cuts, and new water and prison bonds. Cold snap destroys the state’s citrus crop. Schwarzenegger calls for new lethal injection protocol.

Also this month: Wolk staffer injured in house fire. Rachelle Chong is confirmed to PUC. Joe Núñez bounced by state Senate. Gov limps to the Golden Globes. Vallejo man injured by exploding cell phone. Community colleges look to tweak Prop. 98. Garamendi’s daughter gets busted. Núñez gets a Prius. Alarcon gets sworn in — then leaves. Lloyd Levine’s bright idea. CSU execs get a raise. Lake Davis gets zapped. The return of the ethics committee. Hunter for president!

February

Perata says no to redistricting. Gavin Newsom’s sordid affair.

Introducing the “net operating deficit.” Gov calls Perata “weird” and “sick.” Gavin checks into rehab. Leo McCarthy dies. State’s revenues dip. Migden pushes for menu labeling. Rudy comes to Sacramento. Gov’s inmate transfer plan blocked. Health care coalitions galore. CalPERS divests from Sudan. CTC hands out bond money. The return of Death with Dignity. Term limits initiative hits the streets. Parsky named chair of pension commission. Spanking bill dies. Feds threaten prisons.

Also this month: Susan Kennedy gets a bonus. Molly Ivins, RIP. Angelides cleared in Tape-gate. The fight over Derrida’s papers. OC supes race heads into overtime.

March

Moderates locked out of Senate offices, balls-out fight over breeding bill. More oversight for CSU? Kuehl has her own health care proposal. Santa Monica starts birth control for squirrels. Gov heads to the White House. Primary officially moved, war on the chiro board, fight over Col. Allensworth State Park, Dymally aide in murder-suicide, nurses take on Núñez, feds promise health care dollars, CSU fees increase, Romney comes to Capitol, snubbed by Schwarzenegger? Romero blocks new sentencing bills, Democrats to author tribal compacts, Long named education secretary, where is Ed Vincent? Bay Meadows to close, Jerry for governor?

Also this month: Baca survives Hispanic Caucus fight, Earnest Gallo RIP, Gov buys carbon credits, education study unveiled, Gov plans trip to India, Migden vs. Leno gets ugly, Schwarzenegger calls Limbaugh “irrelevant,” Happy Canada Day!

April

LA Times is sold, Hillary, Rudy open up early leads, Mahoney blasts Núñez over assisted suicide, Horton named director of public health, Sillen on the hot seat, budget deficit grows, Perata calls for Iraq withdrawal, Gov addresses British conservatives, Dems offer delta fix, Gov lectures Detroit, court says OK to outsourcing, CCPOA vs. Schwarzenegger, Count Cartaxula revealed! Juanita Millender-McDonald RIP, Senate approves gaming compacts, Núñez backs Hillary, prison deal reached, Dems gather in San Diego, Gov threatens to sue feds.

Also this month: Legislative junket to Japan, Danny Glover says no to S.F. mayor’s race, Brownley pushes Mel Gibson law, Tamminen for president! Tragedy at Virginia Tech, newspaper wars in Santa Barbara, Senate rejects water bond, Lou Papan, RIP.

May

Bay Area freeway collapse, Oropeza vs. Richardson, Delta and Dawn appear, John Garamendi — prince of whales, Carole Migden’s wild ride, May Day protest in Los Angeles turns ugly, California population hits 37.7 million, the Sierra’s vanishing snowpack, prison bill signed, delta pumping halted, Schwarzenegger to pardon Paris Hilton? Secret death chamber revealed, fire at Griffith Park, Todd Spitzer moved to the doghouse, bad news in the May Revise, so, what exactly is EdFund, and why is it worth $1 billion? Fuentes elected in special election, Democrats unveil health care plan, Supreme Court OKs stem cell panel, impasse declared in CCPOA talks, Perata dumps mods from Appropriations.

Also this month: Perata in minor car accident, Reggie the Alligator is captured, Gil Ferguson RIP, privatize the lottery? Migden’s Caddy for sale, Núñez and Perata split over redistricting, Joseph Rattigan RIP, I-80 reopened after tanker crash, Torlakson vs. the blind, CalPERS pushes Exxon exec, health care ad wars.

June

Judge blasts state’s unclaimed property policy, Lloyd Levine vs. Stuart Waldman, Paris Hilton goes to jail, Villaraigosa announces split with wife, Michael Moore hits Sacramento, Villines pushes redistricting bill, Fred Thompson for president, Assembly approves same-sex marriage bill, Iraq bill heads to governor, tribal compacts move through Assembly, Ed Jew indicted in San Francisco, GOP’s Canadian political director, Legislature misses budget deadline, gets pay raise, Schwarzenegger makes plans to head to London, Richardson beats Oropeza, Richman files pension initiative, Gov goes to Austria, pet neutering bill dies, ARB chief fired.

Also this month: Prisons allow gay conjugal visits, community college chief quits, LAT loses a blogger, fight over horse racing board, Ron Gonzales acquitted, David Gilb vs. CCPOA, who crashed Rocky Delgadillo’s car?

July

Budget standoff begins, Villaraigosa admits to affair, layoffs at the Mercury News, the return of Mary Nichols, Dems say Schwarzenegger administration has been soft on air regulations, Bill Burke finally gets his term-limits extension, Levine’s pet sterilization bill dies, donors pony up for term limits initiative, Cindy Tuck gets a new job, feds pass new farm bill, Capitol Weekly ranks the legislators, the Bob Margett portrait mystery, Assembly approves budget, Perata locks in the Senate, term limits sponsors turn in signatures, McClintock the blogger.

Also this month: Marilyn Monroe hits the Capitol, Maviglio vs. Marc Cooper, Joe Weider honored, where does Yvonne Burke live? Chicken John for Mayor!

August

State GOP’s fiscal woes. Fundraising totals released. Bowen decertifies voting machines. Maldonado breaks from his caucus. The electoral vote split plan surfaces. Recall Jeff Denham movement launched. Video game ban restrictions unconstitutional. Compact referendums hit the street. Dymally takes the Fifth in badge case. Migden charged with misdemeanor. The death of post-partisanship. Robert Dynes resigns. Migden 911 tapes released. Doolittle gets a challenger. Teenage driver cell-phone ban passed. Finally, a budget.

Also this month: Governor declares mosquito emergency. Houston for supervisor. Koretz for city council. Concord councilman dies at meeting. Warring eminent domain measures. Pete Wilson returns to Sacramento. Arvin has dirtiest air in America. Karl Rove resigns. Hall of famers announced. Parks for supervisor. Greg Lucas resigns. Conny McCormack resigns. Ms. South Carolina said what?

 

September

Term limits initiative runs into some signature trouble — but eventually qualifies for the February ballot. Fred Thompson beefs up on former Schwarzenegger staffers. Electoral vote split heads to the streets. Doolittle subpoenaed. Lowenthal’s port bill killed. CCPOA’s pay raise dies in session’s closing hours. Hospitals OK new health care fee. Transit advocates sue the state. San Manuel compact ratified. Núñez’s health care bill sent to governor — and vetoed. The end of session — and new beginnings, as Schwarzenegger calls a special. Restaurants make their own health care proposal. Chemerinsky named dean at UC Irvine Law School. Schwarzenegger speaks at UN.

Also this month: Maria photographed with no seat belt. War between beekeepers and orange growers. Burkle vs. Riordan. Broad gives UCLA $20 million. Newsom asks for resignation letters. Legislative bingo. Ed Jew suspended.

October

Schwarzenegger heads to China, Jerry Brown sues the feds — again. Núñez’s spending in the spotlight. Same-sex marriage proponents take to the air. Compact referendums qualify for ballot. Water bond proposal killed. Mike Corona indicted. State revenues continue to fall. Governor signs ban on smoking in cars with children. CFT vs. CTA. Núñez’s L.A. roommate. Toxic toys bill signed. Tunnel crash on Interstate 5. Nunez’s wife under fire. Bee’s Rick Rodriguez quits. Fires in Malibu. Student fees spike again. Maria announces retirement from TV.

 

Also this month: Robin Givins testifies in Sacramento. CSEA vs. SEIU. La Jolla landslide. Rice-a-Roni creator dies.

November

Issa jumps into electoral college fight. Carona posts bail. Californians say they’re pessimistic about the future. Governor plans for deep spending cuts. Núñez moves toward the governor on health care. Oil spill in San Francisco Bay. CCPOA opposes Prop. 93. Cunningham aide convicted. Newsom re-elected. Tobacco taxes on the table. Poizner takes lead on term limits fight. State auditor blasts CSU. Legislators head to Maui. Dropouts on the rise. Leeza Gibbons lands stem cell gig. Power struggle at SEIU.

Also this month: Migden gets investigated by the FPPC. No new crabbing. Gray Davis returns. Bill Leonard gets dinged. The left vs. Dianne Feinstein. HealthNet gets slapped. Speier for Congress?

 

December

Legislators get a pay raise. Schwarzenegger pushes for redistricting. A health care deal! (Has anyone told Perata?) Furutani bests Gipson. Electoral college reform misses June ballot. PPIC gathering in Sacramento. Brulte endorses Prop. 93. Governor’s nonprofit benefactors open their books. Budget shortfall hits $14 billion. Mitchell report released. Blue Shield gets fined. Labor-fed goes neutral on speaker. Newsom takes on soda.

Also this month: Mickey Mouse subpoenaed. Hanretty makes Glamour Mag. Angelides returns.
—Anthony York