Poizner (left, at the state's spring 2009 Republican Convention), who currently serves as the state's insurance commissioner, didn't directly address the bond as he spoke to about four dozen Fresno Chamber of Commerce members this afternoon. "We need to build more dams; I support that," he told the group. "We clearly need to invest in more water storage systems."

But Poizner told reporters before his speech that he and his team continue to evaluate the bond measure that legislators put on next fall's ballot -- the same ballot on which he hopes his name will also appear as the Republican nominee for governor.

"The bond measure has its pluses and minuses, and we're taking a look at all of those," he said. "We need to build more dams in California, and this bond may do that ... but I want to take a closer look."

"I want to pressure [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, who's blocking efforts by both Republicans and Democrats to have more flexibility in implementing the Endangered Species Act," he said.

Poizner also took aim at one of his opponents for the Republican nomination, Meg Whitman, proclaiming his shock at recent reports that Whitman contributed large sums in recent years "to a radical environmental group that's fighting to protect the Delta smelt."

Whitman's campaign said this week that she would be voting yes on the water bond.

In his lunchtime remarks, Poizner also touted his plans to streamline state government departments to reduce costs and improve efficiency, and to slice taxes on income, sales and capital gains. "For the last 10 years, we've tried raising taxes" to balance state budgets, "and it's been a disaster," he said.

The tax cuts are critical to reversing a flight of businesses and jobs from California, he said. The increased investments of business and industry in the state, Poizner added, would quickly make up for the initial losses of revenue from cutting taxes.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m.:

Whitman's campaign responded late Friday afternoon by e-mail to Poizner's concern over her charitable foundation's contributions to the Environmental Defense Fund.

(Bee file photo: Whitman speaking in Clovis, September 2009)

Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei took aim at positions Poizner took during a 2004 run for the state Assembly:

"Meg Whitman was the first candidate to call for the water to be turned on and to come out with a clear plan to get the water flowing back into the Central Valley. During his campaign for the Assembly, Commissioner Poizner made protecting the Delta's eco-system a cornerstone of his candidacy and complained about the proportion of water users inside the ag industry. But now, just like a Sacramento politician, he's using political attacks to divert attention from his record of opposing farmers and ranchers."

The government is weighing in on the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping madness this year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is recommending retailers have bullhorns, barricades and uniformed guards ready for the rush.

Eyes are on retailers this year, following last year's trampling death of a Walmart worker on Black Friday.

Although they won't say it's related, Walmart is staying open 24 hours before Black Friday for crowd management purposes. Discounts will begin at 5 a.m. Friday.

This year's special circumstances do make one wonder if it will be an extra tense Black Friday: More cash-strapped shoppers may be desperate for bargains. Retailers in stiff competition with each other are offering better-than-ever discounts. And in an effort to save money, stores have limited the amount of merchandise they stocked, meaning shortages could happen.

Such particle pollution is considered the worst villain among air pollution problems. Most big health and social costs related to air quality come from PM-2.5 -- which is soot, chemical droplets and other tiny debris in the air.

It's always a bit of a mystery about how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comes up with these numbers. The ranking is based on a design value, which is a calculation of monitor readings.

Here's the breakout:

1. San Joaquin Valley
2. Liberty-Clairton, Pa.
3. South Coast
4. Birmingham, Ala.
5. Steubenvillle-Wierton, WV
6. Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH - KY-IN

Whitman initially gave a cautious response to the bond, but her press secretary told The Bee today that the candidate would be voting yes.

"Despite the typical Sacramento actions of including additional spending and pet projects that were included in the final language of the water bill, Meg believes providing water to communities across the state is too important to delay the process once again," Sarah Pompei said in an email. "She will vote in support of the measure on the ballot and will work to fix the broken process in Sacramento as governor."

GOP candidate Tom Campbell gave the most positive review in the days after the bond's passage, saying the "fundamentals" of the deal "all appear to be the right ones."

Most Valley farm groups support the bond, which potentially includes money for a proposed dam near Fresno. But some fiscal conservatives have criticized the borrowing, which will cost the state up to $809 million in annual debt service at its peak.

State Sen. Chuck DeVore, who is running for U.S. Senate, and state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, a lieutenant governor candidate, both voted against the bond in the Legislature and have harshly criticized it.

There is also a split among Democrats. Although legislative leaders voted for the bond, it was opposed by some environmental groups and will likely face criticism from some unions who fear the borrowing could take money from other programs.

Democrat Jerry Brown, who is expected to run for governor, has not yet taken a position on the measure, said spokesman Steven Glazer.

We published a story today about a renewed push to let low-income motorists know about a low-cost, liability-only auto insurance program. But why now?

Give thanks to Thanksgiving for that. State insurance officials and California Highway Patrol officers say with more drivers hitting the road next week for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, there's concern that more drivers will be out there without insurance.

What that means is more officers on patrol and on the lookout for possible DUIs, speeders and seat-belt violations -- perhaps as many as 950 officers during the course of the five-day period. And in each traffic stop, drivers will be asked for the three pieces of documentation required under the law: their driver's license, their vehicle registration and their proof of insurance.

"If you don't have insurance, it can be a substantial fine," said Matt Radke, a public information officer for the CHP.

One interesting point -- the CHP has been issuing fewer citations for not having proof of insurance over the past few years.

In 2006, for instance, officers wrote 23,593 tickets for no proof of insurance across the sprawling Central Division. That dropped to 21,126 citations in 2007 and 19,395 in 2008.

Despite those figures, it is widely believed that because of greater unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley than other parts of the state, there are likely more drivers going without insurance because they cannot afford it -- perhaps as much as 20%, said Darrell Ng, the associate deputy commissioner for the state Department of Insurance.

The Department of Insurance hasn't tracked the percentage of uninsured motorists on a county-by-county basis since 2004, but the latest statewide estimate by the Insurance Research Council suggests that in 2007 -- before the California economy began to tank -- 18% of the state's motorists were uninsured.

Michelle Barnett, a Fresno insurance agent who writes policies under the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program, said she's seeing more drivers taking advantage of the program in the last couple of years as they learn about the effort. "But there's still quite a bit of work to do to get the word out," she said.

Among people who apply for the program through her office, Barnett said a few are drivers with standard auto insurance who are hoping to save money -- if they qualify -- by dropping to a lower level of coverage. But most, she said, are drivers who don't have any auto insurance at all because of the cost.

In the Record's Nov. 17 issue, as part of what's called Extensions of Remarks, Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-Va., included an homage to Eames. Before passing away Oct. 25 at the age of 79, Eames had founded the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners. He co-authored two books with his wife Toni and was active in many disability rights issues.

A spokesman for Wittman explained Thursday that one of the congressman's Virginia constituents had worked with Eames in the past and had urged the lawmaker to pay his respects via the Congressional Record.

People want to know about your roadkill finds. The University of California, Davis, has set up a Web page called California Roadkill Observation System, with the ghoulish mission of tracking smashed critters, getting photos and getting their locations on a map.

The reason? I think folks are trying to influence management and policy decisions in such matters as road building and placement of signs.

"We have created this site to provide a way for people like you to report roadkill so that we can understand and try to influence the factors that contribute to roadkill," the Web site says.

Total roadkill reports is 1,435 over a few months time.

I have a phobia about X-rays. Just ask my dentist - she practically has to tie me in restraints to get a full-mouth X-ray every couple of years. Her assurance that I'm getting no more radiation than from the sun doesn't appease me. I've had too many bad burns to take that lightly.

So now, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, I can skip this upcoming year's dose of radiation from a mammogram. I only need a screening once every two years instead an annual mammogram.

I haven't had anything detected that would make it crucial to get a mammogram every year. Maybe I could let the test slide this year, and it would be OK?

According to the task force, this would reduce unnecessary stress. I admit, each year I hold my breath (and not just for the seconds while the machine is whirring) but for days until I get the results. But I always experience a sense of calm and relief the remainder of the year. I feel I've at least done what I could to catch something quickly, and I wouldn't be kicking myself in the butt, should anything be there the next time.

Now, I'm wondering, skip a year and avoid radiation? Or skip a year and spend the 12 months wondering, if in that time, something is wrong and I haven't caught it?

I imagine a lot of women out there are wondering the same.

A big chunk of the money that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected last year to finance a political reform ballot measure came from a man now being accused of running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Rothstein appeared to be particularly close to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist but among other political figures in the photos were former President George W. Bush and Schwarzenegger.

Read the rest of the post

"It's Time to Tell a Dirty Story:
World Toilet Day, Nov. 19"

I thought I didn't even need to read the rest of the e-mail, but this was one message that I could not put down.

"Imagine where you'd be without a toilet? It wouldn't just be a crappy problem, it would be a crisis. In fact, that's exactly what it is for 2.5 billion people in the developing world."

OK, if you don't have toilet, you have a problem. I get it. As the e-mail says: "The lack of access to sanitation is a cross-cutting issue affecting health, environment, education, and economics not just far away, but here in the United States as well."

But it's tough to embrace the world toilet problems with modern communication marketing.

You are going to get a few folks giggling when you tout your public event as "The Big Squat."

Check out this link

The Associated Students Inc. put together the campaign earlier this month. They asked students: "What is your degree worth?" and then created a slide show from the answers.

The video, which includes music, speaks for itself in how students feel about the value of their degree and how that could be undermined by the state budget crisis. This year, students are dealing with much higher fees, a reduced menu of class sections, furloughs and more.

The Fusion was chosen from a field of 23 models under consideration by the magazine's editors. To be eligible, a car must be either totally new or a substantial redesign from the previous version.

Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie announced the winner this morning in a live webcast from Detroit -- a city that has seen its leading industry ravaged by layoffs in two years of economic downturn.

MacKenzie described the award to an American automaker as good news for Detroit, "one of the places most hardest hit" by the industry's woes.

MacKenzie said the Fusion, substantially reengineered this year since it was introduced in the 2006 model year, impressed judges across its entire range of models, from a base 4-cylinder version to a hybrid to a more powerful V-6. MacKenzie cited Ford's "attention to detail" in its refinements and said the Fusion "felt like a completely different car."

Judges evaluated the Fusion and other eligible models in a weeklong series of behind-the-wheel tests, first at a 13-mile proving track in the Mojave Desert, then on a 27-mile real-world circuit of rural roads, highways and other surfaces near Tehachapi.

In a sense, Ford may have had the odds stacked in its favor. The automaker had three vehicles among the 23 finalists -- the most of any manufacturer. Besides the Fusion, other Fords evaluated by judges were the Ford Mustang and the Ford Taurus SHO.

Automakers typically tout the Motor Trend awards in their advertising as additional enticement to would-be car buyers. But why not weigh in with some of your thoughts: Is an award like this enough to bring you into the showroom to consider a Fusion, or another of the Ford models, rather than one of the import brands? Do you think Ford can gain any traction from this type of recognition?

Use the comment link below to offer your two cents.

While his one-time colleague Scott Gerber faces a world of hurt for his taping interviews with reporters, while working for state Attorney General Jerry Brown, Gantman has now landed one of Washington, D.C.'s sweetest-sounding P.R. gigs. Gantman is now the vice president of corporate communications in the D.C. office of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Gantman is well known among California reporters, from his long service as Feinstein's communications director and, later, as staff director of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.