Ted Kaczynski, circa 1968. Photo by George Bergman, courtesy of the Oberwolfach Photo CollectionNo town had closer connections to the case of “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski than Sacramento: His first and last murder victims over a 17-year period occurred here – the first in an alley behind an Arden Fair computer-rental store, the last in an office downtown across from the state Attorney General’s office on I Street.
Author Tom Chorneau, left, and CW Editor John Howard in their formal wear. (Photo: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)Longtime journalist Tom Chorneau joins us to talk about his debut novel, Enterprise Reporting, which follows one of the state’s top political reporters and his lobbyist uncle as they game the system during Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reign as California governor. Of course, it’s all fiction — wink, wink — but the characters are eerily familiar.
In this 1974 photo, AP reporter Doug Willis, left, talks with then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. (AP Photo)Doug Willis, who for decades covered California politics for the Associated Press from his perch in Sacramento, was an amazing man – funny, balanced, sane, profoundly accurate, detail savvy and unflappable. He died Dec. 15 at the age of 77. He was my political mentor, friend and boss, hiring me in 1980 to come to Sacramento as news editor. I saw the move as a chance to report on state politics and learn from a master. I did both for 21 years.