State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, who represents the 10th Senate District.(Senate photo) State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, is more than just the senator representing California’s 10th Senate District. He’s also a bankruptcy lawyer, giving him an unusual insight into Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s recent bankruptcy declaration.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, speaks to a reporter at a news conference announcing the capture of a suspect in the East Area Rapist case. (Photo: Tim Foster Assemblyman Jim Cooper was on hand at Wednesday’s press conference announcing the capture of a suspect in the notorious East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker/Golden State Killer case had been arrested. Cooper, a 30-year veteran and former captain of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, sat down with Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster to chat about the crucial role of DNA collection in the solution of this and other cold-case crimes.
An early law enforcement rendering of the Unabomber, based on the description of a witness. Twenty two years ago this week, federal authorities arrested Ted Kaczynski — known as the Unabomber — in his remote cabin near Lincoln, Montana, ending a 17-year reign of terror. While the Unabomber had no strong ties to the Sacramento region, both his first and final murders occurred here. It was in 1995 that Kaczynski, a Harvard-trained mathematician and forest recluse, claimed his final victim, Sacramento timber lobbyist Gil Murray.
The Watergate complex in Washington D.CPolitical consultant-turned-author Joe Rodota joins the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk about his new book: The Watergate – Inside America’s Most Infamous Address. The story of the Watergate break-in has been well-told, but in this “biography of a building,” Rodota weaves a fascinating history that includes more than just the events of June 17, 1972.
Political consultant Wayne Johnson. (Photo: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)Veteran political consultant Wayne Johnson, who has handled well over 200 campaigns in California, the U.S. and across the world, joins the Podcast this week to chat about politics and technology with Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster. Johnson, who handles mostly GOP candidates, is busy this year: He is working on Republican businessman John Cox’s gubernatorial campaign, which got a boost moments before we recorded the show when former Congressman Doug Ose abruptly exited the race.
iIllustration: "The Great Wave of Kanagawa," Katsushika Hokusai, circa 1829-1833Will California catch the wave? In fact, is there a wave at all? Political Data whiz Paul Mitchell joins the Capitol Weekly podcast to talk about last week’s results in Virginia and elsewhere and what they portend for California in 2018.
Judge Thelton Henderson and journalist Lowell Bergman chat during our oral history project. (Image: Screen capture)Journalist, educator and now, documentary filmmaker, Rob Gunnison joins the Capitol Weekly podcast to talk about the new Open California Oral History Project, which recently completed its first two installments — filmed interviews with retired U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson and long-time Sacramento loobbyist George Steffes.
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.
Scott Lay, editor and founder of The Nooner, the widely read online information source that tracks campaign cash and offers political analyses. (Photo: John Howard)Recorded May 20, 2017: In the heat of the convention battle for the state Democratic Party leadership, The Nooner’s Scott Lay sat down with Capitol Weekly Editor John Howard to chat about the intense fight among the party delegates to pick a successor to John Burton, the party chair since 2009.
Campaign data expert Paul Mitchell. Let’s talk data: California political numbers cruncher Paul Mitchell sits down with Capitol Weekly Editor John Howard to chat about all things digital. Consider this: The past election cycle rewrote the rules for digital campaigning. Most media coverage, especially after the election, has focused on what Paul calls in today’s CA120 column “digital terrorism” – viral campaigns based on fake news stories, fueled by fake social media accounts and hacked computers.