News

The Skinny

Seems like the Morongo Band of Mission Indians is hiring everyone nowadays. Everyone from Willie Brown to Jim Brulte to Steve Schmidt has been retained by the tribe to help massage its new compact through the Assembly. Among those on the payroll is Democratic mail consultant Josh Pulliam. We know what you’re asking: Is that the same Josh Pulliam who started a brawl at Wrigley Field seven years ago? As a matter of fact it is. It all started when Pulliam grabbed the hat off of the head of then-Dodgers bullpen catcher Chad Kreuter. Kreuter went into the stands, taking some of his uniformed cohorts with him. Punches were thrown, beer was spilled–the hat, incidentally, was dropped, as were the charges against Pulliam. … Speaking of Morongo, their courting of the Black Caucus behind the speaker’s back continues. Recently, it was dinner with Willie Brown at Il Fornaio. This week, we’re told, it was dinner at Biba’s in Sacramento. … And while the speaker spent his weekend trying to get close to Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Convention, perhaps nobody got closer than Max Weitzman. The 1-year-old son of the speaker’s fundraiser, Dan Weitzman, made his way into the traditional “politician kissing baby” shot that made the AP photo wire this weekend. Weitzman fils, who poppa affectionately dubs “Matzo Ball,” looks dashing and debonair. The over-exuberant Hillary, however, not so much. … Best wishes to Assemblywoman Nell Soto who has been missing in action for more nearly two months now. Soto, who will turn 81 in June, is excused because of illness. Her staff says the Assembly member is recovering from pneumonia, but they expect her to return to work later this month. … And speaking of gone but not forgotten, former Californian Karen Hanretty has landed a new pundit gig with the Hill, a newspaper geared for D.C. political insiders. Hanretty joins Dick Morris, Bill Press and others in the punditry corp.
Feed the skinny. Send your tips
to theskinny@capitolweekly.net.

Want to see more stories like this? Sign up for The Roundup, the free daily newsletter about California politics from the editors of Capitol Weekly. Stay up to date on the news you need to know.

Sign up below, then look for a confirmation email in your inbox.

 

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: