November 9, 2007
Governator has whale of a time
The former Terminator went face-to-face with a killer … whale, that is. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) embraced Shamu, the star cetacean of Sea World amusement park in San Diego. It was part of a mission to tell the world that after last month's devastating wildfires, California tourism is back on track, according to The Daily Transcript . Meanwhile, The Sacramento Bee found a photo of the encounter amusing enough for its caption contest. Our entry: "It's not a tuna."
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) might want to work on her saleswoman's pitch. During a trip to Washington state to visit Gov. Christine Gregoire (D), Sebelius raved about Washington wine and joked, "You should be thankful we don't make wine in Kansas. If you ever see Kansas wine, don't drink it," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . The manager of a Kansas winery was not amused. "It hurts," Norm Jennings tells The Kansas City Star .
Trivia buffs, take note: Louisiana Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal (R) made history last month by becoming the country's first elected governor of Indian descent, but he's not the nation's first Indian governor, according to The Associated Press . That honor belongs to New Jersey transportation commissioner Kris Kolluri, who, for 24 hours last year, held the post when the governor, Senate president, Assembly speaker and attorney general were all out of town. Kolluri made the most of his governorship. He held a department meeting at the governor's mansion and took pictures there with his family.
Bears in Kentucky are losing their fear of humans and becoming a bigger nuisance, so hunters should be allowed to chase them with a pack of hounds. Or at least that's the solution proposed by two hunting associations in Kentucky, where bear hunting is illegal. One hunter tells The Associated Press that a bear-running season is a humane way to re-instill bears' fear of humans. Bears - you're on notice.
No more blocking "idiots" or the "insane" from voting in New Jersey. The electorate agreed to reword the state constitution to drop the 1844-vintage, politically incorrect descriptions and instead will deny voting rights to anyone judged to "lack the capacity to understand the act of voting." State Senate President Richard J. Codey (D), a chief advocate of the change, tells Gannett's state bureau , "Others would say there should be language in the constitution to prevent people from voting FOR idiots."
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