Connecticut

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will endorse John McCain on Thursday, giving a certain boost to the Republican presidential front-runner six days before California’s high-prize primary.

The two will appear at a news conference after touring a Los Angeles-based solar energy company and the governor will make his endorsement official, his senior aides confirmed Wednesday.

Schwarzenegger’s endorsement is yet another setback for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who saw Florida slip from his grasp Tuesday after McCain rolled up the support of that state’s two top elected Republicans, Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. (Read the full post about ‘McCain To Receive Schwarzenegger’s Support’…)

DETROIT — An emotional and soft-spoken Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded for the forgiveness of the city’s residents, his supporters, opponents, family members and most of all, his wife during a prime-time televised speech Wednesday night.

Detroit residents had been waiting to hear his delayed response to recently revealed racy text messages that contradict his sworn testimony that he did not have a physical relationship with a key aide, Christine Beatty.

With his wife, Carlita, by his side, Kilpatrick held her hand in their church, Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, during his entire speech, reported Detroit TV station WDIV.

Kilpatrick turned to her and said, “I truly apologize to you. (Read the full post about ‘Detroit Mayor Issues Apology For Messages’…)

LOS ANGELES — A man who described himself as a freelance reporter has been arrested at Brad Pitt’s home in the Hollywood Hills.

Police said that a housekeeper called authorities around noon Wednesday after she saw a silver car blocking Pitt’s driveway.

The housekeeper told officers the man got out of the car and asked, “Which one is Brad Pitt’s house?”

The man, identified as Eric Ray Mitchell, was arrested for investigation of trespassing.

Police said that Mitchell was taken into custody on a “private person’s arrest” and it will be up to the housekeeper to decide whether to press charges.

Neither Pitt nor his partner, actress Angelina Jolie, was home at the time of the alleged incident. (Read the full post about ‘‘Freelance Reporter’ Arrested At Pitt’s Home’…)

So says the latest Rasmussen poll:

Clinton (40%)
Obama (40%)
Edwards (11%)

Rassmussen poll of CT Dems January 27th, 2008

A win for Obama here would be… something? But that explains why they’ve been coming around, lately. I wonder if Hillary’s appearance in Hartford the day after this poll was taken helped her turn this around some? We’ll know in a week.

Thanks to Will_Vernon for seeing this poll first!

Economic stimulus packages are the name of the game these days, and Connecticut lawmakers seem unified in their belief that what the federal government is doing won’t be enough. They don’t agree, however, on what to do about it. Senate Democrats and Gov. Rell are currently at odds over how best to provide middle-class economic relief.

(Read the full post about ‘Tax Battle Gets Underway’…)

John McCain will be making a campaign stop at Sacred Heart University’s University Commons this Sunday at 1pm. Also appearing will be Lt. Governor Michael Fedele, Sen. Joe Lieberman, Rep. Chris Shays, Former Congressman Rob Simmons and CT Assistant Minority Leader Anthony Guglielmo. Gov. Rell may also be there, but she has not confirmed yet.

In a stunning example of the pot calling the kettle black, former John Rowland advisor Dean Pagani writes this in a Hartford Business.com opinion piece:

It is hard to imagine a system more rigged for waste, fraud and abuse than Connecticut’s new public campaign financing law…Simply put, the new law will put more than $10 million, during this legislative election year, into the hands of incumbent and novice politicians, their paid staffs and volunteers.

Well, yes. Putting money in the hands of people who might not otherwise be able to afford to run for office is the whole point, no?

Operatives, from the left and the right, and some with no particular partisan agenda, are already thinking up ways to access the money for themselves by providing the services every campaign needs.

(Read the full post about ‘The pot calls the kettle black’…)

Super Tuesday is almost here. What are your predictions? Who’s going to win Connecticut?

Dems Hillary Clinton Barack Obama I don’t know

GOP John McCain Mitt Romney Rudy Giuliani I don’t know

A few weeks ago, I shared my dirtiest picky-eating secrets and listed the foods I refuse to try — from grapefruit to beans.

I asked readers to tell me about their finicky ways. It turns out I’m not the only one out there. Read what they said.

Mushrooms? No way.

Kevin McDermott, Waterbury

I wouldn’t eat a banana on a dare. In the late ’60s, one of our neighbors had visitors from Delaware and they introduced all the kids to baked bananas. Yum! You cannot even imagine the smell of oozing nanner guts in the oven. I can actually get sick thinking about it.

I didn’t try gravy until I was in my 20s and still only use it sparingly. Mushrooms?

(Read the full post about ‘Picky eaters of the world unite’…)

This is the last of a two-part series.

Feel sorry for film critics. They have to sit through all those mediocre movies just to see a handful of good ones each year. And then they have to sort through those to come up with a dozen excellent enough to make their “best of the year” lists.

Me, I just see the movies I want — old ones and new ones, in theaters and on cable and DVD. Sometimes one picture leads to another. Last year, I ended up seeing a trio of films by the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa covering a generation of his work; they all made this list.

These columns are not an evaluation of the film industry’s output for a year.

(Read the full post about ‘GREENWALD: The best films I saw last year — Part 2′…)