LOS ANGELES — Jerry Brown has a solid lead against Gavin Newsom in the Democratic governor’s race in California, but the race is much more wide open on the Republican side, according to a new Field Poll. Brown, the former governor and current attorney general, had 47 percent support while Newsom, the San Francisco mayor, had 27 percent, according to the poll. On the Republican side, 49 percent of respondents were undecided, while 22 percent favored former eBay executive Meg Whitman, 20 percent backed former Rep. Tom Campbell, and 9 percent backed state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Whitman was polling stronger in Southern California, while Campbell had a slight edge in Northern California.
Boeing rocket lifts satellite
A high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite was launched into polar orbit Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base. A Boeing Delta 2 rocket carrying DigitalGlobe Inc.’s WorldView-2 satellite lifted off at 11:51 a.m. PDT and arced south over the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft is DigitalGlobe’s third remote-sensing satellite. It was designed to provide images with higher levels of feature identification and to more accurately show the world’s natural colors.
Huge graffiti to be erased
What may have been the largest single piece of graffiti in the nation is getting wiped out in Los Angeles. A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday began painting over the gigantic letters “MTA” on the concrete bank of the Los Angeles River. A Corps spokeswoman said the letters are 57 feet high and one-third of a mile long. “MTA” stands for “Metro Transit Assassins.” Authorities contend the letters were painted on the riverbank by up to 40 taggers.
Jail inmates clog up sewers
A sewer agency suspected that inmates were the culprits for towels, pens and food that kept jamming their pipes. One item was the real giveaway: orange jail jumpsuits. The clogs have forced San Mateo County to tentatively agree to pay a $2.35 million settlement to cover the “extraordinary efforts” needed to clear the lines coming from Maguire Correctional Facility. South Bayside System Authority sued the county last year over the repairs after sending it several notices to “cease and desist” allowing foreign objects in the jail toilets.
Vermont: Breast-feeding suit
A New Mexico woman who was thrown off a plane for breast-feeding her child in 2006 is suing the three airlines involved in operating the flight. Emily Gillette’s lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Wednesday. Gillette’s suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Delta Airlines, Freedom Airlines and Mesa Air Group. Her story generated interest around the nation, leading to a protest “nurse-in” in 19 airports.
Pennsylvania: Prayer death
A fundamentalist couple who prayed over their sick toddler rather than get medical help before his pneumonia death have been ordered to stand trial on manslaughter charges in Philadelphia. Prosecutors believe 2-year-old Kent Schaible succumbed because his parents chose prayer over modern medicine. But defense lawyers — perhaps mindful of Pennsylvania’s strict parental-duty laws — deny the case hinges on religious freedom. They said Herbert and Catherine Schaible did not know their son was dying.
Connecticut: Karaoke beating
Police said a woman singing karaoke in a sports bar was attacked by six other women who didn’t like her performance. Five of the women were arraigned on assault and other charges on Wednesday in Stamford Superior Court. The other woman appeared in court Monday on the same charges. Police said the Sept. 23 attack on the 25-year-old woman from Port Chester, N.Y., happened during karaoke night at Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford.
Canada: Group seeks veil ban
A Muslim organization is urging the government to ban traditional Muslim garments designed to cover a woman’s face, saying they are medieval and misogynist symbols of extremism with no basis in Islam. The Muslim Canadian Congress has called on the federal government to prohibit the burka and the niqab because it says that the practice of covering one’s face has no place in a society that supports gender equality. The burka is a head-to-toe gown with a mesh-like panel over the face that allows a woman to see and breathe. The niqab is a veil that leaves only the eyes exposed.
From Herald news services
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