New In Capitol Weekly

I have two stories in this week's Capitol Weekly. The first is a look at Irving Moskowitz: California bingo and card club's Middle East connection To hear critics tell it, Dr. Irving Moskowitz uses funds from his California bingo hall--staffed by unpaid, predominantly Latino workers--to fund millions of dollars worth of controversial settlements in Israel, while leveraging his local philanthropy to all but control the small southern California city of Hawaiian Gardens. In August of 2004, this bingo king, who spent more than $2.1 million backing a failed 2004 initiative to allow the state's card clubs to have slot machines, was granted a permanent license by the Gambling Control Commission to operate one of the state's largest card clubs--right next door to the controversial bingo parlor. The story begins eighteen years ago in California's smallest city, a thumbnail sized nine-tenths of a square mile town with a predominantly Latino population of 15,000, and an average yearly income that hovers above $10,000, according to the latest census data... Read the rest here. The second story is about strange legislation in California. 'Only in California' bills dot Capitol landscape If various members of the California Legislature had their way this year, there would be much stiffer penalties for a vampire drinking merlot while holding a can of paint in the trunk of a car that is smashing bird nests in a park. It's not as outlandish as it sounds. Legislators of both parties have introduced a flurry of bills to beat the Feb. 24 deadline for new legislation. And the aims of some of those bills are downright goofy. Read the rest here.