At least seven Republican presidential candidate hopefuls are expected to talk out their tensions in the debate at the Reagan Library, which begins at 5 p.m. local time and will be broadcast live. more ›

Now that was a debate! It was lively, informative, had good back-and-forth and was nearly void of campaign slime (read: housekeeper and "whore" controversies). Topics and questions from veteran newsman Tom Brokaw included... more ›

If there's a gubernatorial debate to watch, it's the one tonight. And, well, it's the last one between Democrat & Attorney General Jerry Brown and Republican & former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Expect it to be fiery, not just because the distractions -- Whitman's undocumented housekeeper and Brown's "whore" controversy -- are front and center, but because veteran newsman Tom Brokaw is moderating. more ›

Tuesday's gubernatorial debate may be canceled, but that doesn't mean sparks will be flying during a different event. 89.3 FM KPCC will be hosting a their own debate about food trucks and L.A.'s driver to curb them. On one side of the table there will be Tom LaBonge, the L.A. City Councilmember who has introduced motions and held a public hearing about regulating trucks. On the other side, food trucks supporters and owners. Larry Mantle of Airtalk will moderate. more ›

For reasons not stated by either candidate, the third gubernatorial debate scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled, according to Politico. The debate would have aired on San Francisco’s KGO with radio host Ronn Owens moderating. “The Brown/Whitman debate scheduled for tomorrow on my show isn't going to happen. I'm beyond disappointed," Owens tweeted. Both camps for Attorney General Jerry Brown and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman would not give reasons, but speculation points to Saturday's heated debate where last week's controversy over Whitman's housekeeper dominated news coverage. more ›

Rival candidates Barbara Boxer (D) and Carly Fiorina (R) are scheduled to go head to head this afternoon in their second debate, according to the Pasadena Star-News. more ›

Five weeks from today, voters will head to booths to choose California's new governor. Polls pretty much have them in a dead heat, but with tonight's first of three televised debate, things could change. The event is taking place on the campus of UC-Davis, but there are a handful of ways here in L.A. to watch or hear it. more ›

If you're a Facebook user, you surely have noticed the targeted ads that appear on the sidebar of the site's pages. One of those ads that ran earlier this month was from Just Say Now, a group that is using the internet to grow support for the movement to legalize marijuana, explains the Huffington Post. more ›

emocratic gubernatorial candidate-hopeful Jerry Brown threw down the gauntlet, calling for a three-way debate between himself and rival Republican candidate hopefuls Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. Today, in a statement released by "Team Poizner," Communication Director Jarrod Agen responded in the affirmative, adding some zingy adjectives for the opposition: more ›

Finally, the two Republican governor hopefuls will duke it out tonight in a debate in Costa Mesa. The hour-long event, hosted by the GOP-based New Majority California and moderated by KNBC's Conan Nolan, will be streamed live on www.sacbee.com/live starting at 5:30 p.m. Billionaire and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has put millions into the her campaign and is pulling ahead in polls. She faces current California Insurance Commission Steve Poizner. more ›

Local controversy over high speed rail has been more commonplace in the Bay Area, but some believe that as plans progress in Southern California for the L.A. to Anaheim segment, among others, we'll be hearing more about it. more ›

One day after submitting paperwork to explore a run for Governor, Attorney General Jerry Brown has been challenged by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to debate in all 11 media markets in California. “Our state is in need of real reform—we have a broken system that must be fixed,” said Newsom in a statement. “And now that there are two candidates for governor, we owe the Democratic voters of California an opportunity to compare our visions and platforms side-by-side.” more ›

It looks like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken the debate over marijuana to whole a new level, the Sacramento Bee reports: The governor was asked about a recent Field Poll [.pdf] showing that 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenues for cash-strapped California. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has proposed legislation that would legalize the drug for recreational use, rather than just medical purposes. more ›

Last week, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez asked readers if they wanted to see incumbent Mayor Villaraigosa debate his top challenger, Walter Moore, and he reveals today that a resounding 97% say yes. more ›

Back in October, the Yes on 8 "people" challenged California's Superintendent of Schools, Jack O'Connell, to a debate about gay marriage. According to Yes, even the remotest possibility of learning anything about gay marriage is harmful to children. Nothing hateful about that! more ›

The fight over the ballot initiatives, as you know if you've turned on the TV for even half a second in the past few weeks, is heating up fast. Last week, the Los Angeles Times' Dust Up blog featured Miriam Gerace, Spokesperson for the No on 4 Campaign for Teen Safety and director of communications for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, and Katie Short, coauthor of Proposition 4 and legal director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation duking it out over Proposition 4, which would require the parents to be notified of a minor's abortion. The opinion pieces are truly worth the read, containing zingers from both sides, such as: "Who are you trying to kid?" and "[We're] living in the real world...we do hope you'll join us." more ›

As the November polls creep ever closer, it’s easy to feel bombarded by the expanse of propositions and measures that extend well beyond the campaigns for the presidency. Transit measures and traffic congestion and veterans’ rights all get equal space on the ballot. There is one proposition, however, that stands out as perhaps the most contentious throughout the great Golden State: Prop 8. Unless you live in some type of Inland Empire bomb shelter, you probably know that Proposition 8 is an amendment to the California Constitution that seeks to define marriage as only between one man and one woman, thus eliminating the marriage freedoms that all same-sex couples currently enjoy. more ›

On Sunday, there was a big community Bake for Barack event in Silver Lake. Their goal? $10,000. We're not sure if they made it, but the goods sure do look good (thanks to Tom Andrews for taking these photos). In fact, we wish we had some of those Cupcakes for Change as we watch (and hack) tonight's Presidential Debate. more ›

Be sure to "Hack the Debate" tonight (check out today's LAist interview with Current TV about this Twitter partnership) while watching McCain and Obama slug/slog it out (again). more ›

KCRW's politics show, Left, Right & Center, will be holding a live show with studio audience show on November 9th to do some post-election analysis with Arianna Huffington and others. Tickets went on sale this morning and are already sold out. See, just because everyone was watching the Dodgers game last night instead of the debate doesn't mean this is a political inclined town. Nevertheless, KCRW is quite proud of themselves: "Sia sold out in 7 minutes – Moby sold out in 6 minutes – both were KCRW Music events. Left, Right & Center – a political talk show! – sold out a 500-plus seat house in less than 5 hours!" more ›

The first Yes on Prop 4 ad will be debuted tonight during the Vice Presidential debate, according to a press release sent out by the campaign. The ad will be 60 seconds long and will air on KVIQ-CBS, and will also be posted on YouTube and on the campaign's website. A Yes vote on Prop 4 would alter the state constitution to require that doctors notify the parents of a minor before she can obtain an abortion. The young woman would also be required to wait 48 hours before receiving care. more ›

Arnie and Johnny Mac had their little love-in this morning with Rudy G looking on. But Gov. Schwarzenegger's public endorsement of McCain was sandwiched by an abundance of pandering. more ›

The eyes of the nation are turning to the Ronald Reagan Library today, where debates for the Republican front-runners will begin. This is the last debate opportunity for the GOP before "Super Tuesday" next week (LAist is throwing an Election Party to celebrate). more ›

5:00pm CNN/You Tube Republican Debate CNN - Get ready to look at a bunch of middle-aged white guys, the one and only true face of the United States of America. 8:45pm The Wrong Box TCM - (1966) Two borthers try to outlive each other to get the contents of a cash hoard in Victorian London. Starring, among others: (Hello, my name is) Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers. TV Junkie Pick O' The... more ›

LOGO, the nation's first (and only) openly gay television network, is set to host the next Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles on August 9. The moderators will include Joe Solmonese, the president of Human Rights Campaign, and Melissa Etheridge, the Academy Award (for her rendition of An Inconvenient Truth's "I Need to Wake Up") and two-time Grammy Award-winning rock musician and prominent gay rights activist. So what specific topics will be on the... more ›