Schwarzenegger's webcast technical difficulties don't stop dissatisfaction from pouring in

June 5, 11:50 AMCalifornia Statehouse ExaminerScott Sabatini

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the California Statehouse Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to the editorial board of the Sacramento
Bee on Friday, but the live webcast broke down with technical problems./AP

This likely wasn’t what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Sacramento Bee editorial board had in mind when they set up a live web telecast this morning.

The webcast was supposed to give the governor a chance to answer questions of both the editorial board and California residents watching on the Internet.

Ah the best laid plans of mice and men... with several attempts to fix the audio and video feed failing, questsions from around the state poured onto the live chat undeterred. With no answers forthcoming, the questions shed light onto the frustration among Californians over the ongoing economic crisis and the proposed attempts to fix it by the governor and the Legislature.

At 11:15, technological problems kept the meeting from being shown. Questions for viewers streamed onto the live blog, even though Schwarzenegger’s comments could not be heard.

At 11:20, the Bee staff blogged they were switching to another feed, that video and audio would be up shortly. Questions continued to come in from people across the state, none very complimentary of the governor and the state’s budget problems.

At 11:24: “We wshould have video and audio back shortly. Thanks for bearing with us.

At 11:26, the Bee’s promo for the live webcast and its animated cartoon about the state’s budget played for the third time.

At 11:27, it the same promo began an endless loop, playing over and over again. Even that couldn't stop the questions.

Without a single response via blog or audio, and without the ability to watch the governor’s comments, the live chat kept rolling along with questions like these:

"When will our leaders finally understand that the public wants the excess government removed. We do not need all the State Departments to tell us what to do. An Example is the State Dept. of Education. We have a County Office of Education in each county we do not need the State."\

"Why do we pay politicians so much money for doing such a lousy job?"

"What are we doing to stop illegal immigration which is costing this state billions of dollars?"

"I would pay significantly more to access a State Park. Our parks are jewels and do attract tourism."

"What can you do to protect the Cal Grant Program for new freshmen entering university this fall who already were informed that they were receiving state funding for Fall 2009?"

"Is the discussion and research about the pros and cons of legalization of marijuana currently active? If so what is the status and will the discussions be available to the public?"

"Please publicly encourage all the legislators to voluntarily take the same 14.6% that has been thrust upon state workers"
 

"Why is the State still hiring employees? To include ex-Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, and former Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, to lucrative jobs in state government. Their salaries are $128,000 a year, EACH. Why is there no hiring freeze? Why did you also appointed two former Republican Assembly members, Bonnie Garcia and George Plescia @ $128,000 a year?"

At 11:40 the Bee staff blogged that the video and audio were operating.

At 11:41, one question got directly to the point: "Do you REALLY care about California?"

While viewers like me may have tuned in to hear the governor, we actually learned a lot by not hearing from him. I leave you with one question of my own: "Is anyone in Sacramento paying any attention?"

• California high-speed rail still on track.
• Budget talks begin again with new governor spin.
• Headlines scream about dire cuts.
• Idol vote controversy gains momentum.
• Ponzi scheme fallout leads to $30 million lawsuit.

The Contenders:

• Republican Meg Whitman.
• Republican Steve Poizner.
• Republican Tom Campbell.
• Next up: The Democrats, starting with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
  See a slideshow of the governor candidates, click here.

More California Statehouse News: