Sacramento County supervisors today approved on a 3-2 vote a 56-foot long, red fiberglass rabbit for Sacramento International Airport’s planned new terminal building. The rabbit would soar across the terminal’s four-story atrium hall towards baggage claim below, where waits a sculpted stone suitcase with a swirling liquid vortex on its surface. The artist is Lawrence Argent, an art professor at the University of Denver.
Arts leaders and artists called it a great addition to the local art scene, a piece that will put Sacramento and its airport on the map.  The …

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson has opened up an eight-point lead over incumbent Heather Fargo in the race for Sacramento mayor, but a large block of undecided voters still could swing the Nov. 4 election.
Johnson leads Fargo 48 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, according to a new poll commissioned by The Bee. Of 500 likely voters surveyed, 12 percent said they hadn’t made up their minds.
“He’s got what looks like a comfortable lead right now, but there are a lot of issues that could change that,” said Cheryl …

Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson has been booked to appear on the “Colbert Report,” his campaign said Monday.  Johnson, a former NBA player, is facing off in the Nov. 4 general election against two-term incument Heather Fargo, who is seeking her third term. 
Steve Maviglio, a representative of Johnson’s campaign, said the candidate is booked for the Comedy Central show on Nov. 13.  Why after the election?

Now here’s a headline I never thought I’d see on the editorial pages of the Sacramento Bee: “JOHNSON FOR MAYOR: TIME FOR A CHANGE ” But there it was yesterday — another blow to the fledgling campaign of incumbent (been there since the first George Bush) Mayor Heather Fargo.
 
Said the editorial: “It’s time for new leadership and a new navigator. That makes Kevin Johnson a better choice … In voting for Kevin Johnson, Sacramentans will be opting for change, not writing a blank check. They will be saying they are …

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto the state’s budget as early as today, but an override of the veto is likely. Hours after the state Legislature approved the long-delayed spending plan yesterday, the governor promised a veto and called it irresponsible for burdening taxpayers and failing to meet his demands for long-term fiscal reform. It would be the first budget veto in modern history by a California governor.
Schwarzenegger’s announcement came after a record-long stalemate that forced the state to delay billions of dollars in payments to schools, …

Civil rights activist Peter Miguel Camejo, an advocate of third party politics, died early today at his home in Folsom, according to Ralph Nader, who notified The Bee in an e-mailed tribute. Nader said Camejo’s wife, Morella, was at his side.  Camejo, 68, had been battling lymphoma cancer. Nader said Camejo’s condition had deteriorated over the past few days.
Camejo was a third party candidate for state and national office. He was Nader’s running mate in the 2004 presidential election, and attempted three gubernatorial runs in California for the Green Party. …

Rep. Laura Richardson, best known in recent months for her very public defaults on several homes she owns in California, is getting back her Sacramento house.     The broker who bought Rep. Laura Richardson’s Sacramento house at a foreclosure auction two months ago has dropped his lawsuit against her and her bank, allowing Richardson to reclaim the home.
In a statement, Richardson’s lender, Washington Mutual, said the litigation had been “resolved,” but that the terms are confidential.  The broker, James York, also declined to discuss the matter.  “I’m not supposed to say …

Don Perata, Fabian Nuñez — are you guys still here? Apparently so. Nuñez has been succeeded as Assembly speaker, and Perata’s replacement as Senate president pro tem has been named, but the two men who led California’s legislative Democrats for the last several years remain major players in the expenditure of political donors’ money. As Times staff writer Nancy Vogel reported Wednesday, Nuñez  pulled $100,000 from a ballot measure committee and gave it, as a sort of bonus for “campaign consulting,” to Daniel Eaton, his chief of staff. Meanwhile, the …

Anyone see PETA new ad targeting Sacramento?
Prompted by Sacramento’s teen-pregnancy rate, which is the second-highest in the nation, PETA will air its controversial “Sex Talk” TV ad in Sacramento this week. The ad uses a satirical comparison to teen sex to promote the spaying and neutering of companion animals.
The 30-second spot features a couple who encourage their teenage daughter to become sexually active. When the horrified girl asks, “But what if I get pregnant?”, her parents urge her to “pop out all the kids you can.” The ad concludes, “Parents …

The seven candidates running to be mayor of Sacramento squared off Wednesday evening at the Candidates Face the Voters Forum sponsored by News10, The Sacramento Bee and the California Museum.
Answering the first question, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo said her top priority was public safety, including improving Sacramento’s level of flood protection. She also cited the revitalization of midtown and downtown Sacramento, adding, “Incredible progress, not only in downtown and in midtown, which has really come alive in the last eight years, but also throughout the entire city,” she said.
Top challenger …