P.J. on SAN FRANCISCO

Names is Nooze: Brown ... Dewson ... LeBron & Burton ... Arnold & Nancy ... Hinckle & Corso ... Keker & Quattrone ... Werbach checks in ...

Piffle & profundities: In hours, Californians go from extinguishing fires in places where people shouldn’t build homes to kindling fireplaces in their homes. … The hot weather of October was a little late this year. But then the elections were a little early. ... And though the forest fires are over, the political fires blaze on, giddy and panicked. …

Should Ould Acquaintance be forgot? That’s what Mrs. Ruth Dewson, one of Willie Brown’s oldest and frankest friends is wondering. Mrs. D was one of the insiders – 600 insiders – who attended Willie Brown’s farewell breakfast for said group last week at the Fairmont. But she got up after the program had concluded, without eating a bite, and she left. Now she’s thinking of stopping payment on her contribution. “The program was fun,” she said, “cute. They did a nice fun video about how it would take four people to replace Willie. … But on the program, I didn’t see one African-American face. I’m not contributing to that. …”

Up in Sacramento the players momentarily forgot Arnold for LeBron James. There on the sidelines Wednesday night to see the debut of the Cavalier boy wonder, were John Burton and Richie Ross, side-by-side. … Also there: Jeff Garcia … Terrell Owens … Kwame Harris … Zack Crockett … Napoleon Harris … and Dusty Baker and his dad. …

Meanwhile, Arnold goes to Washington. Annoyed is Nancy Pelosi, who discovers that her supposed tête-à-tête with Arnie also includes California Republican Congressman David Drier. …

Nancy is further annoyed when Arnie schedules an evening reception at exactly the same time she is holding a fund-raiser. She is further annoyed when many California Congressional Dems go to Arnie’s reception, but not to hers.

Adam Werbach has his say & Questions for Daly and the City Attorney

Now comes Adam Werbach, seeking to amplify and clarify his record (see my October 28 post “Adam Werbach’s Polluted Past”), and to answer a few questions about his views on Hetch Hetchy and to tell how he came to be appointed a member of the SFPUC by Mayor-until-2:18 PM Chris Daly. …

Werbach is concerned that I had misrepresented his record as national president of the Sierra Club during the time in 1997-98 when that club’s national membership considered a ballot measure that would have made it Club policy to call for a reduction in even legal immigration to the U.S. … Loosely put, the ballot measure’s proponents argued that immigrants, immigration, and emigration were a source of environmental degradation and should greatly be reduced.

Werbach phoned in from the Common Assets Defense Fund, which he currently heads. … Additionally, Werbach’s predecessor and successor as national president, Robert Cox, also emailed. Here is what they had to say:

Werbach’s colleague Cox wrote to me “I just read your post claiming that [Adam Werbach] was weak or indecisive in defending the Sierra club against the right wing attempt to commit the Sierra Club to an anti-immigrant policy. Your accusations are simply unfounded, and they malign one of the most passionate leaders of the Sierra Club’s campaign to beat back these racist attacks!”