ABEL AND READY?… Squid was relieved to see the end to the Sacramento squabble over Abel Maldonado’s confirmation as lieutenant governor with the former senator’s swearing-in ceremony Tuesday, April 27. But the new second-in-command cleared the clouds for another political storm. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he wants to fill Maldonado’s seat quickly and won’t consolidate the 15th Senate District seat election to the November ballot. Instead, the governor has called for a June 22 primary and an Aug. 17 general election that will cost five Central Coast counties, including Monterey, an estimated $2.5 million. Monterey County elections chief Linda Tulett says the two stand-alone elections will cost the county about an extra $500,000.

“This money could go to save jobs,” Tulett says. “I’m sure there is a wiser way to spend this money than on a low-turnout, high-cost election.” Monning’s predecessor, John Laird, says he is still planning to run for the open seat and will likely face GOP Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee. “Even by Sacramento’s standards this is incredibly petty,” Laird says. “It means the counties will have to have four elections in five months.”

UNFIT POLITICS… Squid feels like throwing up just watching the slightly psycho obsessives at CrossFit in Sand City punish themselves with obscene avalanches of sit-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges and clean-and-jerks. (Full disclosure: Squid also feels like puking after doing one push-up.) Now that a major part of CrossFit, the burgeoning CrossFit Games, is trading its native 3,000-resident Aromas for L.A., Squid feels that sickness resurfacing. Leaving the little rural Monterey County town, where CrossFit exec Dave Castro grew up and has hosted the gym’s championships (“the Woodstock of Fitness”) since their infancy, was probably inevitable as CrossFit’s unique approach to “the sport of fitness” continued to trampoline in popularity. But it didn’t have to go like this.

Depending who you ask, either CrossFit bungled the permitting process or the county supes who oversee them were overly stiff, stodgy and lacking vision.

Now L.A.’s massive Home Depot Center will host the showdown July 16-18. And Monterey County will miss out on owning an organic tradition that has captured a groundswell of enthusiasm and rallied a boatload of revenue for local business. Too bad CrossFit and the county couldn’t find a way to work out the details on the work-out world championships. Brawn tends to benefit from a little creative problem-solving brain.