Friends and constituents of Rep. Loretta Sanchez will get one more year of holiday joy from the congresswoman's fluffy cat Gretzky.
For nearly a decade, Sanchez and the Himalayan cat have co-starred in a wacky holiday card mailed each year to friends and voters by the Southern California Democrat's re-election campaign.
The ritual seemed likely to end this year: Gretzky died in November 2010. But after posting a poll to her website last month, Sanchez concluded that she had to find a way to bring Gretzky back.
"There's one person who said, 'Just make it crazy like you always do,' " Sanchez said. But the overwhelming response was: "We want Gretzky!"
This year's card features Sanchez and her new husband, retired Army Col. Jack Einwechter, posing with gifts. Behind them stands a tree decorated with ornaments featuring Gretzky's downy face.
In a nod to the Occupy movement, the card's message reads: "In this season of giving, may the joy of the holidays occupy 100% of your heart."
"It's a new beginning because we're introducing Jack," Sanchez said of her new husband, whom she wed in July. "It's sort of a transition."
Gretzky has appeared in every card since 2002. Last year, the card featured a montage of past Gretzky appearances to mark the death of the beloved cat.
>THE STATE WORKER
The American Council of Engineering Companies of California, which represents private firms, has put up a YouTube post to promote privatizing public infrastructure projects, given concerns over structural tests of the Bay Bridge's new span. It's the latest shot in its battle with Professional Engineers in California Government, which represents state engineers in Caltrans.
>WORTH REPEATING
"Thank you for the great work that you are doing, for the bravery … for the toughness."
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, expressing his holiday gratitude to U.S. troops and announcing a video contest with that theme. The winner gets two tickets as his guest to the premiere of his next flick, "The Expendables 2," during which – as he told an audience in San Francisco this month – he'll be "slamming a guy's head against the rail of a bridge."
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