Republican moneyman Darrel Issa, a financial mainstay of last year's GOP convention, is reportedly running for U.S. Senate. Issa, president of Vista-based Directed Electronics, told the California Political Review he expects to spend $8 million of his own money establishing name identification. Issa's expected primary opponents include Matt Fong, Chris Cox, and, of course, Mayor Susan Golding. Issa says he's not quite decided. "We'll be conducting an exploratory process in the next few months," he says. "I don't want to buy this election with my own money. I'm going to be the anti-Huffington candidate."

Library fines

Controversial plans for a new downtown library are caught up in a debate about putting the financing scheme on the ballot for voters to decide, but the city is moving ahead with the important stuff: it's authorized a $20,000 contract to make a video "documenting the process of designing and building" the new main libes. Local writer and editor Dirk Sutro is on tap to produce; money will come from a state library grant ... Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson is battling media reports that he misused his cell phone during the GOP convention here last summer.

Don't cry for me, UCSD

Madonna has been signed to play photographer and revolutionary Tina Modotti, for Mick Jagger's Jagged Films. Italian-born Modotti came to Hollywood in 1913, acted in silent films, became a photographer, and got involved in Mexican politics before mysteriously dying in 1942. Madonna's interest was reportedly sparked by last year's U.C. San Diego exhibition of a recently discovered cache of Modotti photos ... Lynn Schenk, still considering a run for attorney general, says she used her personal money to contribute to Peter Navarro and Barbara Boxer, not any of the $50,000 she's raised for her exploratory campaign as reported here based on campaign disclosure filings.