As Gov. Jerry Brown declared California’s state of fiscal emergency on Thursday, he tweeted a photo of a new pull-up bar installed on the door-frame of his office, likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to his efforts to lift the state out of its $25.4 billion budget crisis. 

(Creative Commons)

“Staying in shape for the heavy lifting to come,” he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, he posted a link to the L.A. Times' interactive budget balancer, telling citizens to give their best shot at fixing the state's fiscal mess.

The test of Brown’s political strength has just begun since the release of his proposal to slash $12 billion in spending from the state budget and extend tax increases worth $12 billion in revenue.

Here are some of the highlights of Brown’s third week in office:

Monday, Jan. 17

• Things were pretty quiet over Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Brown’s office released a brief statement: “The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. transformed America by challenging us to bridge our differences and strive for equality. Today is a celebration of Dr. King’s life, but it is also a reminder that there is still much work to be done to realize his goals. I hope every Californian will reflect on his vision, and take action to make it a reality.”

Tuesday, Jan. 18

• The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments for and against Brown’s plan to reduce Medi-Cal funding.
• To save money in his own office, Brown moved his media team to a new location in the Horseshoe of the Governor’s office at the Capitol. Brown has promised a 25 percent reduction to his own department. The reduction has included the elimination of the education secretary and the First Lady’s staff.

Wednesday, Jan. 19

• Lt. Gov. and UC Regent Gavin Newsom suggested the University of California won’t lose $500 million to Brown’s budget plan without a fight, saying that the system should resist the cuts.
• New mayors and city council members met with Brown to discuss his plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies. The welcome was not exactly a friendly one. For its part, L.A.’s redevelopment agency had already voted to give $930 million in agency money to the city to avoid the cut. According to the L.A. Times, Brown’s office responded with the hope that they were not “squirreling money away for the indefinite future.
• In an online video, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, shared his feelings about the Brown budget, literally tearing apart the document and demanding state pension reform and even more cuts to environmental and employment development programs. 

Thursday, Jan. 20

• Police began to investigate graffiti in Santa Ana that is seen as a death threat against the Governor. 
• Brown told the California Legislative Black Caucus that education funding is a “civil rights issue.” Brown’s budget promises to spare K-12 education as long as voters approve the extension to the 2009 tax increases. 
• Meg Whitman, Brown’s former opponent for the Governorship, was named a board member at HP, where she was CEO before her candidacy. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, she wished Brown good luck. 

Friday, Jan. 21

• Police declared the Santa Ana graffiti promising to kill Brown a “terrorist threat.”