I used to believe there was a difference between Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. Boxer was (and is) always the shrill airhead attack dog, while Feinstein carried herself in a statesmanlike manner. As a result, the GOP was always far more interested in giving Boxer a spirited challenge while recognizing that Feinstein, while not ideologically dissimilar to Boxer, was at least perceived as an adult.

No longer.

Today the senior Senator was in the Central Valley touting freeze relief for citrus farmers. Surrounded by all the usual suspects – Republicans sucking up to the power, Feinstein lamented the plight of the poor farmer. After all, the freeze relief is attached to the Iraq war funding bill, which the President has promised to veto due to its unique "planned surrender" feature.

Feinstein actually defended the relief funds being placed in the middle of a war supplemental bill. With her comments, she moves into the phony leftist shill column with her sister Boxer and others of their ilk, such as Ted Kennedy. It was hard to decide who looked more foolish. Feinstein or the Republican farmers standing behind her as she… Read More

Paul Hegyi, who’s worn many hats over the past few years – Campaign Manager to Tony Strickland, Chief of Staff (and before that, Campaign Manager) to Van Tran, Campaign Manager to Shirley Horton, before that, time with Mark Wyland, etc – is tossing his hat in the ring to run for Assemblyman Nakanishi’s termed out seat next year.

Paul, who grew up in the district – going to high school and college in the area – and who now owns a home there, has been putting the pieces together to mount a strong campaign. No stranger to the campaign world, Paul assuredly will have a first-rate grassroots effort behind him. He’s been a part of some of the toughest races in California over the past few years, notably as Campaign Manager to Shirley Horton.

In addition, having been a part of campaigns in so many regions of the state, Paul is unique among would-be campaign/legislative staff-turned-politicians. Unlike some who’ve spent their whole careers pigeonholed in one spot, Paul has worked with the donor communities in San Diego, in Orange… Read More

Ed Reyes represents the First LA Council District which encompasses the north and west of City Hall. It’s a major gang infested region, with legions of illegal immigrants, dilapidated housing and the birthplace of the unusually savage Mara SalvatruchaSalvadorian gangfrom the Pico Union neighborhood.

First elected in April 2001, Mr. Reyes has witnessed increased gang control, failing schools with the ‘misery index’ increasing for its residents.

So it should have come as miracle news that the Rotem Co, a subsidiary of Hyundai Automotive Group, wants to least he Union pacific owned facility in Taylor Yard to assembly high-tech rail cars under a $305 million Metrolink contract. Rotem officials claim over 200 jobs with annual salaries of $40,000 to $ 80,000 each would be created for as long as five years.

The Daily Breeze in a remarkable piece of journalism, written by Beth Barrett, exposed Mr. Reyes interference with this job creating prospect. The Breezereported that when Reyes was approachedby project leaders he informed them " they don’t need jobs in the area and they want to see a park developed and nothing… Read More

If only it were a reality…you could get on a train high-speed train in Los Angeles and be at Disneyland in less than 30 minutes.

Well the California High-Speed Rail Authority is working on such things and apparently todos beneficiamos (they sent a brochure about some upcoming scoping sessions that are printed in English and Spanish).

If you want to weigh in on the project there are several public meetings in April in LA, Anaheim and Norwalk.

Apparently the the SoCal route could also extend down to Irvine.

If the thing operates over existing rail right-of-ways and doesn’t eliminate any current roads I am all for it assuming I don’t have to pay for it. I probably won’t ever take it but according to their studies they project 100 million passengers a year by 2030.

How will it be financed? Who pays for it? The slick… Read More

Conventional wisdom has the 36th AD has a match up between Steve Knight Palmdale City Councilman and son of the late, legendary Senator Pete Knight (See here) and the liberal Mayor of Palmdale Jim Ledford. (See here.) Another candidate has filed a committee to run: Steve Fox. Fox was an elected member of the Antelope Valley Hospital board. He was defeated in 2004. (BTW: These races are real barnburners in the Antelope Valley. Really.). Steve then got elected to the Antelope Valley Community College Board in 2005. He is a member of the California Congress of Republicans. I spoke to him a couple times over the years. If I remember right he did fill out a pro-life questionnaire- the right way. Of course with the money and name ID of the others, he will have to find $$ as well. A third candidate-this one more Lancaster based will stir things up a bit.

No word of a candidate from… Read More

Imagine being the only conservative on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. You would be imagining the life of Supervisor (and former State GOP Chairman) Mike Antonovich. That said, he has consistently stood tall for the cause, and should be given a lot of credit. This short piece from the Supervisor demonstrates a perspective that comes from being ‘on the ground’ in an area where homelessness is rampant.

California’s education system is struggling – despite billions of dollars and a never ending parade of Legislative quick-fixes, California students continue to fall behind the national averages in almost every academic area. One of the problems with California’s education system is the missmash of special funding (categorical programs) and the gross inequity created by a convoluted state formula for distribution of education dollars. Some schools accomplish a lot despite the inefficient system, but California’s largest school district (the Los Angeles Unified School District) is not one of them. Recently, LAUSD approved a teacher’s contract that creates a $213 million annual shortfall – and they readily admit they have no idea how to pay for it. This is more than just irresponsible budgeting – it should be criminal. Coincidentally, LA Assemblyman Kevin de Leon recently introduced… Read More

California’s education system is struggling – despite billions of dollars and a never ending parade of Legislative quick-fixes, California students continue to fall behind the national averages in almost every academic area. One of the problems with California’s education system is the missmash of special funding (categorical programs) and the gross inequity created by a convoluted state formula for distribution of education dollars. Some schools accomplish a lot despite the inefficient system, but California’s largest school district (the Los Angeles Unified School District) is not one of them. Recently, LAUSD approved a teacher’s contract that creates a $213 million annual shortfall – and they readily admit they have no idea how to pay for it. This is more than just irresponsible budgeting – it should be criminal. Coincidentally, LA Assemblyman Kevin de Leon recently introduced… Read More