At 3:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, I drove into the parking lot of my local Community Center. La Mesais perhaps one of the safest places in San Diego County – if “safe” is measured in the number of communities between your home and a firestorm. The city may not be in harm’s way, yet officials still offered up their largest meeting space for collection of donated goods and as a coordination point to prepare meals for delivery to area evacuation centers.

Councilman Ernie Ewin had indicated he needed very early morning assistance to prepare egg sandwich breakfasts for the displaced hundreds staying six miles away in the gym at Steele Canyon High School . I imagined him trying to scrape together a crew of five to ten volunteers willing to set their alarms for 1:30 a.m., resulting in a short-handed, crazed rush of work prior to the planned 6:00 a.m. food pick up.

I should have known better of my community.

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At 3:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, I drove into the parking lot of my local Community Center. La Mesais perhaps one of the safest places in San Diego County – if “safe” is measured in the number of communities between your home and a firestorm. The city may not be in harm’s way, yet officials still offered up their largest meeting space for collection of donated goods and as a coordination point to prepare meals for delivery to area evacuation centers.

Councilman Ernie Ewin had indicated he needed very early morning assistance to prepare egg sandwich breakfasts for the displaced hundreds staying six miles away in the gym at Steele Canyon High School . I imagined him trying to scrape together a crew of five to ten volunteers willing to set their alarms for 1:30 a.m., resulting in a short-handed, crazed rush of work prior to the planned 6:00 a.m. food pick up.

I should have known better of my community. The parking lot was full of cars. About 200 volunteers were inside – Kiwanians, High School Key Club members and others – from throughout East County, diligently working in a well-coordinated operation to cook, prep and package the… Read More

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Any of our readers who grew up in the Los Angeles basin were used to the superior television news reporting from KTLA Channel 5. How many years did we all watch the team of Hal Fishman at the desk, and Stan Chambers in the field, bring us all of the details we wanted and craved whenever some sort of ‘breaking news’ would occur in the area? Of course both of these star players were supported by an outstanding group of co-anchors and fellow reporters.

I was blessed to be able to work a bit with Stan in my job as a media spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for nearly six years. Well, apparently with the retirement of Chambers, and the passing of Fishman, Tribune Broadcasting, who also owns the Los Angeles Times, decided to make a big change — for the worse. For the past few days, who amongst us hasn’t been drawn to the television to watch, with rapt attention, the battle against the wildfires that are plaguing the Southland? Well, I can tell you,… Read More

I am very pleased to share with FR readers that Mindy Fletcher has joined the FlashReport team as a new statewide correspondent for our site. For those of you who do not know Mindy, she has a long history as a professional and an activist with the Republican Party. She played a key role in both the election and re-election of President Bush, serving as an official spokesman for the campaigns. Mindy also spent time working for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with a stint as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the State Capitol, and as Deputy Campaign Manager for his re-election campaign.

I’ve know Mindy for years, and I am very excited to have her onboard. She’s conservative, smart, and has a good sense of humor, as well. She will provide a lot of great insight for us as she gets into the groove of blogging.

Please join me in welcoming Mindy. Her very first blog post is below…… Read More

No one in Great Britain would question whether a woman could be President. Point to Margaret Thatcher – the "Iron Lady" and ask if a woman can be the leader of a country. However, in America we are immersed in this debate.

This debate resurfaced on Tuesday when I attended the Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women in Long Beach (which was terrific, by the way). There was alot of talk about Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and the potential to elect the first woman president. At a panel discussion that included the first female Governor of New Jersey Christine Whitman, the first female vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro and the first female White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, I was struck by the dilemma facing me and most Republican women in this upcoming presidential election.

How can we be respectful of the fact that we finally have a woman running for president and at the same time oppose… Read More

It’s ‘raining’ ash downtown today. It leaves a disgusting film on you if you are outside for any period of time. Tourists, language students, and the homeless own the streets.

The homeless have actually gotten particularly aggresive… maybe because the ash and heat (it’s like 90 some odd degrees but no real sun) and maybe because the streets are pretty barren and they don’t feel restrained by crowds.… Read More

In a recent court filing that does not bode well for the initiative process and "expressive rights" in California, Target Stores is picking on an individual signature gatherer to obtain a court order against any such activity at Target Stores.

In a Complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in late August, and just recently served, Target Stores, represented by Morrison and Foerster (New York Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed yesterday "Morrison and Foerster" day in New York City), is suing an individual initiative signature gatherer and 100 Does for a permanent injunction and trespass to enforce Target’s blanket policy of "prohibiting all groups and individuals from using its property for expressive activity."

The lawsuit would bar all expressive activities, including signature gathering for initiative campaigns, in front of Target stores, to avoid "potential for congestion in front of entrances to Target stores" and the "potential for interference with business operations." Almost all the allegations in the Complaint are general in nature and no specific allegations or facts… Read More