UPDATE: See attachment

I’ve been reading on the FlashReport and hearing around that the prison guard union is trying to codify the sweetheart deal contract that they got from Gray Davis into a law. It’s very ironic that in this situation, our global warming alarming "green action hero" Governor is actually doing the right thing — which is negotiating firmly with a union, trying to undo some of the lavish pay hikes that they were given by Davis. More insidious than the big bucks in that contract was that Davis literally bargained away much of the management authority of the Corrections Department. I figured it would be a labor-loving Democrat that would be carrying this dog-with-fleas legislation. So it piqued my curiosity when I heard that termed-out GOP Assemblywoman Bonnie "Ban the Trans-Fats" Garcia was carrying this last-minute gut-and-amend bill. Thanks to the internet, I took a peek over at the Secretary of… Read More

Last weekend, the Republican Party’s State Convention was held out in Indian Wells, where former Assemblyman Russ Bogh and current Assemblyman John Benoit are engaged in what promises to be an entertaining and nasty primary to succeed the termed-out local State Senator Jim Battin.

There is an axium that says, "there is never a good time to vote for a budget."

Slipped under hotel room doors at the conventon was a full glossy campaign piece from the "Riverside Taxpayers Association" fileting John Benoit for an "aye" vote on a state budget some years back – when Gray Davis was still Governor. Kinda proves that axium above to be true!

This primary promises to be exciting, and we’ll try to bring you all of the fun… (The .pdf of this hit piece is attached below.)… Read More

From a trusted legislative advocate….

Governor Schwarzenegger, just a few minutes ago, called the Legislature into Special Session, starting tomorrow, to work on State Health Insurance Reform. He also called a Special Session on water projects.

The Governor also announced at his press conference that he would veto AB 8, as expected, the Democrat’s health insurance proposal.

It is anticipated that the Special Session on health care will operate mostly behind the scenes, with the political leaders trying to craft a solution.… Read More

IS PHIL ANGELES CRYING? I’m sure Phil Angelides is crying somewhere right now, depressed that he is not in Sacramento to sign the outrageous shift towards socialized medicine that has been passed by legislative Democrats and placed on the Governor’s desk. Much time has been spent on this page criticizing Governor Schwarzenegger for his own proposal to significantly increase the size of government and state government’s role in health care. That said, today is a good time to take a pause, and appreciate that the extreme agenda of Don Perata and Fabian Nunez is too far to the left, even for the port-side shift of Schwarzenegger. The Governor has vowed to veto AB 8 and he should be applauded for doing so. Perhaps if Mr. Angeles is bored, he can print out a copy of AB 8 on his computer, and sign the bottom of it. That’s about all of the relevance that he will have in this process — thank goodness!

THE LINE IN THE SAND ON REDISTRICTING REFORM Lost in all of the press on this healthcare debate is the… Read More

Amidst the steady stream of stories of ineffective bureaucracy, poor tracking, and management mishaps that cost the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) millions, we rarely see a story about the school district failing to pay its own. Just when we thought it could do that part of its job correctly, the LAUSD proves us wrong again.

According to The LA Daily News (August 27, 2007), "Seven months after Los Angeles Unified rolled out a $95 million computerized payroll system, school officials are prepared to pour at least another $37 million into the project to fix thousands of problems as [the district braces] for the start of the school year." We have become anesthetized to absurd figures concerning LAUSD’s waste, the United Teachers Los Angeles President explains, "[However, this situation is] an 8.9 on the Richter scale… It’s very bad[,] and it promises to get worse when [the] traditional school [year] starts." LAUSD’s interim chief operating officer explains that "the… Read More

Passing off of the Assembly floor again was the idea of microstamping an ID number on every bullet shell casing as it is discharged by a gun. This as an idea to solve crimes. Never mind that a conviction could never be upheld by finding a shell casing with your ID number on itat a crime scene…I hope.… Read More

Update: AB 8 passes tonight by a vote of 45-31…heading for the Guv’s guillotine. [After terms like health care being "a right" were used in the debate.] I wonder who has "the right" to then pay for that "right", the children of parents who have to spend even more time at work to pay for this "right" conferred by goverment to others?Does government have the answer when it is only willing to add to the mandatesthat drive upcosts, nottackle the cost drivers, the litigation, thediscouragement of competitition, the illegal immigrants receiving benefits not playing by the immigration rules? We are a compassionate people that will help the deserving. This isn’t the answer.

After passing out of the Senate earlier 22-17, with 2 Dem "no" votes, the discussion is now on our floor, of taxing businesses to pay for health care for all. The Guv has sent a memo out promising a veto on this measure. This discussion could go for an hour or two, with a known outcome. Maybe we can come back later and address what drives… Read More

Last weekend, about a thousand members, alternates and guests gathered at the California Republican Party Convention at the Renaissance Esmerelda Hotel in Indian Wells in the Coachella Valley/Palm Springs area. As is typically the case, we’ll be sharing some stories and happenings from this event over the next few days. First and foremost, we’re pleased to announce the return of our highly-acclaimed, caddy and pithy "Winners & Losers of the CRP Convention" column, which we should be featuring at the end of this week. While your trusted FR team had many of our team members on the ground, looking over the convention for nominees, we typically get some of our best suggestions from FR readers. If you have a nomination, you can e-mail us here. As always, we ensure the confidentiality of anyone who contacts us. I’ll start by fast forwarding to a couple of results from the weekend that I want especially emphasize. The first is that convention delegates unanimously put the party on record as opposing… Read More