Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of John Laettner to a judgeship in the Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Laettner, 50, of Walnut Creek, has served as assistant United States attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office since 1989. He was previously deputy district attorney in the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office from 1985 to 1989. Laettner also served as an associate with Stammer, McKnight, Barnum and Bailey law firm in 1983. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Hastings Law School and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Merle Russell Eaton. Laettner is a Republican.

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Since the GOP Convention, when a resolution was overwhelmingly passed by delegates asking the Governor to appoint Republican judges,… Read More

In recent days, Medical Marijuana supporters and former Assemblyman Bruce Thompson have come out in support of term limits for the SD County Board of Supervisors. Although this may seemingly put the conservative Thompson in strange company,it’s pretty clearthere appears to be no connection between the two … other than a shared dislike for incumbent Sups, or perhaps one incumbent Sup … in Thompson’s case.

Thompson’s campaign against Supervisor Bill Horn (pictured here with a mic, not a bong), rich with endorsements but apparently strapped for cash against the Horn war-chest, is simply tossing a needed issue into the public fray that Horn will either have to ignore or be hard pressed to ‘splain his position on.Here’s most of the Thompson release:

Fallbrook – 5th District Supervisor candidate Bruce Thompson formally announced today that as a County Supervisor he would immediately introduce a motion to adopt term limits for the… Read More

Eons ago I asked if Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca could be beat and promised to revisit the issue. See it here.

Since that time Baca’s run jail system has seen a week worth of riots and now they have spread to the youth facilities. See a sample here.

Baca has never been popular among most Republicans. While he nominally a registered Republican, he supports Democrats all the time, likes grabbing guns and sponsored a tax increase that failed last year.

His administration has bungled more than just the jail riots, there have been escapes and killings of witnesses while in Sheriff custody. There are whispers of corruption and clearly mismanagement is a big issue. Deputies are leaving. The early release progarms is a tragedy. Some LA papers may want Baca gone as well.

Usually, that is bad news for an… Read More

[Editor’s note: Probolsky, a regular contributor to this page, is the president of Probolsky Research, a prominent and respected political polling firm. – Flash] The Governor makes me proud every once in a while. Like a father that cries while spanking his son, it pains me to criticize the Governor when he all to often does something that upsets my conservative, limited government, pro-border security sensibilities.

But today’s Field Poll demonstrates a phenomenon that I have always claimed existed. That is that this governor will always, in the final stretch, win re-election. You can never count him out. He will raise the money he needs and his ability to develop a personal connection with the voters means he will win enough of them over to put him over the top.

Today’s Field Poll release shows the Governor about even with his Dem rivals Angelides… Read More

Last night, I made the two mile trip over to the campus at the University of California, Irvine. Why? Because FR friend Kristen Lucero, who is President of the UC Irvine College Republicans told me about an event they were hosting on campus. An excerpt from a Los Angeles Times article on the event described it this way:

Last night, I made the two mile trip over to the campus at the University of California, Irvine. Why? Because FR friend Kristen Lucero, who is President of the UC Irvine College Republicans told me about an event they were hosting on campus. An excerpt from a Los Angeles Times article on the event described it this way:

The caricatures, first printed in European newspapers, incited riots worldwide that led to dozens of deaths last month.

Organizers of the UCI forum, which drew about 250 people to an auditorium at the… Read More

Our Central Coast Correspondent, Amy Thoma, is on a little break right now. But I am sure that you will recall that she recently penned a column for the FR talking about a draconian, anti-freedom general plan amendment that has been proposed via initiative in the County of Monterey. This measure would take the balance that exists between allowing common-sense development and use of land by people against the need to preserve the natural beauty of the area and turn it on its head. Well, you can read all about it in Amy’s column.

I wanted to let you know that in the latest development, citing ‘fatal flaws’ the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by a 3-2 vote DECLINED to place this initiative onto the ballot. This is unusual given that there were enough signatures to qualify it, I think. So, the proponents have vowed to take the matter to court, and force the county to put the matter before the voters.

You can read the Monterey Herald’s take on the whole broo-haha… Read More

Who killed Stephen Ballreich?That’s the title of the Pasadena Weekly article on the 1991 murder of political consultant andformer Alhmabra MayorBallreich. While at one time he was a rising GOP star before flaming out, he was partially responsible for starting the process of registering and empowering Asain voters in that part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is lengthy, but you can read the article here.… Read More