I was in my car this afternoon (contributing to my carbon footprint) when my State Senator, Dick Ackerman, called me with the news — Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata had "called off" of the recall of Jeff Denham. Or, to be more precise, Perata announced the suspension of the political campaign to pass the recall measure.

Now that I am back at my computer, I went online and was able to read Senator Perata’s "spin" on his decision…

ENTER THE SPIN ROOM…

Perata’s statement reads, in part:

A long stalemate is the last thing we need. Without a budget – we run out of cash – the richest state in America gone broke!

We won’t be paying our bills – and we won’t be giving our schools, our emergency rooms and our police the resources they need.

So I met with Republican Leader Dave Cogdill – and I asked him how we could clear… Read More

Courtesy of our Friends at CapitolAlert:

Perata’s Statement:

"Like all of you, I’ve been worried a lot about the economy – falling home prices, rising gas prices – and how hard it’s getting for people to find a job.

I’ve talked with both Treasurer Lockyer and Controller Chiang about the state’s cash situation – and the need to do everything we can to reach an agreement on the budget.

A long stalemate is the last thing we need. Without a budget – we run out of cash – the richest state in America gone broke!

We won’t be paying our bills – and we won’t be giving our schools, our emergency rooms and our police the resources they need.

So I met with Republican Leader Dave Cogdill – and I asked him how we could clear the decks and start making some progress.One issue kept coming up. The Denham recall.

So today – in the spirit of putting politics aside to solve problems – I’m ending the recall campaign.

You’re bound to ask, so let me tell you – there was no deal, no quid pro quo.

This is my call –… Read More

Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill negotiated an end to the Denham Recall today.

That is the first major victory for the new Republican Leader.… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog] This letter from Orange County Employees Association General Manager Nick Berardino went out yesterday to OCEA member.

It’s message: vote for Harry Sidhu in the SD33 GOP primary.

While the letter seems worded so as not to inflict collateral damage to Sidhu with conservative GOP primary voters, one can almost picture the "Sidhu is the union candidate!" hit piece coming to an SD33 mailbox near you.

For example, the letter states:

"Also, Harry has been a strong opponent of privatization-oriented ideas in which a public agency might divest itself of property to the enrichment of the few while the citizens are left holding the bag."

Nick is a great guy and a friend, but this probably does Harry more harm than good.

Both the Sidhu and Mimi Walters campaigns are have sent out mailers accusing each… Read More

Study: 25% of LA’s Welfare Goes to Undocumented Immigrants

L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich says the county spends more than $1 billion a year on benefits to undocumented immigrants.

According to new data from the Department of Public Social Services, nearly twenty five percent of Los Angeles County ‘s welfare and food stamp benefits goes directly to the children of undocumented immigrants, at a cost of $36 million a month — for a projected annual cost of $432 million.

"The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education," said Antonovich.

"With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $432 million in welfare allocations, illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers."

The supervisor said, in March, undocumented immigrants collected over $19 million in welfare assistance and over $16 million in food stamp allocations.… Read More

Here’s some great "Economics 101" from Frank Schubert on gas prices. Meet Mr. Supply and Mr. Demand….… Read More

What a day–a late night for east coast return-watchers!

Drudge leads this morning with links to several really useful political news sources that deserve repeated mention here. Politico, MSNBC, Time and ABC all publish "first read" items that are very similar to the Flash Report version 1.0 — an email or basic web posting chronicling the days news, spin and political happenings.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) makes news by telling it like it is to members of the House GOP prompting one to call the speaker a less-than-nice name. Also telling it like it is, the Club for Growth shares some differences of opinion with the NRCC, from today’s Roll Call (unfortunately, subscription required). The Gingrich-Politico piece is here.

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) is… Read More

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.

Two kilograms of cocaine were seized, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 in cash, authorities said.

Of the 96 people arrested, 75 were students. Eighteen of the students were arrested Tuesday when nine search warrants were executed at various locations including fraternities, said Jesse Rodriguez, San Diego County assistant district attorney. Read it all here.… Read More