When Brad Hudson was hired as city manager of Riverside, many of us knew something was going to happen. The guy can’t sit still. Really. In a conversation, he’s moving around, tapping his fingers, shuffling his feet, and just …doing stuff. With most it would be annoying, but Brad is so competent and you can tell he really is listening to you, so you accept it and carry on. In his previous role as head of the county’s redevelopment agency, Brad set a great example for how redevelopment should be utilized.

For years, Riverside seemed stagnant. The same council had been together for far too many years and seemed to have run out of new ideas. Four years ago, two newly elected council members, Frank Schiavone and Ed Adkison shook things up. They even earned a local acronym, FRED. Their efforts led to a nearly total turnover on the council, and the outster of the old city manager, and the hiring of Hudson, among many other changes.

Tonight Riverside’s citizens will get a glimpse of a plan titled "Riverside Renaissance," and I think it has been a long time coming.

The article is attached below… Read More

[This will be the only post about Congressman Foley from me on the FlashReport. He’s not from California and his actions have little to do with public policy. Foley is a dangerous and gruesome pedophile who will no doubt meet poetic justice, punished to the fullest extent by the laws he helped craft. As far as I’m concerned, Foley and his accomplices were/are a matter for law enforcement. No one’s debating that oversight of the Congressional page program must be substantially increased if it is to continue. – NR]

A friend of mine in California who was a Congressional page forwarded me an email inquiry from a CBS News "with Katie Couric" reporter fishing around for dirt on the page program, most likely in an attempt to continue the blather about a Republican cover-up.

Here’s the email:

From: Strickler, Laura Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 8:55 AM To: XXXXXXX Subject: Request for InformationGreetings I am an Investigative… Read More

Those of you who choose to read the FlashReport over the weekends will recall on Sunday morning I pleaded for the Governor to start campaigning on behalf of our down ticket Republican candidates after another major poll put his re-election at almost certain. Well, San Jose State just released another poll’s results with Schwarzenegger, again, in a double digit lead. McClintock is leading Garamendi by one point in a recently released LA Times poll and the action superstar (as much as it might pain me, a conservative, to say) could have a solidifying effect on this race. The Sacramento Bee has acknowledged the McClintock groundswell. The other Republicans on the ticket are in very similar situations. And I don’t seem to be the only one who has noticed.

With sincere humility, it seems the infamous… Read More

Those of you who choose to read the FlashReport over the weekends will recall on Sunday morning I pleaded for the Governor to start campaigning on behalf of our down ticket Republican candidates after another major poll put his re-election at almost certain. Well, San Jose State just released another poll’s results with Schwarzenegger, again, in a double digit lead. McClintock is leading Garamendi by one point in a recently released LA Times poll and the action superstar (as much as it might pain me, a conservative, to say) could have a solidifying effect on this race. The Sacramento Bee has acknowledged the McClintock groundswell. The other Republicans on the ticket are in very similar situations. And I don’t seem to be the only one who has noticed.

With sincere humility, it seems the infamous… Read More

Congress adjourned at about 20 minutes after midnight Saturday morning. Both the House and Senate wrapped up work meeting the deadline set by a predetermined adjournment date. This past week was the last chance to pass legislation until Congress returns in late November for a lame duck session.

The UTLA fresh from making a deal that undermines student acheivement in LA’s schools has a new target. Israel. The UTLA Human Rights Committee is sponsoring a meeting of the radical leftistLAchapter of theMovement for a Democratic Society. (Noam Chomsky is on their National Board)The puropose is to identify and boycott goods and investment in the State of Israel.

The big question for the UTLA is this helps kids read how????

The bigger questions is. The State forces teachers to pay union dues to the UTLA because???

The good news is there is an organization that helps teachers that care about kids more than politics. Their goal is to make sure teachers understand their rights. It is called the The California Teachers Empowerment Network. You can see their site here.

Here is the email sent to me from a LA teacher

Please join the Los Angeles Chapter of Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) in launching a local boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign in support of the Palestinian people. WHEN ? Saturday,… Read More

The Sacramento Bee endorsed Bruce McPherson over the weekend. Today the Pasadena Star News (which also is the same for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Whitter Daily News) also endorsed his bid for election. Bruce McPherson is clearly doins great job cleaning up the scandal ridden office of Secretary of State. See editorial here.… Read More

Jeff Miller has done a great job since replacing the soon to be Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries as Chairman of the Riverside County Republican Party. Jeff really understands the role the county party should play and how to get it there.

He says, "The party has endorsed its largest slate of candidates in its history, by far – 50. In addition, the party plans to complete its Victory Plan through a multi-stage volunteer led campaign that will also include the entire statewide slate of candidates and causes. To date we have raised and spent more money than in most election cycles and stand poised to have the party truly begin to play a lead role in the future of the county."

That attitude is important because as a strong Republican county, Riverside hastwo huge responsibilities – to raise money and turn out the vote.

Attached is the list of endorsed candidates.… Read More