Not since the Chia Pet or the Clapper has a commercial like the medical alert program featuring a lady that had fallen and couldn’t get help caught the fancy of untold thousands of Americans.

Always looking to be on the edge, the State Senate and soon the State Assembly will pass SCR 77 that would declare the first week of fall as “Fall Prevention Awareness Week”. Get it? First week of fall!

The bill has received no negative votes to date and will pass easily unless there is some activity from the pro-falling lobby (trial lawyers?).

What does it do?

“This measure would urge the California Department of Aging and the area agencies on aging to incorporate fall prevention in their upcoming state and local area master plans and recommend the California Health and Human Services Agency develop standardized definitions and reporting methods that will improve available information on falls. This measure would also recommend that fall prevention guidelines be incorporated into state and local planning documents that affect housing, transportation, parks, recreational facilities,

The commentary below was penned exclusively for the FlashReport by State Senator Bob Dutton, the Vice Chairman of the State Senate Budget Committee…

Democrats Tax Plan Is A Tax On Job Creation And Economic Opportunity By Senator Bob Dutton I try to be optimistic. I have always believed it is better to look at the positive side of things. Better to look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. But I never thought anyone would seriously suggest $10 billion dollars in tax increases when Californians are paying record high gas prices and home prices are in free fall. California also has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country because good paying jobs are… Read More

That is the ABC News headline, not mine. You can read it here, or watch the Governor’s chat with George Stephanopoulis this morning here.

I’m sure Arnold’s former campaign manager Steve Schmidt, who is now quarterbacking John McCain’s campaign, is just "overjoyed" at this interview (not).

Then again, I don’t know any Republican who would be.… Read More

When I look over the list of potential Vice Presidential picks being looked at by Senator McCain, I always see the name of Minnesota Governor Jim Pawlenty, who is said to be quite close to McCain personally. To be honest with you, until last Fall, when Pawlenty (along with Governor’s Crist, Huntsman, Perry and Schwarzenegger) spoke at the semi-annual California Republican Party State Convention. Right off the bat, I was concerned because a large part of Pawlenty’s remarks were praiseful of Governor Schwarzenegger’s battle against man-made carbon emissions which amounts to a mountain of new government regulations. I had an opportunity to chat with Pawlenty a bit at that convention, and he is a personable, and smart fellow. But after that weekend, and since, I have done some poking around concerning Pawlenty, and pretty much figured out that McCain and Pawlenty are not just friends, but in many ways are ideological comrades. If McCain reaches out and taps Governor Pawlenty to be his running… Read More

When I look over the list of potential Vice Presidential picks being looked at by Senator McCain, I always see the name of Minnesota Governor Jim Pawlenty, who is said to be quite close to McCain personally. To be honest with you, until last Fall, when Pawlenty (along with Governor’s Crist, Huntsman, Perry and Schwarzenegger) spoke at the semi-annual California Republican Party State Convention. Right off the bat, I was concerned because a large part of Pawlenty’s remarks were praiseful of Governor Schwarzenegger’s battle against man-made carbon emissions which amounts to a mountain of new government regulations. I had an opportunity to chat with Pawlenty a bit at that convention, and he is a personable, and smart fellow. But after that weekend, and since, I have done some poking around concerning Pawlenty, and pretty much figured out that McCain and Pawlenty are not just friends, but in many ways are ideological comrades. If McCain reaches out and taps Governor Pawlenty to be his running… Read More

I hope you all had a nice July 4 weekend.

Among other Independence Day festivities, last Sunday my family attended the final day of the San Diego County Fair. While entering what longtime locals still call the “Del Mar Fair,” I noted the U.S. and California flags at half staff. I wondered what I had missed. Yes, Jesse Helms had passed away, but somehow I just couldn’t imagine the State of California’s 22nd District Agricultural Association (operator of the fairgrounds) recognizing the North Carolina senator.

At home that evening, I shot off a quick email to Fair PIO Kina Paegert asking her to shed some light. An immediate response was elicited from her Blackberry: “A fireman passed away in northern Cal."

I responded to her saying thanks, that I had seen no other state or local flags anywhere at half staff (it was the weekend, with few government workers, so that was understandable), and added “It’s good you noticed and took the appropriate action.”

Her final response: “Thanks. We try to honor them when we can.”

Perhaps because I was busy with the weekend’s events, I also hadn’t noted any media coverage… Read More

Two Southern Californianewspapers today featured excellent editorials on the state’s budget deficit.

Both the San Diego area’s North County Times and the Riverside Press-Enterprise dismissed Democrat proposalsof billions in newtaxes as being the answer to our budget woes, lambasting them to insteaddo more to getspending under control.

That position, otherwise known as the Republican position, has been firmly held and strongly advocated by our Republican leaders in Sacramento –who havebeen working overtime to get that message out.

Well, if even newspaper editorial writers are grasping the notion that it’s time to get tough on the out of control spending, it’s no doubt the voters are getting it too. And our Republican leaders deserve an awful lot of credit for getting that message across.

Just take a look at a bit of these two editorials. Great stuff.… Read More

Tony Snow was a great guy and it is being reported this morning that cancer has taken his life. While most recently Snow was spokesman for our President, his time with Fox News is what really impacted most of us. I enjoyed many e-mail exchanges with Tony, and a few sit downs over coffee. He was a great conservative and a smart guy. We’ll miss him. Our sympathies go out to his family.… Read More