A week ago today, Ameriquest founder and mortgage magnate Roland Arnall passed away from cancer at the age of 68. Arnall was a major contributor to GOP and conservative causes over the years, in additional to many philanthopic efforts that included co-founding the Simon Weisethal Center in West Los Angeles. I had an opportunity to meet and talk to Mr. Arnall a few times, and came away from those chats very impressed with the depth of his passion and love for this country.

My good friend Jeff Miller (not the Assembly candidate, but the policy advocate and Co-Chairman of fundraising efforts at the Republican Governors Association) worked closely with Mr. Arnall for many years, and had a close friendship with him. Jeff forwarded me an obituary of Arnall that ran this last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, the link to which can be found below.

I asked Jeff if he would be willing to share some thoughts with FR readers on the passing of Roland Arnell. Jeff, who traditionally stays "behind the scenes" demonstrated how much this… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

What Did They Expect from the ‘Terminator’?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is not much one for sentiment. He has bounced both his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and his fellow actor and friend Clint Eastwood from the State Park and Recreation Commission.

Mr. Shriver, who chaired the commission, and Mr. Eastwood, who was his deputy, both opposed the Governator’s plan to build a toll road between Orange County and San Diego that would have cut through a corner of a state park.

"It shows you how strong these developers were that [they] were able to… Read More

When you are going into a fight for your life, you want to make sure that everyone in your fox hole is at the top of their game — and it looks like State Senator Jeff Denham, who is the subject of a frivolous and political recall effort but can take nothing for granted, has put together quite a team. Fresh off the "No on 93" team are lead consultants Wayne Johnson and Tim Clark of JohnsonClark Associates, consultant and media strategist par excellence Kevin Spillane, and uber-research specialist Mark Bogetich of MB Associates. They’ve already kicked Don Perata’s porky butt once, and I am sure relish the opportunity to do it again… Rounding out the team: Veteran pollster Steve Kinney of Public Opinion Strategies, Capitol fundraiser John Bovee of the Bovee Company, district fundraiser Jane Clark of the JLC Group — and on the ground: tapped as the on-site campaign manager is John Franklin (from Darrell Issa’s political team, he recently managed the successful election campaign of Brian Bilbray in the very high profile 2006 special election to fill Duke Cunningham’s seat). Franklin’s Deputy… Read More

In the wake of incumbent school board Trustee Luis Acle’s failure to qualify for the ballot in San Diego Unified (the FlashReport broke the story two Sundays ago and your extremely humble blogger alerted the “mainstream” media to the development), folks were scrambling in the days to follow for analternative candidate.

Last week, it was confirmed what I already knew. Charles Wesley Kim, Jr. had filed his nominating papers by the extended deadline, but even he guessed he didn’t get enough valid signatures submitted. The resulting U-T story even caused Jon Fleischmanto ask on the FR mainpage, "Keystone Cops?," given the fact thatboth an incumbent and a new candidate had failed to qualify, thus leaving labor organizer Richard Barrera as the lone, unopposed heir to Acle’s seat.

Please bear with me on this one.

The 200 signature requirement in the City of San Diego is… Read More

I’m a little late in posting this here on FR, but the editorial below recently ran in the Riverside Press Enterprise:

Deficit DéjÀ Vu California’s Democratic majority refuses to learn from budgets past By JIM BATTIN Our budget picture just seems to keep going from bad to worse — and I fear that we haven’t hit bottom yet. Recently, the state’s nonpartisan budget analyst revised the projected deficit upward to $16 billion. We are absolutely going in the wrong direction and real, substantial changes are needed. Considering my fellow Senate Republicans and I … Read More

Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has penned this very sobering column about city finances in Los Angeles, and the thirst to raise tax there… Never mind that Los Angelinos already are among the highest tax Californians already…

City Unions To L.A. Taxpayers: Peel Me A Grape By Jon Coupal

Los Angeles city government is in trouble. Projections are that it will face a budget deficit of at least $400 million in the coming fiscal year.

The financial bind in which the city finds itself is no accident. It is the result of a series of conscious decisions by elected officials and bureaucrats.

According to the U.S. Census… Read More

Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has penned this very sobering column about city finances in Los Angeles, and the thirst to raise tax there… Never mind that Los Angelinos already are among the highest tax Californians already…

City Unions To L.A. Taxpayers: Peel Me A Grape By Jon Coupal

Los Angeles city government is in trouble. Projections are that it will face a budget deficit of at least $400 million in the coming fiscal year.

The financial bind in which the city finds itself is no accident. It is the result of a series of conscious decisions by elected officials and bureaucrats.

According to the U.S. Census… Read More

Section 25 of Article I of the California Constitution, believe it or not, guarantees to the people of this state the right to fish. Seriously, I am NOT making it up. In fact, here is the exact language straight from the source:

Section 25. The people shall have the right to fish upon and from the public lands of the State and in the waters thereof, excepting upon lands set aside for fish hatcheries, and no land owned by the State shall ever be sold or transferred without reserving in the people the absolute right to fish thereupon; and no law shall ever be passed making it a crime for the people to enter upon the public lands within this State for the purpose of fishing in any water containing fish that have been planted therein by the State; provided, that the legislature may by statute, provide for the season when and the conditions under which the different species of fish may be taken.

The reason that I point this out is that the ongoing efforts of extremists to infringe upon the liberty of Californians, under the… Read More