When scanning political news stories from around California this morning, as I do each day, from time to time I come across something, or someone, worthy of special note, this time out the San Bernardino County Sun…

The City of Colton has about 175,000 residents, and you can find it on a map by sticking a pin right at the intersections of the 10 and 215 freeways.

Once upon a time Colton was the home of famous wild west frontiersman Wyatt Earp. But for those who follow politics, I guess it is notable that in recent years, several members of the City Council have left office in scandals, and that the Mayor of this city, Kelly Chastain, is facing a recall on this June’s ballot.

None of that, however is what drew my attention to this city. It was an article referencing destroyed e-mails in city government, which led me to read further down where I got to what I thought was the … Read More

Jon – you "missed the Mark" in your scathing commentary on Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi. I posted a similar message as a commentary to your post, but I felt strongly enough to revise and post it here.

I have worked with Nuaimi numerous times (including running his campaigns for Mayor), and yes, I am proud to have done so.

Mark originally gained notoriety in a virtually one-man crusade to crack down on widespread prostitution and drug sales along Foothill Boulevard in Fontana – just blocks from schools and playgrounds. His efforts led to a massive crack down and propelled him to the City Council.

Then Mark took on incumbent Democrat Mayor David Eshelman, when no one thought he could win. He won because he showed a real passion and vision for his city. He had the courage to stand up while the polished politicians hid in the back room.

Since then, Mark has been an effective and able Mayor for Fontana – helping develop new leaders; transforming the City Council from a squabbling sandlot to an effective, cohesive body; and bringing a new sense… Read More

When scanning political news stories from around California this morning, as I do each day, from time to time I come across something, or someone, worthy of special note, this time out the San Bernardino County Sun…

The City of Colton has about 175,000 residents, and you can find it on a map by sticking a pin right at the intersections of the 10 and 215 freeways.

Once upon a time Colton was the home of famous wild west frontiersman Wyatt Earp. But for those who follow politics, I guess it is notable that in recent years, several members of the City Council have left office in scandals, and that the Mayor of this city, Kelly Chastain, is facing a recall on this June’s ballot.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

Most kids go through a phase where they like to play doctor.They listen to each other’s heartbeat, tap knees, wrap pretend wounds with bandages, and prescribe non-existent medicine. Some medical suppliers in L.A. County have continued that game into adulthood and are playing a wasteful game of doctor. They’ll take your medical supply orders and the Medicare money, but just like the game, the patient won’t receive any actual service.

According to an L.A. Times article (March 3rd), a great number of L.A. medical suppliers gave the opposite of what the doctor ordered: “After a series of surprise inspections in Los Angeles County, Medicare fraud investigators found persistent corruption among equipment suppliers who set up phony offices that billed the government $21 million over one year….” The all too serious $21 million in losses was diagnosed after… Read More

Governor Arnold, heard at a town hall meeting in Northern California this week:

"’The way we are taxing. I mean, we are missing a lot out there,’ the governor said. ‘There’s whole new economies that are developing, service-oriented economies. Manufacturing is going down.’"

Wow. That is deep stuff. I mean, there is lot’s of stuff out there we can tax.

Milton Friedman, where are you when we need you?… Read More

With an out-of-touch majority in the capitol, the underrepresented (minority) viewpoint in Sacramento has been forced to use the initiative process to protect our freedoms. Because of the success in using initiatives, liberals have decided to protect their concentrated power by reining in the initiative process. Assemblyman Alberto Torrico has introduced AB 1914, a bill that will deter average citizens from participating in initiative, referendum, or recall campaigns. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee this afternoon.

Under current law, it’s a misdemeanor for petition circulators to “intentionally misrepresent or make any false statement” about a petition’s content or effect in order to obtain signatures. Torrico wants to invalidate every signature collected by a circulator convicted under the existing law. This means that an average citizen volunteering for a campaign could be charged with a crime for simply misstating the content of their petition. Going even further, he then wants the proponents of the… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

I wanted to follow up on my earlier posts — here and here — regarding the denouement of powerhouse consulting firm Cerrell Associates‘ peculiar straddle regarding 241 toll road advocacy.

On one hand, Cerrell provided public and media relations services to the Southern California Association of Governments to the tune of at least $250,000 a year. SCAG is a important proponent of completing the 241.

On the other hand, Cerrell Associates is also a consultant to the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) and its campaign to stop completion of the 241.

This biting of the hand that feeds you $250K a year… Read More

MEMORANDUM

To: Governor Schwarzenegger at the State Capitol From: Jon over at the FlashReport RE: Massive Democrat-Created State Deficit Governor, there is no doubt that the liberal Democrats who largely control the budget process have taken California down a path of severe over-spending. As we all know, state spending has massively out-paced state tax revenues, increasing a staggering $25 billion since 2003. Out of the gate this year, you correctly identified this problem for what it is, too much red ink. Too much overspending. You made it clear that California families, taxpayers, would not be saddled with higher taxes in order to address this chronic overspending issue. You rightly introduces a budget that represents a 10% across-the-board cut to what would have been the ’07-’08 amounts (from our perspective, a modest proposal). As a companion to… Read More