The notorious Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) is now charged with violating federal laws and misleading the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) since December, 2004. In a complaint filed on July 19, 2007 by a coalition of taxi companies LAFLA is accused of aggressively lobbying for and organizing into a union a small number of drivers with taxpayer money in direct violation of the LSC Act.

By using taxpayer money for these efforts, the LSC must either demand an end to these illegal activities or withdraw funding for LAFLA, who derives 55% of their funding from LSC grants. The complaint spells out multiple violations including grassroots lobbying, community organizing, advocacy training and staging demonstrations.

Betty Hung, directing attorney with LAFLA, has been the leader in organizing taxi drivers by forming Los Angeles Taxi Worker’s Alliance (LATWA) in addition to lobbying the Los Angeles City Council and various City Commissions.

“Whether LAFLA used taxpayer money or… Read More

The members of the California legislature pull down a full-time salary, though many months of the year are spent in district "work periods" far from the State Capitol. But you really have to wonder in the absence of a state budget, now well past the Constitution deadline, why all our legislators are not in Sacramento working hard at finding a solution to the budget impasse? Perhaps no member of the State Legislature has demonstrated the arrogance of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. While Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stands by attentively in Fresno to return to Sacramento (on his favorite three hour drive), the Speaker of the California Assembly is off vacationing in Europe… What? You didn’t know that? Yeah, not much has been written about it all of the newspaper stories covering the budget impasse. Trying to figure out where Nunez is vacationing on the other side of the pond is a bit like trying to play Where’s… Read More

The members of the California legislature pull down a full-time salary, though many months of the year are spent in district "work periods" far from the State Capitol. But you really have to wonder in the absence of a state budget, now well past the Constitution deadline, why all our legislators are not in Sacramento working hard at finding a solution to the budget impasse? Perhaps no member of the State Legislature has demonstrated the arrogance of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. While Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stands by attentively in Fresno to return to Sacramento (on his favorite three hour drive), the Speaker of the California Assembly is off vacationing in Europe… What? You didn’t know that? Yeah, not much has been written about it all of the newspaper stories covering the budget impasse. Trying to figure out where Nunez is vacationing on the other side of the pond is a bit like trying to play Where’s… Read More

It has been my firm belief since the announcement from his Imperial Majesty Senate President Don Perata that he was so opposed to the tax-relief package negotiated by Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines that he would not even bring it up for a vote in the Senate (let alone work to get it passed out of that uber-liberal body) that the budget passed out of the Assembly was DOA in the Senate. That Assembly Budget while still bloated and largely a product of the status quo that Democrats have created after many decades of majority control in the legislature, GOP negotiators made some important strides in that document.

Still, as Assembly Republican Caucus Chairman Bob Huff points out in an exclusive column today, that tax relief package was a "lynch pin" to the budget garnering enough votes to even get out of the Assembly at all. Huff says, "Without the tax cuts, the Senators will not be dealing with the budget package approved by 9 Republican Assemblymembers."

Huff, of course, was the highest ranking Assembly Republican to vote against the budget in the… Read More

It has been my firm belief since the announcement from his Imperial Majesty Senate President Don Perata that he was so opposed to the tax-relief package negotiated by Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines that he would not even bring it up for a vote in the Senate (let alone work to get it passed out of that uber-liberal body) that the budget passed out of the Assembly was DOA in the Senate. That Assembly Budget while still bloated and largely a product of the status quo that Democrats have created after many decades of majority control in the legislature, GOP negotiators made some important strides in that document.

Still, as Assembly Republican Caucus Chairman Bob Huff points out in an exclusive column today, that tax relief package was a "lynch pin" to the budget garnering enough votes to even get out of the Assembly at all. Huff says, "Without the tax cuts, the Senators will not be dealing with the budget package approved by 9 Republican Assemblymembers."

Huff, of course, was the highest ranking Assembly Republican to vote against the budget in the… Read More

References to Neil Young notwithstanding, that’s where I’ll be the next few days. Even given the generous alms Jon pays for my insights, I still deserve some time off.

Dreaded Disclosure Weekend… Vacation pending, and the worst thing in the world is to have one’s real work locked up so as to actually relax while away, yet still be facing the filing of 460s and the like. As many political hacks know, the FPPC filing period ending June 30 means campaign statements are due in two short days. Whether they admit it or not, there’s a slew of candidates, officeholders, treasurers, software providers and/or other cottage industry types sweating it this weekend to get their on-line and hard copy docs filed by the July 31 deadline, having waited (again!) ’til the last moment.

My personal worst case involved my November 1994 city council re-election campaign. The final disclosure statement — thru 12/31/94 — was due the last day of January 1995 (by FPPC tradition). However, I got married on January 28 that year, the Chargers were in the Super Bowl the next day (who… Read More

State Budget Update There is not a lot to report on this topic, but what there is, I will bring to you. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is off in Europe, thus a strong indicator of his feelings about what kind of a role he should be playing to trying to resolve the budget stalemate. That said, I spoke with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman last night, and he said that things are "moving in the right direction" compared to the rest of this week. He had a meeting with Senate President Don Perata yesterday, and has another one schedule for tomorrow. Ackerman also added that the Governor has rolled up his sleeves and is now engaged in a meaningful way in the dialogue, which he characterized as helpful. Ackerman has assured me that the resolve in his caucus to see a state budget that does not include deficit spending is still strong, so we’ll see where things go from here. Of course, we’ll be keeping FR readers up to date. State… Read More

State Budget Update There is not a lot to report on this topic, but what there is, I will bring to you. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is off in Europe, thus a strong indicator of his feelings about what kind of a role he should be playing to trying to resolve the budget stalemate. That said, I spoke with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman last night, and he said that things are "moving in the right direction" compared to the rest of this week. He had a meeting with Senate President Don Perata yesterday, and has another one schedule for tomorrow. Ackerman also added that the Governor has rolled up his sleeves and is now engaged in a meaningful way in the dialogue, which he characterized as helpful. Ackerman has assured me that the resolve in his caucus to see a state budget that does not include deficit spending is still strong, so we’ll see where things go from here. Of course, we’ll be keeping FR readers up to date. State… Read More