We will devote quite a bit of space in the FlashReport in the coming weeks to articulating why the five "big bonds" measures on the November ballot — Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84 — should all be rejected by California voters. You’ve heard me make the case over and over if you are a regular reader, but if you are new to this site, I can sum up the main over-arching reasons to reject all of this borrowing in just a few paragraphs: For decades, the liberals who control the state legislature, along with a string of Governors who aided them with budget signatures, have neglected infrastructure investment in California. Instead, these liberals have taken the state budget (which is now well over $100 billion annually) and have put much of that money into their lefty social engineering programs and into fattening the state bureaucracy. Lack of proper funding for infrastructure has also been exacerbated because of initiative and ballot measures that have been passed by voters over the years that create ‘locked in’ formulas for spending – usually because the voters are taking into their own hands… Read More

As avid readers of this blog know, I am not a big fan of reproducing canned press releases up onto this site (though I personally receive over 100 press releases each and every day from various candidates and causes).

Every once in a while, though, I get one that is noteworthy. Usually it is NOT because of the "content" of the release, but because it represents something novel in political tactics. So I am passing this one along which happens to be from the Schwarzenegger campaign and it is about Phil Angelides making claims that don’t bear out when you check the facts.

Check it out — kudos to whomever at TeamArnold thought up this one!

Of course, while you are reading it, you may as well wonder what other lies Angelides is out there spinning. This at a time when he Angelides is trying to say that his opponent is a liar — right. Look in the mirror, Phil! (Sorry for the awkward formatting on some of the links below — moving the release to the FR format was not flawless.)… Read More

California politicians are for the most part still ignoring one issue: Illegal immigration

Defend California and U.S. Senate Candidate Dick Mountjoy are promoting an initiative that will stop the benefits that help sustain and attract illegal aliens. See Press Release below. Get more info here. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Evans @ 916-858-8190

DEFEND CALIFORNIA: NEW INITIATIVE WILL STOP GOVERNMENT FROM PROVIDING BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS Legislative Analyst Says Initiative Will Save Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Annually

Fed up with legislative action every year to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, former State Senator Dick Mountjoy has joined with the non-profit organization Defend California to craft an initiative to prohibit such efforts.

"Our initiative will once and for all prohibit any government entity from giving tax-funded benefits to illegal aliens," said Mountjoy, a… Read More

Thanks to FR friend Karen Hanretty for tipping us off this morning to a great post on the KQED Capitol Notes Blog site authored by John Myers that previews a in-depth article on former California Finance Director Donna Arduin. You can read Myers intro post right here, or skip it and read about Arduin in Duke Magazine here. (Arduin is a Duke University graduate).

We here at the FlashReport are big fans of Donna’s. She has written for this site, and was a Director of Finance that was undeniably focused on rooting waste and largesse out of state government spending.

Arduin was Governor Schwarzenegger’s first Finance Director, and now is in consulting firm with reknowed economist Arthur Laffer.… Read More

The Pasadena School District has been a mess in recent months. With budget shortages due to declining enrollment (Who knew? When schools are bad, parents opt to find other options for their kids’ education). The Superintendent recently left. There have been ongoing talks of numerous school site closings.

With all that, and the general union/lefty tilt of the town, it was pleasantly surprising to read that they’re considering Charter Schools as part of their solution.… Read More

Here are some things to look for when reading today’s political news on the FR main page: *Apparently an audit has found that voter-approved bond money have been misused. The Contra Costa Times has the story. Yet another reason for FlashReport readers to VOTE NO on Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84.

* San Bernardino County FR Correspondent Brad Mitzelfelt makes big ink in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin with a recent post on the FlashReport… * With four weeks until election day, Phil Angelides is finally airing a "this is who I am" commercial? Earth to Phil: You’ve already been defined — you are the TAX MAN. * Bill Bradley takes today’s Golden Pen Honors with his in-depth look at the California Republican Party’s Victory ’06 Get-Out-The-Vote operations. * Anyone with a doubt on how to vote in the Attorney General’s race today should check out Marylee Shrider’s column today in the Bakersfield Californian. * 28 days until the ill-advised proposed sales tax to subsidize the Sacramento Kings is up for a vote. So far, reports the… Read More

Here are some things to look for when reading today’s political news on the FR main page: *Apparently an audit has found that voter-approved bond money have been misused. The Contra Costa Times has the story. Yet another reason for FlashReport readers to VOTE NO on Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84.

* San Bernardino County FR Correspondent Brad Mitzelfelt makes big ink in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin with a recent post on the FlashReport… * With four weeks until election day, Phil Angelides is finally airing a "this is who I am" commercial? Earth to Phil: You’ve already been defined — you are the TAX MAN. * Bill Bradley takes today’s Golden Pen Honors with his in-depth look at the California Republican Party’s Victory ’06 Get-Out-The-Vote operations. * Anyone with a doubt on how to vote in the Attorney General’s race today should check out Marylee Shrider’s column today in the Bakersfield Californian. * 28 days until the ill-advised proposed sales tax to subsidize the Sacramento Kings is up for a vote. So far, reports the… Read More

If you don’t already, you should pay frequent visits over to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Politics Blog. There is often times good intel to be gathered there. I was just on the site and was reading the latest post by ace reporter Carla Marinucci, Schwarzenegger ducks web cast of his meeting with Chronicle editorial board.

The reason for my bringing attention to Marinucci’s post isn’t really about the main thrust of her piece (which in essence is that Schwarzenegger doesn’t want his pending editorial board meeting video or audio-taped – the Chronicle is taping them and then putting them up for the public to see). I was actually more intregued by something that Marinucci mentions at the very bottom of the post:

Only the race… Read More