As I have mentioned before, Orange County’s oldest and largest Republican finance organization is the Lincoln Club. Founded many decades ago by some of the icons of Orange County Republicanism, the Lincoln Club continues to make a difference on behalf of Republican candidates and causes both in "The OC" and well beyond, to the state and national level. For the past five and a half years, the day-to-day operations of the Lincoln Club have been handled by their Executive Director Beth Holder. I have known Beth for many, many years and I can assure all FR readers that she has done a tremendous job for that organization. That said, Beth called me last week to let me know that she would be moving on from the Lincoln Club, on to new and different challenges. Beth had been serving in this job in a part-time capacity (choosing to devote some of her family) — and the Lincoln Club President, Richard Wagner, had made a decision to elevate the Executive Director post to a… Read More

OK, so it was in medieval England, but still, can you imagine how the wine collectors felt to see their vintage bottles go from a 96 Wine Spectator rating to a 20 or 30 due to climate change?

The Chronicle today, as part of the Al Gore and the MSM’s continued attempts to get the public whipped up about climate change, ran a story that predicts that global warming will ruin the state’s wine industry by the end of the century. To support their charge, one of the report authors pointed to past climate changes:

"We know that climate change has affected wine production in the past," said Noah Diffenbaugh, assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue… Read More

Middle class students leaving for a better education. The board is fighting the city on school reforms. Some areas want to break awayand now the superintendent is leaving. This is not LAUSD but Pasadena…inLA County.

Pasadena unified has faced these same problems. Altadena wants out, the city wants to change the way the board is elected. Right nowa candidate declares for a particular seat and then runs district wide. There is a run-off if no one gets over 50% in the primary. The superintendent was bought out after a several years of service. Good stuff. Read about it all here in the Pasadena Weekly.

I bet parents are glad they aren’t part of LA Unified.… Read More

On budget matters, Gray Davis always over promised and under delivered. President Bush tends to do the opposite. Today’s announcement of this year’s revised estimate of the budget deficit was $296 billion, which is $127 billion bellow February’s prediction. If economic growth continues next year’s deficit could shrink to below $200 billion.… Read More

The FlashReport today is topped with two ‘must read’ columns. The first is an exclusive feature column penned by Kevin Dayton of the Associated Builders and Contractors of California…. What would you say if I told you that the budget for the State of California — you know, the one signed in the spirit of ‘bi-partisan cooperation’ (translation: where just enough GOPers joined with the Governor to pass the budget while the overwhelming majority of legislative GOPers voted NO on the budget) – what would you say if I told you that it contains six million dollars in funding for a ‘labor institute’ where YOUR tax dollars are literally funding a massive big labor education and training camp ensconced at a California University? It is absolutely NUTS. What is worse is that the Associated Builders and Contractors, who see this as a government subsidy for those who would drive businesses, large and small, out of the state, lobbied hard against this funding – both during the budget debate and also for a veto afterwards — to no avail. If any GOPers who voted for the budget this year want to pen a column in support… Read More

The FlashReport today is topped with two ‘must read’ columns. The first is an exclusive feature column penned by Kevin Dayton of the Associated Builders and Contractors of California…. What would you say if I told you that the budget for the State of California — you know, the one signed in the spirit of ‘bi-partisan cooperation’ (translation: where just enough GOPers joined with the Governor to pass the budget while the overwhelming majority of legislative GOPers voted NO on the budget) – what would you say if I told you that it contains six million dollars in funding for a ‘labor institute’ where YOUR tax dollars are literally funding a massive big labor education and training camp ensconced at a California University? It is absolutely NUTS. What is worse is that the Associated Builders and Contractors, who see this as a government subsidy for those who would drive businesses, large and small, out of the state, lobbied hard against this funding – both during the budget debate and also for a veto afterwards — to no avail. If any GOPers who voted for the budget this year want to pen a column in support… Read More

I have a breakfast meeting this morning for work, so today’s Commentary will be short and sweet: I read that Congressman Dana Rohrabacher was a participant in the Congressional hearing last week in San Diego County on the illegal immigration issue. I reached out to him to see if he would be willing to pen something for FR readers on his take on how that hearing went. He gladly stepped up to the plate and it is the main feature column on today’s main page. Imagine this for just a second. You work (at government wages) for a Congressman in Washington, who happens to be a big-cheese on the Appropriations (read: spending of your tax dollars) Committee. You then leave the Congressman’s office and become a partner in a big lobbying practice. Of course, what is the ‘specialty’ of the lobbying firm? You guessed it, bringing home the ‘pork’ via the Appropriations Committee. As a lobbying, you successfully advocate that your clients get tens of millions in tax dollars for their projects, and in return, the staffer-turned-lobbyist makes millions. Then the Congressman for whom he works becomes Chairman of… Read More

I have a breakfast meeting this morning for work, so today’s Commentary will be short and sweet: I read that Congressman Dana Rohrabacher was a participant in the Congressional hearing last week in San Diego County on the illegal immigration issue. I reached out to him to see if he would be willing to pen something for FR readers on his take on how that hearing went. He gladly stepped up to the plate and it is the main feature column on today’s main page. Imagine this for just a second. You work (at government wages) for a Congressman in Washington, who happens to be a big-cheese on the Appropriations (read: spending of your tax dollars) Committee. You then leave the Congressman’s office and become a partner in a big lobbying practice. Of course, what is the ‘specialty’ of the lobbying firm? You guessed it, bringing home the ‘pork’ via the Appropriations Committee. As a lobbying, you successfully advocate that your clients get tens of millions in tax dollars for their projects, and in return, the staffer-turned-lobbyist makes millions. Then the Congressman for whom he works becomes Chairman of… Read More