I hate “I told ya so” moments.

Gov. Jerry Brown just signed SB 743, “easing environmental regulations for developments in California cities, including a new basketball arena in downtown Sacramento,” the Los Angeles Times said.

In March I predicted Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento would jam legislation through exempting the Sacramento Kings new arena plan from the restrictions of the California Environmental Quality Act, in order to meet a dubious deadline imposed by the NBA.

March 30, after Steinberg’s office told me he did not plan on authoring legislation to streamline or bypass the required environmental process for the proposed Sacramento NBA arena, I predicted they weren’t being straight with me.

Steinberg’s office denied any plan to do this. But the reason I wrote the story and asked about this was I knew this was the next step in scamming the public with the publicly subsidized arena.

The need to bypass California’s absurdly strict environmental guidelines and restrictions prevent most large scale projects from ever taking place without legislative intervention. And Sacramento officials shoved the… Read More

President Obama: I am no fan of the president. That will not come as a surprise to any of you “laptop report” readers. But, just a couple hours ago (I am writing this on Friday evening from Washington, DC) the president gave a news conference that reached a new low for any politician in my memory – let alone a president.

He started the press conference describing how he had a phone call on which he was negotiating with the president of Iran. He extolled the virtues of “diplomacy” and “negotiation” in his engagement with Iran.

Last Friday, President Obama made another call. This one was to Speaker John Boehner. As has been widely reported, he told the speaker that he would absolutely not negotiate on the debt limit. His press secretary yesterday likened Republicans to terrorists saying, in reference to Republicans, “…we’re not negotiating with people who have a bomb strapped to their chest.”

So, let’s get this straight: The president has no problem negotiating with a leader of a country whose government has called for the extermination of all Jews, has directly sponsored terrorism… Read More

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[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, I am pleased to present this column from longtime FlashReport friend and reader Roger Covalt. Biographical and contact information for Mr. Covalt can be found beneath his column.]

There is a difference between private and public sector salaries.

Regarding public/government sector salaries, it always sickens me to see the salaries of what some top government bureaucrats and coaches make. It seems that the people that allowed such salaries have forgotten that the taxpayer, for the most part, pay for these salaries. These salaries, for the most part, come with a defined retirement benefit.

Because these positions are government positions, their salaries should be limited to whatever the salary is for the Chief… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, I am pleased to present this column from FlashReport friend Clay Russell.]

Tensions are high in Washington these days. Tensions are high because serious issues are at stake and people on all sides of those issues are passionate about them.

Passion is good. Apathy is the enemy of good government and I’m all for anything that draws people in to participate in their democracy, even if they’re pissed off. Anger is just as valid a motivator as anything else…maybe even better.

What I’m not for is nastiness, which I believe exists far too widely in political discourse, in government, in society. “I disagree with you” somehow became “You’re an awful person.” And worse…far worse.

The… Read More

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I support Kirk Jorgensen for Congress for a couple of reasons. First, Kirk has demonstrated great character and great integrity in service to his country. He laid it on the line for America. As a Marine Corps Officer, Kirk led combat intelligence teams that rescued our prisoners of war out of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Kirk’s unique leadership experience gives him a perspective and understanding of national security and foreign policy that Congress needs.

Secondly, Kirk is qualified in ways that no other Republican or Democrat in this congressional race is. This is no time for on the job training. Our country is at war. New emerging threats and concerns are on the horizon, like Iran, North Korea, and Syria. We need leaders who are qualified to make the tough decisions now—leaders who know what it is to be courageous under pressure. Kirk Jorgensen is exactly that kind of leader.

Kirk hunted war… Read More

Today, I sent a letter to Cal Fire urging them to stop the collection of state “Fire Prevention Fee” from victims of the Clover Fire in Shasta County and the Rim Fire in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties.

Despite the heroic efforts of firefighters, these fires destroyed dozens of homes in my district. I am appalled the State of California would actually consider sending a tax bill to the very individuals who just lost their homes. Taxes are the last thing fire victims should have to worry about.

The Board of Equalization is required by law to mail “Fire Prevention Fee” bills on behalf of Cal Fire to nearly 800,000 Californians each year. Although the bills for Mariposa County went out in August, the bills for Shasta and Tuolumne counties do not mail until October 16 and October 28 respectively.

I also asked Cal Fire to authorize refunds for fire victims who have already received and paid a bill this year.

When and how Cal Fire will respond remains to be seen.… Read More

[Publisher’s Note – We are pleased to offer this column from Board of Equalization candidate Van Tran, who represented Orange County in the State Assembly for 6 years.- Flash]

The building that houses the State Board of Equalization is located in downtown Sacramento at 5th and N Streets, just five short blocks from the West entrance to the State Capitol. But if you don’t have business there, I wouldn’t recommend dropping by for a visit.

While many state government structures in Sacramento range from visually striking to blandly serviceable, the BOE’s headquarters are truly in a class of its own. Even though more than 2,000 people currently work there, the building has been described as “smelly”, “messy” and “plagued by bursting windows and mold” – and that’s just the accounts on the BOE’s own website.

… Read More

Yesterday, I joined with Senator Steve Knight and dozens of Antelope Valley parents, educators, church leaders and community activists to publicize what we can do to repeal AB 1266 and protect student privacy on public school campuses.

AB 1266 is often referred to as “the bathroom bill” that desegregates male-only and female only facilities on school campus in the name of protecting students with gender identity issues. However the law goes much further than even just the bathrooms. It allows any K-12 student to try out for either gender’s sports teams. It allows any K-12 student to self-identify and use locker rooms and gym showers previously limited to the opposite sex and even allows a student to demand the right to stay in the same hotel room or other sleeping accommodations as the opposite sex on overnight school trips.

Several organizations including the California School Boards’ Association and California School Administrators’ Association virtually ignored the bill during the legislative process, falsely assuming that it was so radical that Governor Jerry Brown would veto the bill. As a result, many school boards are just now learning how… Read More