As you read this, the State Legislature is gearing up to attempt its first raid on local government. The urgency of this warning can’t be overstated; If they achieve this smash-and-grab by taking (not even borrowing) the Highway Users Tax Account gasoline tax, cities and counties will see their ability to maintain their streets and roads crippled.

San Bernardino County currently relies on these gas tax dollars for potholes, rehabilitation and resurfacing of 2,700 miles of paved roads in the unincorporated areas alone. If the County were to lose just the HUTA dollars alone (about $32 million), an estimated 200 essential public works personnel would lose their jobs immediately.

Among budget proposals that will likely be voted on are billions in additional raids of transportation dollars, including deferring the first two quarterly payments of the local (city and county) share of Proposition 42 state sales tax on gas, equal to approximately $300 million, which would further hinder local road safety projects, maintenance and repairs.

These raids would disproportionately impact transportation funding, especially when the industry is facing 20%+ unemployment.… Read More

I am quite fond of former State Senator Chuck Poochigian. He’s a great guy — and a good conservative. Frankly, though, he should have turned down the offer when it was proposed to name a stretch of California highway in his name (read it here).

Frankly, it is troubling enough when we name public works for politicians who have passed on, let alone those that are with us. Frankly, every taxpayers whose money was used to fund that highway have just as much legitimate right to have their name it.

This kind of thing glorifies the role of the politician who successful spends other people’s money.

By no means is Poochigian the only living politician with something named "in their honor" — there are thousands of examples of this kind of glorification of elected officials (such… Read More

Apparently while on the stump in Fresno late last week, talking about the state’s fiscal crisis, a frustrated Fresnan lambasted the Governor for the lack of water — and calling for dams and canals to be built.

This unnamed man in the Sacramento Bee story linked above is justified in venting his frustration about the problems of water delivery in the Central Valley — that having been said, his aim is a bit off. If I am a Californian who is frustrated about the water-availability challenges facing the Golden-But-Thirsty state, I would look at these three primary causes, all of which place the blame for our current man-made crisis at the feet of Sacramento Democrats:

1) Federal laws prioritize critters and plant-life over people. The federal government primarily has passed too many laws that deprioritize the needs of people — and rather places a higher priority in the protection of critters and plants. We all understand the need for some balance to ensure that resources are available for this and future generations, but many of these laws… Read More

FlashReport’s official Twitter Feed is here, or you can sign up on Twitter by looking for "FlashReport" — follow us today! (If you are one of the hundreds to have signed up to follow "JonFlash" – my personal Twitter feed — even though I don’t Tweet there, you’ll want to change that.)… Read More

Apparently while on the stump in Fresno late last week=, talking about the state’s fiscal crisis, a frustrated Fresnan lambasted the Governor for the lack of water — and calling for dams and canals to be built.

This unnamed man in the Sacramento Bee story linked above is justified in venting his frustration about the problems of water delivery in the Central Valley — that having been said, his aim is a bit off. If I am a Californian who is frustrated about the water-availability challenges facing the Golden-But-Thirsty state, I would look at these three primary causes, all of which place the blame for our current man-made crisis at the feet of Sacramento Democrats:

1) Federal laws prioritize critters and plant-life over people. The federal government primarily has passed too many laws that deprioritize the needs of people — and rather places a higher priority in the protection of critters and plants. We all understand the need for some balance to ensure that resources are available for this and future generations, but many of these… Read More

Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that he is not running for Governor.

Clearly a loss for any out-of-LA female television reporters — since the Mayor, thus far, has only showed a penchant for scoring them in his home market.

Conventional wisdom is that Villaraigosa's exit is a boost for the campaign of Attorney General (and former Governor) Jerry Brown.… Read More

Quote of the week # 1: "Do me a favor: Can you say ‘Senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it. Thank you." – California Senator Barbara Boxer to a US Army Brigadier General who addressed her as "Mam" in a committee hearing June 17, 2009.

Quote of the week # 2: "Reagan was all about America, and he talked about it. Obama is, we are above that now…in a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He is, sort of, god…" – Evan Thomas, Editor of Newsweek Magazine on MSNBC’s Hardball June 5, 2009.

Floor Action: Last Thursday, the House made 53 recorded roll call votes. That is the most ever in one day in history. Most of those were repeat or procedural votes brought forth by the Minority as we protested the Majority’s limitation on amendments and debate for spending bills. The Majority had proposed to limit the time of debate and the number of amendments to spending… Read More

I watched the Democrat press conference on the Calcliptv Youtube channel

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and found several… Read More