A special joint legislative panel has been formed to look at two issues: changing the way that the decennial redrawing of legislative districts takes place, and the potential of changing the way California’s legislative term-limits work. Both are issues that ultimately would have to be brought to California voters before any change can take place. There is no doubt that the current system of redistricting for the Golden State is flawed, producing an ultra-liberal legislature that has little regard for the notions of individual liberty and responsibility, and respect for the concept of a more limited role for state government in the lives of Californians. That said, there is a political graveyard filled with the ‘dead bodies’ of countless attempts to move the redistricting process out of the hands of legislators. It’s an issue easily made complicated to voters, who then seem to vote against it. We’ll see if something can come out of this committee that fares any better. Ready to pounce on any worthwhile proposal will be liberal Democrats who stand to gain from the status-quo which locks in their legislative majorities… Read More

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) is scheduled to be a guest on the show at 6 pm. I expect he’ll be questioned about the upcoming illegal immigration hearings organized by Assembly Republicans. Illegal immigration is, for those who haven’t listened to one of the shows, the prime focus of the duo.

Click here for streaming audio.

UPDATE: I guess Assemblyman DeVore was bumped from J&K due to the British terrorism plot. The word is he will appear on the show tomorrow. Check back at the FlashReport for the latest!… Read More

Metnews is reporting that George Runner is giving up his bid to force district elections for judges in LA County.

When voters conslidated Municipal and Superior courts they did harm to large counties like LA. It made sense not to duplicate services in small counties with two sets of judges. The net effect in large counties is to ignore regional representation in judges. Pomona, Palmdale, West Hollywood and Compton are all different and are no longer represented.

Look at the reasons for opposition below. If judges are to sit in one place services would have to be provided there. Oh my!

The article portions relevant to this are pasted below.

By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer

A proposed constitutional amendment that would have required that Los Angeles Superior Court judges be elected by district, with each district to elect no more than 36 judges, was withdrawn yesterday by its sponsors.

A statement distributed by the office of Sen. George Runner,… Read More

The Daily Press, to be exact.

This isn’t really an ideological post. It’s just really apleasure for me to commend and thank two members of our local newspaper industry whodistinguished themselves this past Monday by capturing a known rapist and suspected serial killer in the High Desert City of Victorville.

John W. Thomson, a fugitive from the state of Washington, was apprehended by two Victor Valley Daily Press employees after the accused killer failed to carjack one woman and then made a second carjacking attempt in a parking lot next to the newspaper’s office. That crime was foiled by pressmen Joe Iskandar, 27 (above, left), and Rey Bantug, 24 (above, right), who overheard the commotion while on a break. Without hesitation they intervened, overpowering and detaining Thomson until Sheriff’s deputies arrived. The two men used plastic zip ties from the pressroom to handcuff Thomson. Read about it… Read More

Today, the staff of Capitol Weekly started off their Roundup (always essential, sometimes hilariousreading) with a note about their First Annual Capitol Weekly/Around the Capitol Awards for Legislators, lobbyists and staff. Theyinformed readersa ballot would be emailed out sometime today with such categories as Best Dressed Legislator, Smartest Legislator, Most Underrated Lobbyist, Best Looking Legislative Staffer, etc.and asked recipients to take part.

Well, judging simplyfrom my own experience with legislative offices today, this awards exercise has caught fire, with slates being developed and jokes being played (would you expect anything less under the Dome?). So don’t be too surprised if the phone rings a few times before you get an answer.

I’d love to see a study done about much money was lost in hours of state timeto the Weekly’s Capitol Awards.

P.S. Don’t forget about the Weekly’s very helpful… Read More

SCA 10,a vehicle to move into a conference committeetheresumption ofthe legislative discussion of reforming the corrupt present system of redistricting, passed off the Assembly floor today.Any redistricting proposal would likely be geared for the post-2010 census and the 2012 election. It also contained the term limit extension/restructure discussion thathas beentossed about for some time and more so lately, and which may or may not be joined together with the redistricting proposal. The conference committee would be the last minuteshot at doing something on thisNovember ballot on these issues. Of course, any product of the committee would still have to come back to both houses for a 2/3 approval and the Governor’s signature tobe placed before the voters. Havinga discussion on these issues is fine, more specifically on the corrupt way districts are now drawn. I’m much less excited about the idea of legislators initiating talks on fiddling with their own term limits. It seems that if there was a lot of clamoring for longer or different term limits from the public, who will have to be asked to vote on it, that maybe the… Read More

Local government everywhere generally lacks dynamic leadership. And Orange County is no different.

We have some very nice people in local government, but most are not the kind of people you’d want leading you through a time of crisis or could ever see ascending to higher office.

So when leadership presents itself, it gets a lot of attention and usually some arrows shot at it, lest everyone else look bad.

There is a Troika of leadership in local government in OC that includes Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and Irvine Councilman Larry Agran. Say what you will about this Republican, Democrat, Democrat (respectively) team but they are indeed dynamic leaders.

They represent their constituencies well and rule in many cases over a council majority that allows them to accomplish big things.

In Anaheim Pringle has amassed a huge war-chest and most people respect him and all that he has accomplished. No serious challenger (with money or position) has stepped up to challenge him for re-election in November.

However, Pulido of Santa Ana who has been mayor for 12 years (Santa Ana has term limits on city council… Read More

Welcome to the last month of the legislative session. You know what this means, right? You got it – this is where a lot of great legislative proposals that are geared towards empowering individuals die in committee, and legislation that centralizes power in Sacramento (at the expense of individual freedom and liberty) passes out of the Democrat-dominated legislature. Thank goodness we have a Republican Governor who has pledged to oppose any tax or fee increases. That said, the Governor and his team should be prepared for an onslaught of horrible bills. In the newspapers today, several ‘bad idea bills’ are profiled including a Hillary-care style government-run healthcare system takeover, further regulations on firearms manufacturers that will raise the price for law-abiding citizens to purchase a gun, and the legislature wants to tell pet owners how to treat their animals – seriously. I’m penning a column due out shortly on a real choice piece of legislation. As we all focus on eminent domain reform, and the… Read More