Today’s Commentary is penned by FlashReport contributor Tom Ross. Ross, a longtime political consultant and activist, is a Sacramento Area contributor for the FlashReport. Jon Fleischman, who normally pens this page, is on vacation… FROM TOM ROSS…

There are some good reports today on the new independent expenditure (IE) campaign that is being launched by the Tsakopoulos family on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. As always, Bill Bradley is on top of the development and discusses the problems the ie campaign faces — paying more than candidate campaigns for the TV commercials and the believability that this is really independent.

Kevin Yamamura in the Sac Bee reports that the IE is… Read More

Jessica’s Law co-authors Senator George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) today joined San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus (pictured speaking) and Fourth District Supervisor Gary Ovitt, both Statewide Co-Chairs of the initiative effort, at a kick-off event for a Child Safety Task Force comprised of government leaders from throughout the county. The Task Force will begin planning for local implementation of the initiative should it be approved in November.

The guest of honor at the event was Mark Lunsford (pictured in baseball cap), father of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford, for whom Jessica’s Law is named. Jessica was sexually assaulted and murdered last year by a convicted sex offender in Florida.

A key provision of Jessica’s Law would prohibit registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where children congregate or assemble. Specific locations identified in the initiative include schools and parks. However, at the discretion of local governments,… Read More

I would rather not report outside my assigned San Diego bailiwick, but there appears to be a news blackout from my OC peers (both in the FlashReport and OCBlog) in re the Harkey – Harman race and the ongoing hand recount requested by the Harkey campaign. Why the blackout from both very connected news sources, I can’t imagine – the coverage up until the morning after the election was blow by blow – down to the republishing of press releases, website foibles, mail, and chamber of commerce straw polls.

Both camps have been camped at the OC Registrar of Voters for a week and a half now. As of this morning approximately 75% of the Election Day ballots have been recounted by hand. That’s about 20% of the total votes. Harkey won on Election Day, so if she were going to pick up some votes, this would be the place. Her campaign challenged some 46 ballots, which were reviewed this morning by the Registrar of Voters. Not one of the Harkey campaign’s challenge to any ballot was upheld. Not one. You see, OC isn’t Kansas City under Pendergast, and it isn’t Tammany Hall under Tweed. The Orange County Registrar of Voters is fair,… Read More

Some rumblings and grumbling, as the President’s visit to Stanford is a few hours away.

1) Good article in this morning’s Chronicle _http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/21/BUGGKICDG41.DTL_ (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/21/BUGGKICDG41.DTL) on the various tech programs floating around in Congress. Watch and see if Reeps and Dems can come together and hammer out a deal that includes more federal spending for math and science, visas for foreign tech workers, and making permanent the federal R&D tax credit.

2) Such a deal underscores an urgent White House need: the President calling a meeting with congressional leaders and delivering a lecture that falls somewhere between Robert DeNiro swinging a baseball bat Moe Howard slapping around Larry and Curly. The clock’s ticking at the both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to get something before the midterm elections and the topic’s are stacking up: tax cuts, immigration reform. The President shouldn’t let tech fall between the cracks.

3) The President is at Cisco in a short while. Last month, Treasury… Read More

Just when folks thought the recall of the pro Wal-Mart was finally over the Ninth Circuit may decide in one way to bring it out. As FR readers recall (get it?) the a panel had ruled the recall petitions needed to be in various languages. A judge then stopped the recall election from taking place using this case has his reason. This casemay also effect initiatives. See last post on this hereand you can see FR’s own political law expert Mike Houston’s take here. Now that case is going to be heard by an en banc panel off 11 judges. See the article here.… Read More

The following from Ken Moser, a perfect voter in CD 50. This, of course, addresses nothing about the quaility of the pieces or the mail universe, but it does (except perhaps for Kaloogian) reflect somewhat of a correlation between the numberof pieces and outcomes….that’s probably a "DUH," but it is interesting to see the numbers:

I just went through the pile of mail I had gotten for the election to do a count and here it is:

Bilbray – 20 pieces of which two were in letter format one of which was from Mayor Sanders

Roach – 19 pieces of which six were in letter format two from his wife and one from former Congressman Packard

Uke – 10 pieces of which two were in letter format

Morrow – 9 pieces of which two were repeats of the same mailer and one letter format from his mom

Kaloogian – 4 pieces

Hauf – 4 pieces

Earnest – 3 pieces

CRA – 3 pieces hitting Bilbray

NRP – 1 piece asking GOP voters to… Read More

First a quick thank you to FlashReport publisher and friend Jon Fleischman for allowing me to be the guest commentator for today.

In today’s news… Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials conducted raids throughout the country rounding up 1,187 illegal aliens from the workplace including two locations in CA (Bakersfield and San Bernardino). The announcement yesterday was hailed by some and condemned by others.

I am unimpressed.

The Department of Homeland Security is playing games–shucking and jiving–to make it look like they are doing something when they are falling down on the job. I can walk into the kitchen of… Read More

**While the main page today has been Guest-Edited by Nicholas Romero, the FlashReport is pleased to welcome as today’s Guest Commentary Author Adam Probolsky. A regular FR contributor as an Orange County correspondent for the FR Weblog, Adam is penning today’s Commentary as Jon Fleischman, the site’s publisher and regular author of this column, is out of town.**

In today’s news… Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials conducted raids throughout the country rounding up 1,187 illegal aliens from the workplace including two locations in CA (Bakersfield and San Bernardino). The announcement yesterday was hailed by some and condemned by others.

I am unimpressed.… Read More