Conaway Ranch is a 17,000 acre parcel in Yolo County. It has been held privately for over a century and serves as sanctuary for a vibrant waterfowl habitat. The owners of the land have made it clear numerous times that they are dedicated to preserving the sanctuary but Yolo County wants to take the land using eminent domain to protect it. That’s right, the government wants to take land from private citizens and do nothing different than those citizens.

Add to the mix, the county can’t afford the land, so they struck a deal with a local Indian Tribe (which does have the money because of its casino) to take the property. The price that the county (and tribe) will have to pay will be determined later this year in a jury trial.

Fellow Flashreport blogger Joe Justin was on this story last October with his post — She Takes Sanctuary.

There has been some recent news on the taking of Conaway Ranch that you can bet will drive up the cost of the taking.

Two weeks ago, another water deal in the… Read More

I have written several times about the Governor’s seemingly inability or I think unwillingness to appoint Republicans to the bench in Los Angeles County. While, LA County is one of the worst in terms of GOP to Dem ratio, the rest of the state isn’t that great either. On Friday the “Republican” Governor appointed three judges to the LA Superior Court. Jon the masterful owner of FR posted about them here. He asked for counts on judges appointed by Arnold. I did have an unofficial count at one time. See it here. An alert FR reader alerted me to the fact I had under counted some of the appointments. Her count is accurate and she had some releases I did not. … Read More

THE CELEBRITY AND THE IDEOLOGUE Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock are shoo-ins for their respective GOP nominations for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. Being from the same political party may be the strong tie that bind these two unique individuals, who are very different from one-another. In Schwarzenegger, you have the ‘larger-than-life’ movie star who loves to take on BIG projects and put on a show. He is moderate on social and (apparently) economic issues. He enjoys smoking cigars, and driving his Harley Davidson motorcycle. In McClintock you have much more a policy-wonk. A strong conservative, McClintock will often be the lead voice from the legislature on any move away from the right (which has included, at times, criticism of the Governor – such as his signing the ballot arguments against Proposition 57 & 58).… Read More

THE CELEBRITY AND THE IDEOLOGUE Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock are shoo-ins for their respective GOP nominations for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. Being from the same political party may be the strong tie that bind these two unique individuals, who are very different from one-another. In Schwarzenegger, you have the ‘larger-than-life’ movie star who loves to take on BIG projects and put on a show. He is moderate on social and (apparently) economic issues. He enjoys smoking cigars, and driving his Harley Davidson motorcycle. In McClintock you have much more a policy-wonk. A strong conservative, McClintock will often be the lead voice from the legislature on any move away from the right (which has included, at times, criticism of the Governor – such as his signing the ballot arguments against Proposition 57 & 58).… Read More

First, read this op-ed from Saturday’s Los Angeles Times. It’s by Joel R. Reynolds, who is described as "a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Los Angeles and director of its urban program."

Only one of two possibilities can explain Mr. Reynold’s outrageously wrong op-ed. Either he hasn’t visited the 241 completion alignment nor educated himself on it’s particulars, in which case his screed is the product of ignorance.

Or, Mr. Reynold’s simply ignored the facts in favor of propaganda, in which case he is a liar.

Neither possibility is good.

Reynold’s op-ed is a case in point of why it is hard to take 241 tollway oppoents in particular, and the professional environmentalist movement in general, seriously.

Let’s consider the Mr. Reynold’s literary coniption in detail:

…the governor considers how… Read More

On the San Bernardino County side of the 65th Assembly District, the candidate who seems to be drawing the most local support is Banning Councilwoman Brenda Salas. Although she’s from Riverside County, she’s secured the support of three members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors: Paul Biane (R), Josie Gonzales (D), and Gary Ovitt (R); aswell as San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos (R), and a host of business, developer, and local-types.

Salas’ consultant, Joe Giardiello, has worked San Bernardino County for a number of years, and has already proven he can listen to advice, in this case that given by fellow FlashReport contributor Phil Paule. The Salas campaign’s walk piece focuses a great deal of attention on her opposition toillegal immigration, which Phil was concerned about, in addition to her work as a regional chair of Jessica’s Law, HJTA membership, and why she joined the Party of Reagan after starting life in the Party of Jefferson — William Jefferson Clinton that is. Salas has a good team and enough money to get her message out.

The presumed frontrunner, San Jacinto Councilman… Read More

As I posted on here last Wednesday, Dr. Phil Kurzner has withdrawn from the race for Insurance Commissioner. I received an email tonight from his campaign chairman Dr. Joel Strom which I posted below.

This leaves us with Steve Poizner as the GOP choice. I too am not happy about the fact that he contributed to the Al Gore recount committee, but he appears to be our candidate. The fact is that no real conservative really wants to run for Insurance Commissioner. True conservatives want to set public policy, and roll back government not be head of a regulatory agency.I have never met Poizner and an looking forward to doing so at the Republican Convention this weekend in San Jose. With all that said, Poizner does bring some positives to the 2006 Election:

1) He advertises on the FlashReport

2) If I can believe his ad, he wants to get un-insured drivers off the road, although he does not elaborate on how is going to do that on his web site

3) He has a solid campaign team of Tim Clark and Mike Richman running the show( both who I assume have auto insurance).

4) He has the support of former… Read More

On Friday, the Governor appointed three new Judges in Los Angeles County. As part of our effort to look a the Governor’s appointments with an eye on the partisan registration, here they are (the original release is here):

Thomas T. Lewis, 56, of Thousand Oaks, has practiced family law as a partner with the law firm of Rehwald, Rameson, Lewis & Glasner since 1984. He was previously an attorney with the law firms of Rehwald, Rameson & Smith from 1980 to 1984 and Freeman & Freeman from 1978 to 1980. Lewis has also served as a judge pro tem for the Los… Read More