On 25 October I posted the following item on my blog:

Ten years after disastrous San Diego County “Cedar” brush fire, major reforms STILL not implemented

RICHARD RIDER COMMENT: Shortly after the disastrous 2007 “Witch” brush fire in (primarily) San Diego County, the LOS ANGELES TIMES paid me to debate fire issues with a local UCSD professor in print. What followed was a civil five day written exchange where good points were raised – mostly by me, of course. In essence, it’s ten linked, point-counterpoint op-eds — included below.

The issues, shortcomings and solutions discussed are still germane today. I suppose this exchange/debate won’t interest many until AFTER the next major Southern California blaze. Such is life.

Given that the San Diego press is memorializing/celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Cedar Fire which destroyed 2,200 homes and cost 15 lives, now seems to be a good time to bring this up again. Most of the important fire fighting reforms I suggested here and elsewhere have… Read More

California Republican Party Chairman, Jim Brulte has been very clear about the Party’s goals for the 2014 election cycle: Keep the GOP majority in the House of Representatives; and break the Democrats super majority status in Sacramento.

As co-chair of elections for the Assembly GOP Caucus, I can attest that our Caucus is fully in-line with those goals and have been working hand-in-hand with Chairman Brulte.

Despite the tough political climate our fundraising has out-paced where we were at this time last cycle. In fact, GOP Assembly Leader Connie Conway raised the bar on herself by raising her fundraising goal to close out theDecember 31st report.

The Caucus’s mantra for 2014 is “Defend 3 and Pick up 2.” Based upon 2012 election results and voter registration, we’ve determined the Caucus needs to focus special attention on three incumbents: Jeff Gorell (44 AD); Mike Morrell (40 AD) and Eric Linder (60 AD).

Although we believe there are multiple opportunities for pick-ups across the state the two obvious targets are Democrat members Steve Fox (36 AD) and Sharon Quirk-Silva (65 AD) both whom represent historically GOP districts.

Many… Read More

I can never give blood again – I am on the “may not give” registry. When I fill out forms asking about my medical history, I always have to check obscure boxes and fill in a lot of information in the extra space provided. There’s a huge area on my stomach where the nerves are cut and I can feel nothing – and I sport a scar that I sometimes I say I got in a bar-fight, even though I’ve never fought anyone in a bar. I have a love for life, and a strong relationship with God, that comes from someone who almost died, but lived to tell about it.

Fifteen years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I survived. And except for the “getting cancer” part of the whole experience, it was one of the best things to ever happen to me…

It was February of 1998 and I was working professionally on the English for the Children, Yes on Prop. 227 campaign. I was also working as campaign manager for Gloria Matta Tuchman, the Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction – Gloria was the co-author of Prop. 227. On top of this, I was busy with all kinds of other conservative and Republican activities. The last thing I expected was the… Read More

Notice: Undefined index: file in /srv/www/blog.flashreport.org/releases/20130218155602/wp-includes/media.php on line 1676

These last few weeks have proven that Republicans still haven’t figured out the power of the story. After all the posturing and debating, Obamacare remains fully funded, the debt ceiling was raised, and the government shutdown ended without the Democrats or the President having to give up a single thing.

The day after the government was re-opened, House Speaker John Boehner stated to an Ohio radio station, “We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win.” Recent poll numbers show that Boehner comment was right.

This goes to show that facts don’t always win arguments. Political and legislative positions, and the messaging to match, need to be translated into a language that John and Jane Doe and the 99% of Americans who don’t spend all day refreshing their Twitter feeds for the latest political update can understand.

Here are the sound bites that the President and Democrat Senator Harry Reid delivered:

“House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is the only thing standing between an end to the shutdown.… Read More

For many, the real scare this time of years is not the monsters at our doors on Halloween, but the property tax bill in the mail box.

Fortunately, as a direct result of Proposition 13, which limits increases in a property’s assessed value to two percent annually, most property owners have a good idea what their tax bill will be even before opening the envelope. Still, every year at this time, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association reminds taxpayers to carefully examine their latest property tax bill. Although not common, assessors do make mistakes.

Taxpayers should understand the various charges and make certain that they are not being dunned for more than they are legally obligated to pay. The best way to check a tax bill is to have your previous year’s bill handy for reference.

Checking the bill is especially important for those who bought their homes a few years ago at the height of the market. If the current home value is actually lower than the assessed value shown on the tax bill, the owner is entitled to file for a reduction in taxes.

Typically, the property tax bill will show three categories of charges. They are the General… Read More

Saturday (26 October, 2013) I received not one, not two, butthreebig, glossy, expensive mailers for the upcoming San Diego mayoral election. All three were touting Nathan Fletcher for the position. I was going to toss ’em out (a daily evolution for me with the avalanche of such Fletcher mailers), but then I decided to look a little closer at what these mailers actually said, and what they divulged about the people and organizations backing Fletcher.Veryrevealing.

FLYER #1— The simplest and most (relatively) honest of the mailers. It’s an ode to Fletcher paid for by San Diego City Firefighters Local 145 PAC — which like all such union candidate support is probably entirely funded with compulsory union dues. Given the respected nature of firefighters, they make no effort to hide the affiliation.

The flyer asserts that Fletcher is “Protecting Our Families.” And that is true — if by “our families” they mean thefirefighters’ families(the overwhelming majority of whom do not live in the city of San Diego — many live outside… Read More

From a decade ago, a week and a half after the start of one of the worst fires in U.S. history, below is a letter by local officials to then Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger outlining the lack of response by the State to a means of getting additional firefighting equipment in the air.

It is worth a read today, as both a cautionary tale and what became a vehicle for change.

In the wake of the Cedar Fire tragedy, I’m proud of the truth that was told and the small part I played in piecing together and putting to pen the thoughts of those signing this letter.

Schwarzenegger did respond. The signers and San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob subsequently played a significant lead role in driving changes that to this day have better equipped us to respond to wildfires.

November 3, 2003

Governor Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger 770 L Street, Suite 800 Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor-Elect Schwarzenegger:… Read More

No need to revisit Nathan Fletcher’s political opportunism here, it is well-documented. But this 60 seconds of interview with Nathan on the Mark Larson Show is well worth the listen. Every single word of it could be applied to Nathan today and I hope he gets a chance to listen to himself as he parades around with his “change of heart.” … Read More