IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

2008 Q3 FReepathon. Target: $76,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $8,824
11%  
Woo hoo!! The first 10% is in!! Way to go FReepers and Lurkers!! Thank you all very much!!

US: California (News/Activism)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • July 4th At The Border -pics- Duncan D Hunter, Agent Ramos Update

    07/04/2008 10:29:42 PM PDT · by Ladycalif · 6 replies · 322+ views
    On the 4th of July, the Campo Minutemen will join other Border Watch Groups for a Bar-B-Que at Camp Vigilance in Boulevard, CA.
  • Anti-abortion group wins free-speech ruling

    07/04/2008 9:07:06 PM PDT · by Coleus · 11 replies · 265+ views
    sf chron ^ | 07.02.08 | Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
    A federal appeals court gave an anti-abortion group the go-ahead Wednesday to drive trucks with enlarged photos of aborted fetuses past California schools, saying the Constitution protects the display of disturbing messages.  Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies interfered with free speech by ordering the driver of one such truck to move away from a middle school, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The deputies had cited a state law barring disruptive activities near public school grounds.  "The government cannot silence messages simply because they cause discomfort, fear or even anger," said a panel of three...
  • Blazes in California Take a Toll on Fireworks

    07/04/2008 2:56:57 PM PDT · by Eric Blair 2084 · 27 replies · 379+ views
    The New York Times ^ | July 4, 2008 | JESSE McKINLEY
    Lis and Robert Billingsley — retirees, volunteers and proud American Legion members — said they had exactly one word to describe sales this holiday period at the fireworks stand they run here for the Legion. “Lousy,” said Ms. Billingsley, speaking almost in unison with her husband. “Thanks to the TV and the fires they are putting on the TV, it’s the worst year ever.” Hundreds of blazes have ravaged sections of parched California over the last two weeks, burning more than 500,000 acres, destroying homes and other property, and costing the already budget-challenged state more than $50 million in firefighting...
  • REDLANDS FREEP #20 6/27/08 "God Bless America And Our Brave Troops"

    07/04/2008 1:22:14 PM PDT · by Victory Rocks · 5 replies · 169+ views
    The weather was a little cooler for this day's two man FReep but the action was still hot. Kelly and I received many honks, waves, and thumbs up. The moonbats had to settle with far fewer honks for their side. Despite what the polls and the drive-by media say, it seems the support for our troops and their mission is pretty good based on the positive responses we get. And this is from a blue state run by socialists. Along with the honks and waves, we got a couple of nice comments from people walking by. A lady stopped and...
  • French Couple Arrested in US Immigration Scam

    07/04/2008 11:43:51 AM PDT · by Coffee200am · 2 replies · 302+ views
    Expatica ^ | 07.04.2008 | AFP
    A French couple has been charged and arrested for running an immigration scam that cheated more than 100 people of thousands of dollars. 4 July 2008 LOS ANGELES - A French woman was arrested in California early Thursday on charges of running an immigration scam with her husband that netted thousands of dollars, US justice officials said. Deborah Sion, 25, was detained without incident by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, one day after charges were filed against her and her husband, who is in custody in France in an unrelated fraud scheme. Sion was due to appear in a...
  • San Francisco mayor shifts policy on illegal offenders [Newsom prepares to run for Governor.]

    07/03/2008 2:38:21 PM PDT · by John Jorsett · 21 replies · 417+ views
    San Francisco will shift course and start turning over juvenile illegal immigrants convicted of felonies to federal authorities for possible deportation, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday as he took the blame for what he conceded was a costly and misguided effort to shield the youths. Newsom said he hadn't known until recently that the city was keeping the juvenile offenders from being deported as part of its sanctuary-city policy, but he added that "ignorance is no defense." "All I can say is, I can't explain away the past," Newsom said. "I take responsibility, I take it. We are moving in...
  • Pro-Life Group Says Bill Promoting Euthanasia Still Has Major Concerns

    07/03/2008 1:38:16 PM PDT · by wagglebee · 6 replies · 102+ views
    Life News ^ | 7/3/08 | Steven Ertelt
    Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Though sponsors of a bill that would promote euthanasia removed some of the problematic language from the measure, a leading California pro-life group says several concerns remain. The bill would codify palliative sedation and voluntary stopping of eating and drinking as legitimate means of pain control and allow doctors and nurses to suggest death by unconscious dehydration. Last week, changes were made to the bill that Brian Johnston of the California Pro-Life Council calls “bell and whistle amendments” that looked good but did not remove the significant concerns pro-life advocates have with the bill. Johnston told...
  • Swell: San Diego plans to declare “National Council of La Raza Day”

    07/03/2008 7:50:44 AM PDT · by rightwingintelligentsia · 38 replies · 618+ views
    MichelleMalkin.com ^ | July 3, 2008 | Michelle Malkin
    The San Diego City Council will vote next Tuesday to declare July 8 “National Council of La Raza Day.” Well, they already gave their blessing to “Happy ACLU Day” despite the litigious group’s long-standing efforts to take down the Mount Soledad cross. Might as well put their weight behind the ethnic supremacist group fighting against assimilation, funding reconquista schools, advocating speech suppressiong, and promoting lawlessness, too!
  • Proud Pagan Witch Backs Obama's Poverty Bill

    07/02/2008 10:38:49 AM PDT · by pissant · 11 replies · 372+ views
    Post Chronicle ^ | 7/2/08 | Cliff Kincaid
    While Senator Barack Obama struggles to keep the public in the dark about the nature of his pro-U.N. Global Poverty Act, a recent "Bay Area Interfaith Leaders' Luncheon" was held to lobby for Senate passage of the bill, whose cost has been estimated at $845 billion. An actual witch who spoke at a "Pagan Pride" festival in San Francisco was one of the listed participants. The witch, known as the "Elder Donald Frew" of the "Wiccan Community," was interviewed by the Reverend Don Lewis of "Witch School International" for a "reality" show called "Magick TV" and is shown talking about...
  • (SF) Giants Celebrate Armed Forces!

    07/02/2008 10:08:59 PM PDT · by bootless · 14 replies · 241+ views
    San Francisco Giants ^ | 7/2/08 | self
    "The Giants will have a chance to win two consecutive games at home for the first time since they beat the Padres and Mets exactly one month ago. But even more exciting will be the opportunity for both teams to play a game in honor of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. In celebration of the Fourth of July, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and the Giants will honor American troops worldwide by televising Wednesday night's game in 176 countries and on 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea. Authentic Heroes: Telecast for the Troops is part of...
  • National Guard Soldiers, Airmen Battle Wildfires

    07/02/2008 5:31:29 PM PDT · by SandRat · 2 replies · 86+ views
    American Forces Press Service ^ | Master Sgt. Greg Rudl, USAF
    WASHINGTON, July 2, 2008 – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered about 200 National Guard members yesterday to provide direct ground support to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as it tries to put out wildfires in the northern part of the state. A helicopter crew from the Army National Guard works with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to put out fires that have burned more than 400,000 acres. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stuart Brown, California National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "I can't say enough about the brave men and women...
  • Man Arrested At LAX Following Alleged Bomb Threat

    07/02/2008 2:58:34 PM PDT · by dynachrome · 7 replies · 370+ views
    cbs5.com ^ | 7-2-08 | CBS5
    LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― The FBI says a man has been detained after allegedly making a bomb threat to police at Los Angeles International Airport. Authorities shut down traffic near the airport's terminal 3 while the threat was investigated. Airport police told CBS station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles airport roads have since been reopened but they're gridlocked. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says the man was detained Wednesday morning and his backpack was seized for inspection. She says police bomb squads were investigating.
  • Los Angeles Times to cut 250 jobs, including 150 from newsgathering staff

    07/02/2008 2:45:11 PM PDT · by BurbankKarl · 35 replies · 505+ views
    LA Times ^ | 7/2/08 | Michael A. Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
    The Los Angeles Times today announced plans to cut 250 positions across the company, including 150 positions in editorial, in a new effort to bring expenses into line with declining revenue. In a further cost-cutting step, the paper will reduce the number of pages it publishes each week by 15%. "You all know the paradox we find ourselves in," Times Editor Russ Stanton said in a memo to the staff. "Thanks to the Internet, we have more readers for our great journalism than at any time in our history. But also thanks to the Internet, our advertisers have more choices,...
  • BERKELEY: Three tree-sitters come down, leaving four in the Memorial Stadium grove

    07/02/2008 2:23:12 PM PDT · by SmithL · 13 replies · 293+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/2/8 | Carolyn Jones
    BERKELEY -- Three of the Memorial Stadium tree-sitters left their perches today and Tuesday night, leaving just four protesters making a stand against UC's plans to build an athletic training center in the grove, UC Berkeley officials said. The three protesters, who have not been identified, climbed down from the trees late Tuesday night, campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said. One of them was arrested by campus police while the other two climbed up a different tree, he said.After talking to police this morning, the two came down. All three have been charged with trespassing and violating a court order to...
  • Cold War Amnesia

    07/02/2008 1:48:35 PM PDT · by bs9021 · 8 replies · 247+ views
    Campus Report ^ | July 2, 2008 | Malcolm Kline
    Cold War Amnesia by: Malcolm A. Kline, July 02, 2008 The Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union is still being fought, not by unrepentant, unreconstructed anti-communists such as your servant but by campus leftists born too late to be collaborators. “In last month’s undergraduate elections, a cadre of demagogues, in a disgusting publicity stunt, projected the image of a hammer and sickle onto one of Stanford’s most venerable landmarks: Hoover Tower,” Jason Dunkel, the business manager of the Stanford Review writes in a June 2008 fundraising letter. “Their platform called for the detainment of such...
  • November drill ["The ShakeOut Scenario"] imagines frightening quake

    07/02/2008 1:05:13 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 15 replies · 410+ views
    VALLEY PRESS ^ | Wednesday, July 2, 2008.
    It's only a drill - but the earthquake-simulation plan set for November will illustrate a frightening event that would rock our world if it becomes a reality. The ShakeOut Scenario calls for a 7.8 Southern California earthquake that would "kill 1,800 people, injure 50,000, cause $200 billion in damage, and have long-lasting social and economic consequences," according to a U.S. Geological Survey news release. Science predicts the strongest shaking and greatest damage from such a quake would occur near the stretch of the San Andreas Fault that extends through the fastest growing areas of Southern California - including the Coachella...
  • Sacramento Fines Couple For Letting Lawn Die In Drought

    07/02/2008 12:04:28 PM PDT · by steve-b · 89 replies · 1,742+ views
    Sacramento Bee ^ | 7/2/08 | Matt Weiser
    ...So when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought June 4, Hartridge decided it was only right to let her front lawn die to save water. "The whole water conservation ethic is very important to me," said Hartridge, a state employee who bikes or rides the bus to work. But that ethic didn't agree with her neighbors, or with the city. Before Hartridge could plan new landscaping, a neighbor complained to the city about her brown lawn, and the Code Enforcement Department slapped the family with a citation. Their small brick home was declared a "public nuisance" in violation of...
  • Former O.C. sheriff was secretly taped using racist and sexist language

    07/02/2008 12:02:52 PM PDT · by Smogger · 23 replies · 1,020+ views
    The Los Angeles Times ^ | July 2, 2008 | Christine Hanley
    Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona used racist and sexist language during secretly recorded conversations disclosed in court records this week, and also boasted that the benefits of public office included rubbing elbows with billionaires, drinking fine wine and getting "phenomenal" sex. ... Carona uses the "n" word several times and discusses various sexual escapades as he talks to former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, who was wired and cooperating with federal authorities in a corruption investigation of Carona. ... "You're right, I've had a life that's been absolutely blessed," he says. "I've met millionaires, billionaires, I've traveled on personal...
  • Daniel Weintraub: Voters beware: Politicians will lie to kill Proposition 11

    07/02/2008 7:58:50 AM PDT · by SmithL · 12 replies · 414+ views
    Sacramento Bee ^ | 7/2/8 | Daniel Weintraub
    Californians will get a chance to make history this November, an opportunity to seize control of their government from the politicians, handlers and consultants who have rigged the game to serve their own interests. Proposition 11 would take from the Legislature its power to draw political boundaries and give that job to an independent bipartisan commission that would operate under strict guidelines designed to ensure fairness for all parties and protect the rights of minorities. The process now allows the politicians to choose their voters by drawing district lines almost guaranteed to preserve the jobs of incumbents and freeze in...
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger dents green credentials with Dodge Challenger

    07/02/2008 7:52:35 AM PDT · by ZGuy · 62 replies · 881+ views
    Telegraph ^ | 7/1/08 | Laura Clout
    Arnold Schwarzenegger has risked accusations of green hypocrisy by driving around in a gas-guzzling Dodge Challenger Coupe. The Hollywood star-turned Californian governor has built a reputation as a leading green campaigner and last Friday told a climate-change meeting in Florida: "America is so addicted to oil it will take us years to wean ourselves from it, and to look for new ways to feed our addiction is not the answer." In an interview last year, the governor spoke of his wish to create "a whole new industry of clean cars and clean engines and components to build those engines." To...
  • Healthy San Francisco still working out kinks

    07/02/2008 7:49:00 AM PDT · by SmithL · 13 replies · 649+ views
    San francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/2/8 | Heather Knight
    One year ago today, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to attempt to provide universal health care to its residents. Twelve months later, some city residents wonder why the program is billed as universal when they're still getting turned away. When the Healthy San Francisco program began at two Chinatown clinics July 2, 2007, public health officials said they would swing open the doors to all of the city's 73,000 uninsured residents on Jan. 1, 2008. They anticipated that people would enroll gradually at a pace of about 600 a week, and full coverage would be attained...
  • Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums fires Edgerly

    07/02/2008 7:42:54 AM PDT · by SmithL · 24 replies · 848+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/2/8 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
    San Francisco -- Saying enough is enough, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums fired embattled City Administrator Deborah Edgerly on Tuesday, four days after he put her on paid leave amid allegations that she may have interfered in a police investigation involving her nephew. Dellums sent out a letter informing the City Council of his decision and another letter via messenger to Edgerly's home. "Basically he just had enough of the situation," said one City Hall source close to the situation. "He felt that he has no other choice." The last straw was a letter Edgerly sent Monday to the mayor, informing...
  • S.F. Mayor Newsom to explore run for governor

    07/02/2008 3:42:54 AM PDT · by Virginia Ridgerunner · 22 replies · 351+ views
    The L.A. Times ^ | July 2, 2008 | Mark Z. Barabak
    SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who built a national reputation pushing cutting-edge -- and controversial -- policies on same-sex marriage, healthcare and other issues, launched an exploratory bid for governor Tuesday. His move placed the 40-year-old, two-term mayor out in front of a large Democratic field eyeing the race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is barred by term limits from running again in 2010. Newsom said he expected to decide by year's end whether to proceed with a full-fledged candidacy. (snip) As governor, Newsom said, he would have three priorities: reducing poverty, providing universal access to...
  • 'Gay' rights group to Supremes: Don't let people vote

    07/01/2008 7:12:41 PM PDT · by Baron OBeef Dip · 22 replies · 856+ views
    WorldNetDaily ^ | June 30, 2008
    Homosexual-rights advocates have asked California's Supreme Court to block citizens from voting this fall on a measure voters originally brought to the ballot: Proposition 8, the California Marriage Protection Act. Proposition 8, so labeled when Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified it earlier this month for placement on the November 4 ballot, is a constitutional amendment that states, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The amendment was created by voter initiative with the signatures of 1.1 million voters, more than the required 694,354 needed to place an issue on the ballot. Lawyers...
  • Obama opposes California same-sex marriage ban, which McCain supports

    07/01/2008 3:13:35 PM PDT · by SmithL · 36 replies · 631+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/1/8 | John Wildermuth
    Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has announced his opposition to a November ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California, a move that puts gay rights front and center in the 2008 presidential campaign. In a letter to San Francisco's Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club Sunday, the presumptive presidential nominee said he opposed "the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution" and similar efforts in other states.Earlier last week, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, the GOP standard-bearer in November, took the other side. He told officials of Protect Marriage, a coalition that gathered 1.1...
  • ‘Culture wars’ far from over, Bishop Wenski says (calls CA Superemes “raw judicial activists”)

    07/01/2008 1:37:33 PM PDT · by NYer · 2 replies · 213+ views
    CNA ^ | July 1, 2008
    Bishop Thomas Wenski Orlando, Jul 1, 2008 / 06:27 am (CNA).- In a Sunday newspaper commentary Thomas Wenski, the Bishop of Orlando, Florida decried the California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a ban on same sex marriage, saying the act of “raw judicial activism” reminds us that “society’s culture wars are far from over.”Writing in the Ocala Star Banner, Bishop Wenski said advocates of homosexual marriage erroneously label their opponents as intolerant bigots. “To defend marriage as a monogamous union between one man and one woman is not bigotry,” Bishop Wenski wrote. “Nor are the efforts of those who...
  • Mystery fireball streaks across sky (SoCal)

    07/01/2008 1:17:23 PM PDT · by BurbankKarl · 52 replies · 1,798+ views
    LA Times ^ | 7/1/08 | Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
    From Hollywood Hills to the Nevada state line, people reported seeing a fireball streaking across the sky and falling near the San Bernardino Mountains this morning, officials said. San Bernardino County Fire Dispatch reported receiving dozens of calls related to what was described as fireball moving at high speed and falling in northwest sky around 10:40 a.m. "We got quite a few reports. It started with a gentlemen in the Lake Arrowhead reporting a fireball in the Meadow Bay area and then we started getting calls from all over," said San Bernardino County dispatch supervisor Tom Barnes. "Fire crews in...
  • 8 crack dealers shielded by S.F. walk away

    07/01/2008 10:12:47 AM PDT · by AnotherUnixGeek · 8 replies · 496+ views
    SFGate.com ^ | July 1, 2008 | Jaxon Van Derbeken
    An effort by San Francisco to shield eight young Honduran crack dealers from federal immigration officials backfired when the youths escaped from Southern California group homes within days of their arrival, officials said Monday.
  • Obama opposes gay marriage ban

    06/30/2008 7:33:57 PM PDT · by pissant · 28 replies · 565+ views
    SacBee ^ | 6/30/08 | Aurelio Rojas
    Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who previously said the issue of gay marriage should be left up to each state, has announced his opposition to a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages. In a letter to Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club read Sunday at the group's annual Pride Breakfast in San Francisco, the Illinois senator said he supports extending "fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law." "And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution...
  • CA: Fraud trial to open against Shelley fundraiser (Julie Lee)

    07/01/2008 9:24:39 AM PDT · by NormsRevenge · 3 replies · 140+ views
    SFGate.com ^ | 7/1/08 | Robert Selna
    The criminal case that brought former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's political career to an abrupt halt more than three years ago is scheduled for trial today, as federal prosecutors attempt to prove mail fraud and witness tampering charges against his onetime fundraiser Julie Lee. While the case dashed the lofty aspirations of Shelley - once considered a potential senator, mayor or governor - and took a long time to get to trial, the allegations against Lee are straightforward. Prosecutors have charged her with four counts of mail fraud and three counts of witness tampering for fraudulently obtaining state...
  • CA: IndyMac denies that it's close to collapse [bank run?]

    07/01/2008 7:54:46 AM PDT · by rabscuttle385 · 15 replies · 540+ views
    The Los Angeles Times ^ | 2008-07-01 | E. Scott Reckard & Andrea Chang
    Battling rumors that it may collapse, Pasadena-based IndyMac Bancorp acknowledged Monday that its financial position had deteriorated but described the fears as overblown and said it was working with regulators to improve its "safety and soundness." IndyMac, a national home lender burned by the mortgage meltdown, went public after depositors lined up at San Gabriel Valley branches starting Friday to pull out their money. Striving to reassure them, the thrift said nearly all their deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
  • Schwarzenegger now backs McCain on environment

    07/01/2008 7:54:27 AM PDT · by ZGuy · 20 replies · 312+ views
    S.F. Chronicle ^ | June 30, 2008 | Carla Marinucci
    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing in a taped interview Sunday on "Meet the Press," defended GOP presidential candidate John McCain as "the real deal on the environment". "I'm very proud of him. I'm 100 percent behind him," he told Tom Brokaw. Schwarzenegger acknowledged that he doesn't support everything McCain has proposed, just as he isn't always in accord with his wife, Maria Shriver, a Democrat who has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. "That (McCain and I) don't agree on everything, it's clear. Nor do I agree with my wife," he said. But "he's terrific with the environment," and with a President...
  • 8 crack dealers shielded by S.F. walk away

    07/01/2008 7:48:42 AM PDT · by SmithL · 37 replies · 1,048+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/1/8 | Jaxon Van Derbeken
    San Francisco -- An effort by San Francisco to shield eight young Honduran crack dealers from federal immigration officials backfired when the youths escaped from Southern California group homes within days of their arrival, officials said Monday. The walkaways are the latest in a string of embarrassments for city officials who are protecting illegal-immigrant drug dealers from federal authorities and possible deportation because of San Francisco's 1989 declaration that the city is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Until recently, San Francisco flew juvenile illegal immigrants convicted of drug crimes to their home countries rather than cooperate with the federal Immigration...
  • KTLA lays off two reporters, weekend anchor (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

    07/01/2008 6:19:20 AM PDT · by abb · 23 replies · 662+ views
    Los Angeles Times ^ | July 1, 2008 | Greg Braxton
    KTLA-TV Channel 5 laid off a veteran reporter and one of its weekend anchors Monday, part of a handful of cuts at the local station that also included several executives. Weekend anchor Walter Richards and reporter Willa Sandmeyer were let go along with reporter Janet Choi, executive editor of planning Joseph M. Russin and morning news executive producer John Hensley. KTLA, like the Los Angeles Times, is owned by Tribune Co., which is struggling financially because of major shifts in the media business and the softening economy. John Moczulski, vice president of programming and marketing at KTLA, said the cuts...
  • State court upholds death for Sonoma County man who murdered family (more illegal madness)

    06/30/2008 3:17:27 PM PDT · by wac3rd · 3 replies · 295+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | June 30, 2008 | Bob Egelko
    The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence today for Ramon Salcido, who murdered his wife, two daughters, three other relatives and his supervisor at a Sonoma County winery during a three-hour rampage in 1989. The justices unanimously rejected defense challenges to Salcido's arrest and transfer from his native Mexico to the United States, his seven murder convictions and his death sentence. Salcido can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, and has another case pending before the state's high court raising separate issues. Salcido, now 47, used a gun and knife to murder his wife, Angela Richards Salcido,...
  • SAN FRANCISCO: Extra spark in Ma's push for electric meters?

    06/30/2008 12:28:39 PM PDT · by SmithL · 17 replies · 507+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/30/8 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
    State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma appears to have a very special interest in some special-interest legislation making the rounds both in Sacramento and in her hometown of San Francisco. At issue: legislation custom-tailored to give an outfit called Current Grid LLC a leg up in the emerging $5 billion energy-saving industry in California. Current Grid is an affiliate of the Current Group of Maryland, whose investors include Google, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Hearst Corp., which owns The Chronicle. Current Grid sells so-called smart meters - sophisticated electric meters for homes and businesses that allow utility companies to instantly monitor power...
  • Southern California to kiss wood fireplaces goodbye starting this September

    06/30/2008 10:44:37 AM PDT · by ZGuy · 70 replies · 1,913+ views
    RULE 445. WOOD BURNING DEVICES (a) Purpose The purpose of this rule is to reduce the emission of particulate matter from wood burning devices. (c) Definitions (4) FIREPLACE means any permanently installed masonry or factory-built device used for aesthetic or space-heating purposes and designed to operate with an air-to-fuel ratio greater than or equal to 35-to-1. (18) WOOD BURNING DEVICE means any fireplace, wood burning heater, or pellet fueled wood heater, or any similarly enclosed, permanently installed, indoor or outdoor device burning any solid fuel for aesthetic or space-heating purposes, which has a heat input of less than one million...
  • Strapless Commencement

    06/30/2008 10:19:21 AM PDT · by bs9021 · 10 replies · 1,093+ views
    Campus Report ^ | June 30, 2008 | Deborah Lambert
    Strapless Commencement by: Deborah Lambert, June 30, 2008 While the San Jose Mercury News reports that middle-school girls want to look like top models at their graduation ceremonies, principals apparently still frown on the “Lolita look.” Education writer Joanne Jacobs reports that while “at one middle school graduation, halter tops are okay, spaghetti straps aren’t. At another, it’s the reverse. Strapless dresses and high heels are banned at most intermediate schools....
  • CA: GOP may save itself despite Arnold, Tom (Join Duf and Pete's new party, CRAFT, or don't join.)

    06/30/2008 8:57:35 AM PDT · by NormsRevenge · 50 replies · 619+ views
    LA Daily News ^ | 6/30/08 | Scott Harris
    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Sen. Tom McClintock are California's best-known Republicans. McClintock is the quintessential Republican candidate for statewide office. He is a middle-aged, upper-middle-class, white, male career politician. He currently serves as state senator for the 19th District, where he hasn't lived in years, and is running for Congress in the 4th District, where he not only doesn't live, but can't even vote. McClintock is completely inflexible and incapable of compromise, and as a result, receives little to no Republican support in Sacramento. He regularly gets beaten in statewide elections, having lost races for state controller, lieutenant governor...
  • Sheehan Calls for a Revolution (Claims Anti-Pelosi Campaign Raised $200,000)

    06/30/2008 8:17:06 AM PDT · by kristinn · 33 replies · 848+ views
    Fog City Journal ^ | Sunday, June 29, 2008 | Luke Thomas
    Independent candidate for Congress Cindy Sheehan yesterday called for a revolution in America to help bring to an end the domination of corporate influence over politics. Sheehan made the remarks during a campaign fundraiser held at Fat City in San Francisco. “We need a revolution,” Sheehan said. “Things have to change and they’re not going to change with the people that have been bought and paid for by the corporations.” Sheehan’s comments were largely directed at her opponent, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose job approval rating has reached an all time low since failing to bring an end to the war...
  • EDITORIAL: Perata's power play

    06/30/2008 7:49:40 AM PDT · by SmithL · 5 replies · 216+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/30/8 | Editor
    Redistricting reform is years, if not decades, overdue in California. Unfortunately, the reason that it's overdue is that while voters have the most to gain from an honest reappraisal of the state's legislative boundaries, the politicians in power keep doing everything they can to prevent such reform. It's no wonder, then, that the California Legislature can't seem to pass a redistricting reform bill with any teeth. Still, watching Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and other partisans prepare a pre-emptive attack on Proposition 11 is both disappointing and disturbing. Perata held a closed-door meeting last Friday with fellow insiders...
  • California Propositions that are on the November 4, 2008 General Election Ballot

    06/29/2008 2:26:39 PM PDT · by CounterCounterCulture · 36 replies · 716+ views
    Propositions that are on the November 4, 2008 General Election Ballot* Bond MeasureProposition 1 SB 1856 (Chapter 697, 2002). Costa. Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.** **Note: The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century was originally scheduled to appear on the November 2, 2004, General Election ballot. Subsequently, Senate Bill 1169, Chapter 71, Statutes of 2004, provided that it appear on the November 7, 2006, General Election ballot. However, most recently, Assembly Bill 713, Chapter 44, Statutes of 2006, provides for the submission of this Act on the November...
  • Feds probe S.F.'s migrant-offender shield

    06/29/2008 8:26:47 AM PDT · by SmithL · 26 replies · 872+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/29/8 | Jaxon Van Derbeken
    San Francisco juvenile probation officials - citing the city's immigrant sanctuary status - are protecting Honduran youths caught dealing crack cocaine from possible federal deportation and have given some offenders a city-paid flight home with carte blanche to return. The city's practices recently prompted a federal criminal investigation into whether San Francisco has been systematically circumventing U.S. immigration law, according to officials with knowledge of the matter.City officials say they are trying to balance their obligations under federal and state law with local court orders and San Francisco's policies aimed at protecting the rights of the young immigrants, who they...
  • Dellums' patience with Edgerly has cost him

    06/29/2008 8:22:16 AM PDT · by SmithL · 12 replies · 553+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/29/8 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
    He is incredibly compassionate.He is incredibly reticent when faced with making decisions. And as a result, his handling of the Deborah Edgerly affair was an incredible disaster.That's pretty much how Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' aides, past aides, city department heads, politicos and longtime friends explained his apparent inability to deal with Edgerly after it came to light that the city administrator had possibly injected herself into a police investigation of her nephew."You have to understand, he's never fired anyone - that's not his style," said one friend who has worked with Dellums since his days as a congressman. "He always...
  • Hands-Free Cell Phone Law Begins Tuesday ( CALIFORNIA )

    06/29/2008 6:00:47 AM PDT · by kellynla · 52 replies · 1,054+ views
    orange county register ^ | June 28, 2008 | BRIAN JOSEPH
    SACRAMENTO - Drop the iPhone and listen up, because the rules of the road are changing. Starting Tuesday, it's against the law to use a hand-held cell phone while driving in California. If you want to make a call, you're going to have to use the speaker phone or some hands-free device. Otherwise, tickets start at $20 and rise to $50 on subsequent offenses. But with that said, don't worry too much if you forget – the only hit is to your bank account. A ticket for this won't add points to your license. It'll be an infraction, not a...
  • Dellums, after firestorm of criticism, ousts embattled city administrator ( Deborah Edgerly }

    06/28/2008 4:25:51 PM PDT · by SmithL · 18 replies · 553+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/28/8 | Christopher Heredia
    Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums put embattled City Administrator Deborah Edgerly on paid leave Friday amid growing criticism that he allowed her to work in City Hall while she was the subject of a law enforcement investigation. Edgerly, 56, agreed Tuesday to retire July 31. But her refusal to relinquish her authority over the Police Department, which is investigating her possible interference in a crackdown on a violent Oakland street gang, prompted outrage from city leaders and residents. On Friday afternoon, Dellums decided that she had to go after at least three members of the City Council fired off angry letters...
  • BERKELEY - UC compromises on key stadium issues

    06/28/2008 3:00:34 PM PDT · by SmithL · 2 replies · 224+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/28/8 | Carolyn Jones
    University hopes concessions set stage for athletic training center next door - UC Berkeley made key concessions Friday in its long-running standoff with the city, tree-sitting protesters and neighbors of Memorial Stadium that the university hopes will clear the way for its plans to build an athletic training center next to the stadium. In documents submitted in Alameda County Superior Court, the university says it will scrap all non-football events at Memorial Stadium and drop plans to attach a concrete support beam to the stadium's west wall, two roadblocks cited in a judge's interim ruling in the case last week.UC's...
  • OCEANSIDE: District expands summer lunch program

    06/28/2008 2:12:51 PM PDT · by RightField · 85 replies · 993+ views
    The North County Times ^ | June 28, 2008 | STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer
    OCEANSIDE ---- While they're out of school for summer, students in Oceanside can pick up a free lunch at various school and community sites throughout the city. Through the federal Seamless Summer Feeding Program, Oceanside Unified School District employees are giving out about 1,000 meals a day at 10 different sites to anybody under the age of 18, district officials said. The program was designed to ensure that students, especially those from poor families, get nutritious meals while they're out of school. "During the whole school year, they get good nutritious meal, but in the summer, some of them are...
  • Minutemen Takes Down Goon - Goon Arrested (pics)

    06/28/2008 1:28:13 PM PDT · by Ladycalif · 70 replies · 3,928+ views
    6/28/2008
    WOW, what a fun and exciting rally!! 40-50 patriots shows up and the passers by were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic!! OC Vaughn organized a day laborer site rally - Home Depot Westminster, CA - 40 ralliers were assembled at 7:30 am 6/28/08 At approximately 8:30am a male Hispanic, driving, stopped his truck and yelled at assembled ralliers. He asked "You Minutemen?" No one answered at first, then Kingfish stepped forward and stated "I AM." "You are sick!" The man yelled. "And you, are a little overweight" Kingfish replied. The man became enraged quickly exited the truck ran around and ran...
  • McCain courts Latino leaders

    06/28/2008 11:33:42 AM PDT · by Redcloak · 24 replies · 480+ views
    MSNBC ^ | Saturday, June 28, 2008 2:10 PM | Matthew E. Berger
    WASHINGTON, D.C. -- McCain appealed to Hispanic voters Saturday with a message against raising taxes and highlighting his patriotism alongside Latinos during the Vietnam War. McCain told the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials it is a “terrible mistake to raise taxes during an economic downturn” and said increasing business and individual tax rates could hurt Latino businesses.