OC Blog News Round up -- October 30, 2005

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

OCR guest column from NRO: The case for Justice Chris Cox.  There's that dismal response to illegal immigration (for example) while he ran the House Homeland Security Committee which needs to be remembered.  One of our commentors, Logical, also per a previous post on Cox:

Cox had his judicial chance when rumblings of a 9th Circuit appointment were floated (a court where he is desperately needed); Boxer and Fienstein came out against it; Cox, with his infinite non-confrontational trait, asked to be withdrawn from consideration.  I'd rather have someone with more spunk on the Supreme Court.

OCR covers traffic congestion: Creeping along in our cars.  The point of this front page story?

OCR on citizens for careful development: Howling and growling.

OCR's Greenhut on the special election: Restoring the balance.  In part,

This...is about restoring a little balance to the ... balance of power. Our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has his flaws. But he recognizes the need to give the average California citizen a chance to stand up to those interest groups that have treated the treasury as a pig treats a trough.

...certain interest groups have gained a disproportionate amount of power in Sacramento. The main one is the public-employee unions, who are the beneficiaries of the government's explosive growth. When government grows, their membership, pay and benefits grow. They use money taken by force from members to maintain this power, paying for advertising and advocacy.  They have undue influence on legislators.

OCR on Arnold's visit to Westminster yesterday: Governor courting Little Saigon.

OCR's continuing 100th Anniversary series, this week on tourism and the Mouse: Innovators in O.C.

OCR Reader Rebuttal: Orange County's Measure D.  "Since it (172) passed, over $2 billion in dedicated public-safety funds have been raised," so where's the new jail as we asked in Another Funding Dilemma?

OCR's Seiler with a good review on a good idea: Why charter schools work.

MUST READ OCR (badly edited) guest column by Jill Stewart on the Teachers Union: Breaks in teachers union ranks.  In part,

Where does all that money go? CTA spends it on ludicrous political campaigns that are not aimed, in the least, at fixing California’s schools. As Beach noted, “The CTA used union dues to back the [failed] measure to roll back ‘three strikes and you’re out.’ How does this help children in the classroom?”  It doesn’t.  CTA poured big money into a $14 million campaign in 2004 for Proposition 56, a nutty plan to make it easier for our beloved Sacramento Legislature to raise taxes on us all. And CTA even poured millions into fighting the recall of Gray Davis. None of this helped children one whit.

I find it fascinating that when two teachers recently signed an e-mail to 95,000 teachers criticizing CTA for spending $50 million on politics, only 50 teachers demanded to be taken off the Yes on 75 e-mail list.  Eric Beach, of Yes on 75, told me he normally would expect a few thousand to ask that their names be removed.

LAT: Valley's Orange Line a Hit Out the Gate.  Why link this?  Not because it's orange, but because it's $350 million for 14 miles when the CenterLine was $1.1 billion for nine.  Bus Rapid Transit isn't the best answer, but it sure beats light rail.  Otoh, there are the unconvinced, as we were in March in Bogus Rapid Transit and in April.

LAT's Pasco on our $?4 billion man: Bren Aims to Keep Riches Private.

LiberalAT wants us to think Santa Ana isn't so bad after all: Hardship City. 

And that's regular OC Blog commenter Gustavo Arellano that writes "Ask a Mexican" whose name you didn't publish when you quoted him.

Comments

[OC Fire Storm]

"Since it (172) passed, over $2 billion in dedicated public-safety funds have been raised,""Since it (172) passed, over $2 billion in dedicated public-safety funds have been raised,"

Two billion raised, $77 in a slush fund. What is Corona doing w/ all that money? It's time that the 172/Measure B funds be shared with OCFA as Corona promised.

Stop the Sheriff's fiscal mismangement.

Yes on D

[OCFA E67]

“Prop. 172, where is Fires’ share? The answer is very simple. It’s sitting in the pockets of the Board of Supervisors, it’s sitting in the pockets of the people who were unwilling to distribute it back in 1996. We’re going to change that. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you so that we never stand alone.”
--Sheriff candidate Mike Carona (1998)

And Carona has now become one of the people unwilling to distribute it.

He hit the nail on the head.

[Screech]

Ya know, fire guys, these are all arguments that the proper solution is to repeal Prop 172, then we will have no problems.

Greenhut's column was the high point, now that's political theory. A must read.

[Gustavo Arellano]

Harris didn't actually quote me, although he should've said my name and definitely put the upside-down exclamation point before my name. And, for the record--Santa Ana is the second-best city in la naranja--after Anaheim, of course.

[Blog Watcher]

See, Don Bren is just like the rest of us real folks. This is just like my divorce. Except for the two extra wives, two extra mistresses and five extra children.

And the money.

Otherwise, that was like reading my biography.

[Jeff Flint]

Jubal:

Why no news summaries the last couple days? I have gotten lazy on browsing the OCR, LAT and other news websites because of your daily post...I am suffereing withdrawl.

Jeff