OC Blog

Van Tran Will Donate Pay Hike To Charity

This came over the transom yesterday evening from Assemblyman Van Tran's office:

Assemblyman Van Tran Commits To Donating Salary Increase To Charity
“I believe the people of California elected me to the Assembly with a salary already set.”

(GARDEN GROVE)- Today Assemblyman Van Tran pledged to return his mandatory salary increase to local charities and criticized the Citizens Compensation Commission for recommending such an increase in a time of overwhelming budget deficits.

State Legislators Get Another Pay Hike; Wyland and Correa Turn It Down

When the state government is in the grip of an ongoing fiscal crisis that the state legislature has been unable to come to grips with, what is one to do?

Give them a pay raise!

According to the Sacramento Bee:

California's legislative salaries, already the nation's highest, will rise to $116,208 today for all but a handful of lawmakers who have declined the hike while the state fights a massive budget shortfall.

Thirteen legislators – four Senate and nine Assembly members – have asked the state controller to kill their $3,110-a-year raise.

And who are those 13 souls?:

"Save Our Kids" Campaign Reception Next Tuesday

This came over the transom last night:

SAVE OUR KIDS

Authorized and paid for by Larry Dick for Assembly # 1296861

November 19, 2007

Dear Friend,

I write to you today as a husband and a father. I have joined our friends at the Capitol Resource Family Impacts referendum campaign to stop the implementation of SB 777 - an outrageous bill that threatens the fabric of our families by forcing the homosexual agenda into our schools. Simply put, phrases like ..mom and dad. or…husband and wife, would be eliminated from our schools.

Struggling with Lingering Debts and Lackluster Fundraising, CRP Cuts Funding to County Operatives

At a regular scheduled meeting on November 16, the California Republican Party axed its counties "Executive Director" program because of the lackluster fundraising operation and the ongoing financial problems plaguing the organization.  When Ron Nehring (pictured right) took over the party's chairmanship in the aftermath of the '06 election, the CRP's treasury was in red, with nearly $4 million in debt left behind by Duf Sundheim.

As some may know, the CRP's county Executive Director program, with an annual cost of about $260,000, was created in part to pay for salaries of county executive directors for the purpose of cultivating more Republicans and maintaining an active GOP presence in the region.

Governor Appoints Sen. Tom Harman To Fisheries Commission

Sen. Tom Harman has snagged an appointment from Gov. Schwarzenegger:

Tom Harman, 66, of Huntington Beach, has been appointed to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. He has served in the California State Senate since 2006, where he represents the 35th district. In this position, Harman serves as vice-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Human Services Committee.  From 2000 to 2006, he served in the California State Assembly, representing the 67th district. Harman previously was a member of the Huntington Beach City Council from 1995 to 2000 and was an attorney in private practice for over 30 years. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Harman is a Republican.

No salary, but you probably get to go one some cool junkets.

Lincoln Club Endorses CalCounts Initiative

This just came over the transom from the Lincoln Club of Orange County:

LINCOLN CLUB ENDORSES ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM INITIATIVE

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (Nov. 16, 2007) – The Board of Directors of the Lincoln Club of Orange County today voted to endorse the California Presidential Electoral College Reform Initiative which, should it pass, would change the allocation of California’s electoral votes from a winner-take-all system to one that awards
electoral votes to the winner of each congressional district. If successful, this initiative could have a dramatic effect on the outcome of next November’s presidential election.

Jarvis Group Takes Aim At Leagues Of Cities Politicking

This just came over the transom from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association:

Proposed Ballot Measure Prohibits Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Political Activity Opposition to Eminent Domain Reform Funded by Anonymous Campaign Fund

Sacramento, CA – Today, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the National Taxpayer Limitation Committee and the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights announced that they have introduced the “Taxpayer Protection Act of 2008,” a ballot measure that strengthens existing laws that prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for political activity by making it illegal for taxpayer financed organizations, such as the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties and the California Redevelopment Association to finance their political activities through anonymous campaign accounts.

Over the past two years, taxpayer financed public agency organizations have used anonymous campaign accounts to contribute nearly $7 million to oppose eminent domain reform ballot measures. Unlike traditional political action committees, these so-called “non-public funds” accounts do not disclose the source of their financing or contributors, limiting the ability of regulatory agencies, the media and watchdog groups to determine whether taxpayer dollars are being used to finance political activities.

Twin explosions at Angel Stadium this morning – and they had nothing to do with the Angels’ bats

Today marked day one of a two-day emergency preparedness exercise in Anaheim.  Code-named “Golden Guardian 2007” the annual statewide exercise seeks to improve California’s response to disasters.

This year’s exercise was a full scale field exercise.

Sometime in the past few days, a retired OCTA bus was blown up in a simulated homicide bomber attack out at a San Bernardino Sheriff explosives training range.  The bus was severely damaged, looking somewhat like this bus in Israel that was hit by a terrorist bomber.  

The bus and all its pieces (some blown as far as 65 yards away) was packed up and hauled to the Angel Stadium parking lot where every piece of the ruined bus was placed out in the parking lot in the same relative position it was in after the explosion.

Another retired OCTA bus was tilted on its side where it crushed a passenger car.  This was to simulate the force of an explosion from a car bomb that was to have gone off at about the same time as the bomber hit the bus.  A third bus held a terrorist suspect whose vest either did not blow or who lost their nerve and did not blow themselves up. 

At 9:55 a.m., the CHP shut down the 57 Freeway so as to minimize the likelihood of a spectator crash on the road overlooking the northeast side of the Angel Stadium parking lot. Why might a motorist crash?  Well…

At 10 a.m. the “car bomb” exploded in a huge ball of fire.  This explosion set off a secondary explosion in a nearby car.  In the VIP stand 100 yards away or so, we felt the heat on our faces.  Mayor Curt Pringle, the host of this major preparedness event was in the stands, as was Anaheim councilmember Lucille Kring, City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, Mission Viejo Major Gail Reavis, and Buena Park Councilman Art Brown.  Earlier I saw Anaheim councilmember Harry Sidhu while later I saw Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby.

Lou Correa Hosting Water Briefing On Wednesday

This came over the transom last Friday from Sen. Lou Correa's office, but I forgot to post it:

Senator Correa Convenes Water Briefing
Rebuilding California’s infrastructure has become the major legislative discussion and solving our State’s many infrastructures is critical to sustaining our economy. 

Senator Correa (D-Santa Ana) will convene a water briefing on Wednesday, October 31st from 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.  He has invited Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other elected officials and business leaders, to join us in this discussion.  The theme for the event will be:

Correa Scores 100% From California Taxpayers Association

H/T to Steve Greenhut at Orange Punch: The California Taxpayers Association has released its rankings for the 2007 session. Here's how the OC delegation scored:

Senate
Dick Ackerman (R)  92%
Lou Correa (D)        100%
Tom Harman (R)     94%
Mark Wyland

Assembly
Chuck DeVore (R)  100%
Mike Duvall (R)     100%
Mimi Walters (R)   100%
Jim Silva (R)         100%
Bob Huff (R)         100%
Todd Spitzer (R)   100%
Van Tran (R)        100%
Jose Solorio (D)      19%
Tony Mendoza (D)  36%