Deputy’s family awaiting justice
IRWINDALE —Three years ago today, a traffic stop turned fatal for Deputy David March.
The 33-year-old was shot and killed by the driver, who is believed to have then fled to Mexico. The prime suspect, Armando Garcia, is an undocumented immigrant deported four times before and convicted of selling drugs and possessing a concealed assault weapon. He has an arrest warrant on two attempted murders in Baldwin Park.
To commemorate the anniversary of March’s death, a candlelight vigil will be held from 5 to 7 tonight at Irwindale Speedway, 500 Speedway Drive. Sheriff Lee Baca and District Attorney Steve Cooley will be among the speakers.
Read the full story here.
Audio of Governor Schwarzenegger’s appearence is available in the Audio Archives
Governor endorses Minutemen on border. He parts with Bush on armed volunteers stopping illegal immigrants in Arizona
Arnold Schwarzenegger, just a week after apologizing for suggesting California should “close the borders,’’ warmly praised the Minutemen project—an armed citizens group—on Thursday for doing a terrific job of stopping illegal immigration from Mexico.
Although President Bush has criticized the group as vigilantes, Schwarzenegger said, “They’ve done a terrific job. And they have cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants by a huge percentage.’’ 
Schwarzenegger, appearing on the conservative Los Angeles KFI radio’s “John and Ken’‘ talk show, was asked his views of the Minutemen, who are using armed volunteers along the border in Arizona. The governor endorsed the effort, saying, “It just shows that it works.’’
Read the full story here.
Gov. Praises ‘Minuteman’ Campaign
SACRAMENTO - Calling the nation’s borders dangerously porous, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday praised the private “Minuteman” campaign that uses armed volunteers to stop illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S.
Schwarzenegger said in a radio interview that the federal government is failing to secure the border with Mexico, and he cast the hundreds of private citizens who have been patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border since April 1 as a popular response to government inaction. . .
. . . Asked by the hosts of the “John and Ken Show” why Bush called the volunteers vigilantes, Schwarzenegger said: “I really cannot tell you exactly what his thinking is. I’m sure he’s trying to solve the problem as well as anyone can. And he maybe has more information than you and I have. Why he has a policy about the border the way he has, I don’t know. I’ve not had that conversation with him.
Read the full story here.
Governor causes immigration stir
. . .Schwarzenegger administration sources said the Republican governor asked to call in to the popular “John and Ken Show” on KFI radio in Los Angeles because he wanted to weigh in on a controversy over billboards promoting Channel 62, a Spanish-language television station.
The billboards, which show two cable newscasters and the Los Angeles skyline behind them, say “Los Angeles, CA” with the word “CA” crossed out and replaced with “Mexico.” Below that are the Spanish words “Tu ciudad. Tu equipo,” which translates into English as: “Your city. Your team.” Schwarzenegger said the billboards encourage illegal immigration and should be removed immediately.
Read the full story here.
Thursday, April 28th, 2005
Voters favor Minutemen, guest workers, poll shows
A majority of registered Arizona voters interviewed in a statewide poll approve of an effort that has placed volunteers along the Mexican border this month to watch for and report illegal immigrant activity. Most of those polled also said they back President Bush’s proposal to create a guest worker program as a means of reducing illegal immigration. In all, 57 percent of those interviewed said they supported the Minuteman Project, while 34 percent were opposed and 9 percent did not know or gave no opinion. Bush’s guest worker program drew 62 percent backing, with 29 percent opposed and 9 percent saying they did not know or expressing no opinion. Read the storyhere.
Schwarzenegger’s rating drops sharply
Just as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to sell a reduced “reform” agenda to voters, a newly released statewide poll shows the Republican governor’s popularity has plummeted. The poll from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that only 40 percent of adults now approve of the way Schwarzenegger is handling his job as governor, a whopping 20 percentage point drop since January. Among “likely voters,” his approval rating was a higher 45 percent, but that fell from 63 percent at the start of the year. Schwarzenegger aides dismissed the results as little more than a temporary slide after months of attacks from public employee labor unions and other critics of his policies. Read the story here. Read the poll here.
Rowe Describes Jackson in Glowing Terms
After trying today to get her testimony eliminated, the defense in the Michael Jackson trial hours later dropped its motion to strike the words of the pop star’s ex-wife and mother of two of his children. The sharp reversal came after a morning when Debbie Rowe, who was called Wednesday as a prosecution witness, gave the kind of testimony that the defense wanted to hear. She described Jackson in glowing terms, but also as a person who was easily manipulated by his closest aides, a theme the defense has stressed. Rowe, 46, finished late this morning after about three hours over two days on the stand. The prosecution had called Rowe to support the testimony of the mother of the boy accusing Jackson of molestation. Read the story here.
Bush to Hold Prime-Time News Conference
President Bush will address the public in prime time Thursday to push his Social Security and energy proposals, two high-profile issues that Bush has made centerpieces of his second term. The news conference was pushed up a half hour to 8:00 p.m. EDT; the White House had originally told TV networks Bush would start speaking at 8:30. The president will speak for 10 to 12 minutes before taking questions from reporters. KFI will carry the conference, without commercial interuption, tonight at 5:00.
Wednesday, April 27th, 2005
Debate heats up over illegals
This town is filled with politicians who say Congress must act now to solve the nation’s growing problem of illegal immigration. The problem is, few of them agree on how to do it. For every proposal that aims to deport or make life difficult for those sneaking into America like putting proof of citizenship on driver licenses or denying rights to children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. activists denounce the plans as racist and xenophobic. And for every measure that attempts to legalize some of the country’s estimated 10.8 million undocumented workers like a recently failed plan to give 500,000 illegal farmworkers permanent legal status detractors cry “amnesty’ and accuse lawmakers of rewarding criminals. Read the story here.
Spanish billboards in LA anger anti-illegal immigration activists
New billboards in Los Angeles for a Spanish-language newscast are upsetting activists who want to curb illegal immigration. The billboards for KRCA-TV Channel 62 show two newscasters in front of the downtown skyline. Above them it says “Los Angeles CA” but the “CA” is crossed out and replaced with “Mexico” in bright red letters. Members of Americans for Legal Immigration are calling the ads offensive. Read the story here. View the billboard here.Jackson’s Ex-Wife Takes the Stand
Debbie Rowe, the mother of two of Michael Jackson’s children, today took the stand in her former husband’s molestation trial. Identifying herself as Deborah Rowe Jackson, the 46-year-old woman was sworn in late in a day that included a failed defense motion for a mistrial. Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville ruled against the defense after Hamid Moslehi, Jackson’s former videographer, completed his testimony. The defense argued that the prosecution erred in how it questioned the videographer who shot a video designed to portray Jackson in a positive light. It was believed to be at least the fourth unsuccessful mistrial motion filed by the defense. Much of the out-of-court action has been clothed in secrecy because of a gag order. Moslehi returned to the stand this morning and painted a different picture of events surrounding the production of a rebuttal video than did the mother of the boy who says he was molested by Jackson. Read the story here.
Real ID law looks likely to be enacted
A White House letter of support issued Tuesday and comments by the Senate Democratic leader all make it likely that a measure that would virtually eliminate the ability of illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses will be part of the final Iraq supplemental spending bill. “The administration strongly urges the conferees to include the Real ID Act of 2005 in the final version of the bill,” Joshua Bolton, director of the administration’s Office of Management and Budget, said in a letter to congressional appropriations leaders. “This important legislation will strengthen the ability of the United States to protect against terrorist entry into and activities within the United States.’’ Read the story here.
Tuesday, April 26th, 2005
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Here’s the contact info for some of the hacks that gave the Angry Mob grief during the march on Washington DC.
Feel free to contact them, and have an intelligent discourse regarding illegal immigration.
Contact info for Greg Davis, spokeshole for Ruben Hinojosa (D – TX)
202 226 8010 – Greg’s direct line
202 225 2531 – greg.davis@mail.house.gov
956 682 5545
Jim Specht, the Press Secretary for Jerry Lewis (R-CA 41st).
202 225 3390 – jim.specht@mail.house.gov
Representative Jane Harman’s (D-CA 36th) Spokeshole Jonathan Kossak
202 225 8220 – jonathan.kossak@mail.house.gov
Rob Bishop (R – UT)
202 225 0453
Democrats won’t stop drivers license verification bill, Reid says
WASHINGTON - A controversial bill that would require states to verify the citizenship or legal status of anyone applying for a drivers license will likely become law because Senate Democrats don’t have the votes to stop it, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Monday.
Aimed at illegal immigrants, the so-called Real ID Act is expected to be included in a final version of an $81 billion spending bill to fund the war in Iraq, according to Reid, D-Nev. House and Senate lawmakers begin negotiating a final version of the spending bill this week. . .
Read the full story here.
Travel Agent Testifies About Jackson Accuser’s Trip
SANTA MARIA, Calif.- Travel agent Cynthia Montgomery testified this morning that she arranged for a flight to Brazil for the family of the boy who says he was molested by Michael Jackson.
Testifying under a grant of “use immunity,” Montgomery said the tickets were never purchased, but that she had prepared the itinerary for the accuser, his siblings and mother to go to Brazil.
A Jackson aide wanted the tickets to be one way, she said, but that was not possible, so a return date was made up. . .
Read the full story here.
Prosecutor: Avila ‘an animal’
SANTA ANA - A prosecutor urged a jury today to convict Alejandro Avila of first-degree murder, punctuating his trial summation with graphic photos of the body of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion.
Tears ran down the face of one woman juror when Assistant District Attorney David Brent presented the photos of Samantha, who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed in 2002.
Avila, 30, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested four days after the kidnapping, following the biggest manhunt in Orange County history.
“What kind of an animal poses a little girl like that?” Brent said during his closing argument, referring to a photo. “Look at what he did to her vagina.” . . .
Read the full story here.
Monday, April 25th, 2005
Illegal Immigration Fears Have Spread
DENVER - The armed volunteers patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border may be the starkest sign of frustration with the nation’s immigration laws, but across the country there is a growing populist movement also taking matters into its own hands.
In Washington, Colorado, Virginia and elsewhere, grass-roots organizations are forming to pass initiatives and pressure politicians into enacting laws denying benefits to illegal immigrants. There are already groups in seven states and more are expected by the end of summer. One congressman may even run for president on a platform of securing the border.
Read the full story here.
Schwarzenegger’s border comments reveal political perils of immigration issue
Among the many land mines that dot the California political terrain, few are as treacherous or unpredictable as the matter of illegal immigration.
The subject blew up in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s face last week, at a speech before the Newspaper Association of America. Responding to a question, the Republican governor suggested officials should “close the border in California, all across Mexico and the United States” to stem the flow of undocumented migrants.
Read the full story here.
Judge Allows Testimony By Mother Of Jackson’s Children
The judge in Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial ruled Monday that prosecutors may call the mother of two of Jackson’s children to testify against him.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville followed arguments over whether to allow testimony by Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson’s children Paris and Prince Michael.
Read the full story here.
Friday, April 22nd, 2005
Uncle Details 1993 Jackson Case
When the current court case against Michael Jackson finally reaches trial, Santa Barbara County prosecutors plan to bring up a 1993 molestation case against the pop star in an attempt to show a pattern of behavior. The author of a new book about the earlier case was interviewed on The Early Show. That case, involving a 12-year-old boy, was settled out of court for an amount reported to be between $15-25 million. As part of the settlement, none of the people involved are allowed to talk about it, even though what happened between the boy and Jackson could find its way into the criminal proceeding. The boy’s uncle, however, was not part of the settlement and is not covered under the gag order. Raymond Chandler has just written “All That Glitters,” a self-published book about the 1993 case which provides insight from the family’s perspective (although he does not maintain a close relationship with his nephew). His Web site is www.atgbook.net. Read the story here.
Groups endorse teacher rewards
California business leaders offered a free-market solution Monday for the state’s education woes: Stop throwing money at bad products and reward employees who get results – which in public schools means hiking student performance. A coalition of business-advocacy groups launched a Web site and an 11-point education plan designed to dispel the myth that minorities from poverty-stricken areas are incapable of learning at high levels. “We’ve been in a thousand schools this year, and never once has money been brought up as an obstacle to performance,” said James Lanich, a former Los Angeles Unified School District seventh-grade teacher who is president of California Business for Education Excellence. Read the story here.
Schwarzenegger’s Top Ally Steps In
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is facing infighting among his senior staff and campaign team, which has contributed to a series of political missteps that threaten the once soaring governor’s ambitious agenda, more than a dozen aides and lawmakers said Thursday. One sign of the governor’s troubles is the active involvement of his wife, Maria Shriver. The first lady is conferring with consultants to refine the governor’s message and working to ensure that her husband hears a broader range of voices. The problems are considered bad enough that they are expected to be discussed today as the governor’s senior aides gather for a strategy meeting. Schwarzenegger is reeling after successive policy reversals, gaffes and clashes with well-organized opponents have deflated his once-buoyant approval ratings. The latest setback came this week when he told a newspaper publishers association that the United States should “close its borders.” He later apologized, explaining that he misspoke because of his imperfect command of English. Read the story here.
