Jury to visit cliff in RPV near where 4-year-old girl died
Jurors on Cameron Brown’s murder trial will take a field trip to Inspiration Point to view the Rancho Palos Verdes cliff from which prosecutors say Brown threw his 4-year-old daughter, a judge said Tuesday.
Just before jury selection began in Torrance Superior Court, Judge Mark S. Arnold granted the prosecution’s request for a site visit, with some restrictions.
Arnold denied a defense motion to dismiss the case or send it back to the grand jury based on allegations that the prosecution failed to present exculpatory information in July 2004 when Brown, 44, was indicted. . .
Gas rage grows as prices mount
Los Angeles – Tempers are rising along with gas prices. Gas stations across the country report that drivers are taking out their gas rage against big oil by yelling at clerks and cashiers and sometimes driving off without paying.
“Everyone is suffering at the same time,” said Sam Shirazie, a clerk at a Chevron station east of downtown Los Angeles.
No detailed statistics are kept on incidents of gas rage. But the National Association of Convenience Stores said anecdotal evidence indicates they have increased since prices began climbing in February. . .
Jason Mrochek and David Klehm from WeHireAliens.com will be on the show at 5:00 to discuss an initiative to pursue California employers who hire illegal aliens for unfair competition.
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
Nation splits 4 ways on illegals
WASHINGTON — Americans hold strong and conflicting views about immigration that underscore the difficulties Congress will face in reaching a final legislative deal on the issue, an analysis of USA TODAY polling data shows.
The public splits into separate camps over whether illegal immigrants should be able to work toward citizenship, whether they help or hurt the economy — even whether immigration is an urgent problem that must be addressed.
Those disagreements are reflected in the Senate immigration bill that passed Thursday and the House bill, passed in December, which takes a tougher approach. A conference committee will try to resolve conflicts between the two measures on the issue, President Bush’s top domestic priority before Congress. . .
Trial begins for father accused of killing 4-year-old daughter
Cameron Brown’s murder trial will play out much like a science class, with topography, physics and medicine dominating the evidence from both sides to help the jury decide if Brown’s 4-year-old daughter fell or was thrown from a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff.
With jury selection expected to begin Tuesday in Torrance Superior Court, veteran prosecutor Craig Hum and celebrity attorney Mark Geragos are deep in pretrial posturing with dueling evidentiary motions and a pending defense motion to dismiss the case.
The pretrial proceedings, though, offer a sneak peak of what jurors will likely see during the expected six-week first-degree murder trial. . .
Angelides Attack Ad Points Back at Him
SACRAMENTO — A TV ad by state Treasurer Phil Angelides excoriates Controller Steve Westly for raising campaign cash from “a corrupt Chicago businessman” — yet Angelides apparently sought fundraising aid from the same man.
Angelides, who is competing with Westly for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and his aides placed repeated calls to Chicago attorney Joseph Cari in early 2005 in search of fundraising help, a Cari spokesman told The Times. Cari had raised money for a number of nationally prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware.
Angelides’ calls, placed over a number of weeks, amounted to “stalking,” said the spokesman, Ken Jakubowski, a Chicago attorney and longtime Cari associate who called the treasurer’s TV ad “misleading. . .
Preschool Benefits Grossly Exaggerated
A Rand Corporation study that claims universal preschool will deliver $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent by California taxpayers has been thoroughly discredited by two San Jose State University economics professors who show the Rand preschool study “cherry-picked” data, based its claims on “unbelievable assumptions that bias the results,” and omitted numerous costs and other factors that significantly lower the alleged benefits of universal preschool. The review of the Rand report, published by the Reason Foundation, uses Rand’s own data and methodology and finds that California would actually lose 25 to 30 cents for every dollar spent on universal preschool when just a few of the Rand report’s most glaring mistakes are corrected. And the Reason study concludes those losses would be even greater if many of the proposed preschool program’s costs, wrongly excluded from Rand’s calculations, were included in the analysis. . .
Friday, May 26th, 2006
House GOP expected to yield on legislation
The House is the only obstacle that stands between President Bush and a comprehensive immigration bill, and the White House yesterday predicted that the chamber’s Republicans will give in.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said House Republicans will want to pass border security badly enough to back down from the fight against what many consider amnesty for illegal aliens, knowing there is a “heavier political price for failing to act, than for acting.”
“If you are a Republican member of Congress and you’re concerned about illegal immigration, do you really want to say to your constituents: You know, I’m going to wait a couple of years before I take up the issue of people knowingly hiring illegal aliens, I want to wait a couple of years before I go ahead and try to identify who the illegal aliens are, I want to wait a couple of years before I start grappling with what to do with these 11 or 12 million people who are here illegally,” Mr. Snow said. . .
White House compares illegal immigration to speeding
WASHINGTON – The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.
“If you had a traffic ticket and you paid it, you’re not forever a speeder, are you?” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in response to questions from The Examiner.
“So the fact is, you have paid your debt to society,” he added. “And we have come up with a way to make sure that the debt to society gets paid. Then you move forward. . .
Allowed an exit despite failing exams
ANAHEIM – Leticia Bahena cried as she thanked Anaheim Union High School District trustees Thursday for letting her daughter walk in graduation.
The Anaheim High School senior failed the English part of the high school exit exam by three points. She’s been through emotional highs and lows in the past weeks as the state has gone back and forth on the test. But now she knows she’ll at least walk.
“My daughter couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking of the test,” Bahena said.
“I thank you guys. . .
The Plan to Replace the Dollar With the ‘Amero’
The idea to form the North American Union as a super-NAFTA knitting together Canada, the United States and Mexico into a super-regional political and economic entity was a key agreement resulting from the March 2005 meeting held at Baylor University in Waco, Tex., between President Bush, President Fox and Prime Minister Martin.
A joint statement published by the three presidents following their Baylor University summit announced the formation of an initial entity called, “The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America” (SPP). The joint statement termed the SPP a “trilateral partnership” that was aimed at producing a North American security plan as well as providing free market movement of people, capital, and trade across the borders between the three NAFTA partners. . .
OVER THE HEDGE
I thought I’d take a bit of a time-out this week to take a look at one of this summer’s kid movies. “Over The Hedge” may be a “cartoon”, but it was written by adults, and, believe me, it’s anything but a simple “coyote chasing the road runner” story. I guess that’s one of the differences between now and then in making these cartoon pictures – it used to be simple stories such as Bugs Bunny getting the best of Elmer Fudd, or Tweety Bird eluding Sylvester- now the themes are much bigger. Sure, there was “Bambi” and it’s messages about hunting, but that was more the exception rather than the rule. Today, movies like this one are loaded with “finger wagging” moral concepts about today’s values and lifestyles. I mean most of the kid films I saw growing were based on fairy tales – yes, there was good and evil, but a movie like this one is ripped right out of real life and the “evil” might even be you. (more…)
Thursday, May 25th, 2006
Senate passes immigration bill
WASHINGTON (CNN)—The U.S. Senate approved an immigration bill Thursday that would toughen security at the Mexican border and grant many illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship.
The 62-36 vote set the stage for another battle as lawmakers will try to mesh it with a stricter bill passed by the House in December.
Most members of the GOP majority in the Senate voted against the measure, with 23 backing it and 32 opposing. Among Democrats voting, 38 supported the bill and four did not. The chamber’s independent Senator voted in favor. . .
Vicente Fox’s Sacramento speech live on John and Ken today at 5:00
Mexican President Vicente Fox is expected to arrive in California today, hoping to shore up his argument that Mexico’s strong economic ties to the United States make it a natural partner in solving the conundrum of illegal immigration.
Fox is scheduled to speak before the state Legislature today and to meet privately with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. On Friday his itinerary includes addressing the California Chamber of Commerce and Latino business leaders before he flies to Los Angeles.
Mexico is California’s No. 1 trading partner, “so a growing Mexican economy is also good for California,” Schwarzenegger said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday.
The governor said he plans to speak to Fox about immigration, trade, border crime, the environment and President Bush’s decision to order 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border. . .
Dreier rejects Senate version of immigration bill
Rep. David Dreier announced Wednesday that he will not vote for the Senate’s version of immigration legislation, breaking ranks with the White House and bolstering his image as a hard-liner on the border.
Emblematic of the impending battle for a compromise, the Republican chairman of the House Rules Committee said he will fight with his colleagues to ensure the Senate bill does not take precedence over the border security bill passed by the House in mid-December.
The Senate’s proposal to grant a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants would create an ill-equipped bureaucracy, said Dreier in an interview with the Daily Bulletin on Wednesday. He added that border security must remain a top priority in any immigration reform proposal.
“I’m in the business of finding a solution to this pressing critical problem, but we have to secure our border first,” said Dreier, of Glendora. “My view is legislation should be citizen neutral. Anything that gives any advantage to someone who is here illegally is troubling and wrong. The massive huge new bureaucracy that the Senate bill will create is just another problem with the bill. . .
House GOP’s Back Is to the Wall on Borders
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) just got a wake-up call about the political risks of Congress’ immigration debate. Having been hammered by constituents for his moderate stand on illegal immigration, Souder this month got 7,100 fewer votes in the GOP primary than in 2004, when he ran against the same challenger.
His experience helps explain why so many House Republicans adamantly oppose any compromise that would allow illegal immigrants to earn legal status. They have concluded it could be political suicide to give ground to the Senate immigration bill, expected to pass today, which would do just that. . .
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
State Supreme Court reinstates high school exit exam—for now
SAN FRANCISCO - California’s high school students will have to pass the state’s exit exam in order to graduate along with their classmates—at least for now.
In a 4-3 decision, the state’s Supreme Court today granted a request by the Department of Education to stay a lower court order blocking the requirement that students pass the exam to graduate.
The court also sent the case to the state’s Court of Appeal for further action. . .
Assembly Bill 2791 would penalize SUV and minivan drivers in California
This bill establishes a program, developed and administered by the Air Resources Board (ARB), to provide discounts of up to $2,500 to buyers of new cars that emit relatively low amounts of
greenhouse gases and air pollutants and to impose a surcharge of
up $2,500 on buyers on new cars that emit relatively high
volumes of these gases and pollutants. . .
California State Assemblymember Ira Ruskin
E-Mail Assemblymember Ira Ruskin
Capitol Office
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0021
(916) 319 – 2021
(916) 319 – 2121 fax
District Office
5050 El Camino Real
Suite 117
Los Altos, CA 94022
(650) 691-2121
(650) 691-2120 fax
John quoted in Wall Street Journal Article about Reconquista
Despite efforts to placate critics, Mr. Villaraigosa has been pounded for every perceived misstep on the immigration issue—and from all sides. At one rally, Mr. Villaraigosa argued that immigrant workers make the country run. They “clean your toilets,” he told the crowd. Listeners to a conservative radio show mailed more than 1,000 toilet brushes to City Hall. “A lot of people look at Villaraigosa and they see an illegal alien,” says KFI AM radio host John Kobylt, who opposes loosening immigration rules. “There’s no end to how much we’ll milk this. . .
We clean your piggies!
Mexico’s Fox calls immigration debate ‘important moment’
Mexican President Vicente Fox told Utah legislators Wednesday morning that his nation doesn’t support undocumented immigration and is working to improve its economy so Mexicans no longer have to leave their country for work.
During a 30-minute speech at the State Capitol, Fox said that since the beginning of his administration more than five years ago, Mexico has “promoted the establishment of a new system that regulates the movement of people across our borders in a manner which is legal, safe and orderly.” He also said immigration policy is a shared responsibility. . .
Debate Limited on Immigration Bill
WASHINGTON —The Senate voted today to limit debate on immigration reform, paving the way for a vote, most likely Thursday, on final passage of a bill that would give the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. a way to gain legal status.
Final passage would set the stage for a confrontation with the House when the two chambers meet to reconcile their bills. In December, the House passed a bill focused solely on enforcement and border security that would make undocumented presence in the U.S. a felony.
Though the Senate will continue to vote on changes to the bill today, its core is expected to remain largely unchanged. The bill provides for increased border security, employer sanctions that include prison terms for those who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants, a guest worker program and the legalization measures. . .
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
Senate rejects letting all illegal immigrants stay
WASHINGTON – The Senate rejected a California Democrat’s plan to allow the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country to remain, work and eventually become Americans, preserving a fragile bipartisan coalition needed to pass the bill.
Several lawmakers who voted against the proposal offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday said they did so reluctantly, but out of necessity to ensure survival of the broader immigration bill. The legislation is expected to win Senate passage Wednesday or Thursday.
“This legislation is on the edge of the ledge as it is,” said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, one of the Republicans supporting a delicate compromise that has kept the bill alive – letting two-thirds of illegal immigrants stay but making the other third leave. . .
Thousands still in citizenship limbo 20 years after last immigration overhaul
LOS ANGELES – Luis Orozco was among the first in line nearly 20 years ago when federal lawmakers offered U.S. citizenship to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants. Today, he has a wife, two daughters and a car – but he still is not an American citizen.
For a surprising number of immigrants, the 1986 citizenship program still causes lingering problems. Hundreds of thousands whose applications were rejected sued the government and are only now seeing their visas processed. Thousands more sponsored relatives who are still awaiting legal residency. . .
With the threat of mayoral takeover hanging over Los Angeles Unified, the teachers union has opened contract negotiations with a demand for a 14 percent, one-year raise for its members.
Stunned by the demand, LAUSD officials are grumbling behind the scenes that United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy is trying to exploit the political situation posed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s push for control of the schools.
The union has publicly opposed mayoral takeover and Duffy denied in an interview that he was trying to use the political tug-of-war over the LAUSD to his benefit.
“I have said I would move heaven and earth to do what was necessary to dismantle the bloated LAUSD democracy and people have taken that and reinterpreted it to mean that Duffy would go to the mayor in a minute,” Duffy said.
“I have never said I would go over to Antonio. . .
