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Elections

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Court Denies Orly Taitz Election Fraud Claim

The Mission Viejo dentist's Republican rival for secretary of state did not commit fraud because he once registered as a Democrat, according to the court.

Mission Viejo dentist Orly Taitz has lost another high-profile court battle. An appeals court issued its decision Tuesday that Taitz was not the victim of voter fraud or election fraud in her 2010 battle against fellow Republican opponent Damon Dunn. Taitz and Dunn were competing for the Republican nomination for secretary of state. Taitz lost to Dunn on June 8 during the Republican primary and then sued Dunn June 17, claiming fraud. Dunn later lost to incumbent democrat Debra Bowen. Taitz made headlines last year for arguing in court that President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen. She lost that case, too. In the most recent case, Taitz claimed Dunn ran against her unfairly because he had voted as a democrat in Florida in the past. She …

Yeparoo

9:10 pm on Monday, May 7, 2012

Emken? Never heard of her. But Thanks for the post regarding the "republican" primary. You must be quite the political junkie. If it were not for your post, no one in California would know about this. I'll look that up to see if that is in 2012. Diane Feinstein is the Republicanish senator here, we really don't need an Emken. Besides, California isn't interested in Repub primaries. What we are …   more ›

Monday, April 9, 2012

Researchers Fight Dementia at Brain Science Frontier

California researchers develop model of how dementia spreads

Filmmaker James Cameron proclaimed that he had opened a “new frontier” when he reached the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep last month, 200 miles below the surface of the ocean. Quietly and with less fanfare, California researchers have unlocked an important discovery about the human frontier of the brain, detecting new information about how dementia spreads. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco concluded that Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other forms of dementia, may move directly between connected neurons in the brain. The degree of connectedness between a nerve region in the brain and a disease “hot spot,” or epicenter, appears to have the strongest influence on how the degeneration of neurons occurs in people …

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

One More (24-Hour Day) at Disneyland

Poll: How would you spend a full day in the Magic Kingdom?

It could be a Disney fanatic's dream or -- if you somehow get stuck listening to "It's a Small World" the entire time -- a mind-destroying nightmare. Starting early Wednesday, Disneyland and its Florida sibling will celebrate leap year by staying open 24 hours straight. That's the equivalent of 1,440 great moments with Mr. Lincoln. Officially dubbed "One More Disney Day," the Mickey Mouse house marathon runs from 6 a.m. Feb. 29 to 6 a.m. March 1. What will guests do with a full day in the Magic Kingdom? Here's what several visitors to Disneyland's website said: And now, dear readers, it's your turn. Take our poll...

Rita

2:07 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

It's just an evening of friendship and fun for a bunch of retired cast members (Go Golden Ears) We are meeting to have a magical night of fun.   more ›

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Republicans Tell Californians: You Can Elect A Conservative

GOP members tell Californians not to give up hope.

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota and presidential hopeful, told California Republicans on Saturday that it is possible to elect a conservative candidate in a state often deemed too liberal and overlooked by most campaigners. Pawlenty spoke to about 250 supporters at the California Republican Convention, about half the number that attended Newt Gingrich’s speech earlier in the day.  “If I can be a conservative governor in Minnesota, we can do it anywhere,” he said, noting that Minnesota has elected liberal politicians such as Al Franken and Walter Mondale. He told Californians that they live in the most entrepreneurial and innovative state in the country, and they must fight to keep it that way, arguing that only lower taxes and …

mfriedrich

4:28 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Personally, can do without the current Republican moralizing. It's a huge, worthless distraction, not to mention a waste of time. I much more prefer the Ron Paul approach to political conservativism: pro-business, pro rugged individualism, anti-government interventionism, sound monetary policy, prudent defense spending, dramatic reduction in foreign military interventions and an emphasis on …   more ›

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Update: Committee Warned for Election Violations in MacLean Recall

Citizens to Recall Lance MacLean violated state election laws, according to the commission on fair elections.

Updated: Connie Lee is interviewed in the fourth paragraph and below. Opponents of former mayor Lance MacLean violated two election laws and were officially warned by the California Fair Political Practices Commission in a letter dated Jan. 3. Citizens to Recall Lance MacLean failed to report the street addresses of people they paid to circulate their petitions, the FPPC said. One donor, Connie Lee, failed to fill out a major donor campaign statement after giving $12,053 to the recall. The commission let both offenders off with a warning. The letter says the CRLM did file the addresses of its street team in time for the Feb 2, 2010 recall election. A separate letter said Lee cooperated with investigators. Neither had prior violations. …

Dan Avery

12:03 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012

I'm seriously wondering if there is any redress the council can take on our behalf. Since there were violations, it's clear we didn't get a fair election. We were robbed of due process by this group. Seems like we should be able to sue in a civil court for something like that. I'm thinking the city could. Lance MacLean certainly could.   more ›

Monday, January 2, 2012

Fountain Valley Company's Kit-Cat Float Dazzles at Rose Parade

Iconic local clock manufacturer celebrates its 80th anniversary in Pasadena.

A towering Kit-Cat clock -- accompanied by professional skateboarders and dancers -- rolled down Colorado Boulevard on Monday to help Fountain Valley-based California Clock Co. celebrate its 80th birthday. The Rose Parade float was made almost entirely with American-grown flowers -- a rarity in modern Rose Parades. To read more about the float, click here.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

List of New California Laws for 2012

State cuts sharks a break in 2012. Among the other new laws are those applying to credit checks, tanning beds, child booster seats, caffeinated beer and sobriety checkpoints.

The state of California has many new laws for 2012. Among them, California students will be the first in the U.S. to receive mandatory classroom instruction about the contributions of gays and lesbians to the development of the United States. New laws applying to handguns, booster seats, cough medicine and employment credit checks are also in the mix of 2012 California laws. List of new California laws: Employment Credit Check Law With a few exceptions, the use of consumer credit reports by employers when hiring will now be prohibited. Sports Schools will now be required to remove from play a student athlete who sustains a possible concussion, and mandates that the player receive medical clearance before returning to competition. Sobriety …

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Bo Bo

7:41 am on Friday, April 20, 2012

southcountynative Glad we have a cents of humor..... Thanks for noticing.   more ›

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

California Budget Smackdown: Part 2

GOP politicos wrestle against letting voters decide Jerry Brown's tax plan and readers can try a do-it-yourself budget chopper.

In our previous episode, the Republican legislator tag team from Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margaritaville threw a couple of body slams against letting voters decide Jerry Brown's tax plan. The governor also tangled with the Incredible Shrinking Deficit, which unexpectedly shriveled from $15.5 billion to about $9.6 billion, thanks to rosier tax revenues, hurting Brown's case for temporary tax increases. But Brown insists a scaled-down version of his tax measure is still needed to restore school cuts and repair state finances for the long haul.  Republicans aren't buying it. Picking up where our last story left off, state Sen. Mimi Walters and Assemblyman Jeff Miller, who represent RSM and Mission Viejo, offer more rationales for not …

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Brian S.

5:50 pm on Saturday, July 2, 2011

who wants to cut taxes? just stop raising them and cut the damn spending already. we need to slash the size of our state government by roughly half. next, start trimming all the damn freebies. people such as yourself are either completely blind to the fact that the "leaders" in Sacramento think it's fine to give the keys to the kingdom to a bunch of lowly security, oops, prison guards (among …   more ›

Monday, May 16, 2011

Why Republicans Don't Want You Voting on Jerry Brown's Budget Plan

Although two polls say Californians would like the issue on the ballot, GOP legislators representing Mission Viejo and RSM explain their objections.

Updated Monday afternoon with information about Gov. Brown's revised budget and higher state tax revenues. To hear Jerry Brown tell it, Republicans are holding democracy hostage by refusing to let California voters decide for themselves whether to wipe out the state deficit with temporary tax hikes. Naturally, GOP legislators see things differently. For starters, they say voters should have a choice of anti-deficit ballot measures, including pension reform, a spending cap, even tax cuts. However, when asked if adding those other measures to the ballot would change their stance on putting Brown's plan to a popular vote, some backpedaled. What's the hangup with letting voters decide? Below are the top objections of local Republican …

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American Girl

4:56 pm on Saturday, May 21, 2011

Thank God there is a smart professor left!   more ›

Friday, March 25, 2011

With a June Tax Extension Measure Looking Less Likely, Schools Will Scramble to Balance Budgets

Capo prepares two budgets but focuses on the worst-case scenario.

With Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed June ballot measure to extend taxes looking less and less likely, the Capistrano Unified School District will have to plan next school year’s budget on its worst-case scenario, which means plugging a $24.8-million hole. “We’ve always been focused on the worst-case scenario,” said district spokesman Marcus Walton. Gov. Brown held a press conference Thursday, saying that budget cuts the Legislature approved last month and that he signed today only get him halfway to his goal of bridging a $26-billion budget gap. His original plan was to put a measure on a June 7 special-election ballot that would extend temporary tax increases on sales, motor and income taxes. His goal was to have Legislature approval by …

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Shripathi Kamath

12:49 pm on Friday, May 13, 2011

Yes, because I am told that the devil has his casa adobe in them. I am not taking sides with Brown or against Arnie, but I want to emphasize that no decision gets made in a vacuum. These are HARD problems, and deriding a septuagenarian with no political gains (he is not running for any other office after this) only because he is not Republican should take more consideration. Why are there so many…   more ›

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