 Democratic shift in 30 AD. From The Capital Report;
District 30, the perennial battleground that Republicans have their sights on this year as Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra completes her last term, also shows recent gains for Democrats. Since the February election cutoff, Democratic registration has jumped .6 percent while GOP registration has declined .5 percent. Democrat Fran Florez faces Republican Danny Gilmore, who lost a race in the district in 2006.
Florez Bill would establish fish hatchery for smelt. If we want more delta smelt, a finger-length minnow at the center of California’s latest water crisis, why don’t we just grow more, asked State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
Governor wants to improve Delta conditions
Agencies' pump proposal irks Kern water officials
He plans to introduce a bill to that effect on Monday.
His bill, SB 994, would establish a fish hatchery in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta to grow smelt on a scale that would increase the population enough to take them out of the “threatened” category under Endangered Species laws.
He said he came up with the idea when he and a couple of farmers were sitting around talking about the water crisis.
“It’s just a common sense deal,” Florez said.
Brent Walthall, assistant general manager of the Kern County Water Agency, called the bill a “very good first step.”
Tom McClintock living on Tax Payers Dime!. CA-04: Mr. Limited Government
This is going to leave a mark.
Tom McClintock, California's Alan Keyes, is supposed to be this rock-ribbed conservative who never voted for a budget and who rails against "wasteful spending." I guess it's OK if it's McClintock doing the wasting.
State Sen. Tom McClintock, a fierce critic of government spending, has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax-free per diem payments from the state that are meant to help legislators who, unlike McClintock, live far from the capital.
The Republican lawmaker said he is entitled to the $170-a-day payments because his legal residence is a family home in his Senate district of Thousand Oaks, where he is registered to vote.
McClintock and his family live year-round in Elk Grove, 14 miles from the state Capitol. He moved to the Sacramento suburb in 1996, when he was elected to the state Assembly, and he bought a five-bedroom, 4,090-square-foot home in 2004. His children attend Elk Grove schools and his wife works at a Baptist church there.
The intent of the payments is to help defray the living costs of lawmakers attending the eight-month legislative session far from their homes.
Legal experts say McClintock is taking advantage of a loophole that gives him a right to the tax-free payments even though he lives near the Capitol.
"This certainly strikes me as an example of the abuse of the per diem system," said Derek Cressman, government watchdog director for California Common Cause.
Honestly, this is going to KILL McClintock. His entire rationale is as a critic of government spending. For him to show hypocrisy on this issue undermines his entire argument. Nobody is more at risk on something like this than he is. Not to mention the fact that this kind of looks like he's been carpetbagging in his own district all along, when in fact he's a creature of the capital.
We're talking about $306,000 in TAX-FREE per diem money over the last eight years, on top of his $116,000 annual salary. Whaddya know - Tom McClintock is a welfare recipient. Charlie Brown's campaign wasted no time capitalizing on this.
"For 30 years, Tom McClintock has railed against government spending while living well at taxpayer expense," said Todd Stenhouse, a spokesman for Democratic congressional candidate Charlie Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.
McClintock's spin, that he's "entitled" to the money to help defray the cost of a second home, isn't going to fly. Tom McClintock arguing for an entitlement?
Parra, Ashburn lead list of most expensive gifts. Parra's travel to South Africa, Ashburn's to Taiwan among the most expensive.
SACRAMENTO -- Central San Joaquin Valley state lawmakers last year collected more than $33,000 in gifts -- from pro sports tickets to overseas trips -- from corporations and interest groups, according to recent filings.
Assembly Member Nicole Parra had the biggest haul by far. The Hanford Democrat reported 65 gifts with a total value of $20,122. That includes $14,998 for a trip to South Africa underwritten by a nonprofit group that gets money from energy companies.
Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, was next with $4,375 , including $3,485 for a trip to Taiwan sponsored by the country's ministry of foreign affairs.
The gifts and trip reimbursements are perfectly legal and detailed on annual filings made with the Fair Political Practices Commission.
But good government advocates say some of the gifts raise eyebrows.
Fran Florez announces run for 30 Assembly District. 
Florez is best known as a Shafter city councilwoman and mother of State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
In the press release announcing her candidacy, Florez pointed out that she was her family’s top public official first. She was on the Shafter council when Florez first ran for the Assembly.
Florez has also been a member, and has served as chairwoman, of the California High Speed Rail Authority. She also cited her role as past president of Shafter Chamber of Commerce and the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
She also pointed to active membership in the Shafter Community Development Agency, California League of Cities, Kern Association of Cities, Kern Council of Governments, Bakersfield College Foundation and Bakersfield Adult School.
Fran Florez is expected to face Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford, in the race this fall.
|
