Flash Report

• Rest In Peace, KTLA News

  Any of our readers who grew up in the Los Angeles basin were used to the superior television news reporting from KTLA Channel 5. How many years did we all watch the team of Hal Fishman at the desk, and Stan Chambers in the field, bring us all of the… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 8:33pm EDT
  

• FR Welcomes Mindy Fletcher to our Blog Team!

  I am very pleased to share with FR readers that Mindy Fletcher has joined the FlashReport team as a new statewide correspondent for our site. For those of you who do not know Mindy, she has a long history as a professional and an activist with the R… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 4:32pm EDT
  

• A Woman President

  No one in Great Britain would question whether a woman could be President. Point to Margaret Thatcher - the "Iron Lady" and ask if a woman can be the leader of a country. However, in America we are immersed in this debate. This debate… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 4:10pm EDT
  

• Day 3 From Downtown San Diego

  It's 'raining' ash downtown today. It leaves a disgusting film on you if you are outside for any period of time. Tourists, language students, and the homeless own the streets. The homeless have actually gotten particularly aggresive... maybe becaus… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 2:15pm EDT
  

• Target stores zeroing-in on signature gatherers

  In a recent court filing that does not bode well for the initiative process and "expressive rights" in California, Target Stores is picking on an individual signature gatherer to obtain a court order against any such activity at Target S… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 10:36am EDT
  

• WSJ's Fund on Reid, Garamendi and the Fires

  From today's WSJ Political Diary E-mail: Flaming... Politics famously no longer stops at the water's edge. It also apparently no longer pauses to let victims cope with the immediate effects of a natural disaster. Speaking to reporters yesterda… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 9:29am EDT
  

• Commentary: Today's Commentary: A Tragic Situation

  Normally in this space we would have today's political commentary. And there is plenty going on in the news on which to comment -- a new redistricting proposal (that excludes redrawing U.S. House lines), the growing food fight between Speaker Fabian… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 8:25am EDT
  

• A Tragic Situation

  Normally in this space we would have today's political commentary. And there is plenty going on in the news on which to comment -- a new redistricting proposal (that excludes redrawing U.S. House lines), the growing food fight between Speaker Fabian… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2007, 8:25am EDT
  

• Jim "Shecky" Brulte Roasts the Governor

  With all the trauma and loss in southern California because of the wildfires - I thought a little levity might help lighten things up. (no disrespect intended to those that have had their lives impacted by this tragedy) And when you're looking for … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 6:45pm EDT
  

• Ghost Town Downtown

  As Duane Dichiara has noted in his posts below, downtown San Diego has been uniquely quiet the last two days. Although not threatened by fire, many of the folks who would typically drive in from other areas of the county are dealing with more signif… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 6:30pm EDT
  

• Staggering Numbers

  The number of people under mandatory evacuation in San Diego is now equivalent to Nebraska's entire population.... 10-23-07 11:21 a.m. Overall evacuation update. A total of 349,915 Reverse 9-1-1 and AlertSanDiego phone calls have been issued betwee… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 12:15pm EDT
  

• Pete Stark Apologizes for Outrageous Comments

  Doing his best to prove there is a God, mean-spirited extremist Congressman Pete Stark took to the House floor today to stop the bleeding for House democrats by apologizing to his colleagues, the President and the troops. In his own words "I h… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 11:03am EDT
  

• From the Mayor...

  San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is encouraging residents and business owners to donate the following items in support of fire evacuation relief efforts at Qualcomm Stadium: prepared foods, packaged snacks, water, tents, cots and blankets. All donatio… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 10:32am EDT
  

• Another Morning Downtown

  The freeways on the way downtown were wide open, at rush hour. From what I can tell downtown is largely shut down. Tourists and the homeless are just about the only people in the street. City buses and the trolly are stopping and no one is getting ou… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 10:12am EDT
  

• Two bozos in Paso Robles trumped by one Congressman

  Some bozo in Paso Robles complained that there was a collage of photos on the wall of the local post office displaying photos of local folks deployed in the military oversees. Some even bigger bozo at the U.S. Postal Service, in response to bozo #1 … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 9:32am EDT
  

• WSJ's Fund - The Ballot War for California

  Today's Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail has a California item: (two if you count the Quote of the Day below it): The Ballot War for California The race to put a controversial measure on California's ballot that would end the state's… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 9:24am EDT
  

• San Diego County Update

  WITCH FIRE: The latest update from CALFIRE reports the fire is now 145,000 acres and zero percent contained. The cause is under investigation. 600 structures have been destroyed (500 residences, 50 outbuildings, 100 commercial properties) 300 … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 8:46am EDT
  

• Today's Commentary: Guest Commentary: Diana Ernst - Tax Hikes Will Not Fix California Health Care

  *Today we ask all FR readers to take a moment and keep all of this immediately impacted by the expansive southland wildfires in their thoughts and prayers...* We are pleased to present this outstanding commentary from Diana Ernst with the Pacific R… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 7:42am EDT
  

• DISASTER UPDATE: State Law, County Assessors Can Assist Fire Victims

  Although, at least at this point in time, it may amount to little comfort to those who have suffered severe damage or losses to their property, there is a provision in state tax code to assist property owners who have incurred losses as a result of a… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 11:39pm EDT
  

• Great Job, Congressman Hunter!

  My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you affected by the horrific fires today. I can't turn the news off. Each time they mention another area ablaze, I can think of several of you that I know personally who live in those neighbors, and I'm really… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2007, 9:32pm EDT
  

• Picture of the Week

  It's our own Tab Berg and Steve Maviglio, Deputy Chief of Staff to Fabian Nunez. Perhaps Tab will let us know how this photo came to be! [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 7:55pm EDT
  

• Electoral College Reform Initiative Back On Track -- With New Team In Place

  Those liberal "wishful thinkers" out there who were quick to pronounce the proposed ballot measure to change the method of allocation of California Presidential Electors to a By-Congressional-District method will not be pleased with this ne… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 5:04pm EDT
  

• Reporting In From San Diego

  Large segments of Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Escondido, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe, and Solano Beach have been evacuated. Maybe more. Some 250,000 (you read that right) people are on the move. My prediction is this number is going to grow. Power outage… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 2:32pm EDT
  

• Get a Clue

  To the San Diego-based Republican organization that sent out its electronic newsletter this morning...get a clue. As much as some folks would like to think that the world revolves around politics 100% of the time, there are more than a few people in… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 12:25pm EDT
  

• A Quiet Downtown Monday

  As I sit in my San Diego office this morning I look out over the normally busy intersection of Broadway and 5th. Today I see two people. The cars are usually jammed the length of Broadway. Today you could walk across the street without getting one ho… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 11:49am EDT
  

• She's for Rudy, He's for Mitt

  My friend Justin Sayfie runs the Sayfie Review Website on Florida Politics, over in the Sunshine State. (Our sites may look similar as we use the same development firm out of Orlando). Justin also has recently launched Sayfie News, a website focusi… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 10:08am EDT
  

• Today's Commentary: Keep firefighters in your thoughts and prayers...

  Instead of a traditional commentary this morning, we want to use this space to ask FR readers to keep firefighters and other first-responders in their prayers as they are battling the staggering amount of wildfires throughout Southern California. A… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2007, 8:28am EDT
  

• Sunday San Diego...CD 52 Update: You Can't Plan to Win, If You Don't Do the Spin

  Which of the four currently-announced GOP candidates is leading the money race in the open Duncan Hunter seat? Well, that depends on the author of the respective press release. Check out three of the contenders' excerpted samplings from the last we… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 21, 2007, 9:05am EDT
  

• Today's Commentary: Dean Ken Starr Sets His Sights On Wine Deregulation

  Last Sunday I was delighted to fly to San Francisco and meet with Pepperdine Law School Dean, former Solicitor General of the United States, and Independent Counsel investigator of President Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, to talk about.....wine deregulatio… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 21, 2007, 8:34am EDT
  

• Republicans Pick up Louisiana Governorship

  Congressman Bobby Jindal has become America's first Indian-American Governor tonight, replacing the pathetic Democrat Kathleen Blanco whose disastrous handling of Katrina forced her to not seek re-election. Jindal won with over 50% of the vote to av… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 21, 2007, 9:45pm EDT
  

• Tom McClintock's Speech at Western CPAC

  It's days like today when FlashReport readers can be pleased that our good friend Tom McClintock has given the FR carte blanche to publish his writings here on this site. Well, if you weren't able to attend the Western Conservative Political Action … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 20, 2007, 8:38am EDT
  

• Commentary: Newt has a lot of good ideas, but his seeking the Presidency was not one of them...

  This morning, I was reading a column from my good friend, Debra Saunders who expresses why she is pleased that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has decided NOT to seek the Presidency. I think that Debra is the only Republican columnist for that le… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 30, 2007, 10:14am EDT
  

• Today's Commentary: Newt has a lot of good ideas, but his seeking the Presidency was not one of them...

  This morning, I was reading a column from my good friend, Debra Saunders who expresses why she is pleased that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has decided NOT to seek the Presidency. I think that Debra is the only Republican columnist for that le… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 30, 2007, 10:14am EDT
  

• Sunday San Diego...A Unanimous Escondido, Rose Bird Revisited, Prop 22 Recap and More

  Fletcher Scores Entire Escondido City Council... In what may be the first time the mayor and councilmembers have ever agreed on anything, the Escondido five have all endorsed Nathan Fletcher in George Plescia's term-limited 75th A.D. seat. Ok, tha… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 30, 2007, 9:00am EDT
  

• RivCo's Most Wanted

  Over the years, I've always tried to take advantage of, and use, the best technology available not only to win elections but to serve my constituents. I know websites are passe now - everybody's got one (I have five different ones I run), but my sta… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 29, 2007, 3:20pm EDT
  

• Presidential Reform Act DOA - Good

  The Presidential Election Reform Act of 2008 is dead, and good riddance. I don't support any effort to change the Electoral College and the way Electors are chosen, even if it gives my side an advantage. Every "Blue" State has a valid com… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 29, 2007, 8:28am EDT
  

• Commentary: Today's Commentary: Passing Thoughts On A Quiet Saturday...

  Here are a few passing thoughts for a quiet Saturday... Former State Senator and FR friend Ross Johnson is Chairman of the State's Fair Political Practices Commission. He is opposed moving to electronic-filing only for required FPPC filings … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 29, 2007, 12:01am EDT
  

• Passing Thoughts On A Quiet Saturday...

  Here are a few passing thoughts for a quiet Saturday... Former State Senator and FR friend Ross Johnson is Chairman of the State's Fair Political Practices Commission. He is opposed moving to electronic-filing only for required FPPC filings … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 29, 2007, 12:01am EDT
  

• Forward thinking Initiative could have affected Presidential election

  It's too bad that the initiative to change the apportionment of California electoral college votes in the Presidential election unfortunately has not been able to get off the ground. The leaders of the effort, including mega-consultant Marty Wils… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 28, 2007, 9:00am EDT
  

• Hands Across the Border

  "I have been against the fence, I thought it's a bad idea even when it was just a matter of discussion," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "These are communities where you have a border going through them, they are not communit… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 28, 2007, 8:52am EDT
  

• Commentary: Guest Commentary: Jon Coupal - Our Tax Dollars Turned Against Us

  What could possibly be more egregious than a government entity using taxpayer dollars to lobby to increase taxes on those taxpayers? It happens. FR friend Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, tells the story in today's … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 28, 2007, 7:58am EDT
  

• Guest Commentary: Jon Coupal - Our Tax Dollars Turned Against Us

  What could possibly be more egregious than a government entity using taxpayer dollars to lobby to increase taxes on those taxpayers? It happens. FR friend Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, tells the story in today's … [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 28, 2007, 7:58am EDT
  

• Audra Strickland: A State Bureaucrat's License to Lie

  We received this commentary from Assemblywoman Audra Strickland... A State Bureaucrat?s License to Lie ?Truth in Government? measure on Governor?s desk would penalize Department Heads up to $20,000 for knowingly lying Today, State bureaucrats are no… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 28, 2007, 9:11pm EDT
  

• Doolittle, Staff Hit With Subpeonas for Docs

  Do you still have your tax return from 1998? How about your calendar? I don't. Well, Congressman John Doolittle and his staff have been hit by federal investigators with subpeonas with requests for documents going back eleven years... [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 4:12pm EDT
  

• Unsolicited Advice for GOP Candidates in the 15th Assembly District

  A lot of folks know that I live a few blocks from the border between my own 18th AD and the 15th, and I?m frequently asked/pestered about why I?m not blogging on the race?so I?m coming clean. I?m bored out of my mind. I see all the press releases… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 2:02pm EDT
  

• No Medal of Honor Here

  Xavier Alvarez, a member of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District has been charged with...publicly saying he was a Medal of Honor Winner when he wasn't even in the military. Oops. See Xavier, most Medal of Honor winners don't get it while alive.… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 1:15pm EDT
  

• GOP Assembly Members oppose AJR 29

  A few weeks ago, I wrote about AJR 29 a joint resolution that asked for passage of a federal "hate" crimes bill that usurped local control and made specially created classes of victims. Only two GOP lawmakers voted no. (Anderson, Hollingswo… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 12:52pm EDT
  

• Commentary: Congress feasts on a diet of pork. Transparency, while a good step, is a side-step to the real issue...

  Imagine a place where bank robbery is not a crime. Where people can walk up to teller windows and take money to spend on any outrageous, egregious thing that they want, and no one stops them. That's the problem that we have with egregious pork barr… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 3:40am EDT
  

• Today's Commentary: Congress feasts on a diet of pork. Transparency, while a good step, is a side-step to the real issue...

  Imagine a place where bank robbery is not a crime. Where people can walk up to teller windows and take money to spend on any outrageous, egregious thing that they want, and no one stops them. That's the problem that we have with egregious pork barr… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 27, 2007, 3:40am EDT
  

• 2008 Presidential Campaign Update: Giuliani Sacks His Deputy Campaign Manager

  Earlier today the following was reported on Red County/ San Bernardino: Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's Deputy Campaign Manager for Fundraising is dun. Breaking news reported by the New York Daily News confirms that former New Yor… [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 26, 2007, 5:37pm EDT