Free Republic

Organizers of a union-backed initiative to limit dialysis provider profits in Ohio have submitted additional signatures that should get the measure on the Nov. 6 election ballot. . . . . The Ohio initiative is similar in intent to one that is set for the November ballot in California. Both proposals, backed by the SEIU, call for limiting profits of dialysis providers to no more than 115% of their costs for patient care. Additional profits would be returned, in the form of rebates, by the dialysis providers to commercial health plans who have patients being treated in dialysis clinics.

Perry Lutz says his struggle to survive as a small businessman became a lot harder after California voters reduced theft penalties 1½ years ago. About a half-dozen times this year, shoplifters have stolen expensive drones or another of the remote-controlled toys he sells in HobbyTown USA, a small shop in Rocklin, northeast of Sacramento. "It's just pretty much open season," Lutz said. "They'll pick the $800 unit and just grab it and run out the door." Anything below $950 keeps the crime a misdemeanor — and likely means the thieves face no pursuit and no punishment, say retailers and law...

Here’s a message to gay America as voters in North Carolina go to the polls today to decide the fate of Amendment 1, a ballot measure that would define marriage as between one man and one woman in the Tarheel State’s constitution: Don’t attack those who vote for the measure as “gay haters.” I voted for a similar measure in my state. And it was not because of any animus I have toward gays – some of whom I count as valued friends, some as respected colleagues and some as beloved members of my very own family. I simply believe...

SACRAMENTO—Five of the six budget-related measures on California's May 19 special election ballot are trailing, particularly among voters who say they're closely following election news, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Thursday. "The voters who are really tuned in are really turned off," said Mark Baldassare, president and chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based research organization. "They see the state's budget situation as a big problem, but so far they don't like the solution." The six propositions, put on the ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers, are an attempt to deal with the state's...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Since Arizona’s local law enforcement began enforcing illegal immigration laws and an employer sanctions law went into effect, illegal immigrants have been fleeing the state in large numbers. The effects have been far-ranging. Commuters are reporting fewer vehicles on the freeways, shortening their rush-hour commutes. What had become a serious transportation problem in Arizona is losing its urgency. English Learner Language (ELL) students started dropping out of school. This helped end a confrontation between the state legislature and a liberal federal judge who had ordered the state to spend more money on ELL classes. Fewer illegal immigrants are using hospital...

Karen Bass, the speaker-elect of the state Assembly, gathered checks last month from big contributors at The Kitchen, the exclusive Sacramento eatery. The price of admission was $5,000, well above the $3,600 cap on direct donations she can receive in her re-election account. But Bass, like a growing number of the state's leaders, wasn't collecting funds for her re-election. Instead, the money went to a ballot measure committee she controls. Despite a 2000 law meant to curb the size of checks California politicians could collect from deep-pocketed interest groups, many lawmakers are skirting those limits by soliciting funds for ballot...

".....Voters also turned down a proposal to require parental notification when girls ages 15 to 17 seek abortions. And they decided against reviving limits on the terms of state representatives and senators....Measure 43, which would require abortion providers to give 48 hours' notice to parents of many minors, lost by about 8 percentage points. Polling in September showed the measure winning easily, but No on 43 spokeswoman Nancy Bennett said the more voters learned about the proposal, the less they liked it. She said results showed Oregonians don't like the government getting involved in intimate family decisions. "They were very...

Tax and spend liberals plan to put multiple measures before California voters in 2006 to increase taxes on specific groups in order to support increased spending in specific areas. However, evidence is mounting that revenues from such taxes often do not reach their intended targets. Read More... Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~2713534,00.html Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Article Published: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 8:28:22 PM PST 'Save Our License' may face state probe By SARA A. CARTER, STAFF WRITER The Secretary of State's Political Reform Division has ordered Save Our License, a group opposed to driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, to refile all its committee documents and submit all its campaign finance data. Meanwhile, a group representing Latino and church groups across the nation this week filed a formal complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, saying Save Our License willfully violated campaign finance laws. The state order and FPPC...

udolph W. Giuliani is lending his clout to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's campaign to ban party primaries, appearing in a mailing that the mayor is sending out urging voters to support the ballot measure.Mr. Giuliani was Mr. Bloomberg's not-so-secret weapon during the 2001 mayoral campaign, and now, as the effort to abolish party primaries enters its final days, he is being rolled out once again to try to sway another tough election.It is hardly surprising that Mr. Giuliani favors nonpartisan elections: he called for the change as mayor, and two of his charter revision commissions studied the idea, but...