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SACRAMENTO - Pacific Ethanol was still a fledgling business in 2005 when its founder, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, persuaded state officials to give him the small but exclusive fuel deal that established his company as a player in California's burgeoning alternative fuel market. Two years later, that company is an ethanol empire. And Jones is the fuel's most influential champion in the state, using his political connections and 21 years of Sacramento experience to shape policies that are dramatically boosting California's thirst for ethanol - stemming the state's dependence on gasoline, but at a cost of millions in...

The Farce About Ethanol...By State Senator Tom McClintock In response to my blog, "Ethanol Economics," Former Secretary of State Bill Jones (now Chairman of Pacific Ethanol), made five key points in his piece, "The Facts About Ethanol."  Just for fun, let's run "The Facts About Ethanol" through the old fact-checker: "Today, ethanol is about 65 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline in the California market." That's only after taxpayers and consumers have kicked in a subsidy of $1.50 per gallon - or $7 billion a year paid into the pockets of ethanol producers to hide the staggering price of ethanol...

Some of the world's wealthiest are going green, spending their own greenbacks to protect the environment and fight global warming. In honor of the 37th annual Earth Day this Sunday, we are highlighting our picks for the 11 greenest billionaires. These moguls have made significant commitments to the environment, whether through investment in technology, commitment to earth-friendly living or simply by raising the world's environmental awareness. Among the green billionaires are high-profile folks like Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT) co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Gates' investment firm invested $84 million in California's Pacific Ethanol (nasdaq: PEIX), which makes ethanol from corn;...

SAN FRANCISCO — Policy experts pondering California's future governance Friday heard two voices from the past — former Gov. Gray Davis and former Secretary of State Bill Jones — offering cautionary advice. Davis spoke on "Public Sentiment, Ethics and the Law" at the Commonwealth Club of California's reform conference, titled "If It's Broke Fix It! Making California Government Work For Californians." "All reform comes from the people of this state," Davis said, and "not all reforms work out." As an example, he cited electricity deregulation, which he called "probably the single most colossal mistake" in recent California history. "And no...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) - A Republican activist has acknowledged sending hundreds of bogus letters to the editorial pages of San Francisco Bay area newspapers over the past decade, many of which were published. Editors at the newspapers involved said Monday that they would intensify efforts to verify that letters to the editor are actually sent by the people who write them. However, technological advances have made bogus letters increasingly difficult to screen out, they said. "It's important to verify the authenticity of the letters we receive," San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz told The Associated Press. "It's...

Ethanol — once the enemy in the state’s war on air pollution — is today’s action hero in the state’s battle to keep gasoline cheap for California motorists. Faced with a tight oil supply and rising gasoline prices, the Schwarzenegger administration has surrendered and is no longer pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to waive a federal requirement to use the corn-based alcohol as a gasoline additive. Instead, the administration is embracing ethanol, according to observers, even though a state report shows that the federal rule requiring a minimum of 5.9 percent ethanol in California gasoline increases emissions. The California Air...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Former Secretary of State Bill Jones has been named chairman of the board of Pacific Ethanol, a company he founded in 2003, the company announced Thursday. Jones, a Republican, served as Pacific Ethanol's chairman until March 2004, when he stepped down to mount an unsuccessful challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Jones lost the Senate race to Boxer by 20 percentage points. "I am grateful to be back as chairman of Pacific Ethanol," Jones said in a statement. "I believe that California is headed toward a transportation fuel supply crisis that could make the electricity crisis...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans said last year's gubernatorial recall proved the GOP could win statewide in California. But the first Republican since Arnold Schwarzenegger to try is falling flat on his face. Even though he has Schwarzenegger's endorsement, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones appears headed for a big loss in his challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. He may end the race without raising enough money to air a single television ad. Jones' surprisingly weak challenge may undercut GOP claims that the gubernatorial recall remade California politics, analysts said. Schwarzenegger or no, the state GOP remains a struggling...

Why Barbara Boxer Would Crush Bill Jones When I first heard that Bill Jones was running with the endorsement of the CAGOP establishment, I had the same reaction as most of you probably did. I remembered his feckless support for McCain, his critical vote in raising taxes for Pete Wilson, that he is a farmer, pro-life, and seemingly a nice guy. That's it. It was enough to get me to support Kaloogian instead. Well, unfortunately, my common understandign was not the whole story. The tipping point came with Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement. It was curious that Arnold chose to support Bill...

Pasadena Star-News Put Bill Jones to work for us Monday, October 25, 2004 - FORMER two-term Secretary of State Bill Jones won't address problems now facing the nonpartisan office he once led. He feels criticism of his successor so close to an election might shake voters' faith in the process and keep them away from the polls. That kind of constituent concern marks Jones as the right choice to represent Californians in the U.S. Senate. Loyalty to the people of California places Jones head and shoulders above two-term incumbent Barbara Boxer, a Democratic ideologue whose adherence to the liberal...

SACRAMENTO -- U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones on Saturday urged Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to resign after federal election officials charged he has let California fall behind in addressing new mandates. Jones, a Republican and former secretary of state, said a warning from the chairman of the nation's election oversight commission that the state could lose out on $170 million due to mismanagement was "the last straw." "He needs to look at that and recognize the crisis of confidence that's there," Jones told The Associated Press. "They're saying if you certify it or not, we don't trust you."

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones has been unable to come up with the $2 million he had promised to spend on his campaign, a top aide said Wednesday, dimming the chances that his cash-strapped campaign will launch a single television ad before the Nov. 2 election. Jones' senior strategist, Sean Walsh, said the campaign needs a major infusion of cash, but that Jones "has not been able to successfully liquidate his assets to put into the campaign." "Without a significant contribution from the candidate, it will be very difficult to put any meaningful advertising on television," Walsh said. Even if...

U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones has been unable to come up with the $2 million he had promised to spend on his campaign, a top aide said Wednesday, dimming the chances that his cash-strapped campaign will launch a single television ad before the Nov. 2 election. Jones' senior strategist, Sean Walsh, said the campaign needs a major infusion of cash, but that Jones "has not been able to successfully liquidate his assets to put into the campaign." "Without a significant contribution from the candidate, it will be very difficult to put any meaningful advertising on television," Walsh said. Even if...

BEVERLY HILLS -- U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who is lagging by a wide margin in the latest polls, got some campaign help Sunday from Sen. John McCain, who he endorsed over President Bush in 2000. McCain, who headlined two fund-raisers for Jones in July, stumped for his friend Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in the race against two-time Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. McCain was flanked by members of the California Veterans Political Action Committee and the California Republican Veterans of America, which both announced their endorsements of Jones. His campaign hoped to raise about $30,000 from Sunday's dinner....

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer was ready to put up a fight. She amassed millions of dollars for her bid for a third term and prepared to defend a voting record that is ranked among the U.S. Senate's most liberal by turning her attention heavily to homeland security issues. But the battle never came. As veteran Democratic consultant Joe Cerrell puts it, she is "just running under the right alignment of the stars." Boxer's opponent, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, has failed to mount a serious challenge and national Republicans have all but abandoned California as a battleground.

Boxer's opponent still unable to run campaign ads on TV By Erica Werner ASSOCIATED PRESS October 16, 2004 WASHINGTON – Sen. Barbara Boxer has raised $16 million for her campaign for a third Senate term, compared with $6.2 million for Republican opponent Bill Jones, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. AdvertisementThe Federal Election Commission reports show Boxer, D-Calif., who has begun to spend heavily on television ads, with $1.4 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30. Jones had $838,000. Though he has been trailing in polls, Jones managed to raise more money than Boxer during the most recent...

-- Republicans Likely to Pick Up Senate Seats by John Gizzi Posted Oct 15, 2004 With two weeks to go before voters go to the polls in 34 states to choose U.S. senators, prospects are good the Republicans will make a net gain of 3 seats. Such a gain would increase their Senate majority from the current 51 to 49 (when Independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont is counted with the Democrats) to 54 to 46. The Republicans appear poised to pick up seats in five states where Democratic incumbents are retiring--Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina But...

Jones told me that Kevin Shelley's office has run out of voter registrations cards. He didn't print enough. Shelley's office has been offering registration cards with Bill Jones' name printed on them.

US Senate candidate urges Mexico reforms Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A candidate for the U.S. Senate Monday called on Mexico to improve its economy and, therefore, reduce illegal immigration to the United States. Republican Bill Jones, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer for one of California's two Senate seats, said Mexico needed to improve its education, reduce corruption and improve its investment climate in order to create more jobs for Mexican citizens who currently look to the United States for their futures. In remarks to the California Narcotics Officers' Association, Jones said labor and energy costs...

Editorial: Jones for U.S. Senate In more than two decades of public service, Republican Bill Jones of Fresno has been a strong advocate for the San Joaquin Valley, and we think he will represent the region well if he's elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 2. Electing someone who understands the entire state is a crucial consideration for those of us in the Valley who have been severely under-represented by state elected officials who cater to the needs of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

As the final month of the campaign begins, California voters are uninterested in and uninformed about one of the top races on the Nov. 2 ballot, according to a statewide Field Poll released Wednesday. --snip-- "In the entire 25 years that I've been with the Field Poll, I've not seen the kind of disengagement with a U.S. Senate campaign that we've seen in this cycle, and it's certainly benefiting Boxer," he said. --snip-- The matchup has failed to generate serious attention from the media, which campaign advisers blame for the dearth of public interest. But DiCamillo said the absence of...

FRESNO — There was no way to anticipate it at the time, but Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones owes his political career to a black student radical with the tongue-twisting name of Bill Riddlesprigger. It was 1970, and Jones, conservative son of a Central Valley rancher, had just been elected president of the Cal State Fresno student government. In his long-sleeved sweater with the cuffs folded back an inch, Jones had the anachronistic look of a Four Freshmen Republican in a Jimi Hendrix world, puffing on a pipe while many in his generation smoldered with rage. There was a...

Boxer & Jones Agree to 3 Statewide Debates Debates to be held before Election Day sponsored by the California Broadcasters Association; the Commonwealth Club of California; and a group of ABC affiliate stations throughout California.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 End game Posted: September 29, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Hugh Hewitt © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com With 34 days left before the election, the campaigns for the United States Senate around the country are making their final ad buys and preparing for their last mail drops. The GOP stands in pretty good shape, but needs a strong close in nine states to make a huge difference in the United States Supreme Court battles of next summer. If John Thune, Richard Burr, Pete Coors, Tom Coburn, Bill Jones, George Nethercutt, Mel Martinez and Jim DeMint join Lisa Murkowski in the...

CAMPAIGN 2004 Boxer says U.S. less secure, ties Jones to Bush policies John WildermuthCHRONICLE POLITICAL WRITER Four years of George W. Bush as president, marked by a full-scale war in Iraq, have left the country in a more dangerous position than it was before the president began his war on terror, Sen. Barbara Boxer said Friday. "We're not more secure,'' she told The Chronicle's editorial board. "On the Hill (in Washington, D.C.), I see bunker after bunker, checkpoint after checkpoint, and it breaks my heart.'' Boxer, a two-term Democrat running for re-election, voted in October 2002 against authorizing Bush to...

~snip~ Mr. Gamble also says that the governor's election was a fluke and a one-time occasion. The governor's victory was overwhelming and he still has approval ratings over 70 percent. Mr. Gamble goes on to state that Boxer is in the mainstream of voters in California. Californians disagree. Boxer's inability to put California's safety before partisan politics has given her some of the worst approval ratings of any incumbent in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Gamble, take a look at the facts. California voters support our troops in Iraq, even if they disagree with the war. Californians do not want a...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who polls show is unrecognized by many Californians, received an endorsement Thursday from one of the Republican Party's best-known faces, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Jones said he was thrilled to have the support of a high-profile politician whose endorsement could help make a difference in November's election. Giuliani spoke on behalf of Jones at the Santa Monica Airport during the first stop in a two-day campaign tour across California. He appeared Thursday before a crowd of about 25 members from the University of Southern California's College Republican...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - It seemed pretty logical to reporters who received an e-mail from Bill Jones's U.S. Senate campaign, inviting them to cover a Beverly Hills fund-raiser featuring Jones's star political patron, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that the campaign actually meant it. After all, Jones's strongest - and at times it seems, only - argument for ousting Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is that Schwarzenegger has endorsed him, and that to truly carry out the spirit of last year's recall election, Californians should send a committed Schwarzenegger partner to Washington. A huge photo of Schwarzenegger graces Jones' campaign Web site, and...

There's an important political race going on in California that will affect how residents are represented in Washington for the next six years. The problem is that the challenger trying to unseat the state's more liberal senator, Barbara Boxer, is running a top-secret, stealth campaign. Nobody has heard anything about it. And, apparently, that's the way former California Secretary of State Bill Jones likes it. The election is less than 45 days away, and the Senate race is still California's biggest secret; no one knows anything about it. Talk about Republican incompetence -- this issue takes the prize. Here we...

This flyer would be a good one to pass out to conservative Christians that might not be inclined to vote, either from apathy or overconfidence. This could be distributed in church parking lots on Wednesday nights (you should probably get permission). We will adding a web page for this flyer shortly. Any Suggestions? Anybody have any stories to tell about your experience passing our our flyers? Supreme Court

Bill Jones strode to the podium at the Republican National Convention last week and, in a speech that lasted two minutes, took a telling verbal detour. Whereas fellow Republican Senate candidates delivered tag-team endorsements of President Bush, Jones mentioned the head of the Republican ticket only once, almost as an afterthought, while praising a certain former movie actor three times. "The California dream is alive and well with Arnold Schwarzenegger as our new governor," Jones said during the convention's opening hours, his voice echoing through New York City's mostly empty Madison Square Garden. "With his dynamic leadership, and that of...

Republicans have settled on Senate nominees in four states since our last roundup. Candidates in Georgia and Oklahoma avoided runoffs, a beer man in Colorado received his party's nod, and a carpetbagger descended on Illinois. The next important GOP decision comes in Florida, where a crowded field of senatorial wannabes is winnowing down to a two-man race. Herewith, a review of this year's hottest Senate races: ALASKA: Expect Republican senator Lisa Murkowski to blow by former state senator Mike Miller in the GOP primary on August 24. Then she'll move on to face former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the...

Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer... and her Republican challenger, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, will hold their first debate tonight in Los Angeles. The one-hour debate at the Museum of Tolerance, spoonsored by the League of Women Voters, will be boadcast live... at 6... on C-SPAN 2.

BILL JONES AND BARBARA BOXER IN FIRST TELEVISED DEBATE Los Angeles – The League of Women Voters of California, along with KNBC (Los Angeles) and KNTV (San Francisco) will televise the first Senatorial debate between former California Secretary of State Bill Jones and Senator Barbara Boxer on Tuesday, August 10, from 6-7 p.m. PDT. The debate will be broadcast in California on NBC affiliate stations. It will also be broadcast live on NPR radio stations and CSPAN 2. WHO: Bill Jones and Barbara Boxer WHAT: League of Women Voters of California Senatorial Debate WHEN: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 6-7 p.m....

Although U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer's double-digit lead has dipped slightly, Republican challenger Bill Jones has failed to make a significant impression on voters after five months of campaigning for the Nov. 2 election, according to a new statewide Field Poll. Half of likely voters said they have no opinion of former Secretary of State Jones, despite his recent appearances with Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The Democratic senator leads Jones among likely voters by 50 percent to 33 percent, according to the survey. Seventeen percent said they support another candidate or were undecided. "The reason Boxer...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney met both support and opposition during a California trip aimed at rallying for Republican congressional candidates. At a Riverside hotel Tuesday, Cheney cheered on U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer. He said Jones was in lockstep with President Bush on issues of national security, the economy and tax reform, and portrayed Boxer as being out of touch with Californians. Outside the $1,000 per plate dinner that attracted about 200 people to the Mission Inn, several hundred protesters and Bush supporters faced off on opposite street corners....

after action FReep report "Support Our Troops" rallyto welcome Vice PresidentDICK CHENEYoutside a fundraiser forBILL JONES(to replace Barbara BOXER in the U.S. Senate)at the Mission Inn in RiversideonTUESDAY, July 27 This FReep started out for ME with a call on my cell phone from Andrea (with the Riverside College Republicans) at about 4 pm.I was stuck in traffic on the 91 freeway, as it turns out, still about an hour away.She said that there were already over FIFTY Bush-Cheney supporters in place, but that the TEN or so "bad guys" were attempting to disrupt their rally, and she wanted to...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Republican Senate candidate Bill Jones railed on Monday against a ballot measure that would grant noncitizens here the right to vote in school board elections, calling it a "slap in the face" to U.S. citizenship and the country's immigration laws. Speaking on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, the former secretary of state said the charter amendment would violate the California Constitution and erode public confidence in the electoral process. He said encouraging immigrants to become citizens is the best way to expand voter participation. "I will vehemently oppose any attempt to grant Californians' precious right...

<p>WELCOME DICK CHENEY to Ontario Airport, Ontario, Cal., TOMORROW (Tuesday) at 2:45 p.m. Bring signs with large lettering! To attend the rally, please arrive no later than 2:15, due to security checks.</p> <p>The Vice President will later attend a fundraiser in Riverside for Senate candidate Bill Jones. A rally to welcome Cheney to Riverside will be held at the Mission Inn, downtown, at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.</p>

Please JOIN US for a:"Support Our Troops" rallyto welcome Vice PresidentDICK CHENEYoutside a fundraiser forBILL JONES(to replace Barbara BOXER in the U.S. Senate)at the Mission Inn in RiversideonTUESDAY, July 27from5 pm to 7 pm

SAN FRANCISCO - Republican Senate candidate Bill Jones railed on Monday against a ballot measure that would grant non-citizens here the right to vote in school board elections, calling it a "slap in the face" to U.S. citizenship and the country's immigration laws. Speaking on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, the former secretary of state said the charter amendment would violate the California Constitution and erode public confidence in the electoral process. He said encouraging immigrants to become citizens is the best way to expand voter participation. "I will vehemently oppose any attempt to grant Californians' precious right...

Senate candidate Bill Jones paid a brief "courtesy" visit to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Santa Monica this week but don't expect to see the Republican governor do much for Jones' underdog bid to unseat Democrat Barbara Boxer. Schwarzenegger has agreed to appear at one Jones fund-raiser and maybe make one campaign appearance for him while President Bush is in California next month, aides say - about as much as Republicans John McCain, the Arizona senator, and Vice President Dick Cheney have agreed to do. It's not that Schwarzenegger doesn't like Jones. He gave him a big boost with an endorsement...

.CHENEY PLANS INLAND VISIT TO AID JONES CAMPAIGNThe vice president will be in Riverside on July 27 for the Senate candidate. By Michelle DeArmond Vice President Dick Cheney will be in Riverside on July 27 to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, a Republican backer said Monday. Cheney plans to attend a fund-raiser from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mission Inn, where organizers hope he'll collect at least $200,000 for Jones, said Ted Weggeland, speaking for Mission Inn owner and Republican donor Duane Roberts. "Clearly they view this as a possible seat to pick up or they wouldn't...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Trailing in fund-raising and polls, Republican Senate candidate Bill Jones said Wednesday he will spend $2 million of his own money on his race to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November. Made on the eve of the release of fund-raising reports expected to show him far behind Boxer in campaign cash, Jones told a gathering of the Sacramento Press Club he would spend the money because "this election is as critical as any election in generations." Analysts called the move a sign of fund-raising trouble. "Candidates dip into their own pocket when they can't raise...

WASHINGTON (AP) - California's Senate race is winnable for Republicans but at least 11 others are more competitive, according to the head of the GOP Senate campaign committee. Virginia Sen. George Allen, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, briefed reporters Thursday on the GOP's strategy for expanding its 51-seat majority in the Senate this year. He said the California contest between Republican Bill Jones and Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer was a race to watch, but did not put it on the list of the most competitive seats the party is targeting. Boxer leads in fund-raising and polls and is...

If the 10-year-old federal assault weapons ban is allowed to expire Sept. 13, "it will put the weapons of the war and the weapons of choice ... in the hands of literally 15- and 16-year-olds'' in San Francisco and across the nation, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. . . .Feinstein worries that the country will be flooded with assault weapons if the ban expires. In April, Italian customs agents seized an illegal shipment of more than 7,500 assault weapons from Romania to a Georgia gun dealer. "They were waiting for the ban to expire,'' Feinstein said. "And that's what's going...

Firestone Weekend's message:'Win one for the Gipper' "Let there be no mistake -- California is in play for President Bush," thundered Mario Rodriguez, the party's vice chairman, to loud applause. In an overview of competitive legislative seats, Republican analyst Allan Hoffenblum described how many more districts were in play than previously expected -- largely because of excitement about Schwarzenegger. Ed Rollins, the Jones campaign's senior strategist who managed President Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign, said that with its vast financial resources, the Bush campaign would be "fools" not to make an effort in California, even if the prospects for victory were...

LOS ANGELES -- A new poll finds Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer with a huge lead over her Republican challenger, former Secretary of State Bill Jones. The nonpartisan field poll of likely voters found Boxer beating Jones -- 55 percent to 32 percent. Twelve percent of those asked were undecided. In February, the survey found a much narrower race, with Boxer leading Jones by just ten points -- 48 percent to 38 percent. The poll was conducted over a six-day period beginning on Tuesday of last week, and was based on interviews with 647 likely voters. The poll has a sampling...

Senate majority leader campaigns against Sen. Barbara Boxer By SETH HETTENA, Associated Press Writer Posted: Tuesday May 25th, 2004, 3:00 PM Last Updated: Tuesday May 25th, 2004, 3:00 PM SAN DIEGO (AP) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist campaigned Tuesday for the defeat of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, dangling the possibility of more federal dollars for California if it sends a Republican to the Senate. Electing former Secretary of State Bill Jones would end "the obstruction that I see everyday on the floor of the U.S. Senate," Frist said, without mentioning Boxer's name. A Republican like Jones can "come to...

Republican Bill Jones promises that if he beats Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November, he will be "a senator for all Californians.'' Unless, of course, you live in or around San Francisco. In speech after speech, the Fresno rancher slams San Francisco and the Bay Area as a left-wing enclave of unpatriotic, law-breaking, tree-hugging Boxer supporters, unconcerned about what's best for real Californians. Speaking Monday to the California Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento, Jones again hammered on that point. "Barbara Boxer has failed miserably to represent the broader interests of the state,'' he said. "On vote after vote and issue...