Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- An overwhelming majority of Californians believe global warming is a serious threat to their health and quality of life, according to a new statewide poll released Friday. The Field Poll also indicates Californians believe the problem is more serious than people elsewhere in the United States. More than seven in 10 Californians believe fears of air pollution and flooding are extremely or very important, compared with a national poll last year that put that figure at 52 percent. Statewide, 43 percent say global warming requires immediate action and 32 percent believe at least something should be done. Large...

SAN DIEGO - A week after a half million people fled Southern California's wildfires, shelters began closing and residents were figuring out what to do next — even as firefighters kept a wary eye on the possibility of strong winds developing later in the week. There was a chance of moderate Santa Anas — the fierce, dry winds that fanned the flames last week — returning in the next seven days, forecasters said. "It's a little premature to be celebrating, that's for sure," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Fred Daskoski said. "We're looking for full control within...

Legislators in Sacramento are pushing four new laws that would mandate California restaurant chains and grocery stores to reveal nutrition information immediately and ban all trans fats by 2009. Legislators believe they are fighting the obesity epidemic, but they are also expanding a government that is already overweight. The current obsession with obesity is driven by studies, such as the recent report by the nonprofit California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which found that California has an average of 4.18 times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as supermarkets and produce vendors. San Bernardino County was found to have...

When it comes to paying the skyrocketing bills for health insurance, Californians are feeling more pain than the average American. The average cost of premiums jumped 8.7 percent in 2006 -- outstripping the 7.7 percent increase in premiums nationwide, according to an annual survey released Wednesday by the California HealthCare Foundation in Oakland. That's more than double the 4.2 percent rate of inflation in California. And chalk this up as a bitter side-effect: Single California workers no longer pay less than the rest of nation for the favorite type of health insurance in the state. That news has widespread impact....

SAN FRANCISCO A majority of California voters may cast absentee ballots in the Nov. 7 election, a milestone that's forcing politicians to rethink campaign strategies and prompting registrars to streamline ballot-counting procedures. The growth of absentee voting in the most populous state echoes a nationwide trend that's most pronounced in the West. Oregon has used mail-in ballots almost exclusively for a decade. More than half of all votes are absentee in Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Marin County, just north of San Francisco, has sent ballots to 54 percent of its nearly 147,000 registered voters. And registrar Elaine Ginnold...

Rather than embrace the opportunity to decide California's future on Election Day, voters appear poised to make the record books by staying home. --snip-- When the Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Survey was released a few weeks ago, political observers seized on the news of a 13 percentage-point lead for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over the Democratic challenger, State Treasurer Phil Angelides, and that the four multibillion-dollar state bonds for infrastructure projects enjoyed only narrow majority support. But this focus missed a more important story -- a surprisingly high level of voter indifference in the upcoming election. Based on...

Mayor: 'Either the Judeo-Christian philosophy will survive or the Islamic philosophy will survive'SACRAMENTO, CA -- (OfficialWire) -- 09/11/06 -- The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) today called on Californians to repudiate remarks insulting to Muslims made by a mayor in the northern part of that state. CAIR-SV said that Redding, Calif., Mayor Ken Murray claimed Shia Muslims "believe it's acceptable to lie, cheat, steal and kill as long as it ultimately glorifies Allah." "Folks, they're not like us," said Murray. When asked about his offensive remarks, Murray drew a distinction between "mainstream" and Shia Muslims,...

SACRAMENTO Legislation to provide prescription drug discounts for about 5 million uninsured or underinsured Californians was approved by the Senate on Tuesday despite warnings that it wouldn't work or could harm the state's poorest residents. The bill, the result of negotiations between the Schwarzenegger administration and Democrats, would require the state Department of Health Services to attempt to negotiate discounts with drug manufacturers. Drug companies that refused to cut deals with the state could find it tougher to get their prescriptions used by Medi-Cal, the state's huge health care program for the poor. The legislation comes after voters rejected two...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats reached a deal Thursday that they say will help uninsured, lower-income Californians get discounts of up to 40 percent on name-brand drugs. The California Prescription Drug Initiative, announced earlier this week but formally approved Thursday, will give discounts of about 40 percent for name-brand drugs and 60 percent for generics to people who otherwise would have to pay full retail price. The enrollment fee will be $10 a year. The initiative will require prescription drug companies to offer discounts for medications or face possible sanctions. The Republican governor said the plan...

State officials announced Thursday that California has finally achieved its goal of reducing landfill waste by 50%, thanks to diligent recycling by residents and businesses. The milestone culminates a 16-year campaign by the state to persuade people to separate recyclables out of the trash. The state passed a landmark law in 1989 mandating that communities establish waste-management plans for residents and businesses that would ultimately divert at least 50% of all recyclable trash from landfills. California was supposed to reach the goal in 2000, but preliminary data released Thursday show that the goal wasn't reached until last year. A total...

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of California waiters, hairstylists, bellhops and other workers who rely on tips to boost their incomes could see their wages slashed under federal legislation the U.S. Senate could take up by Friday. The House already passed HR 5790, a far-reaching bill that would raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in nine years, reinstate tax cuts for teachers and those who pay college tuition and reduce estate taxes for the richest of Americans. But Democrats are blasting a provision in the GOP-written bill that would require that tips be counted as part of...

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger embarks from San Diego County on a campaign bus tour this morning, he will be greeted by good news in the form of a poll showing his re-election prospects brightening. A new statewide Field Poll shows that 45 percent of the likely voters in the Nov. 7 election would vote for the Republican incumbent and 37 percent for Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides. Three percent would vote for minor-party candidates and the remaining 15 percent were undecided. Although that does not represent a statistically significant change from May, when Schwarzenegger led Angelides 46 percent to 39...

LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants LAPD & LASO Might Be Knocking On Your Door Next! LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants Officers from the Los Angeles County Gun Task Force in CA have begun serving search warrants on residents in that county who are suspected of holding un-registered "Assault Rifles" including 50 BMG target rifles. If you or any of your friends have not complied with the provisions of AB-50 that require you to register any 50 BMG rifles you own, you may very well expect a knock on your door at any time. This...

Through an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” and through other actions of late, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put the GOP on notice that he's the governor of every Californian and not just fellow Republicans. “I will run as an Arnold Republican, which is I am there to govern and to serve the people of California, meaning Democrats and Republicans, even though there are some on the right wing that are not happy about that,” Schwarzenegger told host Tim Russert about his bid for re-election. Good for Arnold. It's exactly the right message, and it comes at exactly the right...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2005 – Yellow Ribbon America, a partner in the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program, will join the National Guard Association of California and the California state legislature in paying tribute to U.S. servicemembers during a Dec. 15 celebration in Newport Beach, Calif. Troops from both the active and reserve components will be on hand as part of "Operation Christmas for Our Troops II," a program aimed at gathering toys for the children of deployed California troops as well as DVDs and CDs for troops serving overseas. The bipartisan, statewide campaign kicked off in early December, and...

LOS ANGELES - Drums pounded, voices boomed and whistles shrieked as thousands of demonstrators marched in the shadows of downtown skyscrapers Saturday to protest America's involvement in Iraq, one of several California demonstrations on a day of protests across the country. The crowd, a mix of people ranging from mothers pushing baby strollers to spiky haired punk rockers, chanted for an end to the bloodshed and waved signs that said, "Who would Jesus have bombed?" and "War is not the answer." Police closed a downtown street to accommodate the protest, which they said drew an estimated 15,000 people. Protests across...

SAN FRANCISCO – An overwhelming majority of Californians approve of the unions Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been attacking while they disapprove of the job Schwarzenegger is doing, according to a new statewide poll. The poll released Thursday by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University is just the latest to show the governor has been losing support in recent months as he's pushed several ballot measures aimed at curbing the power of Democrats and public employee unions in state government. Schwarzenegger's approval ratings have fallen from 59 percent of Californians surveyed in January to 34 percent...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - More than twice as many Californians believe the state is on the wrong track as opposed to headed in the right direction, a new poll found. According to a Field Poll released Tuesday, 59 percent of Californians surveyed said the state is "seriously off on the wrong track," up from 51 percent in February. The percentage of people who believed the state was "generally going in the right direction" fell from 40 percent in February to 28 percent. Republicans were most optimistic with 46 percent believing the state was on the right track, while just 18...

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged Californians to conserve energy this summer while promoting his plan to create a state energy agency. He said he doesn't want a repeat of the power crisis of 2000-2001, which followed the state's foray into deregulated energy markets and led to rolling blackouts and soaring utility bills. "There is no doubt about it that California will face big energy challenges this summer and probably for years to come," said the governor, speaking at the office of the Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's power grid. "Conservation saves...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new study finds Californians are getting alarmingly fat, with more than half of all adults overweight. The study estimates that overweight and inactive Californians cost $21.7 billion a year in medical bills, injuries and lost productivity. The study blames a decade of overeating and sitting in front of the television. It finds that nearly 53 percent of Californians over 25 are overweight, and more than 17 percent are obese, or extremely overweight. The rates among Hispanics, blacks and adults with less than a high school education are even higher and exceed 60 percent. The study was...