Free Republic

Yesterday Big Government broke the story about an attempt by ACORN to obstruct justice by dumping documents into a trash bin just before a visit from the California AG's office: On October 1st, 2009 California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced that an investigation had been opened into ACORN’s activities in California, resulting from undercover videos showing employees seemingly offering to assist the undercover film makers with human smuggling, child prostitution and even tax advice to boot. Although ACORN has denied any wrongdoing, some of the employees involved were terminated, and ACORN has publicly stated that they would fully cooperate with...

In the months leading up to last fall's historic presidential election, one Imperial Beach man was registered to vote at least 21 times. In a dozen other cases, San Diego County residents reported that they never authorized voter registration cards submitted on their behalf. “The registration filed is BOGUS,” Rancho Bernardo resident Walter Cobb wrote to complain. “Fraudulent. Signature not mine.” The complaints all stemmed from a big voter registration push by ACORN, the low-income advocacy group fighting for its existence following an undercover sting by a conservative activist. After the voter complaints were filed last year, the California secretary...

San Diego County will not open its own investigation into ACORN, the community organizing nonprofit that has become embroiled in a national scandal over video showing employees advising potential criminals. Instead, county officials will assist the state attorney general and the district attorney in auditing thousands of voter-registration cards submitted with the Registrar of Voters Office before the November 2008 election, the Board of Supervisors decided on Tuesday. “This is not about politics,” Supervisor Pam Slater-Price said. “This is about the use of taxpayer money and taxpayer resources and public trust. We should have a thorough investigation from top to...

Religious freedom recently clashed with arrogant bureaucracy in San Diego County, Calif. Religious freedom prevailed.

SNIPPET - QUOTE: Human Swine Influenza Investigation April 24, 2009 22:00 EST Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the U.S. in San Diego County and Imperial County, California as well as in San Antonio, Texas. Internationally, human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in Mexico. U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection State # of laboratory confirmed cases California 6 cases Texas 2 cases International Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection Country # of laboratory confirmed cases Mexico 7 cases Cases will be updated daily at 3 p.m....

When Casey Johnson and his wife moved to San Diego County three years ago, they couldn't find a home in their price range. So they did what they thought was the sensible thing. Rather than over-leverage themselves with a risky mortgage, the couple rented an apartment in La Jolla and waited patiently for the housing market to drift back to earth, hoping they hadn't missed their chance to become homeowners. The value of a rate freeze Graphic The value of a rate freeze click to enlarge But now the government-brokered plan unveiled Thursday by President Bush to ease terms on...

In its quest to have 370 total miles of border fence in place by the end of next year, the federal government is scouting places to build new fencing, including two spots in San Diego County. Last week, a notice was published in the Federal Register that an environmental impact statement would be prepared for two proposed spots. The plan is to build 3.4 miles of fence, with roads, lights and other infrastructure, along the Pack Truck Trail adjacent to the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area. A stretch of more than a half a mile would be built to connect with...

---- Taking her cue from similar efforts in other cities around the nation, Councilwoman Marie Waldron is proposing that Escondido adopt a city ordinance that would prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. Waldron said last week that she wants the city to look into drafting a law that would fine landlords $1,000 for renting or leasing property to undocumented immigrants, and possibly include arrest for extreme violators. "I don't want it (the ordinance) to be a slap on the wrist," Waldron said. Waldron, who has regularly pushed for cracking down on illegal immigration, said that prohibiting undocumented immigrants from...

SAN FRANCISCO – A suburban San Diego teenager who was barred from wearing a T-shirt with anti-gay rhetoric to class lost a bid to have his high school's dress code suspended Thursday after a federal appeals court ruled the school could restrict what students wear to prevent disruptions. The ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals addressed only the narrow issue of whether the dress code should be unenforced pending the outcome of the student's lawsuit. A majority of judges said, however, that Tyler Chase Harper was unlikely to prevail on claims that the Poway Unified...

http://www.sdreader.com/php/cityshow.php?id=C072805B Ludicrous and Irresponsible Gossip By Scott Barnett After the Republican Party of San Diego County endorsed Steve Francis for mayor on June 13, it wasted little time in turning its endorsement into campaign action. As of election eve, public election filings showed that the local GOP had collected $158,000 from a small group of donors and spent it quickly. Expenditures for Francis were reported at $86,342, including $76,059 for mailers, $8595 for door hangers, and $1688 for precinct maps. Relying on a legal loophole that allows donors to ignore San Diego's campaign restrictions, local business leaders who had a...

State Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson came to San Diego yesterday hoping the county Board of Supervisors would support a five-year, half-cent-on-the-dollar sales-tax increase to help fill a $38 billion state budget deficit. What the Culver City Democrat got instead was a recommendation from board Chairman Greg Cox to have the state file for bankruptcy."I thought I had heard it all," Wesson said after Cox floated the idea. Supervisor Dianne Jacob said, "The state is bankrupt, so why not admit it? Why would taxpayers support raising taxes when there is no plan in place to fundamentally change the way the state...