Free Republic

E-mail: dstuart@wsmv.com On Capitol Hill, the debate over guns in bars has turned into a raging battle that is not only political, but also personal. Jimmy Naifeh used to be a darling of gun supporters and used his clout as House Speaker to pass or kill legislation. But when Naifeh used questionable maneuvers to send the current gun bill back to a subcommittee, the gun lobby came out blazing. "Our legislation is about good guys. The bad guys are already carrying [guns] in bars and restaurants. This would put us on a level playing field,” said Darren LaSorte, National Rifle...

Sacramento -- State Senate Leader Don Perata, taking a new approach to both the state budget and a weakened Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, called Tuesday for a dramatic increase in spending on education and said he will push for new taxes to repair the state's school system. The Oakland Democrat called California "miserably behind the curve'' when it comes to school funding, noting that the state ranks in the bottom half of per-pupil spending in the nation. He said that improving schools so California students can compete in a global economy "can't be done on the cheap.'' Perata said he will...

The mere mention of the Libertarian Party was apparently enough to kill a proposed smoking ban ordinance in LaPorte, Ind., earlier this month, continuing the Indiana LP's dedication to standing up for the rights of business owners to set their own policies. The mayor of LaPorte had proposed forming a "study committee" to target small business owners -- such as restaurants and bars -- by banning smoking in such businesses. And it looked like a done deal, says Indiana Libertarian Party chairman Mark Rutherford, noting that 11 of the 14 city council members were expected to approve the formation of...

California taxpayers could save over $1 billion annually under a proposed overhaul of the state employee pension system being pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his allies, according to a nonpartisan government analysis of the plan. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office determined that providing all new state employees with a 401(k)-style retirement plan could save the state "hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually." The overhaul initiative was authored by San Fernando Valley Republican Keith Richman and sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a Schwarzenegger ally. Assemblyman Richman, of Granada Hills, said the LAO's analysis confirmed...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Changing the bureaucracy of California's troubled youth and adult prison system would again make the state a national leader in imprisoning criminals and then rehabilitating them, representatives of the Schwarzenegger administration said Thursday. The corrections plan is the leading edge of Schwarzenegger's larger proposal to reorganize state government. Lawmakers, union leaders and inmate advocates said the proposal merely shuffles organizational chart boxes, and particularly objected to more closely affiliating the California Youth Authority with the adult Corrections Department. But the plan won general praise from members of the watchdog Little Hoover Commission. The prison plan and a...

SACRAMENTO - Education spending would rise by $2.9 billion under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's spending plan for the 2005-06 fiscal year, which covers a growing student population and a cost-of-living adjustment, but little more. Education spending is the largest share of the state's general fund, with Schwarzenegger proposing a $36.5 billion budget next year - an increase of $2.4 billion in state money over last year's budget. The increase works out to a $362 per pupil increase in state funds, for a total of $10,084 per student, including all state and federal sources. But while the budget calls for more money,...

SAF Blasts Proposed San Francisco Handgun Ban: 'We Beat That In 1982' 12/16/2004 5:07:00 PM To: State Desk Contact: Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, 425-454-7012 BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Calling it an "ill-considered return visit of anti-gun bigotry," the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today blasted plans to put a handgun ban on the November 2005 ballot in San Francisco, Calif. reminding proponents of the measure that such a ban was declared illegal when first tried in 1982. "This issue was decided by the California courts more than 22 years ago, and the gun ban extremists...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller Steve Westly on Monday nominated Proposition 71 campaign chairman Robert Klein II to head the oversight committee that will guide the landmark $3 billion stem cell research initiative approved by voters last month. The governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and controller each nominate candidates for chairman and vice chairman of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, with the selection to be made by the committee's 27 members Friday at University of California, San Francisco. Schwarzenegger and Westly's choice for vice chair is former biotech executive Edward Penhoet. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Treasurer Phil...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The Schwarzenegger administration is drafting regulations that would go beyond state law and result in "atrocious" cuts in benefits for employees who are partially disabled by job-related injuries, workers' attorneys said Wednesday. The California Applicants' Attorneys Association said it would file a lawsuit if the Division of Workers Compensation attempts to implement the changes. "They basically made something up," said David Schwartz, the association's president. "Unfortunately, what they made up is turning out to drastically reduce permanent disability benefits." But Rick Rice, assistant secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, called the association's complaints "propaganda" and...

illion-dollar decisions face California voters this Tuesday. Just how many billions? Unknown. In a case of the right hand unaware of the left hand’s actions, residents of one county are clueless to bond and tax initiatives found on the ballot of another. The situation has sent fiscal watchdogs howling for a master list, disclosing all tax propositions (local, state, and federal) to California voters. The California Taxpayers’ Association is leading the charge to develop a list of statewide “tax hikes.” Using its staff to develop statistics, the taxpayers’ organization has found at least 171 proposed tax increases among California’s 58...

TELLURIDE, COLORADO -- Better make room for an extra crewmember aboard any spaceship heading outward. This person won’t require food, oxygen or water, nor even need to buckle up for safety. The tag-along traveler could, however, be a lifesaver in terms of getting the expedition to and from a celestial destination. Roll out the welcome mat for the virtual astronaut and enter the 3D space of Peter Plantec, a consultant in virtual human design and animation, as well as a leading expert on visual entertainment. He also initiated the "Sylvie" project -- the first commercially available virtual human interface. And...

John Luster of Orange piloted his new silver Toyota Prius 300 miles up to the Sequoia National Park earlier this month, using just six gallons of gasoline. Had Luster driven his Acura Integra, he would have used twice as much fuel - and paid twice as much gas tax. But what's good for Luster (and the environment) is bad for state highway funds: The state got half as much tax revenue to deal with the same amount of wear and tear on the roads. It's a looming problem as hybrids become more popular, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's government-reform commission has...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two conservancies paid $13.2 million to purchase 4,520 acres of sensitive desert habitat once slated to become the site of a new city, the conservancies announced Thursday. In addition, the Nature Conservancy and the state-owned Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy said they would buy about another 4,000 acres as part of their plan to protect sand dunes and palm oases and to create a wildlife corridor between the nearly 800,000-acre Joshua Tree National Park and the 20,000-acre Coachella Valley Preserve in southeastern California. The land was once slated as the site of the Joshua Hills development, which...

<p>In 1931, in the throes of the Great Depression, the state Legislature spent $250,000 to build a livestock pavilion in San Francisco.</p> <p>A newspaper questioned the logic, asking, "Why, when people are starving, should money be spent on a palace for cows?"</p>

<p>Part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $99.1 billion budget proposal unveiled Friday calls for shifting $1.3 billion in property taxes from cities and counties to help pay the state's bill to schools.</p> <p>Even in conservative south Sacramento County, the governor's proposal elicited howls from local officials.</p>

<p>CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is considering closing up to seven VA hospitals to streamline its $26 billion health care network.</p> <p>That threat drew more than 1,500 protesters, many in uniform, to a boisterous hearing last week before a federal commission charged with overseeing the biggest overhaul of the VA system since the end of World War II.</p>

<p>SUNOL, Calif. (AP) - A stocky, distinctively marked salamander with a penchant for spending summers chilling out in gopher holes is the newest California candidate for threatened species status.</p> <p>Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday they want to add the California tiger salamander to the list of plants and animals entitled to special protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.</p>