Free Republic

In his last remaining hours as California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger issued three sentence commutations. The most notable went to the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, Esteban Núñez, who is serving time for voluntary manslaughter. Núñez's legal problems began in San Diego on Oct. 4, 2008. After Núñez, then 19, and some friends were not admitted to a fraternity party, they went looking for a fight. They found a group of students who also had been drinking. After a short but fatal clash, Luis Dos Santos, 22, lay dying. Schwarzenegger wrote that he reduced Núñez's sentence from 16 years...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decision to commute the prison sentence for the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has outraged some of the outgoing governor's critics, including a victim's father. On his last day in office, Schwarzenegger shortened Esteban Nunez's sentence to seven years, saying he thought the 16-year sentence was excessive. The move came just hours before Schwarzenegger left office. Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon for his role in a fight that killed 22-year-old Luis Santos near San Diego State University in 2008. The victim's father called the decision ridiculous and politically...

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to reduce the prison sentence of a former Assembly speaker's son sparked outrage Monday, from the district attorney who prosecuted Esteban Núñez to local families whose loved ones are spending more time in prison – for lesser crimes. "We were shocked to hear of the governor's last-minute commutation, which greatly diminishes justice for victim Luis Santos and re-victimizes his family and friends," San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said in a prepared statement. She said her office was not consulted about the sentence reduction, in which Núñez's prison term was cut from 16 years...

On his final night in office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced the prison sentence of the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, Esteban Nuñez, who had pleaded guilty to participating in the killing of a college student. The governor also granted several other commutations and pardons and gave plum government appointments to political allies and the spouse of his chief of staff. Schwarzenegger announced the moves in a batch of eleventh-hour press releases e-mailed to reporters. Esteban Nuñez, now 21, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the stabbing death of Luis Santos. Schwarzenegger cut the...

As Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to exit the Capitol, naysayers continue to dismiss him as a neophyte and an interloper – a foreign-born Hollywood superstar who, as governor, was out of touch with the average Californian. As it turns out, Schwarzenegger's greatest failing wasn't his outsider status. On fiscal matters, he was far too Californian. He wanted to have it all – infrastructure, education, prisons and environmental protection – but he was reluctant to pay for it. Schwarzenegger's first act upon winning the recall election was to slash the car tax – the vehicle license fee – which immediately added $6...

San Diego, CA (AP) -- A judge has sentenced the son of former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to 16 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a San Diego college student.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, just hours before leaving the governor’s office, shaved nine years off the combined 16-year sentence of Esteban Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. The younger Nunez was one of three young men charged in a knife fight near San Diego State University in October 2008, in which Luis Dos Santos was stabbed to death. The man who wielded the knife in the fatal attack, Ryan Jett, entered a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to state prison. Esteban Nunez wielded a knife that injured another participant in the fight. He pleaded guilty to...

The fact that the lame-duck Congress balked at endorsing "cap-and-trade" legislation didn't deter California from approving its own version of the extreme green scheme for restricting industrial emissions. The move bolsters the state's reputation as the left coast's home for ideas out of left field. Soon Americans will witness what happens when global-warming hysteria worsens an already sick economy.California's Air Resources Board approved a cap-and-trade system on Dec. 16 that covers 360 businesses at 600 locations statewide. In its first phase, starting in 2012, electric utilities and other large manufacturers will receive free permits allowing emissions at their current...

As he bounded toward the stage to address Californians for the first time as governor-elect, Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed stunned at being catapulted from superstar to leader of the world's eighth-largest economy during the historic 2003 recall election. "Only in America," he whispered to reporters before hitting the spotlight. Only in California is more like it: Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was still in a loincloth and killing bad guys with a sword as "Conan the Barbarian" in the early 1980s when Jerry Brown was finishing his second term as governor. Only in California could such a political newcomer charge into the governor's...

A month before the historic recall that drove Gov. Gray Davis from office in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in a TV commercial making a promise to the voters of California."Here's my plan," he said. "Audit everything, open the books, and then we end the crazy deficit spending. "... If you're happy with the way things are, keep your current leaders. If you want to change this state, then join me."Voters joined in droves. But as he prepares to leave office seven years later, Schwarzenegger's promises are a distant echo.He leaves a legacy of landmark environmental laws, public works spending and...

Schwarzenegger, who counts legislation combating global warming as one of his signature achievements in office, suggested he might be interested in a post dealing with energy or the environment. "I'm a big believer in environmental issues," Schwarzenegger said, who added that he wanted a post where he could use his "celebrity power … knowledge and experience" to impact public policy. "I've traveled the world. … I'm very familiar with the world."

The California Air Resources Board on Thursday approved the creation of the nation's first broad-based program to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and to begin charging large emitters for the excess carbon dioxide they put in the air. After an all-day meeting, the board voted 9-1 for the proposal, which will take effect beginning in 2012 and means California is once again moving forward with climate change policy while efforts on the national level have stopped. "The comment 'the world is watching' is sometimes an idle comment. It's not idle this afternoon," said Air Resources Board member Ronald...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California regulators on Thursday approved the first system in the nation to give polluting companies such as utilities and refineries financial incentives to emit fewer greenhouse gases. The Air Resources Board voted 9-1 to pass the key piece of California's 2006 climate law — called AB32 — with the hope that other states will follow the lead of the world's eighth largest economy. State officials also are discussing plans to link the new system with similar ones under way or being planned in Canada, Europe and Asia. California is launching into a "historic adventure," said Mary Nichols,...

MR. BLUMENFELD: So today we recognize this person for an extraordinary vision and leadership as an early, ardent and articulate champion in the defense of our planet against global climate change. This person had a great team. I want to recognize Terry Tamminen and Linda Adams, who are both here, who really -- you can't do this stuff alone when you're sitting -- (Applause) And the job at the top is lonely and so when you surround yourselves by people you want to have people that free you up to take action and those are the type of people that...

He has been, in many ways, a governor of firsts:• The first to take office as a result of a recall election.• The first to commute, on an almost daily basis and via private jet, between the Capitol and his Southern California mansion. • The first to have served in the Austrian army, the first to have won the Mr. Olympia body-building title seven times, and - as far as we know - the first California chief executive to have nude photos of himself widely available on the World Wide Web.But "first" does not necessarily mean "great," or even "good."And...

Arnold Schwarzenegger dished out make-believe mayhem during his action movie hero days, but he must be a closet masochist. Why else would he say, as he often does, that he'd love to remain governor of California? He's already one of the most unpopular governors in state history, and he's leaving behind an economy that's erased more than a million jobs and a state budget deficit that's worse than the one he inherited seven years ago. A rational man would jet to his ski lodge in Sun Valley and return to Sacramento just in time to hand the mess to successor...

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, there were 30 clean-tech companies in the Sacramento region. Today, there are more than 100 such companies in the area employing thousands of workers. With weeks remaining in Schwarzenegger's administration, the fledgling green economy in Sacramento and the rest of California owes a debt to Schwarzenegger's stewardship of the state's climate-change law and his administration's policies, clean-tech advocates say. "(Gov. Schwarzenegger) helped to spark a clean-energy revolution in our state and ignite a national dialogue about the importance of climate change legislation," said state Sen. Fran Pavley,...

Encouraged by what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called clean energy's "greatest referendum in history," California officials are pushing ahead with a new greenhouse gas accord with developing foreign countries. Schwarzenegger today launched the third Governors' Global Climate summit at the University of California, Davis, saying this month's landslide defeat of Proposition 23, an oil industry backed initiative to roll back the state's landmark climate change law, shows broad support among voters for climate change initiatives. "I hope that our success encourages you to fight and keep fighting and fighting because science is on our side, the economics is on our side...

Public carbon trading dead in the USA Posted on November 8, 2010 by Anthony Watts Gore’s grand experiment has flatlined. As we reported almost two weeks ago, the Gore and Pachauri advised Chicago Carbon Exchange (CCX) has closed. Closing price? A nickel per ton of CO2.Here’s the final day closing page for posterity:A 16 lb bag of charcoal briquettes is worth more than a ton of CO2. About 220x more. Here’s more on the story:Carbon Trade Ends on Quiet Death of Chicago Climate ExchangeBy John O’SullivanRepublican mid-term election joy deals financial uncertainty among green investors as the Chicago Climate Exchange announces...

VIDEO: Arnold Schwarzenegger shares energy policy ideas with Diane Sawyer. The following is a partial transcript of the exchange (see video) • World News asked California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about the clean energy policies that he says are his legacy • Does he think the nation will join in his conviction? SCHWARZENEGGER: "What would help is if we now are successful in beating back the Texas oil companies, the same players that have been there for decades, ruining everything -- you know -- trying to burn and get rid of our light rail in 45 cities. "And so now the...