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Ron Dellums, who earns about $184,000 as Oakland mayor on top of a congressional pension, appears to owe the Internal Revenue Service at least $66,554. A lien has been placed against his property for failing to pay taxes for 2006. According to the East Bay Express, which broke the story, Mayor Dellums and his wife, who file jointly, may owe more than $239,000 in taxes, mostly for the years he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, DC.

SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- While many people continue to believe in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, a group of scientists will present overwhelming scientific evidence against Darwin's speculations. "If Charles Darwin knew 150 years ago what we know today, he likely would not have published Origin of the Species," said John Baumgardner, Ph.D., whose organization, Logos Research Associates, will lead the two-day "Darwin Was Wrong" conference Nov. 13-14 at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. "We can perhaps excuse Darwin, given his ignorance about the true complexity of living organisms and about genetics," said Dr. Baumgardner, a geophysicist...

<p>California sold $908 million in taxable bonds on Tuesday, under a federal program where the government subsidizes the extra interest a municipality pays to issue taxable debt instead of the more traditionally tax-exempt bonds.</p>

Attorney General Jerry Brown's communications director, Scott Gerber, submitted his resignation Monday after admitting last week that he had secretly taped conversations with reporters. In the letter to Chief Deputy Attorney General James Humes, Gerber said he was resigning "with a heavy heart" but emphasized that "neither the Attorney General nor any other attorneys from our office were aware that I was recording interviews without permission." The questionable, perhaps illegal, behavior came to light after Gerber told the San Francisco Chronicle that one of its reporters had misquoted Humes based on Gerber's recording of the conversation between Humes and political...

Last week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the boy-wonder politician sought out by network cameras at the Democratic National Convention, profiled in Newsweek and the New York Times, was forced to pull out of the race for California governor before opponent Jerry Brown even officially declared his candidacy. Newsom's campaign wasn't sputtering. It never got off the ground. A candidate who raised nearly $6 million for his 2003 bid for mayor (with maximum contributions limited to $500) only raised a little over $3 million this time, according to the California secretary of state's office. It was a harsh political lesson....

Car insurance by the tankful? Not quite, but California moved a step closer last month to pay-as-you-drive policies that could allow motorists to buy insurance like they do gasoline — a little at a time. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner released regulations permitting and authorizing mileage verification for pay-as-you-drive, without dictating what form such plans must take. The goal is to use per-mile pricing to entice Californians not to drive so much, thus easing air pollution, relieving traffic congestion and lowering the number of traffic collisions.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- John Garamendi, California's lieutenant governor and the favorite to win one of the two open U.S. House seats Tuesday, has been well known for decades as one of Sacramento's relentless promoters of liberal issues. California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi campaigns for an open U.S. House seat Saturday outside San Francisco. Now, the man who always wanted to be governor of California vows to be a team player on the national stage if he wins a special election in a heavily Democratic district outside San Francisco. Absent a major upset, Mr. Garamendi will be sworn in to...

Eric Rogers was 17 when he saw his parents stabbed and bludgeoned to death by his own uncle at their El Cerrito home just before dawn in January 2006. The convicted murderer, a trucker named Edward Wycoff from the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights, is as unsympathetic as they come. He insists he deserves to be rewarded for ridding the world of two evil people, that he knew how to raise his sister's three kids better than she and her husband did, and that besides, they had the gall not to invite him over for Christmas. Arguing to a jury...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California wage earners will soon notice a little less money in their paychecks. Starting Monday, employers in the cash-strapped state are required to withhold 10 percent more in state income taxes to help ease the budget problems. It's part of a plan to artificially inflate state revenue by $1.7 billion through next June. Brenda Voet, a spokeswoman for the state Franchise Tax Board, says it's technically not a tax increase since workers will get their money back after April 15.

Gov. Schwarzenegger stops by an event honoring Willie Brown and the room erupts in heckling, profanity, and slurs against Arnold...who of course goes out of his way to distance himself from the Republican Party immediately but it does no good as gay activists in the crowd let him have it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WORDNqxl7E

It's Barbara Boxer's big moment on Capitol Hill, and Republicans want nothing to do with it. The California Democrat, who heads the Senate's environment committee, wants to begin marking up her long-awaited climate-change legislation on Tuesday. But Republicans are planning to boycott the meeting. Sen. James Inhofe . . . wants the Environmental Protection Agency to do more analysis of the bill, which would place mandatory limits on the emission of greenhouse gases. Boxer today urged Republicans on the committee to "come back to work" and help Democrats pass the legislation.

The Bay Bridge reopened just after 9 a.m. today, six days after a repair job on a cracked structural beam on the eastern span fell apart and plunged onto the upper deck. Tests conducted overnight and this morning on an altered version of that repair job showed that the fix was holding, Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said. At 9:01 a.m., a fleet of five California Highway Patrol cars escorted the first private vehicles allowed onto the westbound upper deck since the span was shut down Tuesday evening. About 10 minutes later, the lower deck reopened for traffic heading to the...

Same Day Voter Registration Re-Introduced WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) are reintroducing legislation to "make it easier for Americans" to register to vote by allowing same day registration at polling places for all federal elections. By allowing voters to register at polling places the same day as they vote, the Same Day Registration Act would help increase voter turnout and voters would not have to worry about sitting an election out because they missed a registration deadline. And by having voters register in person, there is less of a chance that...

With only four races of national interest in Election 2009, most of the media attention has been focused on the two governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. Of the two congressional seats up for grabs, New York’s 23rd congressional district race has received the lion’s share of coverage. But there is another election that will send its victor to Congress: California’s 10th congressional district, which roughly covers the northern part of California’s Bay Area. IF NY-23 is a referendum of sorts on the policies of the Obama administration, as some have insisted, then isn’t the same hold true for...

William VoegeliThe Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm California taxpayers don’t get much bang for their bucks. Autumn 2009 In 1956, the economist Charles Tiebout provided the framework that best explains why people vote with their feet. The “consumer-voter,” as Tiebout called him, challenges government officials to “ascertain his wants for public goods and tax him accordingly.” Each jurisdiction offers its own package of public goods, along with a particular tax burden needed to pay for those goods. As a result, “the consumer-voter moves to that community whose local government best satisfies his set of preferences.” In selecting a jurisdiction, the...

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has been everything from assemblyman to insurance commissioner to former President Bill Clinton's deputy interior secretary during his 35 years in public service. If the prevailing political wisdom is correct, the 64-year-old Democratic veteran could add U.S. congressman to his résumé by Tuesday night. Garamendi is considered the clear front-runner in the race to fill the 10th Congressional District seat left vacant in June by Ellen Tauscher, who became the State Department's undersecretary for arms control and international security affairs. Democrats make up 47 percent of the district's registered voters compared with the 29 percent of...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained that he doesn't get to pick his own lieutenant governor, a position he thinks should be more first mate than political detractor – if it must exist at all. He could soon get his wish. If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement. The Republican governor has not tipped his hand. He has the option of choosing a caretaker who will serve out Garamendi's last year. Or he could use the appointment to reward a Republican legislator...

Taxing text messages? Some Vallejo voters are saying OMG. The North Bay city, with its ever-shrinking revenue stream, is asking voters Tuesday to expand its utility tax to include text messages, private phone networks, pagers and voice-over-Internet services. It's an idea that's spreading around California, as more than 40 cities have similarly expanded their utility taxes at the ballot box as a way to raise money. "We don't use our cell phones a lot, but we think this gives the city a blank check," said retired Mare Island shipyard worker John Kocourek of Vallejo, who's been working against the measure....

More than 1.4 million Californians were working part-time in September, not out of choice but because their hours had been cut or it was the only job they could find and they needed the money, reports the state Employment Development Department. That's a nearly 72% increase from a year ago when 840,000 Californians settled for part-time work. The biggest jump has been in workers who have settled for part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work. Their numbers have soared 83.3% since September 2008.

National Mortgage News reports that Home Mortgage Disclosure Act figures for 2008 show that minorities “were big losers in the market contraction last year.” And with credit still tight, the outlook for minority access to home loans this year and next looks bleak. But is that a bad thing? Subprime lending enabled more minorities to become homeowners during the boom, but many of those folks got mortgages they couldn’t afford. The result: record foreclosures. Lending to Hispanics fell by more than half, from $266 billion to $130 billion. African Americans also registered a sharp drop in mortgages last year, from...

Travis Childers (MS-1) WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE • 1708 Longworth HOB • Washington, DC 20515 • p. (202) 225-4306 • f. (202) 225-3549 • View Directions TUPELO OFFICE • 337A East Main Street • Tupelo, MS 38804 • p. (662) 841-8808 • f. (662) 841-8845 • View Directions HERNANDO OFFICE • 2564 HWY 51 S. • Hernando, MS 38632 • p. (662) 449-3090 • f. (662) 449-4836 • View Directions COLUMBUS OFFICE • 523 Main Street • Columbus, MS 39701 • p. (662) 327-0748 • View Directions Contact him https://forms.house.gov/childers/webforms/contact.htm Facebook http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Travis+Childers&init=quick#/pages/Congressman-Travis-W-Childers/206217375056?ref=search&sid=1072359854.907843371..1 Myspace http://www.myspace.com/travischilders Jim Cooper (TN-5) * Please note that,...

....They say residents and visitors at Solone's home smoke in the backyard at all hours of the day and night. Several people puffing away at once has resulted in smoke settling in their backyard like a low fog, Richard Ganguet said....

Bobby Bright (AL-2) Washington D.C. Office 1205 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 p. (202) 225-2901 f. (202) 225-8913 Dothan Office 188 North Foster Street Suite 105 Dothan, Alabama 36303 p. (334) 794-9680 f. (334) 671-1480 Montgomery Office 22 Monroe St. Suite 1B Montgomery, AL 36104 p. (334) 277-9113 f. (334) 277-8534 Opp Office 101 North Main Street Opp, AL 36467 p. (334) 493-9253 f. (334) 493-0370 Ozark Office 275 N. Union Avenue Suite 214 Ozark, AL 36360 p. (334) 445-4600 f. (334) 445-0517 Contact him https://forms.house.gov/bright/contact-form.shtml Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congressman-Bobby-Bright/105468186762?ref=search&sid=1072359854.2422322198..1 To read further follow the link http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977880434

CNSNews.com asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance--a mandate included in both the House and Senate versions of the health care bill--Pelosi dismissed the question by saying: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”

Marijuana Growers Upend Hard-Luck California Town They flock to Hayfork to bask in the sunny, cool climate and the permissive rules on medical pot farming and possession. An abandoned truck in Hayfork, Calif. Pot farmers are filling an economic void left by the logging industry. The unemployment rate in the county was 15.9% in September. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / October 31, 2009) PHOTOS: Trinity County, Calif.: 'Pot paradise' Alana Semuels November 1, 2009 Reporting from Hayfork, Calif. — Education has long been preached as a way to keep kids away from drugs. It's the walk to school...

San Francisco has long prided itself on being a “sanctuary city” that refuses to work with federal authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants. But now city officials are arguing over how far that policy should go when some of those illegal immigrants are charged with murder and other serious crimes. New Rasmussen Reports national telephone polling finds that most Americans oppose sanctuary cities and think their policies lead to an increase in crime. A solid plurality say such cities, including New York, Washington, D.C. and many others, should lose government funding because of their sanctuary policies. Given consistent findings...

Cop brutality figure Rodney King turns celeb boxer King in the ring By O’Ryan Johnson / Herald Exclusive Sunday, November 1, 2009 Rodney King, the famed police punching bag whose beating caught on tape put a bull’s eye on cops and eventually led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, has turned celebrity boxer and says he’s aching for a rematch with one of the members of L.A.’s “finest” who viciously pummeled him in March 1991. “I was supposed to fight one of the police officers that beat me. I worked out to get ready for it. But then somebody started...

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear. Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change. Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan:...

Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven panel members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide.

POINT REYES STATION, Calif. — It seems a perfect marriage of nature and commerce. As boats ferry oysters to the shore, pelicans swoop by and seals pop their heads out of the water. But this spot on the Point Reyes National Seashore has become a flashpoint for a bitter debate over the limits of wilderness and commercial interest within America’s national parks. The National Park Service has said it cannot renew the permit to farm oysters in a tidal estuary here, which lapses in 2012, because federal law requires it to return the area to wilderness by eliminating intrusive commercial...

The announcement that starting Sunday, San Francisco would no longer impound the cars of drivers who do not have a driver's license - many of whom are undocumented immigrants - set off a roar of outrage in the city and beyond. It's been called a "get out of jail free pass" and "sanctuary on wheels." ... The reality is that undocumented immigrants are in double jeopardy. They are not allowed to get a driver's license - although they could in California until 1994 - but if they are stopped their car is taken away ... because they don't have a...

Scott Gerber, spokesman for Brown's office, made the admission after the publication of a story in the newspaper that detailed consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield's criticisms of revisions the attorney general made to the summary of a ballot measure that deals with car insurance rates. California Penal Code Section 632 prohibits the recording of private telephone conversations without consent, and the state is one of 12 states that require notification of all parties prior to taping. Jim Humes, chief deputy attorney general, said in a statement to The Chronicle Thursday: "In the future, Mr. Gerber will not tape any conversation unless...

By the time heli-tankers arrived in force, the blaze had leaped Angeles Crest Highway. The last best chance to prevent a catastrophe had vanished.On a sizzling August morning, as flames burned unchecked down the road, fire crews milled about at an Angeles Crest Highway ranger station. Others were parked along the pavement -- a critical line of defense -- their engines quiet and hoses slack. It was more than an hour after first light, and some six hours after U.S. Forest Service commanders had determined that the fire required a more aggressive air attack. But the skies remained empty of...

Our lawmakers have a trick for you this Halloween. Starting Sunday 10% more will be withheld from paychecks to cover the states $1.7 billion shortfall in the budget. They say it isn't a tax increase, it's just an interest free loan that we will recover in April when we file our taxes. Gee thanks guys, we all feel much better now. "California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks," by Shane Goldmacher and W.J. Hennigan - Los Angeles Times The provision is one of numerous maneuvers state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved in the summer to paper over the...

There’s something weird about Law Abiding Citizen, and it isn’t simply the movie’s attempt to gussy up the legal thriller genre with gruesome, Saw-style theatrics. No, the most notable thing about the film is how it appears to inadvertently channel the recent, inchoate Republican anger at the Obama administration and use it to power a violent revenge fantasy. Don’t believe me? Here are four ways Law Abiding Citizen feels like a Republican wet dream. Mild spoilers ahead: Sympathy with the Devil Jamie Foxx’s district attorney Nick Rice is ostensibly our hero, struggling to put an end to the murderous schemes...

Investigators are trying to determine why a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 airplane and a U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopter collided on Thursday night, likely killing nine crew members. Aircraft and ships are scouring the ocean off San Diego for any signs of survivors of the nighttime collision, but Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the crash likely killed both the plane's seven crew members and the two-person crew of the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter.Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash occurred minutes after control of the C-130 was handed off from FAA controllers to military air controllers.

California To Withhold A Bigger Chunk Of Paychecks The amount goes up 10% on Sunday as Sacramento borrows from taxpayers. Technically, it's not an income tax increase: You'll get the money back eventually. By Shane Goldmacher and W.J. Hennigan October 31, 2009 Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear. Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one...

The Obama administration on Friday touted reports of 640,000 stimulus jobs, the latest economic numbers and the backing of a Republican governor to try to undercut GOP attacks on the effect of its massive $787 billion package. Reports released Friday afternoon showed that stimulus projects, such as highway and other infrastructure work, have directly saved or created 640,329 jobs, Vice President Joe Biden said. White House officials said a total of about 1 million jobs have been created or saved by the stimulus when taking into account the roughly 400,000 jobs that come from the economic effect of tax cuts,...

Mark Endorses David Harmer for Congress Monday, October 26th, 2009 HarmerForCongress.com (CA. 10th Congressional) http://www.harmerforcongress.com/default.htm

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says Congress’ federal stimulus program has saved or created 8,356 jobs in the University of California system, a claim that comes as a surprise at UC Irvine, Orange County’s largest employer. “We can’t figure out where the governor’s office got the data to support saying 34,000 jobs have been saved in the CSU and UC systems. No such data has been forwarded by our campus to the state,” said Cathy Lawhon, director of media relations at UCI. “Basically, the state cut to the UC system was $815 million. The stimulus money totaled about $700 million, which didn’t...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a fixture in state and national politics for 35 years, is expected to maintain the Democratic Party's hold Tuesday on a congressional seat that stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area through the California delta. <snip> Garamendi's Republican opponent, David Harmer, has been campaigning against excessive government spending. It's unclear how widely that theme will resonate in a congressional district that supported Barack Obama with nearly 65 percent of the vote in last year's presidential race.

East Bay voters on Tuesday will select a new member of Congress, and determine the fate of upscale downtown development in Walnut Creek and a host of school and other measures. Slightly more than half of Contra Costa and Alameda county voters live in cities or other political districts with an election, including those in the vacant 10th congressional district, San Ramon and Walnut Creek. <snip> The highest-profile race is undeniably the runoff to replace Ellen Tauscher in the 10th congressional district. Two-thirds of the heavily Democratic district is in Contra Costa, with smaller segments in Alameda, Solano and Sacramento...

AB 17 which was enacted by the California legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, requires the California Franchise Tax Board to adjust the payroll withholding table with an increase. The payroll withholding tables apply to pensions, as well as wages. AB 17 will increase payroll withholding by 10 percent, effective for wages paid after October 31, 2009. Withholding on supplemental wages increase from 6 percent to 6.6 percent effective for supplemental wages paid after October 31, 2009 and for stock options and bonus payments it will increase from 9.3 percent to 10.2 percent.

California National Bank Expected To Be Seized Tonight October 30, 2009 Bank regulators are expected later today to take over Los Angeles-based California National Bank in what would mark the fourth-largest bank failure in the country this year, according to people familiar with the situation. The bank, a unit of FBOP Corp., is expected to be acquired by the U.S. Bank unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, with no losses to be incurred by depositors, the sources said. The branches would reopen as usual Saturday or Monday as U.S. Bank branches. Seven other banks owned by FBOP, a privately held Oak...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Friday afternoon that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race, leaving the Democrats with no declared candidate for the top statewide office. Attorney General Jerry Brown has opened an exploratory committee for governor but has yet to formally announce his candidacy. Nonetheless, Brown has opened a wide lead over Newsom in both fund-raising and in polls. "It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California," Newsom said in a statement. "With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I...

Note: The following text is a quote: Former CEO of YouSendIt Charged with Denial of Service of Attack SAN JOSE, CA—Khalid Shaikh, a former CEO of YouSendIt Inc., was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday with four counts of mail fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. The indictment states that between December 2008 and June 2009 Shaikh used the ApacheBench software program to launch four denial of service (DOS) attacks against YouSendIt’s servers. Each DOS attack temporarily rendered the servers incapable of handling legitimate network traffic and deprived YouSendIt’s customers use of the company’s services. YouSendIt is...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this afternoon that he is withdrawing from the California governor's race. More to follow.

The five candidates seeking to represent the 10th Congressional District break down into a group of three on the left and two on the right as revealed in a forum at Saint Mary's College on Monday night. Ranging from political left to right are: self-described socialist Mary McIlroy from El Cerrito of the Peace and Freedom Party; Jeremy Cloward from Pleasant Hill of the Green Party; liberal Democrat John Garamendi from Walnut Grove; conservative Republican David Harmer, a San Ramon resident; and libertarian Jerry Denham from Walnut Creek, representing the American Independent Party. State Lt. Gov. Garamendi is the presumed...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA --- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval rating among Californians is a measly 34 percent. Forty-four percent of the state’s voters disapprove of her performance. Her congress receives only 23 percent approval, while two thirds of California voters disapprove of their own delegation. Within her own party, Pelosi has only 51 percent favorable rating. Yet there she is, arrogant and unflappable. Refusing to let reporters into the ceremony introducing her latest health care reform legislation, beefing up the public option in her plan, while celebrating what she calls an historical event. What is it about San Francisco politicians,...