Free Republic

ROMEOVILLE (Illinois) -- An inline hockey rink, sledding hill, spray pad, boardwalk and other amenities will be added to Boucher Prairie Park thanks to a $393,000 state grant that will fund half the improvements.

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office recently reported that the State faces a $21 billion shortfall in the current as well as the next fiscal year. That’s a problem, a really big problem. My young son would say it was a ginormous problem. In fact, it may be an insurmountable problem. Our governor and legislature used every trick in their books when they created the most recent budget. They even resorted to mandatory interest-free loans from the taxpayers. Now, they have no idea where to go. The Democrats have declared that they will not allow budget cuts. The Republicans will not...

A group called Love Honor Cherish launched an Internet-based effort today to collect enough signatures to place a measure repealing Prop. 8, the anti-gay marriage law, on the state ballot by next year. The signature-gathering drive will use social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, organizers said in a statement. “We’re taking names,” said John Henning, who is heading the SignForEquality.com effort launched to collect the signatures. "People throughout California can now help us win marriage back by the simple act of signing and collecting signatures.” Prop. 8 was approved by California voters a year ago, reversing a California...

Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected on a promise to clean up the fiscal mess but so far has failed. His first act as governor was to reinstate a $4-plus billion a year car tax cut that widened the deficit, and since then, he has spent every nickel the state has taken in and then some, even though a vigorous economy pushed revenue to record levels. While the deficit narrowed a bit in the last couple of years, it's projected to grow again for the remainder of this decade -- and the remainder of Schwarzenegger's governorship -- unless he and lawmakers do...