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<p>OAKLAND – Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday lashed back against accusations revealed a day earlier, in which a convicted felon described fund-raising improprieties by Davis in an effort to win a lighter sentence.</p> <p>"I'm just not getting into a debate with a convicted felon," Davis told reporters after meeting in Oakland with ministers in a get-out-the- vote effort.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO – Questions surrounding Gov. Gray Davis' unprecedented political fund raising - $67 million in 47 months - remain at the heart of the 2002 race for governor less than a week before Election Day.</p> <p>Davis has raised more money faster than any California governor in history.</p>

<p>Candidates for governor are shattering spending records in more than a half-dozen states, and coming close elsewhere, in one of the most competitive election years for the states' top office over the past decade.</p> <p>In Texas, slick commercials come back-to-back. Phones ring off the hook in Wisconsin. Direct mail, ad campaigns, and phone banks drive expensive campaigns in Maryland, New Mexico and beyond.</p>

Contributions in MississippiAre Probed by Law OfficialsBy MICHAEL OREYStaff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNALFederal and state law-enforcement authorities in Mississippi are investigating contributions to state judicial campaigns by plaintiffs' lawyers, including Richard Scruggs, a Pascagoula, Miss., attorney who made hundreds of millions of dollars suing the tobacco industry.The probe, which is at an early stage, appears to be examining whether money was illegally funneled to judges with the aim of influencing the outcome of particular cases, people familiar with the situation said. Mississippi is a key battleground in judicial elections because business groups consider the state's courts to be...

Gov. Gray Davis signed a slew of bills late Monday including one that closes a loophole that would have allowed retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to enter the banking industry by acquiring an Orange County industrial bank. Wal-Mart's acquisition plans triggered a strong backlash from bankers, who said Congress specifically wanted to keep commercial enterprises such as Wal-Mart out of the bank industry when it overhauled financial services regulation with the 1999 approval of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Wal-Mart has said it wants to enter the banking industry to satisfy its own banking needs. But bankers fear the retailer will eventually...

<p>Sometimes, the most important bills are the most obscure.</p> <p>That's the case with SB688, a bill that Gov. Gray Davis signed two weeks ago, ostensibly to deal with the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.</p> <p>The bill materialized suddenly three days before the end of the legislative session. It is a work of art by Senate Leader John Burton of San Francisco, and it has little to do with 9/11 and nothing to do with terror.</p>

<p>The state Campaign Spending Commission will not investigate a complaint by the Hawai'i Republican Party that the Democratic National Committee has exceeded the limit on the amount of money it can give to the state Democratic Party.</p> <p>Kane said the staff members should be counted as in-kind contributions, which would put the national party over the $50,000 contribution limit.</p>

<p>AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Democratic Blaine House hopeful John Baldacci led Maine's gubernatorial field in fund raising and campaign spending through mid-September, according to the latest filings with state election overseers.</p> <p>Baldacci, Maine's four-term 2nd Congressional District representative, reported raising nearly $1.1 million by Sept. 17 and expending more than $1 million.</p>

<p>In the wake of a major fund-raising embarrassment, a visibly angry Gov. Gray Davis defended his push for campaign cash Saturday and said his challenger, Republican Bill Simon, "has no business lecturing me on how to do business."</p> <p>The governor's spirited remarks came a day after he abruptly canceled a Friday fund-raiser aimed at "high-speed rail advocates," scheduled less than 24 hours after the governor signed a $9.95 billion bond measure to fund California's first high-speed rail system.</p>

<p>In a rare burst of cooperation, Sacramento city and county officials last month unveiled a joint proposal to allow development of 10,000 acres in unincorporated North Natomas while preserving a mile-wide swath of open space along the Sacramento River.</p> <p>But the map they drew came under immediate assault from landowners, including influential developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, who objected to having their properties designated as permanent open space.</p>

<p>KAHULUI, Maui — Mayor James "Kimo" Apana's re-election campaign has returned $14,400 in improper contributions as ordered by the state Campaign Spending Commission, which continues to investigate other contributions from business interests.</p> <p>Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana said party leaderes told him not to get involved in campaign finances. The returned donations involved three Honolulu engineering firms: Sato & Associates Inc. and company officials, who donated a total of $5,400 to Friends of James "Kimo" Apana; Geolabs Inc. and company officials, who donated $15,000; and Thermal Engineering Corp., which made a $2,000 contribution under a false name.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO - State Sen. Dick Ackerman, the Republican nominee for attorney general, called on Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Thursday to investigate Gov. Gray Davis' fundraising, which he characterized as ``borderline extortion.''</p> <p>Among the information Ackerman quoted was a Mercury News report Tuesday showing that Davis' aggressive fundraising has put off some Democratic backers by conveying the message that donations are key to gaining access to his office.</p>

<p>Sacramento -- Saying that it was primarily a bill to help families of Sept. 11 victims, Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday signed a sweeping change in California tort law backed by trial lawyers, some of his biggest contributors.</p> <p>In a bill signing ceremony, the Democratic governor focused on only four paragraphs of the seven-page bill that allows relatives of the terrorist attacks more time to file civil lawsuits.</p>

RHODE ISLAND SMOKERS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE ECONOMY 2001   Rhode Island smokers comprise only 23.5% of the adult population in the state. Here is what they already pay because they choose to buy a legal product: Smokers Pay Excise Taxes $ 67,580,560Smokers Pay Sales Taxes $ 21,455,280Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments $ 44,500,000                                                                                               $133,535,840 Smokers’ Economic/Tax Profile Income Rhode Island smokers’ median income 2000 $28,154 Median Income Smoker Rhode Island State Tax Liability Annual state income tax liability for a couple $589Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children $364 Smoker Excise Tax/Sales Tax/Tobacco Settlement...

<p>SACRAMENTO - A bill decried by consumer advocates as special interest legislation aimed at benefiting one generous campaign contributor passed the Assembly on Thursday night and appears likely to clear the Senate as well.</p> <p>SB689 by Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, would overturn rules recently written by Insurance Commissioner Harry Low that prohibit auto insurance companies from offering discounts to anyone who has bought insurance continuously for a certain length of time.</p>

- Challenger says ethics his priority SACRAMENTO – Battered by a fraud verdict, questions about a tax shelter and ads attacking his business deals, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon yesterday sought to take the offensive on the ethics front. He blasted Gov. Gray Davis for mixing contributions and policy and pledged to act differently if elected. Speaking in front of a friendly audience at the Rotary Club, Simon said he would eliminate the perception of ethical problems by avoiding fund-raising during the final month of the legislative session and the 30-day bill signing period afterward. The end of the session,...

<p>Prosecutors probing Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign fund-raising practices and city contracts have also begun interviewing City Council members about money that the city transferred to a nonprofit group headed by a key campaign official.</p> <p>Investigators want to know whether a $100,000 council appropriation in 1999 to help pay for an Environmental Summit was legally shifted to the Friends of the City and County of Honolulu and properly spent and accounted for.</p>

Rival links veto to $175,000 donation By Bill Ainsworth STAFF WRITER August 20, 2002 SACRAMENTO – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon downplayed his own campaign contribution from Metabolife yesterday as he lashed out at Gov. Gray Davis for blocking regulation of a controversial herbal supplement while taking $175,000 from the company and its executives. Metabolife International of San Diego produces diet pills with ephedra – a naturally occurring stimulant linked to heart attacks, strokes and seizures. Simon's attempt to score political points, however, was hurt by his own admission that he had accepted $10,000 from a Metabolife executive. Further, he...

<p>Sacramento -- Wealthy San Francisco financier Richard Blum and entertainment mogul Haim Saban -- one of Gov. Gray Davis' top campaign donors -- were unanimously approved Thursday by the state Senate to serve as University of California regents.</p> <p>Blum, 66, is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and holds bachelor's and master's degrees from UC Berkeley.</p>

Political contribution watch Strange coincidences of our time By Adamson Rust: Tuesday 30 July 2002, 12:01 CONSIDER THIS LOT BELOW and go figure. At least this kind of information about politicians is publicly available in the US. RIAA applauds peer-to-peer hacking bill as "innovative approach" Congressman Howard L. Berman, "representing California's 26th Congressional District". here. And Berman introduces peer to peer privacy prevention act. The top industries supporting Howard L. Berman. Number One: TV/Movies/Music - $186,981. Representative Howard Coble, United States House of Representatives North Carolina Sixth District co-author of Berman's Bill. Top industries supporting Howard Coble. TV/Movies/Music. And while...