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SACRAMENTO – A new state police agency to patrol the border and crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants would be created by an initiative filed yesterday, adding to the debate over the emotional issue. The proposal from a conservative group comes after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the controversial Minuteman Project and as Congress considers new restrictions sparked by terrorism concerns. The "California Border Police Act" is being pushed by Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, and Rescue California, a group advocating tougher border enforcement. But neither could estimate the cost of creating a police force and special prison facilities. But...

LAREDO — The threat of another September 11-style attack and spreading gang violence have united Texas sheriffs along the Mexican border to seek more federal money for security. Members of the Texas Border Sheriffs' Coalition formed Wednesday said rural counties need more resources to fight national problems.

Saying, "We cannot wait any longer for the feds to get the job done," state Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, called Wednesday for the formation of a state police force to patrol California's border with Mexico. The announcement came as Haynes sent the initial draft of the "California Border Police Initiative" to the state attorney general's office Wednesday, a first step toward getting the measure on the ballot in June 2006.

SACRAMENTO — California would create its own border patrol of more than 1,000 officers and volunteers under a possible 2006 ballot initiative introduced Wednesday by conservative activists and a state assemblyman. The California Border Police Act was submitted to Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer for legal review Wednesday, the first step in getting it qualified for next year's June ballot. Its main sponsor is Assemblyman Ray Haynes, a Republican from Murrieta, who must collect 600,000 valid signatures for the initiative to qualify. "The federal government has proven itself incapable of securing our borders, so it is time for Californians to step...

Just heard on the John and Ken show that state Sen. Gil Cedillo (D, Guadalajara) is pushing through Senate Bill 591, a measure that would effectively make it impossible for police to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers. Known as "one bill" for his habit of, in every legislative session, introducing a bill to grant driver's licenses to illegals, Cedillo is pushing this stealth measure through the legislature. Under current law, unlicensed drivers have their cars impounded for 30 days, which can be very costly with the towing and storage fees. Cedillo's bill would end that practice. What this means...

SACRAMENTO, CA: California State Assemblyman Ray Haynes (R-Riverside County) will submit language to the Attorney General tomorrow for a landmark statewide initiative that would establish a separate state police force to patrol California’s international border. Known as the “California Border Police Initiative”, the measure is the first of its kind in the nation. “The federal government has proven itself incapable of securing our borders, so it is time for Californians to step up and take matters into our own hands,” said Assemblyman Haynes. “This initiative establishes a separate and distinct state police force, much like the Highway Patrol, charged with...

Our Abounding English Language By Richard Lederer English boasts by far the largest vocabulary of all languages, almost four times the number of words as its nearest competitor, German. As a result, English possesses a plethora of synonyms that allow greater nuances of meaning than are available in other tongues. The multitudinous choice of words in English offers both a delightful and daunting challenge to native and non-native speakers. In Sophie's Choice, the heroine, Polish-born Sophie, expresses mock horror at the infinite variety of English words: "Such a language! . . . Too many words. I mean just the word...

Two days after the end of the legislative session, state lawmakers are discovering something few were aware of: They voted to make English the official language of West Virginia. The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation. Among mundane details about record-keeping, the amendment adds the provision that "English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia." Senate Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey successfully offered that change to House Bill 2782 amid a flurry of bills moving back and forth...

THE PUBLIC EDITOR NOTHING provokes as much rage as what many perceive to be The Times's policy on the use of "terrorist," "terrorism" and "terror." There is no policy, actually, but except in the context of Al Qaeda, or in direct quotations, these words, as explosive as what they describe, show up very rarely. Among pro-Israeli readers (and nonreaders urged to write to me by media watchdog organizations), the controversy over variants of the T-word has become the stand-in for the Israel-Palestine conflict itself. When Israel's targeted assassinations of suspected sponsors of terrorism provoke retaliation, some pro-Palestinian readers argue that...

What does the fashion for books about the state of the English language tell us? People care about their language because it forms part of their identity, and part of the resistance to changes in English is a resistance to change itself. But correct usage is not an elite affectation; it is a badge of competence When you had finished reading your October Prospect, were you purple with rage? One contributor, writing about Gordon Brown, described him as an "heir apparent" who might find that someone else inherited after all. But an heir apparent must necessarily succeed; the term the...

Aiming to unite all residents of the United States under one common language, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) introduced a Constitutional Amendment that would declare English the official language of our nation. Reversing the recent tide of divisive and piecemeal multilingualism, H.J. Res. 94 would ensure that government business is conducted in English, providing a common ground for communication and understanding. First proposed by Senator and U.S. English, Inc. founder S.I. Hayakawa, legislation that would make English the official language of the United States has been one of the most widely supported measures in the past 20 years. More than 550...

Perhaps the most original book published recently on the development of the British state and our place in the world is called Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind, by a historian named Peter Padfield. It only went up to 1788 and I am glad to say its sequel* is coming out in a couple of weeks. The sequel's arrival is timely, because we unexpectedly find ourselves at a fork in the road. The route we go down will have a huge influence on the design of the British state, its institutions, our legal system, our taxation system...

<p>The drama can only escalate as trustee's foes turn in petitions for a vote on his ouster.</p> <p>It seems like little else matters here these days. The upcoming City Council election with 10 candidates? Yawn. The governor's race? Boorrrriinng. But the campaign to remove school board member Nativo Lopez, now that's got the town talking.</p>

One of the tenets of democracy is that all people are equal. This is usually expressed in the system of voting. Every person gets one vote that is equal to the vote of any other person. It is often viewed as the great equalizer for the humble. The homeless person has a vote that is equal to that of Bill Gates or Michael Jordan. I sometimes wonder if that is the way it should be. Are citizenship, and voting rights natural rights that come down from heaven to every person born in the United States? I believe strongly in...

<p>Teachers at PT Coe Elementary are shocked by Principal Lesa Thomas' request to keep Spanish out of their playground, cafeteria and hallways.</p> <p>The K-5 school is part of the Isaac Elementary School District, where the student population is 95 percent Hispanic.</p>

Tom Payne reviews The World's Worst Poetry by Stephen Robins If you seek bad poetry, look around you. There is so much available in cardshops, in newspapers, in advertisements, at Conservative Party conferences, that we should have no need to anthologise the stuff. One hope might be to discourage people from writing more of it. But Peter Finch, writing in The Writer's Handbook 2002, does that well enough: "Do without shards, lozenges, lambent patina and stippled seagulls. If you work with rhyme, attempt to avoid the obvious." Stephen Robins would hardly discourage bad poetry, because he claims to love it....

Singer's remark riles Hispanics -- Greeley debates 'English' comment By Michael Riley Denver Post Staff Writer Tuesday, July 09, 2002 A country western singer who told his audience at the Greeley Independence Stampede that immigrants should learn to speak English ignited an emotional debate in a community that has seen an influx of Hispanics over the past decade. Warner Brothers recording star Chad Brock said Monday that his comments were meant to express his "pride in being American." But Hispanic leaders said they were racist and the failure of Stampede organizers to condemn them shows the refusal to embrace newcomers....

Cranes Be Expanding Their RangeEndangered whooping cranes may take up residence at Matagorda Bay, expert says Associated Press Friday, March 15, 2002 INDIANOLA -- As endangered whooping cranes prepare to migrate northward, a South Texas woman says the birds are found at a new site that may show an expansion of their range along the Gulf Coast. North America's tallest bird has been spotted at Powderhorn Lake. To prove it, nature photographer Glenda Postert has posted photos of the birds on her Web site. "I think the earliest one I saw was in December. It was just one at first,...