Free Republic

Michael Tenenbaum says most people he meets while campaigning in local communities don't know who their congressman is. "It's not your fault you don't know," Tenenbaum tells them. "If he'd done something you'd know him." Tenenbaum, 37, is speaking of his June 6 primary election opponent, Elton Gallegly of Simi Valley, the 20-year congressman for the 24th District, which covers parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, including Thousand Oaks. Voters will choose one of the two Republicans for the November election ballot. What many people do know about Gallegly, 62, adds Tenenbaum, is that Gallegly unexpectedly announced his retirement...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - You may have a better chance of bumping into a legislator in Monterey, Napa or Simi Valley than at the state Capitol this week. Three of the Legislature's four party caucuses are meeting away from Sacramento to discuss the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's public works plan and other issues. Assembly Democrats are going to Monterey for three days starting Monday. Their Republican counterparts will make a three-day pilgrimage to the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley, arriving in time to have chocolate cake on Monday as part of the celebration of the late president's 95th birthday....

Air-quality regulators planned to sample the air around the Santa Susana Field Lab late Thursday for contamination that may have been released when the Topanga Fire roared through the hilltop lab. Thursday was supposed to be the day of the final rocket test at the field lab, ending testing operations at the hilltop site. Instead, it was at the center of a massive brush fire that stretched miles through the rugged area. Several vacant buildings at the site were burned, and an office and machine shop were damaged by the flames. But hazardous waste and radioactive facilities were not affected,...

A California man dubbed a "Satanist" on an online message board has posted photos of himself dancing on President Ronald Reagan's grave, raising the ire of the former chief executive's admirers. Posted on Ruthlessreviews.com (warning: vulgar site), the photos show a thin, white man likely in his 20s wearing an AC/DC T-shirt and having hopped over the fence that protects Reagan's grave.

Vehicle on track. Possibly dump truck. Ventura county. As per KCAL 9 TV news.

<p>Blame it all on Dales ECB website (I ran across it in a google search) - and the going home of our nation’s greatest President, who always remembered my name every time we met at a GOP gig.</p> <p>It has been a long time since I’ve posted here (roughly 2 ½ years) - I left to face a lot of trouble (legal, personal) and try to reorder life nearer the sane-level (still not quite there yet, as you’ll soon see...) - and knowing that I couldn’t do what needed done unless I quit spending so much time having a ball on FR for hours every day.</p>

Reagan family has arrived in Santa Monica to escort President Reagan's body to his library.

I was horribly curious. I used to live in Chatsworth, and I knew it pretty well. I had to see the fire. I just had to. And in seeing it, of course, I had to bring back pictures and video to share. Some people would say that I shouldn't have gone there, that I was visiting a spectacle off people's ruined lives. In my defense, I would not have un-ruined one life or saved one house or tree from burning if I had not been there. I gave all emergency vehicles a wide berth and didn't even get vaguely close...

Current Fires Active list for California, 6:19pm 10/27/03 (Updates welcome. Freepmail me or post 'em. I need all the help maintaining this list that I can get! Please, let's not discuss theories of how the fires started, or political debates of who should or should not be there... let's keep this thread as a fire-news only thread. Thank you!) Most recent total update: 1,100 homes lost in the southland. 325,000 acres burned. 30,000 homes still threatened by the fire. The list: Hemet fire, Riverside county. As of last heard report, 6500 acres burned. May have joined with the Mountain fire...