Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Latino LA
Check out the LA Times story about a new census study of the LA metro area and population shifts from 2000-2007. Use the interactive map.
LA is a Latino city. Latino presence isn't measured just in absolute numbers but in growth rates an population shifts - in population movement as such. The title - the integration of the suburbs - is a euphemism. But it's not clear what it is a euphemism for. Actual cultural mixing? Integration? We can't tell from this.
LA is a Latino city. Latino presence isn't measured just in absolute numbers but in growth rates an population shifts - in population movement as such. The title - the integration of the suburbs - is a euphemism. But it's not clear what it is a euphemism for. Actual cultural mixing? Integration? We can't tell from this.
DA Socialism at Work - Finally
L.A. sues 18th Street gang members, seeking cash damages for Pico-Union and Westlake neighborhoods
City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo's suit targets criminals' homes and assets. Defendants include Mexican Mafia leaders Ruben 'Nite Owl' Castro and Frank 'Puppet' Martinez.
By Richard Winton
December 9, 2008
A first-of-a-kind lawsuit filed Monday by the Los Angeles city attorney seeks cash damages against leaders of a notorious gang and proposes to distribute their criminal assets among residents of crime-plagued neighborhoods.
The lawsuit targets nine imprisoned leaders of the 18th Street gang, including two leaders of the Mexican Mafia, and demands civil damages on behalf of residents of two city neighborhoods. If successful, the suit would distribute proceeds from seized homes, businesses and other assets to neighborhood residents who cannot file suit themselves because they fear retaliation, prosecutors say.
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo
"Today, we're sending a message to gang leaders across this city: If you break the law, we will not only find you, arrest you and put you behind bars, we will also take away your money, your property, your homes and your cars," City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said. "Every penny we strip away will be returned to the neighborhoods."
Delgadillo said the action is necessary because the gang leaders, even though they are in prison, collect profits from illegal "street taxes" imposed on residents of the Pico-Union and Westlake areas, where drug dealers, store owners and even ice cream vendors must pay protection.
The suit seeks compensation for all property damage, property devaluation, emotional distress, personal injury, medical expenses and time in which residents could not use public parks because of gang activity.
The nine leaders of the 18th Street gang named in the suit are: Sergio "Tricky" Pantoja, Frank "Puppet" Martinez, Araceli "Traviesa" Bravo, Michael "Mousie" Pineda, Jose Juan "Wicked" Alvarez, Noe "Lil Duster" Chavez, Efrain "Dandy Boy" Ruiz Torres, Jose "Toro" Morales Perez and Ruben "Nite Owl" Castro.
Castro, 46, is a leader, or carnal, of the Mexican Mafia, also known as the "La Eme" prison gang. Authorities say Castro controls two cliques of the 18th Street gang -- the Shatto Park Locos and the Hoover Locos.
Castro is alleged to have run those gang cliques from a federal maximum-security prison in Colorado, where he is serving multiple life terms and was recently sentenced to an additional 27 years and three months for racketeering. Prosecutors say that from behind bars, Martinez, another La Eme carnal, allegedly made as much as $40,000 a month from criminal activity. Delgadillo said that if a judgment is won against the gang leaders in civil court, legitimately acquired assets can also be garnered. He said many of the assets are concealed by relatives and will be aggressively pursued.
At the home of one Martinez relative, investigators found $444,605 stashed in storage boxes and in a vacuum cleaner bag, according to Bruce Riordan, the city attorney's gang prosecutor and a former federal prosecutor of the 18th Street gang and Mexican Mafia.
"Included on the bank notes were 18th Street marks with streets and collectors' names," he said.
"We have come across investment in juice bars, even," Riordan said.
Another of the nine, Pantoja, owned a local tattoo parlor, Unico’s, which was shut down by prosecutors because, authorities said, it was the center of a cocaine sales operation.
State officials have frozen prison accounts of some Pelican Bay State Prison inmates with large sums on the books.
The gang extorts as much as 30% of the take from some businesses in and around MacArthur Park, Riordan said. A baby was killed last year in that area when, prosecutors said, gang members were threatening a business owner.
City prosecutors can bring the suit thanks to a newly enacted state law, which allows them to act on behalf of members of the neighborhoods affected by gang activity and collect monetary damages awarded in specific civil actions. The law allows such actions in areas with gang injunctions. The 18th Street gang is already the subject of five gang injunctions by city prosecutors.
The lawsuit involves neighborhoods covered by two of the five injunctions against the 18th Street gang. The Pico-Union neighborhood is bounded by James M. Wood Boulevard to the north, the 110 Freeway to the east, the 10 Freeway to the south and Hoover Street to the west. The Westlake neighborhood is bounded by Beverly Boulevard to the north, the 110 Freeway to the east, James M. Wood Boulevard to the south and Normandie Avenue to the west.
"This prosecution will make this community whole again," LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said.
City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo's suit targets criminals' homes and assets. Defendants include Mexican Mafia leaders Ruben 'Nite Owl' Castro and Frank 'Puppet' Martinez.
By Richard Winton
December 9, 2008
A first-of-a-kind lawsuit filed Monday by the Los Angeles city attorney seeks cash damages against leaders of a notorious gang and proposes to distribute their criminal assets among residents of crime-plagued neighborhoods.
The lawsuit targets nine imprisoned leaders of the 18th Street gang, including two leaders of the Mexican Mafia, and demands civil damages on behalf of residents of two city neighborhoods. If successful, the suit would distribute proceeds from seized homes, businesses and other assets to neighborhood residents who cannot file suit themselves because they fear retaliation, prosecutors say.
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo
"Today, we're sending a message to gang leaders across this city: If you break the law, we will not only find you, arrest you and put you behind bars, we will also take away your money, your property, your homes and your cars," City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said. "Every penny we strip away will be returned to the neighborhoods."
Delgadillo said the action is necessary because the gang leaders, even though they are in prison, collect profits from illegal "street taxes" imposed on residents of the Pico-Union and Westlake areas, where drug dealers, store owners and even ice cream vendors must pay protection.
The suit seeks compensation for all property damage, property devaluation, emotional distress, personal injury, medical expenses and time in which residents could not use public parks because of gang activity.
The nine leaders of the 18th Street gang named in the suit are: Sergio "Tricky" Pantoja, Frank "Puppet" Martinez, Araceli "Traviesa" Bravo, Michael "Mousie" Pineda, Jose Juan "Wicked" Alvarez, Noe "Lil Duster" Chavez, Efrain "Dandy Boy" Ruiz Torres, Jose "Toro" Morales Perez and Ruben "Nite Owl" Castro.
Castro, 46, is a leader, or carnal, of the Mexican Mafia, also known as the "La Eme" prison gang. Authorities say Castro controls two cliques of the 18th Street gang -- the Shatto Park Locos and the Hoover Locos.
Castro is alleged to have run those gang cliques from a federal maximum-security prison in Colorado, where he is serving multiple life terms and was recently sentenced to an additional 27 years and three months for racketeering. Prosecutors say that from behind bars, Martinez, another La Eme carnal, allegedly made as much as $40,000 a month from criminal activity. Delgadillo said that if a judgment is won against the gang leaders in civil court, legitimately acquired assets can also be garnered. He said many of the assets are concealed by relatives and will be aggressively pursued.
At the home of one Martinez relative, investigators found $444,605 stashed in storage boxes and in a vacuum cleaner bag, according to Bruce Riordan, the city attorney's gang prosecutor and a former federal prosecutor of the 18th Street gang and Mexican Mafia.
"Included on the bank notes were 18th Street marks with streets and collectors' names," he said.
"We have come across investment in juice bars, even," Riordan said.
Another of the nine, Pantoja, owned a local tattoo parlor, Unico’s, which was shut down by prosecutors because, authorities said, it was the center of a cocaine sales operation.
State officials have frozen prison accounts of some Pelican Bay State Prison inmates with large sums on the books.
The gang extorts as much as 30% of the take from some businesses in and around MacArthur Park, Riordan said. A baby was killed last year in that area when, prosecutors said, gang members were threatening a business owner.
City prosecutors can bring the suit thanks to a newly enacted state law, which allows them to act on behalf of members of the neighborhoods affected by gang activity and collect monetary damages awarded in specific civil actions. The law allows such actions in areas with gang injunctions. The 18th Street gang is already the subject of five gang injunctions by city prosecutors.
The lawsuit involves neighborhoods covered by two of the five injunctions against the 18th Street gang. The Pico-Union neighborhood is bounded by James M. Wood Boulevard to the north, the 110 Freeway to the east, the 10 Freeway to the south and Hoover Street to the west. The Westlake neighborhood is bounded by Beverly Boulevard to the north, the 110 Freeway to the east, James M. Wood Boulevard to the south and Normandie Avenue to the west.
"This prosecution will make this community whole again," LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Fire Number 3
The Southern California fires seem to be following a foothill crescent from northwest to southeast - Santa Barbara, Sylmar, and now the Anaheim Hills in inland Orange County (all the green stuff is fallout from the fire.
The Orange County Register has good photos from Number 3.
An ordinary So Cal Apocalypse Now:
And here you can see the 2 fires on the newer edges of the LA basin, where people went from 1980 on to find foothills they could still afford.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
More Ashes, More Flames
The LA Times has a good photo gallery of the Montecito fire (the Tea Fire). It's quieting down there, though the fire is only 40% contained. That's the ruins of the Mount Cavalry Monastery above.
It heated up last night north of LA, where the San Fernando valley meets the mountains. he Sylmar fire jumped the I-5 and I-210 Freeways, both of which are at the time still closed. 10,000 people have been evacuated and they have no idea how many houses are gone.
California suburbian once again:
Friday, November 14, 2008
Burning and Burning
Kind of says it all.
The Zaca Fire, started July 4, 2007, and burned for two months in the wilderness area behind Santa Barbara.
The Gap Fire, started July 6, 2008, burned the front face of the mountains west of Santa Barbara -- burned for days as military planes crossed back in forth in the smoke bombing it with chemicals. I saw fire trucks from Idaho and Wyoming coming and going like columns of tanks.
Today, November 14th, air temperature in Santa Barbara is 85 degrees F. The Santa Barbara Independent reported that "A 2006 study published in Science found that since 1986, the number of major wildfires has increased by 400 percent, and the amount of land these fires burned increased by 600 percent, compared to the period from 1970 to 1986."
Summer doesn't end. Various cities burn.
The house of my friends Karen and Rich Appelbaum, who gave more great dinners and parties there than I can count - one of everyone I know's favorite places in Santa Barbara up in smoke.
R.I.P.324 Sherman Road
Hills Are Filled with Fire
This time it's Montecito and Santa Barbara - from 0 to 60 in about an hour. The best coverage has been at the Santa Barbara Independent. My mother was evacuated but the house still seems to be there. I'm worried about the houses of various UCSB friends.What biblical plague will be coming next? This is the third major destroyer in SB in not much more than a year, counting the Zaca and Gap fires. So it will probably just be more fire.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Bush's tax breaks for banks could cost California $2 billion
Wells Fargo is state's chief beneficiary of change that allows banks to write off losses when taking over failing institutions.
By Evan Halper
November 11, 2008
Reporting from Sacramento — Even as California's fiscal woes mount, the state is slated to lose an additional $2 billion in coming years as a result of new tax breaks the Bush administration created for a small group of banks including California-based Wells Fargo.
A tax change put into effect by the U.S. Treasury Department provides new federal and state breaks for banks that take over other failing financial institutions. The subsidies come on top of the $700 billion in bailout money that Congress authorized as part of the federal rescue plan.
The move is provoking anger among lawmakers and activists from Washington to Sacramento. The primary beneficiary here will be Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia Corp. days after the Bush administration changed the tax law.
"It is an affront to the state's taxpayers," said Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the nonprofit California Tax Reform Assn. "While struggling with a revenue crisis, we now have to contribute to the federal bank bailout."
At issue is the extent to which banks can write off losses they absorb when taking over other banks. Decades-old limits on those write-offs were removed by the Treasury Department on Sept. 30. An estimate by the law firm Jones Day, which represents banks, found that the change will save banks as much as $140 billion, mostly in federal tax relief.
Officials at the state Franchise Tax Board, California's tax collection agency, say state law requires them to conform with the new rule.
Days after the tax rule was changed, Wells Fargo successfully moved to acquire Wachovia Corp., whose losses on loans could reach more than $70 billion. Tax experts at Jones Day and elsewhere have projected that those losses will allow Wells Fargo to claim $20 billion to $25 billion in total tax breaks.
Officials at Wells Fargo declined to comment.
Experts say other banks will also benefit, but to a lesser extent. PNC Financial Services Group, which recently acquired National City Corp., could receive as much as $5 billion in tax savings, they say. Banco Santander, which took over Sovereign Bancorp, is expected to receive a smaller boost.
As other banks take over failing institutions in coming months and years, the tax breaks will be extended to them for losses absorbed.
Treasury spokesman Andrew DeSouza said the rule change was not intended to help any particular bank or to be part of the federal bailout package, which was being debated in Congress when the agency acted.
"This was something that was under development for many, many weeks," DeSouza said.
He declined to comment on the cost of the change to the federal and state governments, which he said the Treasury Department did not factor into its decision-making.
Most of the tax advantages will be claimed on federal returns. But state tax board figures obtained by The Times show California will take a $300-million hit this year. In subsequent years, that sum would gradually drop until the $2 billion in tax breaks is exhausted.
The subsidies come at a time when California is facing a severe budget shortfall.
"It's going to cost us $300 million when we need every penny," said Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello).
It will be at least three years before the banks exhaust their tax breaks and the state collects that revenue again.
Late last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for billions of dollars in sales tax increases and new taxes on retail sales, services, oil companies and car registrations to help close a projected deficit of $24 billion through mid-2010.
The governor also called for billions of dollars in cuts to schools, healthcare, law enforcement and other state programs.
Education officials said the governor's plan would force them to shut down schools in the middle of the academic year.
Schwarzenegger administration officials and state lawmakers Monday were studying the possibility of passing legislation to eliminate the tax break in California.
State Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who will take over as leader of the upper house next month, said the Treasury's move created an "inappropriate loophole that will have a direct impact on us."
But changing California tax law to eliminate the subsidies could require a two-thirds majority of the Legislature, meaning that at least five Republicans would have to vote for it. Most GOP lawmakers have signed a pledge against raising taxes; elimination of the tax break could be seen as a breach of that pledge.
A spokeswoman for the Assembly's minority Republicans said staffers are still reviewing how the tax break applies to California.
In Washington, some lawmakers are asking whether the tax break is necessary.
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressing concern about tens of billions of dollars in subsidies being created without Congress having any say.
Schumer said the new tax rule threatens to undermine competition in the financial industry by motivating banks to buy other banks just to create tax shelters for themselves
DeSouza said the Treasury Department is working on a response to Schumer's letter.
Halper is a Times staff writer.
evan.halper@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-budget11-2008nov11,0,2238673.story
By Evan Halper
November 11, 2008
Reporting from Sacramento — Even as California's fiscal woes mount, the state is slated to lose an additional $2 billion in coming years as a result of new tax breaks the Bush administration created for a small group of banks including California-based Wells Fargo.
A tax change put into effect by the U.S. Treasury Department provides new federal and state breaks for banks that take over other failing financial institutions. The subsidies come on top of the $700 billion in bailout money that Congress authorized as part of the federal rescue plan.
The move is provoking anger among lawmakers and activists from Washington to Sacramento. The primary beneficiary here will be Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia Corp. days after the Bush administration changed the tax law.
"It is an affront to the state's taxpayers," said Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the nonprofit California Tax Reform Assn. "While struggling with a revenue crisis, we now have to contribute to the federal bank bailout."
At issue is the extent to which banks can write off losses they absorb when taking over other banks. Decades-old limits on those write-offs were removed by the Treasury Department on Sept. 30. An estimate by the law firm Jones Day, which represents banks, found that the change will save banks as much as $140 billion, mostly in federal tax relief.
Officials at the state Franchise Tax Board, California's tax collection agency, say state law requires them to conform with the new rule.
Days after the tax rule was changed, Wells Fargo successfully moved to acquire Wachovia Corp., whose losses on loans could reach more than $70 billion. Tax experts at Jones Day and elsewhere have projected that those losses will allow Wells Fargo to claim $20 billion to $25 billion in total tax breaks.
Officials at Wells Fargo declined to comment.
Experts say other banks will also benefit, but to a lesser extent. PNC Financial Services Group, which recently acquired National City Corp., could receive as much as $5 billion in tax savings, they say. Banco Santander, which took over Sovereign Bancorp, is expected to receive a smaller boost.
As other banks take over failing institutions in coming months and years, the tax breaks will be extended to them for losses absorbed.
Treasury spokesman Andrew DeSouza said the rule change was not intended to help any particular bank or to be part of the federal bailout package, which was being debated in Congress when the agency acted.
"This was something that was under development for many, many weeks," DeSouza said.
He declined to comment on the cost of the change to the federal and state governments, which he said the Treasury Department did not factor into its decision-making.
Most of the tax advantages will be claimed on federal returns. But state tax board figures obtained by The Times show California will take a $300-million hit this year. In subsequent years, that sum would gradually drop until the $2 billion in tax breaks is exhausted.
The subsidies come at a time when California is facing a severe budget shortfall.
"It's going to cost us $300 million when we need every penny," said Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello).
It will be at least three years before the banks exhaust their tax breaks and the state collects that revenue again.
Late last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for billions of dollars in sales tax increases and new taxes on retail sales, services, oil companies and car registrations to help close a projected deficit of $24 billion through mid-2010.
The governor also called for billions of dollars in cuts to schools, healthcare, law enforcement and other state programs.
Education officials said the governor's plan would force them to shut down schools in the middle of the academic year.
Schwarzenegger administration officials and state lawmakers Monday were studying the possibility of passing legislation to eliminate the tax break in California.
State Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who will take over as leader of the upper house next month, said the Treasury's move created an "inappropriate loophole that will have a direct impact on us."
But changing California tax law to eliminate the subsidies could require a two-thirds majority of the Legislature, meaning that at least five Republicans would have to vote for it. Most GOP lawmakers have signed a pledge against raising taxes; elimination of the tax break could be seen as a breach of that pledge.
A spokeswoman for the Assembly's minority Republicans said staffers are still reviewing how the tax break applies to California.
In Washington, some lawmakers are asking whether the tax break is necessary.
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressing concern about tens of billions of dollars in subsidies being created without Congress having any say.
Schumer said the new tax rule threatens to undermine competition in the financial industry by motivating banks to buy other banks just to create tax shelters for themselves
DeSouza said the Treasury Department is working on a response to Schumer's letter.
Halper is a Times staff writer.
evan.halper@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-budget11-2008nov11,0,2238673.story
Thursday, July 10, 2008
While the State is Burning
Here's a good column by LAT Times Sacra- mento columnist on California's political paralysis. It's sad, our decline from Dream to Disavowal. They're related, but this has been going on too long. Time to wake the hell up.California voters can't handle the truth
George Skelton
Capitol Journal
July 10, 2008
SACRAMENTO — An e-mailer had it basically right the other day. He likened the public's mind-set about government to what Marine Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) barked at young Navy prosecutor Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) in the movie "A Few Good Men."
Jessep: "You want answers?"
Kaffee: "I want the truth."
Jessep: "You can't handle the truth!"
Roman, the e-mailer, wrote me that the older he gets, the more he realizes that "the Jack Nicholson moment may be close to the truth" about the public.
"It's always easier to blame someone else," Roman wrote. "As soon as the electorate plays an intelligent role in government, then we can get 'intelligent' representatives."
Although I believe that much of the public and many of its elected representatives live in denial, calling the voters unintelligent is a bit harsh. After all, they're constantly lied to by the politicians whenever the pols' own self-interests are at stake.
But clearly many California voters refuse to recognize the truth, let alone try to handle it.
Here's a good example: Polls always have shown that the public strongly favors California's dopey requirement that a state budget be passed by a two-thirds majority of each legislative house. It's an inanity, given that a 60% vote in elections is considered a landslide.
It's a legislative straitjacket that has led to chronically late budgets, low bond ratings and the stiffing of private vendors by a cash-strapped state. It's tyranny by the minority, staunchly defended by Republicans because it makes them relevant inside the Capitol.
Only two other states -- Arkansas and Rhode Island -- require a supermajority legislative vote for budget passage.
Not surprisingly, California and Rhode Island recently tied for dead last when all the states were graded on fiscal management. The grader -- the Pew Center on the States -- gave California and Rhode Island only D+ marks. Arkansas managed a middling B-, the national average.
Term limits is another example of the public's inability to handle the truth. Voters believe that term limits keep lawmakers in check. But the truth is that they rob Sacramento of legislative experience, policy knowledge and the incentive to plan long-range for California's needs.
On Wednesday, the Legislature's two Democratic leaders -- Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) -- expressed hope that the public can be persuaded to handle the truth about the need for tax increases to balance the books without whacking more government programs.
"We've heard so much about the greatest generation," Perata told reporters. "Is it too much to ask, in the memory of someone who died at Normandy, to pay a nickel more for a latte?"
That's a nice sound bite -- and that's why I'm using it -- but I'm not sure what he's talking about.
Democrats are not proposing a tax on lattes -- or a sales tax hike on anything. And it's unfortunate. The sales tax system badly needs updating for a 21st century economy. Sales taxes should be extended to services and overall rates lowered.
Maybe next year, Capitol leaders say, in their best L.A. Clippers imitation.
On Tuesday night, Democrats did propose nearly $10 billion in tax hikes. Of that, $5.6 billion would come from adding higher income tax rates of 10% and 11% on the wealthiest Californians -- couples with taxable incomes above $321,000 and $642,000 respectively. The top rate currently is 9.3%, reached by couples with taxable incomes above $93,000.
Democrats also proposed freezing the "indexing" of income tax brackets, which would result in higher taxes for the middle class. Indexing is what prevents wage-earners from automatically moving up to a higher bracket whenever they receive a cost-of-living raise.
Perata said that if the impoverished aged, blind and disabled are denied cost-of-living benefit hikes -- which they will be -- income taxpayers also should be denied adjustments in their brackets. That does make sense.
Democrats also proposed closing some corporate tax loopholes, reducing the dependent tax exemption for couples earning more than $150,000 and raising the corporate tax rate to 9.3% from 8.4%.
Actually, much of this tax-raising merely involves returning taxes to what they were before Sacramento, in boom times, went nuts with tax-cutting and spending.
Bass contended that the Legislature has cut spending by more than $12 billion over the last three budgets.
"We just can't cut anymore and still be the kind of California anyone would hope to live in," she said.
"Californians are telling us don't decimate education, don't shred the safety net, don't close parks and don't keep kids out of health clinics. The straight truth is that takes revenue. And the straight truth is we can solve this [$15-billion] budget deficit by closing tax loopholes and rolling back overly generous tax breaks that were given to big corporations and the wealthiest Californians."
The straight truth is Californians want good schools, the safety net, clean parks and kids' healthcare -- and want someone else to pay.
But when people hear the truth about the state's dire predicament, the legislative leaders predicted, they'll support higher taxes -- just as they did $42 billion in infrastructure bonds two years ago. Problem is, that bond money only recently has begun to get spent. Not a real confidence-builder for the public.
The real truth is that Sacramento leaders don't have much credibility with the public. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has lost his clout -- with the public and the Legislature.
For any tax hike to pass, the governor will need to execute a perfect flip-flop -- from "guaranteed" veto to "oops, new position" -- and perform politically for Republicans. Some fund-raising for them would help.
And Democrats will need to give into GOP demands for budget reforms that would help staunch the bleeding.
Col. Jessep presumably was convicted for telling the truth. Politicians can be tossed from office for being too candid. But in California, legislators are protected by gerrymandered districts.
So the lawmakers might as well be straight with voters and lead -- not fret about whether they can handle it.
george.skelton@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-skelton10-2008jul10,0,1147429.column
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