During this whole budget crisis, a lot of friends have told me that Calitics is a big downer. So, in an effort to highlight some of the good stuff going around California, I've decided to introduce something I hope to do regularly with this Dept. of Good News. If you have some good news that will fit this space, shoot me an email.
First, the Long Beach Port has installed the worlds' first shore-side power system for oil tankers that will drastically decrease pollution in the area. It will allow tankers in one of the busiest ports on the West Coast to connect to the power grid rather than sit in the port idling, burning dirty fuel.
At a ceremony formally unveiling the port's dockside power system, port Executive Director Dick Steinke described it as "another giant step" toward cleaning up the air. The project cost $23.7 million and took three years to complete, port officials said. The port contributed about $17.5 million to the project and BP paid the rest.
Roger Brown, regional vice president of BP, said the emissions reductions amounted to 50% even when factoring in pollution created by power plants in generating the electricity. (LAT 6/4/09)
Speaking of reducing emissions, you know what else would do that? Why, high speed rail, of course. After passing our high speed rail bond package (2008's Prop 1A), we are now sitting pretty for the federal government's $8 B of stimulus money tagged for high speed rail.
"The reason why California is looked at so closely -- it's been a priority of your governor, it's been a priority of your Legislature, they've talked about it, a lot of planning has been done," Biden said in a conference call with reporters.
The vice president said the administration wants "to get shovel-ready projects out the door as quickly as we can. . . . So California is in the game." (LAT 6/4/09)
HSR has been in the works for a loooong time, and had we just put this on the ballot 6 years ago or whenever it was originally scheduled we would now be in full construction mode. Despite that, after all the land is purchased and a bit more planning is done, we should be digging for what could be our next great infrastructure project sooner rather than later.
Gary DeLong represents the 3rd District of the Long Beach City Council, and he holds a monthly meeting - at taxpayer expense - with constituents. This month he abruptly decided to invite Dana Rohrabacher - his preferred candidate for Congress - to the meeting.
Walking a legal, ethical and political tightrope just before Election Day, Long Beach City Councilmember Gary DeLong has suddenly invited the candidate he supports for congress-conservative incumbent Republican Dana Rohrabacher-to speak Thursday at DeLong's monthly lunchtime meeting with his Third District constituents.
Debbie Cook, the Huntington Beach mayor who is presenting Rohrabacher with his strongest challenge in his 20 years in the House of Representatives, had not heard about the event when contacted by The District Weekly late Monday night. "I was not invited," she said.
Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts had been scheduled for more than a month to address the Third District Neighborhoods meeting, but DeLong abruptly disinvited Batts so that Rohrabacher could appear.
DeLong has made three financial contributions to Rohrabacher's re-election campaign in the last 16 months. He donated $200 on June 27, $250 on Feb. 14 and $200 on June 16, 2007. Additionally, DeLong wrote a $1,000 check to the National Republican Congressional Committee on October 1.
But juggling the guest list at the Third District Neighborhoods meeting may constitute DeLong's most-valuable gift to Rohrabacher, providing the congressman with a late-in-the-campaign appearance before some of Long Beach's most-affluent and influential residents.
Hilariously, A DeLong spinner explains that the city staffers for the event are going on their lunch hour and the invites weren't sent on city time, so everything's above board. Oh, and where's it being held?
THE LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB. Perfect setting for a Yacht Party get-together.
What's most notable about this is that Rohrabacher is showing up in Long Beach at all. I'd be surprised if he knows where it is. Rohrabacher usually runs up the score in the Orange County strongholds. This year, he has to search for votes everywhere.
...oh yeah, if you want more of an incentive, Dana strongly supports Prop. 8. He says that we do not need to change the definition of marriage in order to "make a small number of people comfortable with themselves".
The day before she was announced as John McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin called on Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a landmark bill that would levy fees on cargo containers at state ports to raise money for pollution mitigation standards. The air around California ports, especially LA-Long Beach, is among the worst in the nation with major negative health impacts on nearby residents. But Palin doesn't care:
"Enactment of Senate Bill 974 will have negative impacts on both Alaska and California," Palin wrote. "For Alaskans, a very large percentage of goods [90% or more] shipped to Alaska arrive as marine cargo in a container."
Palin said many Alaskan communities lack road access and depend entirely on goods shipped by container, something that has significantly increased in cost in recent years. Many of those containers pass through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports before arriving in Alaska, and Palin argues that the fee will add even more to the cost of goods shipped to her state.
"This tax makes the situation worse," Palin wrote. "Similarly, the tax may harm California by driving port business away from its ports."
The letter concludes by requesting that "due consideration be given to our state and that you not sign Senate Bill 974."
State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, author of SB 974, had a devastating response to Palin's interference:
On Thursday, with the Palin letter hitting the Internet, Lowenthal invited the Alaskan governor to travel to the Southern California ports to see first-hand why the fee is needed.
"We are losing about 3,400 Californians each year because of pollution," Lowenthal said. "No matter what Gov. Palin would like to see happen, the impact is killing Californians. I don't think Gov. Palin truly understands the impacts going on here."
RUMBLE, RUMBLE. That's the hum of my community, so close to the nation's largest port complex. The air tickles your throat, but my daughter and I are not laughing. We've been living in Long Beach for ten years. The doctor first diagnosed her with asthma when she was six. It's been traumatizing to watch my child suffer. Through my involvement with the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, I've learned about managing my child's asthma, including controlling triggers inside the home. Unfortunately, it's impossible to control the environment outside, when you live next to the largest fixed source of air pollution in greater Los Angeles. I believe there are solutions to these problems. I don't believe industry's claim that reducing pollution will hurt our economy. These companies make a lot of money while I spend money on medicine and miss work and my daughter misses school.
Adriana Hernandez
I LIVE NEAR I-710: a parking lot of nearly 50,000 cargo trucks daily. Next door is Wilmington, an area pockmarked with refineries. We get hit with pollution from all sides. My youngest son was born with a closed trachea and his left vocal cord paralyzed; he still takes speech classes. He also suffered from severe asthma attacks. I had to medicate him and connect him to a breathing machine, feeling desperate that my child couldn't breathe.
This is what Palin, for whom motherhood is such a central part of her message and appeal, is enabling with her effort to squelch California's clean air laws - Palin is supporting pollution that is hurting working families.
Her interference in California's lawmaking process is bad enough, but it's a harbinger of what we can expect from a McCain-Palin Administration. As we saw with the EPA waiver the federal government has the power to preempt California clean air rules, and Palin is signaling that if she and McCain win they will likely use that power to undermine our efforts to provide healthy lives for our families.
California may not have the same role to play in the election that swing states like Nevada and Ohio do, but we can help Americans understand exactly what they'll be getting from McCain-Palin - more of the same attacks on our health, our environmental laws, and our states rights.
I noticed that when she won election last year, it was surmised on this site that she would hold the seat for 20 years. Perhaps that prediction was premature.
It doesn't seem as if she has been doing anything much different from a lot of real estate speculators in California, and it looks as if she is about to suffer some of the same consequences. I do have to say that I am kind of curious as to how she was able to get all those loans, based on her explanation that she got into trouble after changing jobs four times.
Turning free speech and the notion of a military defending American Constitutional rights completely on its head, a Veteran's Day parade in Long Beach banned antiwar veteran's groups from appearing on Saturday.
A participation application filed by Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out was turned down because organizers want Saturday's parade free from politics.
"They do not fit the spirit of the parade, the spirit being one of gratitude for what the veterans have done," said Martha Thuente, coordinator for the nonprofit Veterans Day Parade Committee.
"We do not want groups of a political nature, advocating the troops' withdrawal from Iraq," she added.
Now, you don't have an inalienable right to march in a parade. But Veterans For Peace WAS allowed to march in the same parade last year. Not to mention the fact that plenty of the groups marching on Saturday have advocated an explicit political agenda in the past. The VFW and the American Legion have made plenty of public pro-war statements over the years, that would seemingly conflict with this expressed belief that only "nonpartisan" groups be allowed to show their pride in wearing the uniform.
Contact information for the Long Beach Veteran's Day Parade is here. It is impossible and even dangerous to sanitize democracy of any political thought because some arbitrary official deems it "inappropriate."
UPDATE II (by dday): 8% reporting
LAURA RICHARDSON DEM 4,534 34.95
JENNY OROPEZA DEM 3,842 29.61
VALERIE MC DONALD DEM 1,358 10.47
That's not a lot of VOTES separating Richardson and Oropeza, but so far the first Election Day voters have tracked with the absentee voters. There's really no substitute for boots on the ground in a race like this. Richardson is looking good, and she ran a uniformly ugly race.
UPDATE III (blogswarm back): At 10:06 PM we have Richardson pulling away with 18.86% of precincts reporting (63 of 334)
(It is Election Day! We'll have result coverage tonight! And please note that my promoting this should not be seen as an endorsement, I'm just a junkie for great diaries and Election Days.-blogswarm; Also, don't forget to check out Long Beach's local blogs, LB Post and LB Report, for the latest on the special election today. Oh yes, and thanks, Major, for visiting our humble blog! : ) - promoted by atdleft)
X-post to Daily Kos, with scant revision.
I have a horse in the CA-37 race today.
In 1980, I became the editor of Cal State Long Beach's alternative newspaper, then called the Union Daily. The University President was then Steve Horn, a moderate Republican who later represented Long Beach in Congress. The Student Body President was a young (though a little older than me) Latina woman named Jenny Oropeza. She was planning an unprecedented (at The Beach) run for re-election. A few weeks into my tenure, she sized me up, let me know her plans, and asked me if the paper would be endorsing and, if so, where she stood.
I was a new kid in town, but I'd done my homework on her. I knew that Jenny was considered bright, liberal, ambitious, organized, hardworking, and a real fighter. Given political power, she had done what one has to do in office to earn further trust. I /think/ I managed not to tip my hand that day, but I already had a good sense that I'd ultimately endorse her, even against what turned out to be an also-impressive opponent.
I do so today for the same reasons. I don't live in CA-37, but if I did I'd vote for Jenny. If you live there, I hope you'll support her. My take on the race follows.
Voters go to the polls tomorrow to elect the successor to Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald. The story line coming out of the election seems to be labor v. tribes. They are both spending more money than the candidates have raised themselves.
State Senator Jenny Oropeza, as dday detailed on Saturday, has been the beneficiary of over $270,000 in independent spending from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The tribe has dropped mailers, door hangers, newspaper ads and called voters in a push to repay Oropeza for voting for the massive gaming expansion. That vote was one factor for the LA County Labor Federation's support of Assemblywoman Laura Richardson. They are spending their money on member to member communication, urging the members of their local affiliated unions to vote for Richardson. No specific total in terms of spending, but it is not an insignificant sum.
I would put my money on the Fed being much more effective with their communication rather than the blanketing of the district done by the tribe. Turnout is going to be pretty small, less than 15% and those hard core voters are not easily swayed by mailers and door hangers. This campaign really is all about identifying likely voters and making sure they get to the polls. Who ever has a better turnout model and plan will win.
The amounts that the campaigns have raised are relatively modest. Oropeza reported $219,000 on June 6, while Richardson listed $105,000 in contributions. The tribes efforts have surpassed both of them easily.
If you are in the district make sure you vote and drag all of your friends and family around with you. The winner will likely be in office for a few decades.
LBPost.com, Charter Communications, and the Long Beach Democratic Club are co-sponsoring a debate among ALL THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES running to fill the vacated seat in the 37th Congressional District. If you live anywhere from Carson to Long Beach, then you'll definitely want to come to this. Come, and see for yourself what the candidates have to say about the issues that you care about most.
Follow me after the flip for all the details on next week's debate...
OK, I just saw this on The Liberal OC, and I think I should share this with all the rest of you. Remember when I told you that Jim Brandt is running for the State Assembly in the 54th District, where Betty Karnette is termed out?
Well, Jim is looking for some help. He actually is looking forward to winning this race and serving the people of Long Beach, San Pedro, and Palos Verdes in Sacramento, but he can't win this thing alone. If you're in this area, then perhaps it's time for YOU to step up and help Jim out!
Follow me after the flip to find out how YOU can help...
In 2006, Jim Brandt fought the good fight in his run for Congress against our favoriteloonyincumbentDana Rohrabacher. Today, he is moving on to a new challenge: Helping the Democrats retain the Assembly seat currently held by moderate Democrat Betty Karnette.
Follow me after the flip for more about the man who I hope will be the next Assemblymember from the 54th District...
