So what is it about these anti-immigration measures taking off in Orange County, and spreading throughout the rest of California, and being copied elsewhere in the nation? As a native Orange County resident, I live in the middle of all of this...
And I want to examine the issues surrounding local governments enforcing immigration law. Today, we begin in Huntington Beach, where anti-immigrant hatemonger Barbara Coe had worked for over 10 years to bring more "awareness" to the issue of all those "Mexicans invading our border as part of a reconquista for Mexico to retake the Southwest". She tried, and she tried, and she tried to "raise awareness", but all she got was a failed initiativethat was thrown out of court, and snark from OC Weekly to go with it...
That is, until... (Follow me after the flip for it...)
I've been checking votes this afternoon and I've already got two no's on swearing in Janet Nguyen tomorrow as the First District supe. Both Bill Campbell and John Moorlach said they will respect what Judge Michael Brenner said this morning and hold off on declaring a winner. [...]
But even if it's a 2-2 vote on seating Janet, the motion fails and she won't be sworn in tomorrow. Both Campbell and Moorlach said they will wait until after the trial is concluded, which should be Friday, March 23. So there may not be a supe-declared First Distrct winner until Tuesday, March 27.
Tomorrow morning, the other four Orange County Supervisors will have a daunting task in front of them: To decide whether or not to seat Janet Nguyen as their new colleague on the Board. Today, the judge presiding over Trung Nguyen's legal maneuver to overturn the results of the recount made his voice heard on the matter of whether or not to seat Janet. (From The Register'sTotal Buzz)
An Orange County judge today asked the county board of supervisors today to refrain from swearing in Janet Nguyen as the First District Supervisor until he has had the chance to review the contested election results.
But Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner declined to issue a court order banning the seating of Janet Nguyen - who was certified as a 7-vote winner in a recount of the special Feb. 6 election to replace former Supervisor Lou Correa.
At the same time, however, Janet's political team is lobbying hard to get the Board of Supes to recognize the official results of last month's election by seating Janet. And since they are confident that the judge will probably not overturn the election results, they are ready to see Janet be sworn in ASAP. One of her consultants, Adam Probolsky, is trying to make that case on OC Blog today.
Janet ran, she won and she is ready to serve. No other supervisor waffled when they were about to take their seat at the county about giving up their previous position. Its the risk you take...Janet is ready to take her seat.
For the sake of the voters and for the sake of fair elections I hope the supervisors do their job: 1) receive and file, 2) declare and 3) let Janet have a moment for the ceremonial swearing-in and then get on with the business of the county.
An Orange County judge is expected to set a date for a trial, which should start within 10 days, to decide the contested election for the 1st District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Judge Michael Brenner today told attorneys for candidates Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen to return to his court Monday to select a firm date for the trial.
Brenner also ordered county Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley to provide evidence of 200 contested ballots to both sides, said attorney Steve Baric, who represents Trung Nguyen, said.
So on Monday, we should find out when the trial of the special electionrecount will actually begin...
And my goodness, will all of us in OC be SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS DAMN MELODRAMA END SOON! But in the meantime, stay tuned for more as the legal melodrama continues...
{This is Part 3 of my special report on the proposed extension of the 241 Toll Road to San Onofre State Beach (aka Trestles). If you'd like, you can find the other stories in the "Speeding Our Way to Trestles" series here. As the debate heats up over Trestles and the 241, I'd like to go in depth and examine all the issues involved... And I'd love for you to come along for the ride as we explore what can be done to relieve traffic in South Orange County AND Save Trestles Beach. Enjoy! : ) }
So much for whatever hopes the TCA had that this project could begin any time soon...
For more than a year, transportation planners have said that preparations for a toll road passing through San Onofre State Beach were on schedule.
On Wednesday, that message was revised.
Planners now say it will take at least two years longer than expected to get funding and permits for the controversial turnpike, which will complete Orange County's network of toll roads and link Orange and San Diego counties.
The Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies had hoped to secure funding for the Foothill South by 2008, but underestimated the complexity of the permit process.
So what is it that's "stopping progress" on this great toll road to nowhere? Follow me after the flip for more...
UPDATE: Darth Schroeder has officially filed a lawsuit in Superior Court. Go ahead and see the lawsuit for yourself. I guess we'll see what the courts have to say about this never-ending special election.
Some people underestimate Richard Nixon's legacy. Some of the most progressive social programs came during his administration. Legal Aid was one of these achievements. Since that time, the Legal Services Corporation has been phenomenally successful, to the limited extent of its funding. Unfortunately, funding for the LSC has been minimalistic since the 80s. Reagan came into office and slashed that commy program for the do-gooder lawyer types. Of course, that just left judges to deal with parties who were ill-equipped to handle the issues in front of them.
However, not all California Republicans are so naive. One example is the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Ronald M. George. George has said that he would like the state to begin a pilot program to provide legal services to the indigent for a broad range of cases. Check over the flip.
CarlsbadDem just warned us about Kincaid in SD County. In Orange County, we're facing a similar situation where the well-qualified candidate for Superior Court Judge, Sheila Hanson, is facing a tough challenge from Lyle Robertson...
Simply because Hanson also happens to be a (GASP!) Democrat, and Robertson is the partisan Republican pick.
Let's tell the Republicans to stop playing politics with the bench... And if you're in Orange County, join me in voting for Sheila Hanson for Judge!
An interesting story from the LA Times about Dzintra Janavs' courtroom. You might remember that Janavs was the woman who lost to the Bagel lady. It's a pretty interesting story of the day to day goings on of our courts:
To get an idea of what life is like in Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs' courtroom, imagine several soap operas playing at once. Plots include the outcome of contested elections and labor struggles, the distribution of millions of dollars and the fate of historic buildings. Some days bring cameos from gang members; others, a battle over control of a local Little League or the goings on in a topless bar.
The stories unfold with the rat-a-tat rhythm of an action drama.
The tiny Latvian-born judge with the sharp, flashing eyes burst into the public eye last week when she was unseated by a Manhattan Beach bagel shop owner with limited legal experience, then reappointed three days later by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.(LA Times 6/16/06)
