The Southern California fires continue to burn out of control. Not even
a visit from Mr. Freeze could slow the, down. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took a tour of Malibu Presbyterian Church 10 a.m. Monday morning and declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles County and six other counties in Southern California," reports the Malibu Times.
"The number of firefighting personnel has reached its maximum in the state. Firefighters from Nevada, Oregon, Arizona and Northern California are being sent to help battle the fires throughout Southern California.
"'The wind is our No. 1 enemy,' the governor said."
The worst of the fires seems to be in San Diego county, where
hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated. "With the Witch fire still roaring unchecked across northern San Diego, police ordered mandatory evacuations for the Scripps Ranch area – specifically residents living south of Scripps Poway Parkway, north of Miramar Marine Corps air Station, east of Interstate 15 and west of state Route 67," reports the Union-Tribune.
"The same community was devastated by the 2003 Cedar fire.
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By afternoon, the Witch fire was still being reported at 10,000 acres, but with the fire still being pushed by Santa Ana winds, that figure was likely to grow significantly.
“It's going to get worse. It's probably the worst fire this county has ever had, well worse than the Cedar fire,” said Sheriff Bill Kolender."
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan takes a look at
the veto rate of Gov. Schwarzenegger, and compares it to that of his predecessors.
"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills at nearly twice of the rate of his two most-recent predecessors, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson. And if this year is any indication, he has rejected Democratic measures at several times the rate of GOP-authored bills.
Looking at veto rates of the last fifteen years, Schwarzenegger's reign is notable for three things: the higher veto rate, his consistency in vetoing at least 22 percent of the bills that hit his desk, and the low number of bills reaching his desk.
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Many of these vetoes could be prevented, according to Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, if the governor's staff had been more receptive about communicating with Democratic lawmakers. He pointed to last year as essentially the only year that Schwarzenegger has signed a large number of landmark bills, he said, and also the only year the administration has communicated extensively with the legislature.
"The problem is the governor doesn't reach out to the legislature," Levine said. "Frankly, the Democrats have been his best allies in the legislature," Levine added. "It should be painfully obvious to him by now."
LAT's Patrick McGreevy reports
the Runners are back to crack down on gangs. "A year after bringing to California Jessica's Law, the crackdown on sex offenders, the husband-and-wife team of state
Sen. George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner announced Monday a new initiative that would
target gang members for tougher prosecution and dedicate nearly $1 billion annually to enforcement and intervention.
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The Republican legislators from Lancaster hope to collect enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot, and they have the backing of the father of the state's three-strikes law as well as law enforcement officials, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca."However, the measure drew immediate opposition from other lawmakers, including Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker
Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles)."
Meanwhile,
from the people who brought you the recall...
"Two Republican political consultants are
trying to revive an initiative to change how California's electoral votes are tallied in next year's presidential election, seeking support from major GOP donors including Rep.
Darrell Issa, who financed the 2003 gubernatorial recall," reports Sacbee's Kevin Yamamura.
"Sacramento-based consultant
Dave Gilliard, an Issa adviser, is spearheading a drive to collect at least 600,000 more signatures by mid-November for an initiative that would divvy up California's electoral college votes by congressional district. The June 2008 initiative could provide next year's Republican presidential candidate with an additional 20 or more electoral votes in Democratic-leaning California."
"California's two public university systems
raised student fees this year well above the national average for state-supported campuses," reports the Chron's Tanya Schevitz.
"The 10-campus University of California system increased the cost for undergraduates by 9.7 percent to about $7,494 this year, and the 23 campuses of the California State University system raised fees by 10 percent to about $3,521 annually. The figures do not include expenses such as room, meals and books.
The national average increase was 6.6 percent - to an average of $6,185 this school year. The national inflation rate, meanwhile, was only 1.96 percent."
John Ellis reports on
Hillary Clinton's visit to Fresno.
"The New York senator swept into the Valley for a morning rally in front of Fresno High School that attracted thousands of exuberant supporters. She later met with the United Farm Workers.
Clinton's Fresno-area fundraising is a fraction of three major Republicans – former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain – and half that of Democratic rival John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator. All four have held fundraisers in Fresno.
But none of those four has yet addressed thousands at a Fresno rally as Clinton did Monday."
From our
What's in Your Wallet Files, "In time for the holidays, Assembly employees are getting a fatter paycheck," the Bee's Jim Sanders reports.
"I didn't have to read the memo to know it came through – I heard cheers outside my office," said
Dan Reeves, chief of staff to Assemblyman Kevin De León, D-Los Angeles.
The Assembly Rules Committee approved an across-the-board, 6 percent salary hike, effective Nov. 1, for the nearly 1,200 employees who serve the 80-member lower house."
Rumors that the raises will be funded with campaign contributions to Fabian Nunez were unconfirmed...
And a special Roundup congratulations to Philadelphia which has just been named
the ugliest city in America!. Not the city itself, mind you, but the people in it.
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Philadelphia is home to the least attractive people in the United States, a survey of visitors and residents showed on Friday. The city of more than 1.5 million people was also found to be among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldly, according to the "America's Favorite Cities" survey by Travel & Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News.
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For unattractiveness, Philadelphia just beat out Washington DC and Dallas/Fort Worth for the bottom spot. Miami and San Diego are home to the most attractive people, the poll found."
