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By Anonymous — Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
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By George Runner — Monday, August 17th, 2009
 Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. During these long days of economic hardship, somewhere along the way the "Green jobs" industry has been anointed the Holy Grail of job growth; the savior of economic revitalization. But really, green jobs have not served in much more than a feel-good, buzz-words capacity. Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University recently stated in this published op-ed in Forbes that "All told, green jobs constitute barely 700,000 positions across the country – less than 0.5% of total employment." He goes on to say: "Indeed a recent study by Sam Sherraden at the center-left New America Foundation finds that, for the most part, green jobs constitute a negligible factor in employment – and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.” Don’t get me wrong; I am not opposed to solutions that improve our environment – I believe we must allow the free market to prevail in creating a truly robust green industry and oppose government intervention vis-à-vis mandates. Investors are scared off by government mandates and more turned on by incentives, Kotkin says. “With the right tax advantages, energy efficiency could become a positive imperative for companies,” he adds. I hope you enjoy the article. |
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By Anonymous — Friday, August 14th, 2009
Here's a copy of his speech at the 2009 Obama inauguration: Tiger Woods received a special invitation to speak at the Obama inauguration. His inviters were stunned, shocked when he did not deliver the message they expected. A brief read and you will understand why the media swept Woods' remarks under the rug with no further ado and why the liberal left of our American society was again displeased with Tiger. His speech was entitled: "You'll Never Walk Alone" [text is word-for-word as posted on Tiger's web site] "I grew up in a military family - and my role models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life; from every part of our country. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Friday, August 14th, 2009
Written by Anne Wortham Fellow Americans, Please know: I am Black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul's name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a Black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a Black president to love the ideal of America . I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival - all that I know about the history of the United States of America , all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the "change" that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million Blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that Blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared "progressive" whites who voted for him because he doesn't look like them. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
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By George Runner — Friday, August 7th, 2009
Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. On Tuesday, three federal judges decided 44,000 California state inmates ought to be released early from prison as a pretext for improving health care for prisoners who already receive lavish medical and dental services. Rest assured, Republican legislators will not sit idly by while federal judges meddle in the affairs of California, and in the process endanger our communities. We plan to take this matter all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Yes, California has prison issues – for which Republicans have offered many solutions throughout the years – but the conditions are not as dreadful as the Democrats and three-judge panel would have you believe. For example, prisoners’ health care is supposedly so poor that it has been declared unconstitutional. Yet California spends $17,000 per inmate each year on health care – more than any other state. Good luck finding a law-abiding citizen who has that kind of money to spend on medical insurance each year. A recent federal study reveals that the mortality rate for California prisoners was lower than inmate mortality rates in 37 other states and lower than mortality rates for the law-abiding public. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Friday, August 7th, 2009
 City of Fillmore FILLMORE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING FILLMORE CITY HALL AGENDA |
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By Anonymous — Thursday, August 6th, 2009
City of Fillmore SPECIAL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING & SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING FILLMORE CITY HALL AGENDA |
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By George Runner — Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. SACRAMENTO – Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) today issued the following statements in response to the order by three federal judges to release 44,000 dangerous felons into California neighborhoods in the next two years: “It’s outrageous that these judges believe California prisoners deserve better health care than the average Californian. As it is, prisoners already enjoy better medical care than most law-abiding citizens. “When I testified before the judges last year, they refused to accept any new evidence addressing the improvements that had already been enacted to address the so-called unconstitutional level of health care in our state prisons. “Senate Republicans are fully prepared to appeal this order to the United States Supreme Court and we would expect that once the California Police Chiefs, California Sheriffs, and California District Attorneys have the opportunity to review this order that they would all take the same course of action. “We are confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will wisely rule against any wholesale release of dangerous felons into our communities.” |
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By Anonymous — Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
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By Anonymous — Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Yet another Which-Side-Is-Obama-On Alert: "Revenge of the ‘Shoe Bomber’: The terrorist sues to resume his jihad from prison. The Obama administration caves in," by Debra Burlingame for the Wall Street Journal, July 29 (thanks to Pamela): Last May at the...Read the compete article here http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/027071.php |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Strickland: “To keep a balanced budget, we must cut all wasteful government spending.”
Senate Bill 63 eliminates the Integrated Waste Management Board Sacramento, CA – Today, California State Senator Tony Strickland’s (R-Thousand Oaks) Senate Bill 63 was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Senate Bill 63 was part of a budget solution to close California’s $24 billion budget shortfall. SB 63 eliminates the Integrated Waste Management Board which pays members six-figure taxpayer-funded salaries to meet one or two times a month. “Members of this board, who are mostly termed out legislators, were making about twice as much as our teachers, police officers, and fire fighters for less than half the amount of work,” Senator Strickland stated. “Outrageous examples like this are part of the reason we face such a staggering budget deficit.” The elimination of the Integrated Waste Management Board is a victory for all Californians. This bill has been a project of Senator Strickland’s for the past ten years since he was a member of the State Assembly as a solution to rid California’s government of waste, fraud, and abuse. SB 63 is expected to take effect on January 1, 2010. Tony Strickland represents California Senate District 19, which includes portions of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. |
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By George Runner — Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. Seven years ago, California developed its own statewide Amber Alert system, which has since then recovered 179 abducted children and returned them to their families. Created by a bill that I authored in 2002, California’s Amber Alert Program gives the California Highway Patrol the authority and responsibility to coordinate the Amber Alert system with Caltrans and TV and radio broadcasters. It works like this: Local law enforcement agencies contact the CHP, which decides if the call meets the criteria for issuing an alert. If so, the CHP contacts the National Weather Service, which then broadcasts the message on all radio and television stations that have agreed to interrupt their regular programs. Furthermore, Caltrans activates its Changeable Message Signs. The alert asks the public to keep an eye out for the suspect, vehicle or victim. (As a side note: California was the first state to use Changeable Message Signs along freeways to notify drivers to be on the lookout for suspect and victims). I applaud the coordinated efforts of the different agencies and the public who have made the program a success. Amber Alert is something that should make all Californians proud. Amber Alert systems have been established in all 50 states. The Amber Alert Program originated in Texas in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered. |
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By George Runner — Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. Would you trust your local baker to tune your car? Would you go to your barber for a physical? Probably not. Normal people tend to seek out experts for needed services or advice. But not in Sacramento where it appears some politicians either fancy themselves as scientific experts – whether they have a science background or not – or they seek the advice from questionable sources in their push for extremist policies that adversely affect the everyday lives of Californians. Senate Bill 797 (authored by Los Angeles Senators Fran Pavley and Carole Liu) exemplifies knee-jerk legislation based on irrational fear rather than sound scientific judgment. The measure would place a ban on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) for products designed for infants and toddlers. The radical environmental lobby sponsoring the bill insists that BPA must be banned because the “science” proves its danger to humans. But scientific data does not support SB 797. In fact, health regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food, have both re-affirmed that BPA is indeed safe for use in products used by humans. Most recently, the seven members of California’s Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee – all physicians, by the way – voted unanimously against a proposal to ban BPA. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Monday, July 27th, 2009
City of Fillmore FILLMORE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING & SPECIAL BUDGET WORKSHOP TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2009 FILLMORE CITY HALL AGENDA |
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By Anonymous — Friday, July 24th, 2009
 A Special City Council meeting was held Thursday. It was standing room only with rent control for El Dorado and the budget on the agenda. A complete story on the meeting will be available in print and online next week. Enlarge Photo  Temporary finance consultant John Wooner explained some difficulties with the proposed budget, the new format, and areas, such as the Towne Theatre, which should be addressed soon. Enlarge Photo  From left: Council members Brooks, Washburn, Mayor Patti Walker, Hernandez, and Conaway, all attended Thursday's special meeting. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
City of Fillmore SPECIAL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING & SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING FILLMORE CITY HALL - CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CENTRAL PARK PLAZA AGENDA ITEM REFERENCE** 1. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Oral 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Oral 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Oral 4. CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR (6:40p) |
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By George Runner — Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Senator George Runner Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties. California stands on the verge of ushering in an environmental program which aims to change the face of waste production standards. Several bills currently in the California Legislature propose to codify the European concept of Extended Producer Responsibility ( EPR) , which has so far been a voluntary practice. It is a strategy which promotes the integration of environmental costs associated with a product throughout its lifecycle into the market price of the product. In other words, b efore the manufacturing of a product begins, EPR suggests that the manufacturer should know how the waste created by the production process should be treated, as well as how the product should be taken care of once discarded. In this way, state regulators would create a system that would burden businesses with “cradle to cradle” recycling systems designed, financed, and managed by the producers themselves. First conceived in Sweden, then used in Germany, EPR has spread across Europe and is slowly entering the American consciousness. Environmental activists hope that new California mandates will be established for the rest of the country to follow. EPR has the potential to combine environmental efforts such as greenhouse gas emissions implementation, landfill diversion quotas, the green chemistry initiative, to name just a few, that will hurt the state’s economy and result in higher prices, fewer choices, and increased unemployment. Proponents of EPR believe that zero waste is possible, and that producers, rather than consumers, should be responsible for that waste. But instituting an EPR program is problematic for three reasons: EPR makes companies responsible for a product forever—even after the customer has thrown it away. EPR requires manufacturers to take responsibility for every method or component that may have or will be a part of the production process. CONTINUED » |