California INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Report |
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CONTENTS |
Infrastructure Bond Proposal Defeated
Governor Schwarzenegger plans for a
multi-billion dollar infrastructure plan suffered a major setback when the
State Legislature failed to reach an agreement to put the bond proposal on
the June ballot. The Governor had secured an agreement with the Democrats
for a scaled down plan to sell $50 billion in bonds for infrastructure
improvement but Republicans balked at this proposal wanting more water
projects and relaxed environmental restrictions- and the Governor was not
able to get the few members of his own party needed to ensure passage of
the plan. After that, the Democrats themselves fractured with Assembly
Speaker Fabian Nunez wanting bonds for new school construction, and
Senate President Don Perata wanting the bonds to go to transportation
projects. Getting the bond on the June ballot was thought to be critical
for Governor Schwarzenegger's reelection chances- this is his third major
defeat on a big policy initiative and opponents are likely to charge him
with ineffectiveness or an inability to govern. A bond package in June
will be much more difficult with the perennial budget fight and election
year politics coming into play. The Governor did his best to put a
positive spin on the defeat. "I see a great move forward,''
Schwarzenegger said at a news conference. "We're dealing here with a lot
of issues that haven't been addressed in decades" - and vowed that another
proposal will be on the November ballot. Others were not quite so
optimistic. "If he thinks what
happened this past week is a foundation for a November agreement" said
Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, "then it's a foundation built on a fault line
over quicksand''. As a recipient of the newsletter, we invite you to establish a FREE account on the California Trade Network. It gives you direct access to a dynamic and growing business community of internationally-oriented professionals in California- and much more. Please register today- it's quick and easy. |
News and Politics
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San Diego border wait cost billions
California Home Sales dropping, affordability at all time Low. The number of homes sold in California fell to a five-year low in January, the fourth month in a row that annual homes sales have declined according to an AP report. The statewide rate of home price increases peaked in June 2004 at 23.2 percent and has gradually declined ever since. The trend is another sign that the state's real estate market is slowing, leaving many home-sellers in trouble in the process. "Sellers are becoming nervous about how long it's taking to sell," said Aaron Zapata, executive vice president of Century 21 Grisham-Joseph in Whittier. "There are many sellers who have contingent offers on properties that they're having to withdraw because they're not getting their homes sold". In all, 38,300 new and resale houses and condominiums were sold statewide in January, a decline of 27.5 percent from 52,800 in December and down 9.5 percent from 42,300 in January 2005, the real estate research firm DataQuick reported. For several months real estate agents have reported homes are staying on the market longer as prices have continued to climb. While some markets within the state are still seeing home prices rise, some areas, such as San Diego County and the San Francisco Bay area, have seen appreciation rates go back to single-digit percentages. "We're seeing buyers out there, but they're a little more hesitant, they're waiting a little longer- there's a mismatch between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers want to take right now" said Patrick Lashinsky, vice president for Emeryville-based ZipRealty Inc. Zapata said his firm hasn't seen many first-time buyers lately, and those who are looking to buy feel little pressure to pay sellers' asking price. "Buyers are nervous that they're buying at the top of the market" he said. "Most offers now are coming in under full price, somewhere up to 10 percent less than asking price". Sellers have had to lower their prices to get their homes sold, driving price increases down. In the nine-county region surrounding San Francisco Bay, sales hit a five-year low in January, down 20 percent compared to January 2005 and off 35.8 percent from December's sales. The median price of a home in the region during the month hit $607,000, up 13.7 percent from $534,000 a year ago and essentially flat compared to December, DataQuick said. The number of homes sold last month in a six-county area of Southern California also fell to a five-year low. In all, 20,085 homes were sold during the month, a decline of 7.4 percent from the same period a year ago and down 30.6 percent from December, the firm said. Bruce Norris, president of The Norris Group, a real estate investment company based in Riverside has forecast a coming "crash" of the state's housing market and he thinks that the current slowdown may not be the best time for real estate investors to buy a home unless they are looking to stay in a property for 10 years or more. "I would prefer to be a buyer when I knew the market was going to be on the upswing for a number of years," Norris said. "This could be about a five-year downturn in price, starting very gradually and building up momentum". The California Association of Realtors expects the affordability index statewide to dip to about 10 percent by year's end. The state media price is nearly $550,000, compared to the national median price of $209,000. This means that families in California need an annual income of $134,000 to qualify for a home purchase, compared to a national income requirement of $51,000. Meanwhile, because of high housing prices there are disturbing indications that people are "getting out of Dodge". The latest Census Bureau data for 2005 indicate that 239,416 more native-born Americans left the state than moved in. California is also on pace to lose domestic population- not counting immigrants, this year. The outmigration is such that the cost to rent a U-Haul trailer to move from Los Angeles to Boise, Idaho, is $2,090--or some eight times more than the cost of moving in the opposite direction. A recent poll done by the Bay Area Economic Forum found that Forty percent of Bay Area residents say they have seriously considered moving out of the region and of those thinking of a move in the survey of 600 residents, 70 percent said high housing costs are a major factor driving them.
MS-13 Planning Border Attacks. The Central American narco-terrorist gang, MS-13, is "planning coordinated attacks along the U.S. border with Mexico", according to a bulletin issued by the Dept. of Homeland Security last month. MS-13, or Mara Savatrucha, is a violent international criminal syndicate that deals in drugs, counterfeiting, and terrorism, such as the Dec. 23, 2004 bombing of a bus in Honduras, which killed 28 holiday shoppers. According to the DHS bulletin, MS-13 plans to target local police and federal agents along the Mexican border: "After enough members have been pre-positioned along the border, a coordinated attack using firearms was to commence against all law enforcement, to include Border Patrol". 70 Illegal Immigrants Found in Raid.Nearly 70 illegal immigrants were found locked in a small house in Willowbrook in "utter squalor" according to a report in the LA Times. Authorities said the five men apparently operating the house appeared to be gang members hired by the smuggling ring to keep the immigrants from escaping. At least one of the guards has been identified as belonging to the notorious Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang, agents said. All of the guards, now in custody, are believed to be illegal immigrants. As federal authorities have beefed up enforcement at the border, the smuggling rings have become more powerful, expensive and elusive. As a result, it has become riskier for migrants to cross the border and harder for authorities to find safe houses and the smugglers who run them. "Because the smuggling fees have gone up astronomically, there is more money to be made and it is attracting increasingly sophisticated and ruthless organizations," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice. In the last two years, ICE has discovered approximately one dozen major drop houses throughout Southern California. The agency is seeing an increasing number in the Inland Empire. In December, authorities found 25 illegal immigrants in a drop house near downtown Riverside. In the most recent case, federal agents received a tip from a relative of a migrant about a possible hostage situation. With the help of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department SWAT team, immigration agents executed a federal warrant. They discovered the immigrants crammed into four bedrooms with no light fixtures and no furniture except for unplugged televisions. On the walls were a red painted cross and scrawled phone numbers. The windows were barred and covered with blankets, and surveillance cameras monitored the outside of the 1,500-square-foot converted duplex in a neighborhood of homes costing roughly $300,000 to $400,000 just south of the 105 Freeway. There were two entrances, both guarded. Authorities also found a loaded .357 magnum handgun under a bed in one of the rooms where the guards slept. "They were obviously held against their will," said Frank Johnston, ICE assistant special agent in charge. The immigrants told agents they had paid between $3,000 and $10,000 to be guided across the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said, but smugglers demanded more money after they arrived in Los Angeles County. Terrorist al-Zawahri may have lived in California . Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, lived in California in 1998 and 1999, according to a paid FBI informant who testified in the trial of a Pakistani-American father and son accused of terrorism-related activity. Naseem Kahn, 32, told a Sacramento jury he frequently saw Zawahri coming and going from the mosque in Lodi, California, south of Sacramento in 1998 and 1999, but never talked to him. A spokeswoman for the FBI and an official for the US attorney’s office declined to say whether Zawahri had lived there or had just passed through town. “From what I understand ... in terms of his activities in the late 1990s, he really wasn’t on the radar then,” said Karen Ernst, spokeswoman for the FBI in Sacramento. At the time, informant Khan was not employed by the FBI. He was hired shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks to infiltrate the Pakistani-American community in Lodi where FBI agents suspected there might be a terrorist. Defense attorneys and outside experts are skeptical of the story and believe it has brought the credibility of Kahn into question.
BP and Edison plan hydrogen plant in
California.British Petroleum has
announced plans for a one billion dollar hydrogen-fueled power plant in
California. The plant will be built in partnership with Edison
International near th BP refinery in Carson, about 20 miles south of Los
Angeles. The facility will be able to generate electricity with little
carbon emission by converting the waste product of oil refineries into
hydrogen and separating off carbon dioxide for capture and storage. It
will be the first in America to use a new process that uses a chemical
process to produce clean-burning hydrogen from petroleum coke, a residue
from refining crude oil. Currently this waste coke is exported to China as
fuel. "Wide-scale deployment of technology such as hydrogen power can make
a significant contribution to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
needed worldwide," said Ross Pillari, president of BP America. The
greenhouse gases from the Los Angeles plant are expected to be taken by
pipeline to oil fields being developed by Occidental Petroleum in
California. Rather than being released into the air, about 90 percent of
the gas would be trapped and injected into a natural reservoir thousands
of feet underground, where it would stimulate additional oil production. Small Businesses in Hollywood seized in eminent domain proceedings. A Los Angeles agency has voted to evict about 30 small firms to make way for a $400-million retail-residential project at the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine. The project will replace several buildings from the district's golden era that are home to a number of small businesses — including billboard figure and sometime actress Angelyne. Officials cleared the way for a luxury hotel developer to seize buildings housing about 30 small businesses through eminent domain so a $400-million project with a W Hotel, condominium and apartment units, shops and restaurants can be built on the southeast corner. The condemnation proceedings, authorized by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, set the stage for the most ambitious revitalization efforts, but the action was loudly protested by merchants who said it was wrong to use public money and power to benefit a private developer. In a controversial decision, the Supreme Court recently ruled that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed.
California may get official state wine.California
may make zinfandel the official state wine if a bill introduced by Senator
Carole Migden is passed. The senator wants to see the varietal made the
official wine of California because of its long association with the state
and its versatility. The proposal has upset fans of the other wines
produced in the region such as pinot noir and chardonnay. Eric Titus, the
president of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Association, a group of 350
vineyard owners, told an industry publicaton that As a trade and advocate
organization, we can't really single out one varietal. Here in Napa
Valley, cabernet is the driver." However, the bill has its supporters too.
They believe that any initiative to promote the state's $45 billion wine
industry is a good one. The bill is going to committee and is likely to be
heard next month.
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Letters to the Editor
back
Thinks Lack of Trade Agency is Disgraceful Rob, I had extensive dealings with the Foreign Trade Offices in Asia from 1998 - 2002. Your article hits-the-nail-straight-on-the-head! The CTTCA, under the Davis Administration was nothing more than a useless bureaucracy, whos directors were incompetent political appointees. These positions were mostly payback for supporting the Governor's re-election campaign. In my opinion, the lone exception would be that of Jim Miwa and his staff at the ETEP (Environmental Technology Export Program). They were trying very hard to assist California-based companies make overseas connections for business. I did however, participate in the California Environmental Trade Mission to China in 2000. This two week trip was organized and managed by the CTTCA / ETEP in consort with the Shanghai Trade Office. Many good opportunities came our way as a direct result of this trip and jobs were "saved" here at our California plant due to the increased sales............isn't that what it's all about? As an experienced International Business Development Consultant, it "blows my mind" that the State of California (5th largest economy in the world) does not have a meaningful International Trade Agency. In short, it's disgraceful! Regards,
Steven Youschak
Costa Mesa, California
Positive Press for the SF Consulate of Mexico Dear Rob, Hope you are doing well, I am sending a recent report about me published at the East Bay Business Times, I Hope you can include a link to it in your next issue and my contact info, http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2006/02/06/smallb1.html Tell me if you need more contacts I can send a email list of key people in the Bay Area
Bernardo Mendez
Hi, Not sure if too late on this or not, but would love a mention of our new blog, www.ChinaLawBlog.com, whose slogan (and mission) is "Chinese law for business." Thanks either way. Dan Harris Founder/Managing Member Harris & Moure, pllc Seattle, Washington
We would like to hear from you. Please send us your ideas and opinions to caltrade@gmail.com |
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California Companies under fire for censorship in China. The participation of U.S. technology giants in the Chinese government's online censorship and surveillance programs have drawn increased criticism and officials from four companies were forced to appear at a congressional hearing last month. Three California companies: Google, Yahoo and Cisco along with Microsoft MSN infuriated lawmakers by declining to send representatives to a Feb. 1 briefing by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on China's Internet censorship. It may have been the threat of a Congressional subpoena that persuaded the companies to accept an "invitation" from Congress to testify before the House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights last month. Before the company representatives were even allowed to speak, members of the Subcommittee spent nearly two hours lambasting the companies for their censorship practices. Representative Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) was probably the most passionate. Fifty years ago IBM supplied the Nazi Germany with the cataloging programs and punchcard technology used for many of their atrocities. Lantos is the only Holocaust survivor in Congress and he raised the specter of corporate cooperation with the Nazis in his comments. Speaking in his deep Hungarian accent he pulled no punches: "Can you say in English that you are ashamed of what you and your company and the other companies have done? My message to these companies today is simple: Your abhorrent activities in China are a disgrace. I simply do not understand how your corporate leadership sleeps at night". Other members of the House International Relations Committee criticized the companies for making profits a higher priority than free expression in China. "U.S. technology companies today are engaged in a sickening cooperation decapitating the movements of Chinese dissidents", human rights subcommittee chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J)., said at the hearing. "These are not victimless crimes," he said "We need to stand with the oppressed, not the oppressors." Smith criticized Cisco, saying the company owns an estimated 60 percent of the Chinese market for networking gear. "Yet, Cisco has also done little creative thinking to try to minimize the likelihood that its products will be used repressively, such as limiting eavesdropping abilities to specific computer addresses," he said. Cisco has long been accused of selling network equipment used by the mainland government for its so-called Policenet, an elaborate system that allegedly gives the police direct access to a citizen's internet history and e-mail. Mark Chandler, Cisco's senior vice president and general counsel, said that "Cisco can't control how governments use its network security equipment to block Web sites" and if China develops its own networking equipment, that will "exacerbate rather than solve the problems". Some of the Lawmakers questioned whether it was time to revisit export control laws since Cisco provides networking equipment to the Chinese police force. The company that came under the sharpest attacks was Yahoo of Sunnyvale. It acknowledged giving data to Chinese officials that helped convict journalist Shi Tao for leaking a propaganda directive. Shi was sent to prison for 10 years. According to news accounts, Yahoo turned over data about two other journalists, who have since been prosecuted and jailed. Yahoo acknowledged the "horrible and disturbing" consequences of its actions, in contrast to previous remorseless assertions that "to operate in China means to comply with Chinese laws". Michael Callahan, general counsel for Yahoo said, "We all face the same struggle between American values and the laws we must obey". The Yahoo executive noted the "severe challenges for any company operating in China, particularly for those in the Internet, media or telecommunications industries". He said, however, that a worst case scenario would be if the providers were forced to leave. "We believe information is power. We believe the Internet is a positive force in China," he said. Yahoo has subsequently announced it would work with other companies, the government and others to "explore policies to guide industry practices in countries where content is treated more restrictively than in the United States and to promote the principles of freedom of speech and expression." Congressman Lantos did not seem to be overly impressed with the companies' explanations, "Instead of using their power and creativity to bring openness and free speech to China, they have caved into Beijing's outrageous but predictable demands, simply for the sake of profits," said Lantos. "These captains of industry should have been developing new technologies to bypass the sickening censorship of government and repugnant barriers to the Internet. Instead, they enthusiastically volunteered for the Chinese censorship brigade". Microsoft MSN was also criticized. Last year, they agreed to block certain words - including democracy, freedom and human rights - by users on parts of its Chinese Internet portal. Last December, it agreed to shut down the blog of a Chinese journalist critical of the government. Google, of Mountain View, has come under criticism since that launch of Google.cn, a Chinese version of its search engine that omits search results the Chinese government finds objectionable. The company, however, discloses to users that results were omitted "in response to local laws, regulations or policies." For doing this, Google has been attacked in the Chinese state-controlled Chinese media. Google has also bought an interest in the Chinese search engine Baidu, which is said to filter certain results. Although Google will block illegal content, the company's open information stance managed to get it blocked for a brief period by the Chinese government last year (as was this newsletter). "The requirements of doing business in China include self-censorship-- something that runs counter to Google's most basic values and commitments as a company," said Google Vice President Elliot Schrage. Google CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, defended Google's decision and explained that executives had performed an "evil scale" to help reach its decision. "We concluded that although we weren't wild about the restrictions, it was even worse to not try to serve those users at all," Schmidt told the audience. In an effort to protect users of its Google.cn Web site, Google has recently decided to store search records from the site outside that country. "We didn't want to be in the position of having to hand over these kinds of records to the government", said Peter Norvig, Google's director of research at a recent business conference. Neither MSN or Google have major data centers in China so most of the restrictions placed on these companies involve voluntary compliance. Yahoo!, however, has taken a different approach. While the company once had an active operation in China with over 600 employees, last year it bought a minority share in the Chinese trade portal Alibaba. As part of this deal, Alibaba took over all of Yahoo's assets in China including including Yahoo China, Yahoo's Chinese instant messenger, the Chinese search engine Yisou.com, 3721 Network Software and its joint venture 1Pai auction web. In addition, they infused Alibaba with over a billion dollars of capital for just a minority share- forty percent- of the company. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma is in charge of the merged company and he is accountable only to the Alibaba board. This was the biggest investment by a foreign company in China's Internet industry The four companies all said they are required to follow Chinese law, and that the democratizing force of the Internet will lead to more openness. "In addition to common action by Internet companies, there is an important role for the United States government to address, in the context of its bilateral government-to-government relationships, the larger issues of free expression and open communication. For example, as a U.S.-based company that deals primarily in information, we have urged the United States government to treat censorship as a barrier to trade", Google's senior policy counsel Andrew McLaughlin wrote in a statement posted on the Google Blog. The State Department recently announced a new Global Internet Task Force to look for ways to minimize censorship and to press for changes abroad. The initiative would bring together administration and congressional officials, human rights activists and technology companies. One issue it is expected to examine is whether to require U.S. review and licensing of exports of Internet censorship technologies. "These companies are bending over too much to please Chinese authorities and to gain an advantage," says Xiao Qiang, professor of journalism at University of California at Berkeley and director of the China Internet Project, a program that explores the impact of digital communications in China. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recently defended China's censorship of the internet, saying it was necessary to "safeguard national, social and collective interests". "Every citizen in this country has the freedom of speech and the freedom of publishing", Wen told reporters at the end of the annual National People's Congress, "But at the same time, every citizen must conscientiously abide by law and order". Wen said the Chinese government's management of the internet was "in line with international practices" and that "'We also maintain that internet businesses should exercise more self-management". That might be exactly what concerned Congressman Lantos when he said, "These companies tell us that they will change China, but China has already changed them".
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Governor appoints International Trade Director.Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed Garrett Ashley, his former deputy Chief of Staff, as Undersecretary for International Trade in the Department of Business, Transportation and Housing. "From organizing successful trade missions to both China and Japan to ensuring my office ran effectively and efficiently, Garrett has served as a tremendously valuable member of my staff over the course of the past two years," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "I look forward to his continued advice and counsel as he works to promote California's economy internationally and strengthen our ties with other nations". Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak, said in a in a press release that "Governor Schwarzenegger is committed to strengthening California's effectiveness in the international trade arena and we are excited to have Garrett on our team dedicated to promoting California's competitive edge in the global marketplace". Ashley previously worked as executive director of TechNet - Orange County, a high-tech political advocacy association where he worked to create bipartisan events for policy makers and implemented the organization's political strategy. Prior to TechNet, Ashley served as chief of staff to U.S. Representative Steve Kuykendall, worked as chief deputy director at the California Office of Emergency Services, and was deputy director of advance for Gov. Pete Wilson. "I am grateful to Governor Schwarzenegger and Secretary McPeak for providing this opportunity for me to help build California's profile as a leader in the international trade community," said Ashley. "International trade will be central to the future economic vitality of this state". Ashley, 39, graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of New Mexico. The position does not require legislative approval Nevada launches campaign to get California firms.The Nevada Development Authority has launched a $1.2 million statewide multimedia campaign designed to persuade California businesses to move to Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The agency's "California Business Nut" bus stopped at the Capitol last month to hand out bags of peanuts as a four-piece jazz band played. The bags bore information on "5 Ways To Lower Your Business Nut," and the peanut theme runs throughout the marketing effort. Somer Hollingsworth, president and chief executive officer of the Nevada Development Authority, and other state boosters set up shop in Sacramento to talk about how California companies can benefit from a move to Las Vegas. The Nevada Development Authority's mission is to attract, retain and expand the business base and economic development of Southern Nevada. Governor Schwarzenegger launched a similar effort on behalf of California with a marketing stop in Las Vegas early in his term. Southern California Is Running Out Of Space For Commercial Development. Declining office and industrial vacancy rates and rising rents should continue to boost development of new office and industrial buildings, but rising land and construction costs could short-circuit many projects in Southern California according to a new study released by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). The 2006 study shows the number of major expansions was down about one fourth last year, but dollar investments were up. “Southern California has the tightest industrial market in the U.S., and a rapidly tightening office market,” explained Chief Economist Jack Kyser, senior vice president, LAEDC. “A growing challenge and concern for the area is that there is not enough land available for new commercial development to accommodate business growth. Exacerbating the situation has been the run-up in construction material costs. Furthermore, due to low interest rates, many businesses moved from leasing space to purchasing.” The study found that there were a total of 252 major expansions in the five-county region recorded by the LAEDC during 2005. That was down by 27.5 percent or by 96 projects from 2004. “This is not necessarily bad news but an indication that business caution and higher costs have put the breaks on,” Kyser said. Southern California is a major center for manufacturing, international trade, and logistics, and this is the reason the industrial real estate market has always been healthy in the region,” said Kyser. “Los Angeles County was number one and Riverside-San Bernardino counties number two among industrial markets nationwide based on vacancy rates". During the fourth quarter of 2005, the industrial vacancy rate in Los Angeles County was at 2.0 percent, Riverside-San Bernardino had a 2.7 percent rate, Orange County was 4.4 percent, and Ventura County was at 3.1 percent. LAEDC President & CEO Bill Allen said, “we are concerned about the on-going erosion of industrial space in Los Angeles County. People are concerned about the decline in middle class jobs, and manufacturing and logistics are the sectors that can create many of those jobs.” The full report is at this link: http://www.laedc.org/reports/BER-2005-Summary.pdf LAEDC Publishes Economic Forecast. The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation has produced a new study about the Southern California economy. In February, they published the 2006-2007 Economic Forecast and Industry Outlook report for Southern California. It predicts solid growth in international trade, professional business services technology and tourism, but has concerns about aerospace, the movie industry and the lack of productive land. It can be downloaded at this link (it is a big file): http://www.laedc.org/reports/Forecast_2006-02.pdf Compromise Reached on Textbook Controversy About Hinduism.Following an emotionally charged meeting last month at the California Department of Education, a five-member panel unanimously voted to recommend adoption of staff recommendations for edits and corrections proposed by the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) and Vedic Foundation for its sixth-grade textbooks. A huge controversy had erupted about the depiction of Hindu religion and culture in sixth-grade textbooks. Some parents, as well as Hindu organizations objected to what they claimed were biased misrepresentations and inaccuracies. Other South Asian groups, as well as some prominent academics, then accused these groups of promoting a Hindu religious fundamentalist agenda. According to a report in New American Media, a compromise appears to have been worked out and groups that have been bitterly arguing on the issue have all expressed satisfaction, although qualified, at the acceptance of the staff recommendations. They noted, however that quite a few disgruntled HEF supporters appeared irate following the announcement at the end of an over three-hour-long session of public comments, several crying "Shame!" HEF organizers said they were pleased that 70 percent of their changes had been accepted. "On behalf of the Hindu community, we have done significant progress to correct the biases and distortions in the textbooks," HEF spokesperson Khanderao Kand saidt. "We need to work further. There are gross inaccuracies". Meanwhile, Friends of South Asia, an activist group that had opposed the HEF and VF campaign, welcomed the decision as well. "This decision is a victory for community organizations such as Friends of South Asia, the Ambedkar Center for Peace and Justice, the Federation of Tamils on North America, and the Coalition Against Communalism, who have worked to ensure that ahistorical and sectarian content proposed by Hindu right-wing groups is removed from California textbooks". HEF supporters, who came from as far as Orange County and San Fernando Valley, included parents who spoke about how children went through traumatic experiences at school due to negative portrayal of Hinduism and Indian history. HEF critics included university faculty, many of Indian descent, who questioned the claim of HEF to represent all Hindus; several speakers who were raised in the U.S. acknowledged that it was difficult for them as Hindus to learn about past history of oppression but passionately defended teaching factual history. San Francisco Gets Six Citywide Wi-Fi Bids.Officials in San Francisco, California have narrowed the field to six potential bids from companies seeking to build a wide-range wireless broadband network in that city. Several very big name companies are involved in the six proposals, each of which offers its own unique business model. The proposal that has received the most attention is from Google and EarthLink. The two companies have agreed to team up and create a two-tier network, which would include both free services supported by advertising and and a paid wireless internet service. Five other plans are also being considered. IBM and Cisco have formed their own partnership, promising to build a network funded by corporate and private sponsorships. The plan would be carried through using Cisco’s hardware and IBM’s software. Other proposals being considered include those of Mountain View-based MetroFi, and Los Gatos-based nextWLAN, as well as Communication Bridge Global and Razortooth, both based in San Francisco. Newsom want Universal Health Care for San Francisco.Mayor Gavin Newsom promised that San Francisco will become the first city to provide health care access to all its uninsured residents, about 83,000 people. Speaking at a press briefing held by New America Media for the city’s ethnic media, he said he was taking small steps now by expanding hours at community clinics and enticing patients to spend a small amount of money to receive primary medical services. San Francisco already offers a health care plan called “Healthy Family, Healthy Kids” that provides health care access to young people up to age 24, Newsom said. But his new plan aims to provide universal access that emphasizes preventative care. Money from government, employer, and patient co-payment will fund the plan. Agency OKs sewage plant for Mexico. A U.S. border agency announced that it has signed an agreement allowing a San Diego County company to build and operate a sewage treatment plant in Mexico. The controversial project, expected to cost at least half a billion dollars over 20 years, is aimed at reducing sewage overflows that have fouled beaches in southern San Diego County since the 1930s. According to the Union Tribune, the contract was issued without the typical open-bid process. It leaves critical aspects of the project undefined, including the exact cost to U.S. taxpayers, what kind of technology will be used, and where it would be located. The firm, Bajagua LLC, has said it wants to build the plant east of Tijuana at the confluence of the Alamar and Tijuana rivers. Officials for the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission said they will convene a binational committee to work out unresolved aspects of the contract. Despite the uncertainties, Bajagua and the U.S. section of the commission said they can get the plant running by a court-ordered deadline of September 2008. Under the contract, Bajagua will finance the project on the premise that the U.S. government will reimburse the company as long as it meets federal water-quality standards. Bajagua plans to build a series of ponds to further treat Tijuana wastewater processed by the existing international sewage plant in San Ysidro. That plant, which the commission built in the late 1990s, produces effluent that has never met standards set by the U.S. Clean Water Act. The partly treated wastewater is released 3.5 miles off Imperial Beach through a pipe. UC signs MOU with Indian science and technology organizations. The University of California has signed an MOU with the Government of India to facilitate research activities between scientists and researchers in India and the United States. Signing of the MOU between the Ministry of Science and Technology Ministry and University of California Systems would provide a platform to the talent on both sides to come together and work on projects," Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said in a press release. The organizations and institutions from India include the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), TIFAC, Indo-US S and T Forum, Amrita University, IIT Kanpur, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, and SETS. The MOU's areas of collaboration include, biomedical and digital healthcare technologies, drug design and delivery systems, study of emerging infectious diseases, wireless and mobile communication, intelligent transportation systems, telematics, information technology and cyber security, technologies for disaster warning, mitigation and management, nanobiosciences, nanomedicine, and nanotechnology, energy, including a focus on solar energy and bio-fuels, agricultural biotechnologies and food security, biodiversity, with an emphasis on marine systems, water quality and quantity, global warming and climate change studies. To implement the MOU, a bi-national Joint Steering Committee (JSC) is being established and funding limits have been set at 10 million dollars on the US side, and matching funds from Indian side, depending upon the requirements of the subject approved for each of next five years. UC Regents approve Sudan divestment. The University of California Regents, citing the continuing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, voted unanimously to divest UC of tens of millions of dollars of securities from nine foreign companies doing business in that African nation. The regents' decision represents a step beyond divestment actions taken by other colleges, UC officials said, because the university plans to shed both its direct and indirect holdings in the nine publicly traded firms. Student Regent Adam Rosenthal, 26, a law student at UC Davis who has been a leader in the divestment effort, said the vote will send a message that genocide should not be tolerated. "This is a historic day," he said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, "This is the second time in our 138-year history that the UC Board of Regents said we are going to put human rights at the forefront of our agenda, and that is a bold statement. Hopefully the vote today will send a message to our government, to other universities and to other pension funds and most importantly to the Sudan that we will not stand by." In 1986, the regents voted to remove university funds from businesses in South Africa to protest that nation's Apartheid policy. Sudan's recent atrocities began in February 2003 after rebels in the Darfur provinces stepped up attacks against military bases. The Arab-dominated Sudanese government and Arab militias responded with such indiscriminate violence against non-Arab civilians that the Bush administration in 2004 described the massacres as genocide. U.S. firms were ordered out of Sudan by the Clinton administration in 1997, several years after the State Department concluded that Sudan was "a state sponsor of terrorism". UC regents to review foreign study policies. The University of California will review its international-study policies to decide whether to allow students to attend classes in countries deemed dangerous by the U.S. government. At a Board of Regents meeting on the UCLA campus, Provost Rory Hume said he and a new committee would review the university's policies that prevent students from studying in countries where the U.S. Department! of State has issued travel advisories. The review follows urging by state legislators, regents and others for UC to reinstate its study-abroad program in Israel. The university also has suspended its program in the Philippines. UC officials will decide how to handle international studies at the regents' May meeting. Stanford raised $603 Million last year.Stanford University, based in Palo Alto, was higher education's most successful fundraiser last year, attracting $603 million in its most recent fiscal year, according to a new survey from the Council for Aid to Education in New York. The other top five fundraisers among colleges and universities were the University of Wisconsin-Madison ($595 million); Harvard University ($589 million); the University of Pennsylvania ($394 million) and Cornell University ($353 million), according to the survey. Nationwide, contributions to colleges and universities rose 4.9 percent to a record $25.6 billion last year. Legislative Update: International Trade Bills. The following international trade and business bills have been introduced into the California State Legislature in this session:
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Google, Volkswagen developing in-car navigation system. Google and Volkswagen of America are developing an in-car navigation system that displays a photo-quality view of a route, instead of the typical line drawings found in current systems. graphics chipmaker Nvidia is also part of the project, and has produced a prototype that was on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The three companies are hoping that consumers will take to seeing pictures of the stores, houses and office buildings they pass en route to a particular location. According to a report in Techweb, Google, based in Mountain View, would provide the search engine for retrieving information from the Web to overlay on the photos, Using the system's touch screen, a driver could search for the closest gas station, for example, and get back a list of several on a photo of the surrounding area, along with the price of gasoline at the different locations. To use the system, a driver would type in the destination, and the system would offer the best route, based on traffic conditions, Stoschek said. A red arrow would direct the driver through streets or highways. The car would be equipped with a global positioning system, so the navigation unit would always know the time and location of the vehicle. Schneider Logistics to buy American Overseas Air Freight.Schneider Logistics Inc., a unit of trucking firm Schneider National Inc. based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has agreed to buy American Overseas Air Freight Inc. American Overseas, an international freight forwarder based in El Segundo, is a licensed U.S. Customs broker and specializes in the handling and shipping of import and export products by air, ocean and truck. Its addition will make Schneider National a truckload carrier that offers international to inland delivery. "This acquisition is another key component in our strategy to build a comprehensive door-to-door global logistics operation that spans air, ocean, rail and truck transportation," said Tom Escott, president of Schneider Logistics. The California company will retain the American Overseas name and will conduct business as a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Logistics, Escott said. American Overseas president Ron Barker will continue to lead the organization once the acquisition is finalized. With a facility in West Memphis, Ark., Schneider is the second-largest truckload carrier in the Memphis market, with about 1,200 local employees. Terms of the stock purchase transaction were not disclosed. California Chip Makers Battle in Court.The U.S. International Trade Commission has begun hearing the first in a series of Broadcom lawsuits against Qualcomm. Irvine-based Chip maker Broadcom took its patent infringement case against San Diego-based Qualcomm to the U.S. International Trade Commission, in a high-stakes move that will ultimately decide whether Qualcomm can continue to sell certain chips that Broadcom says violated its designs. The ITC hearing will determine whether Qualcomm violated three Broadcom patents by selling cellular chips in the United States for signal processing, transmitting and receiving, and power control. According to a report in Red Herring, many of the disputes centered on technologies for the third-generation (3G) networks and handsets that increase data speed and volume, making them suitable for watching TV shows and videos, and streaming songs. “We believe that as the cell phones are evolving to have more advanced capabilities, we think they will involve more and more of Broadcom intellectual property,” said David Rosmann, vice president of intellectual property litigation at Broadcom. Qualcomm has managed to reduce the number of patents under dispute at ITC from five to three. It won a federal court ruling to move the dispute over the two patents to a district court in San Diego, where it has also filed two patent lawsuits against Broadcom. Broadcom has asked the ITC to stop Qualcomm from importing and selling in the country chips that allegedly violated Broadcom’s designs and also wants to halt the sales of cell phones carrying the chips. Broadcom also has pending lawsuits against Qualcomm in the United States as well as in Europe, where it has joined five other chip, handset, and equipment makers in a complaint about Qualcomm’s licensing practices. Qualcomm is suing Nokia in San Diego, contending that Nokia used Qualcomm’s patents without paying licensing and royalties. Monsanto settles UC cow-hormone dispute for $100M. Monsanto Co. will pay the University of California $100 million to settle a patent dispute over a growth hormone used to increase milk production in cows. The agreement, which includes royalty payments for future sales, resolves a patent-rights fight over the production of bovine somatotropin, also known as "bovine growth hormone," which Monsanto sells under the brand name Posilac, the company said. The university of California sued Monsanto in February 2004, alleging patent infringement. The university agreed to drop the suit and granted Monsanto an exclusive license to manufacture the substance until the patent expires in 2023. In addition to the $100 million upfront payment, Monsanto has agreed to give the university 15 cents per dose of Posilac sold to dairy producers, or a minimum of $5 million per year. Monsanto owns Davis-based Calgene LLC, which develops genetically-engineered crops. Australia plans a California LNG facility.The Australian company Woodside Petroleum has announced that it intends to start LNG exports to California in 2010, rivaling a timetable set by a larger competitor, BHP Billiton. Woodside expects to lodge a planning application within two months for a liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of Los Angeles, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas. The depot and the associated pipeline may cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, with extra investment needed to build specialized tankers to deliver the gas, she said. Woodside and BHP Billiton are seeking to tap California's expanding demand for natural gas. Woodside on Wednesday named a site about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, off the coast near Los Angeles as the site of its OceanWay project. Woodside's project would consist of a buoy and pipeline network that would feed ships that can convert LNG back to its gaseous form on board, avoiding the construction of a permanent terminal that might raise objections from the public. The company aims initially to deliver fuel to the depot from its proposed Pluto project off Western Australia. Getting approval for the OceanWay project from the Californian State Lands Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulators may take from 18 months to 24 months, Cutler said in an interview. Building the tankers may take about three years. Woodside has not decided how many tankers it will need, and cannot say how much the whole project may cost, she said. Woodside has held initial talks with potential gas customers in California, who are "very interested in an additional supply of natural gas into the market," Cutler said. BHP Billiton has been seeking approval since 2003 for its rival $800 million Cabrillo Port LNG import terminal off Ventura County, to the north of Woodside's site. Regulators are due to decide whether to grant approval this year. Indian company buys Consulting firm cMango.The Indian software giant Wipro has announced that it is buying California-based consulting firm cMango for $20 million, expanding its presence in the highly competitive field of infrastructure management. As part of the deal, cMango, which has annual revenue of about $13 million, will now be part of Wipro’s Technology Infrastructure Services group. “This acquisition is a significant milestone in our strategy towards creating a strong value proposition in emerging areas in a growth business like Technology Infrastructure Services,” said Sudip Nandy, Wipro’s chief strategy officer. “We see significant value from the cMango team through their potent consulting skills, breadth of service portfolio, and domain depth.” cMango has several offices in the United States and a delivery center in Pune, a small city located close to Mumbai, in India’s western state of Maharashtra. Wipro has spent about $200 million in recent acquisitions and has a history of acquiring consultancies. In 2003, it bought AMS’s energy practice for $25 million followed by consultancy NerveWire for $18.7 million. Wipro also bought business process outsourcing company Spectramind in India; GEMS IT, the IT business of GE Medical Systems; and Ericsson's R&D labs at Bangalore, Hyderabad, and New Delhi. Indian employee in US sues over tax refund.An Indian working in California has filed a class action lawsuit against Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, alleging that the company collected tax refunds owed to its non-US citizen workers. In a suit filed against Tata America International Corporation (TAIC) Gopi Vedachalam, contends he was instructed to sign over his federal and state tax refund checks to TCS, a media report said. US citizens of the company, however, were not asked to sign over their returns, the lawsuit alleged. Vedachalam, who transferred to the Bay Area in 2000 from Bangalore, was assigned by TCS to work as a project manager at Target, where he made $50,000 a year. From 2000 to 2005, the refunds he signed over to TCS totaled $25,000, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco's federal district court. "As we understand it, that is his money," his lawyer - San Francisco-based Steven Tindall - was quoted as saying by the San Jose Mercury News. If certified as a class action case, the suit would be one of the first filed against a company engaged in bringing non-US citizens to the United States to work in American corporations, Tindall said. Vedachalam, 37, received an L-1 visa, which permits foreign companies to transfer workers to their US subsidiaries, Tindall said. He still works for TCS and has been a project manager for 21st Century Insurance in southern California since 2003. While the exact number of non-US citizens working in California affected by the company's practices is not known, the lawsuit said TCS employed hundreds of non-US citizens throughout the state at the end of 2005. Thousands of current and former TCS employees are believed to have been affected by the practices, Tindall said. The lawsuit seeks to represent all non-US citizen employees of TCS who worked in US between February 14, 2000 and present. In a statement, Vedachalam said: "I did not hand over my tax refund checks voluntarily. I tried to recover these wages through Tata's internal procedures, but I was met with either silence or refusal.. I work hard for Tata and the companies I have been assigned to. I should receive the full wages Tata agreed to pay me, as should all other Tata employees in America". Silicon Valley firms invest $48M in Chinese Internet company.Several Silicon Valley firms have helped Chinese Internet company Oak Pacific Interactive raise $48 million in new financing. Beijing-based Oak Pacific was formerly known as ChinaInterActiveCorp. It provides communication, content distribution and community Internet platforms including a number of Chinese Web sites such as mop.com, UUme.com, DoNews.com, and wowar.com. Oak Pacific claims about 22 million registered users and more than 150 million daily page views. Participants include General Atlantic LLC, Doll Capital Management, Crossover Ventures, Accel Partners, and Legend Capital. Oak Pacific said it will use the financing to continue to expand its portfolio of digital entertainment assets and build brand awareness for its offerings in high-growth sectors including online advertising, wireless value-added services and online broadband entertainment. Intel plans $300M assembly plant in Vietnam.Intel Corp. announced it will invest $300 million to build a semiconductor assembly and test facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Santa Clara-based Intel said it plans to invest over $6 billion worldwide by the end of the year for capital additions. When completed, the Vietnam facility will be the seventh assembly site of Intel's global network and is projected to eventually employ about 1,200 people. The semiconductor giant has other such facilities in Penang and Kulim, Malaysia; Cavite, Philippines; Chengdu and Shanghai, China; and San Jose, Costa Rica. Apple plans 3,000-worker support center in India.Apple Computer Inc. is setting up a technical support center in Bangalore, India, according to a report in The Times of India. The paper said Cupertino-based Apple will hire 1,500 to staff the technical center by the end of this year, and have 3,000 staff at the end of next year. National Geographic buys Carmel publisher.The Hampton-Brown Co., publisher of English as a Second Language learning materials, has been sold to the National Geographic Society. The deal, whose terms weren't disclosed, was announced by Berkery, Noyes & Co. LLC, which said in a press release that it represented Hampton-Brown. Hampton-Brown, founded 25 years ago by Sherry Long, has focused its publishing efforts on language and literacy materials for under-performing students and for students whose first language is not English. Berkery, Noyes said Long has been named chairman and CEO of the new National Geographic School Publishing Group, reporting to John Fahey, president and CEO of NGS. It said the new division will combine the Hampton-Brown imprint with National Geographic School Publishing, The new enterprise will be headquartered in Carmel, with offices in Washington, DC; Evanston, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; and Salinas.
Calpine Directors give themselves raises
during bankruptcy. Directors of
Calpine Corp. voted to almost triple their salaries just days after the
company announced a plan to fire 300 employees, or about 9 percent of its
workforce, according to a report by the Associated Press. Calpine, based
in San Jose, owns about 90 power plants and filed for bankruptcy
protection in December. The raises boost the base pay for six of Calpine's
seven directors to $125,000 annually, up from $50,000 last year. Calpine
spokeswoman Katherine Potter said that the new pay scale for the company's
directors recognize their added responsibilities as they help steer the
company through bankruptcy. The extra cash also is meant to offset the
loss of the stock awards that Calpine used to give its directors, Potter
said.
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Google Inc. has announced the
appointment of Dr. Larry Brilliant
as Executive Director of Google.org, which administers Google's
philanthropic activities. In this role he will work with the company's
co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to define the mission and strategic
goals of Google's philanthropy. Dr. Brilliant is a founder and director of
The Seva Foundation, a Policy Advisory Council Member at the University of
California, Berkeley School of Public Health, and a member of the
Strategic Advisory Group of Kleiner-Perkins' Pandemic and Bio-Defense
Fund. EBay Inc. has announced that Matt Bannick, president of eBay International, will head the auction giant's initiatives in corporate philanthropy and the developing world. San Jose-based eBay said Bannick will continue in his current position over the next several months, working closely with John Donahoe, President of eBay Marketplaces as well as Bannick's direct reports, including Philipp Justus, senior vice president, eBay Europe; Jay Lee, vice president, eBay Asia/Pacific; and Martin Wu, CEO, eBay China, to ensure a smooth transition. It said more details of the transition plan will be announced later this year. Bannick joined eBay in February 1999 and has held several senior management roles. Bannick spearheaded eBay's early international efforts, and after eBay acquired PayPal in 2002, he was PayPal's first post-acquisition general manager. In December 2004, Bannick returned to eBay International as president. William Allen, has been appointed chief executive of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., says he wants to work more closely with other business advocacy groups to make the L.A. area more business-friendly. Son of the late Steve Allen, the 48-year-old Encino resident was the unanimous pick by the economic development organization's board to succeed the retiring Lee Harrington and took over from Harrington in January. Allen, who followed his father into the television and entertainment business, has been active on the economic development front for nearly a decade, most notably as the first chief executive of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. "While I was running the Economic Alliance, my biggest accomplishment was getting all the business advocacy groups on the same page for the San Fernando Valley, which wasn't easy to do," Allen said. Allen said he wants to bring the same approach to his new post with the countywide economic development organization. He also said he would like to step up the group's business retention efforts. As he takes up his new post next month, Allen said he intends to step aside from his daily management duties at two entertainment companies he and his family have run for years: Meadowlane Productions and Meadowlane Music. Lee Harrington, who left Southern California Gas Co. in 1995 to take the chief executive post, said he had informed the organization's board in mid-2004 that he wanted to retire within two years. Assemblyman Van Tran was honored last week with the Global Citizen Award, bestowed by Global Connect at UCI, an educational partnership developed by the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. “As an American citizen who was born in Vietnam, I’m passionate about addressing injustice around the globe,” said Assemblyman Tran upon accepting the award. “As global citizens we have a responsibility to spread freedom and opportunity”. Tran’s family first immigrated to America in 1975, evacuated by the U.S. Army a week before the fall of Saigon. Originally settling in Michigan, the family moved to Orange County where Van attended Costa Mesa High School. He completed his Bachelors Degree in Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, and went on to earn both a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Van Tran was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2004. He represents the 68th Assembly District in Orange County, including the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Newport Beach, Stanton, and Westminster.
Dr. Lucia B. Hammar is the new
director of International Student Services and Programs at
California State University, Fresno.
Hammar has more than 20 years of experience in international programs and
studies, and taught English as a second language abroad and in the U.S.
She has studied, lived and worked in a number of countries, including
Germany, Spain, Chile, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. For the last five years at
Fresno State, she worked at International Programs as assistant director
and then as International Programs director. “We are so pleased to have
someone with Lucia Hammar’s background and experience take the reins of
our International Student Services and Programs office,” said Bernie
Vinovrski, associate vice president for Enrollment Services. “We have an
excellent reputation overseas because of our location, excellent academic
programs and support services offer by the ISSP Office." This semester
600 international students from more than 50 countries are enrolled at
Fresno State.
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Just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they are not following you. Maybe that is what led State Senator Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove) to suspect that a special California National Guard unit that was disbanded last year amid suspicion it was engaged in domestic spying may have been part of a nationwide effort to monitor the activities of U.S. citizens. Top Guard officials were found to be tracking a Mother's Day anti-war rally organized by families of slain U.S. soldiers that included such sinister organizations as Gold Star Families for Peace, Raging Grannies and CodePink. Internal National Guard documents seem to suggest, according to Senator Dunn, that Guard units in nine other states may have had similar spying initiatives when California's unit became public last summer. "Because they were all created at about the same time and, to the best of our knowledge thus far seemingly engaged in similar activity, including domestic surveillance activities", Dunn said, "`we could only conclude that it had been part of a concentrated or coordinated effort to create such units around the country". Now, we are always quick to criticize our public servants for failing to "connect the dots", but is Senator Dunn connecting dots that aren't there? Maybe not- the National Guard organization in question is called the "Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion unit". Well that certainly sounds like a spy name- but who could possibly be worse at spying than a National Guard Unit? - it would be completely stupid. That's why I think it is probably true- it would be exactly the kind of idiotic thing the Federal Government, under current management, would do. "We are still trying to answer the question of where exactly the idea and the push behind the creation of such units came from,'' Dunn said "`We have met with great resistance to gaining access to such information''. Keep digging Senator- the truth is out there. No sooner had Governor Schwarzenegger put down an insurrection in the Republican party challenging his leadership at the Republican Party Convention then they abandoned him on his bond proposal. He got almost no support from his own party on his infrastructure initiative. The Republicans did try to work with Schwarzenegger. They tried to propose a more modest package that he could use to declare victory in the reelection campaign but Schwarzenegger told them he had to have something historic and visionary. When the deal when up in flames, the Governor was philosophical and said that if he wanted an easy life he could have stayed in Hollywood, "I would make my $20 million a movie, have my 40-foot trailer, have people serving me day and night, and telling me that I am the greatest". Speaking for myself, I'm not sure I wanted to hear that- I still haven't quite forgiven the Governor for charging $100,000 for a seat in his skybox at the Rolling Stones concert last year. Now, some Republicans, dismayed by the damage done to the reputation of their party by the big government "spend and borrow" Republicans in the White House and Congress are trying to reclaim the principle of fiscal conservatism for the State party. Schwarzenegger ``is going to be gone someday,'' said Mike Spence of West Covina, president of the conservative California Republican Assembly. ``So this is about our future: Are we going to be the party of fiscal responsibility or not?'' So if the conservative "base" of the Republican party is abandoning Schwarzenegger where will he get his support? How will he be elected? For a clue, look to a group called, the New Majority made up of people who claim to be Republican "centrists" whose organization is "founded on a vision of bringing a Republican majority to California". The group, which has about 250 members and funnels roughly $7.5 million a year into various political campaigns. Members of this group have donated or raised more than $10 million for the Republican governor's political ventures. Schwarzenegger and the California Republican Party held a major fundraiser in Beverly Hills, where at least four New Majority members will kicked in $100,000 each for a spot at the head table. Their founder, Paul Folino is the chairman and chief executive officer of Orange County’s Emulex Corporation, a high-technology network storage company. Mr. Folino is a personal friend of the governor and a generous financial patron- he has given more than $1 million in cash and services to the governor not counting donations from family members or to the state GOP, which can benefit the governor. The group also includes John B. Kilroy Jr., of Kilroy Realty, and Frank Baxter, former chairman of investment bank Jeffries & Co. The organization's Los Angeles chapter also is listed as a $100,000 donor, meaning the group collectively will give the governor and the state party at least $500,000 at the event. According to newspaper reports, Baxter alone has donated more than $175,000 in recent years to the governor's political projects and more than $300,000 to the state GOP. Members of the New Majority "are checkbook Republicans individuals who are wealthy and raise big bucks to support moderate candidates" said GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum. Unlike the party's social conservatives, he said, "they are not dominated by religious-right issues." Baxter and Folino are both members of the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth - this is a non-profit organization the Governor founded which some have charged is a "de facto" public agency may in fact really be a kind of political action committee (PAC) itself. The same applies the the California Chamber of Commerce- having broken a non-partisan tradition going back more than 100 years in endorsing Schwarzenegger for election and reelection. With the active involvement of Chairman Allan Zaremberg, and with the Chamber backed Citizens to Save California having raised more than $10 million in support of the Governor, isn't the Chamber now essentially a Republican PAC? Why would Democrats or Progressives still want to be a part of this organization? That is not a baited question- I really want to know. Now the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is jumping into the mix with something called the "California Initiative". Why the sudden interest in California? They are apparently paying for Governor Schwarzenegger's recent spate of television commercials but that seems to be all there is to the initiative. What's going on here? Are Republicans taking over non-profit business associations and turning them into Republican PACs? Remember- just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't following you. Democrats and Progressives better watch this one closely or they're going to get sucker punched. It seems vaguely similar to what they did with talk radio. Here is San Diego, Texas-based Clear Channel Communications bought almost the entire radio spectrum- including the big stations in Tijuana, and filled the air waves with right wing ranting lunatics- and they even organized pro-war rallies. There are just as many Progressives are there are Conservatives here, but suddenly Progressives had no media voice at all- and they never know what hit them. After taking over the radio spectrum, they then argued Liberals couldn't succeed at talk radio. Will they now do the same thing with Business Associations and Chambers? Since this is our conspiracy theory issue, we thought we would broach the question. So yes, Schwarzenegger can win- because he will have lots of bucks and apparently the support of some previously non-partisan business associations and chambers. Remember also, that the Democrats haven't had their primary yet, and Phil Angelides and Steve Westly will likely rip each other apart, as Democrats are wont to do. When the shooting stops, Schwarzenegger could very likely be the last man standing. Now, we are fair and balanced here, so we can't let Democrats off the hook and want to tell you about a a real meathead move. Yes, I am talking about Rob Reiner, who played the liberal "Meathead" on the "All in the Family" sitcom in the 1970s. He and his rich Hollywood friends have put an initiative on the state's June ballot that would add a 1.7-percentage-point income-tax surcharge on "millionaires" with income over $400,000, with the proceeds earmarked for universal pre-school. A special tax like that is probably not very good public policy but what is worse is that Reiner may have used public money from the state's California Children and Families Commission, an advocacy group that he heads for advertising this initiative. A LA Times story detailed how the Children and Families commission spent $23 million in state funds on ads that promoted the benefits of preschool. The television ads coincided with the campaign for Reiner's "Preschool for All" initiative, Proposition 82. State law prohibits the use of public funds for campaign activities- otherwise public agencies could just use public money to build demand for their own services. Democrats are bailing on support of this program and Attorney General Bill Lockyer says he agrees that "a prompt review" is warranted of allegations that the commission misused public funds with its ad campaign in support of preschool. Lockyer says his office has a conflict because it has an attorney-client relationship with the commission, so he has referred the matter to the Sacramento district attorney. Sorry Meathead, you were the prototypical Liberal- but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and we really have no choice but to give you this month's CIBR Lame Award - the award we give periodically for extreme examples of incompetence, dishonesty or corruption in disservice to California. Let's move on. In our last issue, we inaugurated the Not Clueless Award, a prestigious prize we give to a California person who has acted in the best interests of his or her fellow citizens. For reasons that will become clear, this award is being given anonymously in the category or unsung heroes - the recipient hung with some pretty rough characters. You know those crime movies where the detectives always find some excuse to go into a strip club as part of their investigation... well this time they really had an excuse. The story begins three years ago, when banks in Mexico noticed that counterfeit U.S. currency was being passed. The suspected counterfeit ring then apparently shifted its operation to Southern California, where Orange County merchants and banks began reporting the bogus currency in early 2002. Then, the Federal Agents investigating the case finally got a break. Based on information from informants, undercover agents recovered more than $300,000 in bogus $100 bills from a car belonging to Alfonso Avila Macias, 30, of Santa Ana. He was not charged until three years later, as investigators hoped he would lead them to the ring's leaders. Instead, he and the other suspects figured out what the agents were up to, and the investigation stalled for two years- until a man named Luis Gabriel Cisneros visited the Sahara Theater- a strip club in Anaheim in December 2004. Mr. Cisneros indulged himself in a three-hour lap dance, he then paid the 20-year-old stripper with four $100 bills. The bills looked genuine, but something about Cisneros caused this young woman- who we will call "Becky" to become suspicious. She then noticed that the bills smelled like vinegar and after discussing it with another employee decided to called the police. The Police came and arrested Cisnero, and Becky's alertness led to the dismantling of an international counterfeiting ring that produced an estimated $5 million in fake $100 bills during more than four years of operation in Mexico. Secret Service agents said they believed the bills were doused in vinegar to fool dogs used to sniff out contraband at the border. None of the bill smugglers were caught by Border Patrol agents, The couriers were almost always women, the agents said they later learned, who would walk across the border at San Ysidro with as much as $200,000 in fake bills hidden in their undergarments. After Cisnero's arrest, Secret Service agents found themselves back on the trail of the counterfeit ring. They managed to infiltrate the gang and in coordination with Mexican police eventually conducted raids in both Mexico and Santa Ana where agents arrested 10 people and seized $75,000 during raids on three houses. Authorities in Mexico detained six people, including a man believed to be a former state police officer, and nearly $400,000 in fake bills during raids of eight buildings in the western state of Jalisco, where the operations were based, according to Jose Luis Marmolejo, of the federal attorney general's organized crime division. The bills, produced with offset printing equipment, were well made – "one of the best falsifications we've seen," Marmolejo said. The investigation took years of work- some of it very dangerous, and the coordination of professionals in two countries, but it couldn't have happened without the attentiveness and quick thinking of "Becky" - who helped dismantle this international gang of criminals. Therefore, Becky, for service to your State and Country above and beyond the call of duty, we hereby confer upon you the prestigious CIBR Not Clueless Award. Way to go Becky- you deserve it, and if you happen to find yourself in San Diego I would be happy to present it to your personally. Until next time. RG
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Scam Alerts Since this is our "conspiracy theory" issue, we thought it would be appropriate to list a few of the numerous frauds and scams going around. As our President put it, "This is still a dangerous world- It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses!". There aren't too many things that our beloved leader says that we agree with, but he was spot on right about that one. Here's just a few of the scams we have heard about recently that you may want to watch for: Beware of ATM Skimmers. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times had his ATM card number "skimmed" and wrote this account of the fraud: "As I would later learn from the U.S. Secret Service, local police and the Identity Theft Resource Center, the business of ATM fraud is booming. Crooks are using video cellphones, surveillance cameras and old-fashioned shoulder surfing to eavesdrop on you while you punch in your PIN. On top of that, there's an occasional inside job in which a crooked bank employee swipes the information. I called Detective Bob Berardi of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's identity theft task force, he told me that he'd been victimized twice, including once while he was in Las Vegas giving a speech on identity theft. Thieves operate alone or in rings, Berardi said, and gas pump scams are common. In some cases, he said, a cashier will use a small "skimmer" to read the information on your debit card, or a skimmer will be attached to the ATM device on the gas pump." Phone Credit Card Scam. This email was sent by Joe Anderson of www.alldatacorp.com/. It describes a clever scam and the kind of call you might get if a thief already has your credit card number:
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Delays
at U.S.-Mexico border crossings in San Diego County cost the U.S. economy
an estimated $3.74 billion in lost sales, jobs and productivity last year,
according to a study released by the San Diego Association of Governments
and the California Department of Transportation. The report estimated that
shoppers, tourists and commuters spent an average of 45 minutes waiting to
cross from Mexico into San Diego County in 2005, which cost the U.S.
economy $2.48 billion. That figure includes money passengers would have
spent at shops, restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues in San Diego
County if the wait were shorter. Delayed freight had a broader impact
across the United States because about 30 percent of trucks had a final
destination outside San Diego County. The report estimated that keeping
cargo trucks waiting at the border for an average of 2 1/2 hours cost the
U.S. economy $1.26 billion last year. Two of the nation's busiest border
crossings link San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Nearly 17 million passenger
vehicles entered the United States through the 24-lane San Ysidro Port of
Entry in fiscal 2005, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The
Otay Mesa Port of Entry, one of the nation's biggest cargo crossings,
handled more than 724,000 trucks in eight northbound lanes during the same
period. The San Diego Association of Governments, a group representing 18
local governments, hoped the study will support its campaign for more
infrastructure on both sides of the border, including expansion of a
four-lane U.S. highway that straddles the border and construction of
another border crossing in San Diego. SANDAG's executive director, Gary
Gallegos, was quoted in an AP report as saying that he doesn't believe
U.S. government has to sacrifice national security to shorten the delays-
he said better infrastructure is the answer. "It doesn't necessarily have
to be one to the exclusion of the other," Gallegos said. The report said
the Mexican economy also suffered from border waits. Delays at San
Diego-area crossings cost Mexico an estimated $2.24 billion last year in
sales, jobs and productivity - about $2.07 billion from cargo traffic and
$168 million from foregone personal trips.
Governor
Declares Emergency over Aged Levees.
Border
Tunnels to be Illegal.
