Blogs

Update on Wal-Mart Spending in Rosemead

Direct political expenditure reports were due in California's Secretary of State's office at the end of last month.  View Wal-Mart's spending here:

http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1013468&view=contributions

Note that during the summer of 2005, while volunteers like David Perea were pounding the pavement, gathering signatures one at a time, Wal-Mart funneled $40,000 through their front group, so-called Rosemead PRIDE, to finance an extensive disinformation campaign.  That's about $3 for every household with a registered voter in the city of Rosemead.

Small story on Cable television

http://www.crowncitynews.com/archive.html

Crown City News produces a weekly local newscast for area cable.  They had a short story about the continuing battle against Wal-Mart in Rosemead on February 13.

The Wal-Mart spokesperson just couldn't help telling another lie, however.  He says a Rosemead Chamber of Commerce poll said 61% of Rosemead residents support a Rosemead.

Deputy Dog David Perea, The Mayor of Charlotte Avenue

David Perea, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on February 14.  He turned 68 that very day.

Our condolances and prayers are with his family.

We'll miss you, Dave.

Funeral arrangements have been made.  I've posted a message from Barbara Murphy that includes that information in the "comment" section below.

Hypocrisy About Voting Rights

Sometimes, pointing out hypocrisy among our political opponents is just too easy.  Case in point:  This weekend, I attended a conference held at the USC Davidson Conference Center in south Los Angeles.  The conference was cosponsored by a veritable who's who of civil rights.  Among the consponsors:  The ACLU, the Asian Law Alliance, the Asian Pacifiic Legal Center, California Common Cause, Chinese for Affirmative Action, League of Women Voters, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund [MALDEF], NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Association of Latino Elected and Apointed Officals [NALEO], and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium [NAKASEC].

Moms Vs. Wal-Mart

www.momsvswalmart.org

That's a group that is protesting the concept of Wal-Marts opening adjacent to schools.  Apparently, the students of Eldridge Rice Elementary School are not the only children in America that the geniuses from Bentonville decided to expose to 14,000 or more cars a day.

I would encourage my fellow Rosemeadians to go on over to the Moms vs. Wal-Mart site and sign their letter to Wal-Mart.

Ninth Circuit Wonders or Blunders

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A recent ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court (Padilla vs. Lever) states that political material in a political jurisdiction must be in all applicable languages of that jurisdiction, not just English.  The Ninth Circuit Court covers the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Let's consider the applicable languages in the nine States that the Ninth Circuit Court covers.  They are: Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian, Korean, Russian, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, Gujarati, Serbo-Croatian, Finnish, Armenian, Hebrew, Mon Khmer, Navaho, Yiddish, Hmong, Lao, Thai, Hungarian, Achumawi, Ahtena, Alelut, Apache, Assiniboine, Atsugewi, Blackfoot, Cahuilla, Chehalis, Chetco, Cheyenne, Chinook Wawa, Clallam, Cocopa, Coeur D'Alene, Columbia-Wenatchi, Coos, Cowlitz, Cree, Crow, Cupeno, Degexit'an, Ekyak, Gros Ventre, Gwidh'in, Haida, Han, Havasupai-Walapai-Yavapi, Hawaiian, Holikachuk, Hopi, Hupa, Inuktitut, Kalapuya, Kalispel-Pen Dórreille, Karok, Kashaya, Kato, Kawaiisu, Klamath-Modoc, Koyukon, Kumiai, Kuskokwim, Kutenai, Luiseno, Lushootseed, Maidu, Makah, Maricopa, Miwok, Mohave, Mono, Nez Perce, Nisenan, Okangan, Paiute, Panamint, Papago-Pima, Pomo, Quechan, Quinault, Salish, Serrano, Shasta, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Tanacross, Tanaina, Tenino, Tewa, Tlingit. Tolowa, Tsimshian, Tubatulabal, Tututni, Umatilla, Ute, Walla Walla, Wasco-Wishram, Washo, Wintu Yakima, Yakui, Yokuts, Yuki, Yupik, and Yurok.  I've probably missed several and please forgive me if I have.

Contact Your Representatives in Congress!

One of the problems any group faces in trying to battle a development threat is that people more than a few miles away often don’t see how the issue concerns them. That’s true even when the development involves the world’s largest corporation. But Padilla v. Lever changes that.

That case [and Jay Imperial’s case], if allowed to stand, will place a cloud of uncertainty over every single recall or initiative effort in the entire Ninth Circuit. [The Ninth Circuit includes California, Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana–55 million people, or about 1/5 of the nation’s population].

Lashbrook Park

Some musings.  This one's actually a bit of a downer.  I get that way when ever I think of what Wal-Mart is doing to this city. . . .

Today, my wife and I made our way over to a place called "Lashbrook Park." It’s located just a bit north and east of the corner of Rosemead Blvd and Garvey Avenue, in El Monte, along the concrete banks of the Rio Hondo.

It’s a small "pocket park," part of the "Emerald Necklace" envisioned by Amigos de los Rios, an offshoot of the Sierra Club. Amigos wants to build a whole network of parks along the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo Rivers, which run mostly through El Monte, South El Monte, and unincorporated Los Angeles County, with perhaps bits in Arcadia and Temple City. A person could spend a long day walking, or a short day riding a bike, in a circuit around the area. For an area [that, like Rosemead] is woefully lacking in open space, the Emerald Necklace sounds like a little slice of heaven.