Thanks to all of you who turned out to our rally on Saturday, February 25. A media report placed our crowd at "between 50 and 200." In actuality, I estimate 300 people joined us for at least part of the festivities. There were never 300 people at any one place at one time, but we did spread ourselves all over Rush Street, Walnut Grove, Angelus, Delta, and the Rice Elementary School field. And the event lasted for three and a half hours.

Charles Schmidt, a dedicated and generous SOC volunteer, passed away.  He contributed to our recall campaign, and we will miss him dearly.  We send his family our love. 

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.

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.

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.

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].

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.