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July 10th, 2020

7/10/2020

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Gavin Newsom caught wiring half a billion dollars to communist China in massive face mask money laundering scheme 07/07/2020 / By Ethan Huff

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The sordid details of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s unwholesome dealings with communist China continue to emerge, including the shocking revelation that Newsom is quietly funneling hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the communist Chinese regime in exchange for political favors.
Because California is certifiably bankrupt and on the verge of total economic collapse, Newsom appears to have forged a backroom deal with the Chicoms that involves him handing over taxpayer dollars in exchange for political bailouts. These include keeping California artificially afloat, as well as Newsom in office, at least until China can get troops on the ground as part of a planned nationwide takeover.
As it turns out, China fully supports, and is possibly even a financial backer of, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa, the two most well-known domestic terrorist groups making the rounds destroying property, tearing down statues, burning entire city blocks, and shooting innocent people. The destabilization these groups are causing is all part of the Chinese takeover plan, in other words. Natural News has already established that China is providing full-auto weapons upgrade parts to Black Lives Matter through a smuggling operation that was interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
How Newsom fits into the picture is that he has turned California into a port of entry for China to smuggle in weapons and other gear for the soon-to-be second civil war that has been planned for America. And the truly sick part is that Newsom is laundering money back and forth with the Chinese under the guise of “coronavirus aid.”
Back in April, even the mainstream media was questioning what Newsom was up to when it was revealed that he had wired half a billion dollars to an electric car company in China to supposedly purchase “N-95 masks” for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). This decision was never voted on or approved by legislators, and when pressed about the details of the deal, Newsom refused to disclose them.
Keep in mind that this half a billion dollars was just the first of two installments amounting to a full billion dollars being sent China to supposedly purchase face masks for Californians – face masks that never actually arrived, by the way. As of this writing, the Chinese electric car company in question, BYD, still has the money and has yet to send over a single face mask.
“That’s because this isn’t a billion dollars for ‘masks,'” writes Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, in an exposé on Newsom’s treasonous criminality. “It’s part of a massive money laundering operation to funnel money to China, so that China can funnel money and weapons back to Newsom in preparation for the civil war that they’re launching.”
More from Adams on how this type of government corruption has turned America into a ruinous heap and a failed state is available in the following episode of The Health Ranger Report:




This was never about saving people from a virusNone of this is conjecture, by the way. Newsom himself admitted to it personally during a television interview, though he refused to provide any details about the nature of the agreement that was made with BYD.
This massive transfer of taxpayer money to some obscure Chinese vehicle manufacturer was never voted on by the taxpayers from whom the money was stolen, nor has there been any accountability concerning how it was used. In fact, nobody even knows how it was used because the whole thing took place under the table.
Instead of using this money to help actual Californians, many of whom are jobless and barely scraping by, Newsom instead redirected it to his communist buddies across the Pacific under the guise of purchasing face masks.
Even if it was true that all this money went towards masks, which we know it certainly did not, Newsom at the very least could have instead invested it locally to have the masks produced in the state of California by actual Californians. This would have helped the state economy by keeping people employed.
But no, that was never what this was all about. Newsom pretended to spend this pile of taxpayer cash on face masks as cover for a massive money laundering scheme that effectively hands the reins of power over to China in exchange for Newsom’s own political protection.
By selling Californians down the river and giving China the beachhead it has been trying to establish on America’s western coast, Newsom is ensuring that he will remain on China’s good side once the dust settles and the new world order emerges.
As we reported, Newsom is directly facilitating the transfer of weapons and ammunition from China to the United States, where much of it is now being stored at the Easy End Complex in Sacramento. Pallets upon pallets of Chinese munitions are being stockpiled right underneath our noses, and Americans have Newsom the traitor to thank for what is soon to transpire.
“Essentially, Gov. Newsom has been stockpiling weapons and ammo in preparation for a civil war that he’s been helping to make reality,” notes the Health Ranger, who further warns that this all aligns with Barack Obama’s infamous vision concerning the future of America:
“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set … We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded,” Obama proclaimed to his cheering worshipers.
To sum it all up, Newsom is quietly paving the way for Obama’s civilian national security force to come to fruition by working directly with China to stockpile weapons and ammo. He is also helping to foment the violent division that is tearing apart our country so that China and other new world order players can swoop in when the time is just right and seize control.
Following a series of other preliminary events, many of which we are now witnessing on a daily basis, the eventual outcome will be mass death in America followed by a staged military invasion by China. This will spell the final end of America as we know it, and Americans will have Newsom, among others, to thank.
More news about the treasonous Gavin Newsom is available at NewsomWatch.com.
Sources for this article include:
NaturalNews.com
NaturalNews.com
Tagged Under: China, corruption, crimes, deep state, face masks, fraud, money laundering, newsom, President Trump, real investigations, scheme

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What's worse, COVID-19 or the government's lockdown of society? To help you decide, here's important information you won't hear in the mainstream media.

5/3/2020

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"Lift the lockdown" in San Bernardino, one of a dozen California May 1 protests
Here are three important things for you to know regarding COVID-19 in California. How high are the COVID-19 death rates? They're not. How effective are the protests against the lockdown? Very. And who was the fearful barber? Mine. 1. Not as many COVID-19 deaths as you've been told

This is eye-opening. If you've been tracking with SaveCalifornia.com lately, you know that with 96-97% of infected persons having no symptoms, COVID-19 has a 0.03% projected death rate (3x lower than the seasonal flu's 0.1% death rate), along with proven cures for those ill with COVID-19 (mostly elderly and infirmed).

Bottom line, this new virus isn't as scary as it was made out to be by the federal government, the Democrat politicians, and the Big Media. And we're still hearing biased media talk about increased "cases," which, of course you get with more testing. But if they focused on COVID-19'S dropping death rate, Americans' anxiety would definitely lessen.

The main thing you need to realize is COVID-19 death rates are being padded:


  • Dr. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota family physician who is also a Republican state senator, bravely went on national TV to say he's been told to exaggerate COVID-19 as a cause of death, and revealed that hospitals are being paid $13,000 for every COVID-19 patient and $39,000 for every COVID-19 patient on a ventilator.

  • California's Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom won't say how many prisoners test positive. Despite mass testing, "California's state prison system would not release counts of asymptomatic prisoners." If Newsom would only do the right thing and release the same inmate information as other states -- that there's widespread infection and 96% of these convicts are asymptomatic -- California's COVID-19 death rates would decrease even more.

  • Worst of all, we've just discovered the disturbing method that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using to "cook" COVID-19 death rates.

    The sad fact is, CDC is telling hospitals and physicians that they can mark COVID-19 as a cause of death, when the patient's not been tested to confirm it. This is fraud. 

    Why are they doing this? Remember, there's a huge monetary incentive to mark up as many people as possible as COVID-19 patients. So that hospitals get more money and Big Government and Big Media get more power by continuing to scare people out of their wits.

    See the CDC footnotes which I've copied and pasted so you can understand. The CDC rules permit doctors to "presume" COVID-19 infection without ever confirming with the readily-available COVID-19 test. Here are select CDC footnotes, verbatim:

    • 1Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19, coded to ICD–10 code U07.1.
    • 4Influenza death counts include deaths with pneumonia or COVID-19 also listed as a cause of death.
    • When COVID-19 is reported as a cause of death – or when it is listed as a "probable" or "presumed" cause — the death is coded as U07.1. This can include cases with or without laboratory confirmation.

Clarence, here's the bottom line. Even with the padding going on, the CDC lists only 37,308 COVID-19 deaths as of May 1, 2020 (this is under the slightly clearer code U07.1). This is much lower than the U.S. COVID-19 death count of 60,000+ you've been hearing in the news, and has to drive the actual COVID-19 death rates lower in all reality.

Do you see why you can't trust the Big Media or the medical establishment to tell you the true COVID-19 death rate? Yet you can logically deduce they've artificially inflated the numbers. All this makes COVID-19 scarier than reality. Again, we're talking about a death rate lower than the seasonal flu for a new virus that mostly affects the unhealthy, while the flu virus can affect everybody, all ages, healthy and unhealthy. And we've plunged a sword into our economy for this?
 
2. Benefit of 'lift the lockdown' protests

Have you see the protests? We've posted a lot of updates on our SaveCalifornia.com Facebook page.

We're already seeing good results from the California protests over the last two weeks. The majority of Californians are really hurting financially. And people who know the cause of the effect are decrying the indefinite government lockdown which is destroying jobs, small businesses, and people's very livelihoods. 

Be glad that these protests are making news. Getting media coverage serves to lobby Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom to "lift the lockdown" earlier. It also lobbies other state's governors and President Trump. Anytime a protest leader is wise and invites media, and media shows up (which has occurred at most of these citizen protests), there's media coverage that makes Big Government politicians worry.

Add to this Modoc County's rebellion against Newsom's broad, burdensome" lockdown." This 9,000-person-population county at the northeastern tip of California officially opened up on Friday. And Newsom didn't fight back, which is significant. And now, two more counties with higher populations, Sutter and Yuba counties, are also "reopening" on May 4. So if you live in Northern California, you can "eat out" by driving to Yuba City in Sutter County, Marysville in Yuba County, or Alturas in Modoc County for your first restaurant meal in months. 

What's more, there are now several lawsuits against Newsom, challenging his unconstitutional, totalitarian orders against business owners, against churches, against gun shops, and against the People's right to assemble on "state property" to express their lockdown grievances.

All this is significant pushback against Newsom's unreasonable lockdown, which is insensitive at least and brutal at most. Right now, Newsom is the People of California's biggest enemy. He has and is destroying their jobs, businesses, and livelihoods. And many more people realize this than they did two months ago.

This growing revolt, where more Californians identify Newsom as the problem, means that our uber-liberal governor is getting worried about his legacy. For example, during his May 1 livestream update, Newsom said he wanted to loosen some his restrictions in "days, not weeks." How different from just four days earlier when he said, "weeks, not months." See the change?

We need to keep up the protests and keep up the lawsuits. But the best lobbying is being done by individual counties when they lead, instead of waiting for Newsom to lead. So please ask your county supervisor to reopen now, like Modoc, Sutter, and Yuba counties have done. Right now, this is the most effective personal lobbying you can do.

Please enjoy these videos of California protests: Orange | Riverside | Huntington Beach

3. My fearful barber

As you know, Gavin Newsom's lockdown order told barbers and hair salons to close, without citing an enforcement mechanism. This has resulted in widespread closures, and a lot of unhappy Californians who can't get their hair cut, styled, or colored. 

I finally had enough with the mop growing on my head. So I drove to my cheapest barber shop ($6). But the sign on the door said it was "Closed because of COVID-19."

I then drove to a slightly more expensive barber ($8) to see if he was open. The shop appeared closed, but there was no sign on the door. I had the barber's cell number, called it, and was enthused he answered and was taking appointments. While making mine, he requested that I wouldn't park in front of his shop.

At the appointment, the barber hurriedly rushed me into the back. He had moved his barber chair behind a wall so no one could look in the front window and see he was cutting someone's hair. I asked him why he was so afraid. He said some people (not customers) had called the police on him -- twice.

Commiserating with his plight, I paid him and we walked toward the front door together. All of a sudden, he said, "Hurry, get behind the desk," and frantically pointed at a large nearby counter. I quickly obliged and ducked behind it. A second later, he joined me in our impromptu hiding place. Then I heard a loud voice coming closer. A tall, scruffy man had his hands on the big front window, and was peering in, looking for signs of life. The barber whispered to me, "I know this guy -- he's crazy!" I got the distinct impression that the barber feared this aggressive transient would call the police on him too.

Do you see how the lockdown is making life crazy for some people? And it is crazy how Big Government deems some businesses "essential" and other businesses not. I appreciated the haircut, but left with a seething anger over how the government is harming small businessmen like my barber, who's barely making it financially, and is being oppressed for meeting a basic need of his customers.
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CA Schools Could Reopen In July; Businesses Will Be Staggered

4/28/2020

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Public schools may reopen as early as July, along with some businesses, according to a coronavirus reopening plan unveiled Tuesday.
By Nick Garber, Patch Staff
Apr 28, 2020 1:07 pm PT | Updated Apr 28, 2020 1:39 pm PT
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A classroom sits empty at Kent Middle School on April 01, 2020 in Kentfield, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year due to shelter-in-place orders necessitated by COVID-19. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
CALIFORNIA — State officials on Tuesday unveiled a plan to gradually restart public life in California amid the coronavirus crisis, with public schools reopening for the next school year as early as late July and businesses reopening in stages, depending on their level of risk.
The four-stage process for easing the state's stay-home order was unveiled at a news conference by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Dr. Sonia Angell, the state's Public Health Officer. Newsom did not provide a timeline for when restrictions would be eased, but said the state was "weeks, not months, away from making meaningful modifications" to the order, assuming social distancing continues.
According to the state's reopening framework, California is currently in Stage 1: defined by creating a safe environment for essential workers and laying out plans for easing restrictions in the future.
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Learn More The highly anticipated Stage 2 may include reopening schools in late July or August, Newsom said, citing the need to make up for lost learning as the state's students have faced a rough transition to distance education. Lower-risk businesses would also be allowed to reopen during this stage, including manufacturing, retail that allows for curbside pickup and offices that are able to implement social distancing, Angell said.
"Our kids have lost a lot with this disruption," Newsom said, calling distance learning "inadequate" to meet the needs of the state's six million students.
The state will enter this phase through a statewide modification to its stay-home order, Angell said. For that to happen, the state must reach sufficient testing and contact tracing capacity, hospitalization and ICU trends must stabilize and there must be enough PPE to meet demand.
Next, Stage 3 would allow the reopening of "higher risk" workplaces that require person-to-person contact. That includes personal care businesses like gyms and hair salons; churches, weddings and other religious services; and entertainment venues like theaters and sports without audiences.



Don't miss updates about the coronavirus in California as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

A fourth and final stage, in which the state lifts its stay-home order and allows high-risk places like concert venues, live sports and convention centers to reopen, will not come until the state has access to therapeutic drugs to treat COVID-19, Angell said. Experts have warned that that development may take months, if not years.
Avoiding a second waveTuesday's news conference was billed as an update to the fifth of California's six goals that state officials are studying as they decide when to reopen the state. The fifth goal concerns whether businesses, schools and child care facilities are able to maintain social distancing, including state guidelines that may require health checks for employees and customers.
While the state has seen progress in its efforts to slow COVID-19, officials and public health experts have warned repeatedly that reopening the state too soon could cause a disastrous resurgence in cases.
"I want to caution everybody, if we pull back too quickly … it could start a second wave that could be even more damaging than the first," Newsom said Tuesday.
The state's other indicators included whether California had the means to protect its most vulnerable residents from contracting COVID-19, how well the state's hospital systems can handle surges in patients and whether the state had developed new treatments for COVID-19.
Newsom said Tuesday that the state is now testing an average of 20,000 people per day. The state had hoped to reach 25,000 daily tests by the end of April, with an eventual goal of 80,000.
California's testing rate, which experts have called the most important benchmark for containing the coronavirus, still lags behind those of dozens of other states.
As for contact tracing — a crucial way for officials to understand how the virus is spreading — California hopes to train a team of 10,000 tracers, drawing from an existing pool of state workers. Newsom has not said when they will be ready to deploy.
Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

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31:23 / 56:16 Town Hall with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and City of Rolling Hills Estates

4/28/2020

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Orange County asks advice from business leaders on when, how to safely reopen

4/28/2020

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y Alicia Robinson - April 25, 2020 at 11:10 am, updated April 27, 2020 at 9:48 am


As local, state and federal officials debate the appropriate time to lift coronavirus-related closures, Orange County leaders have convened their own task force on safely reopening businesses.

Directed by Orange County Supervisors Board Chairwoman Michelle Steel and including Supervisor Don Wagner, the group of local business and healthcare leaders held its first conference call Tuesday, April 21 – and it could bring some preliminary recommendations to the board as soon as next week, Wagner said.

While business representatives don’t want to endanger public health, they’re eager for a target date and feel “it is time to figure out what is the medically and scientifically responsible way” to start reopening, Wagner said.

Steel said she’s been talking to business owners who have made deep cuts to their staff, some of whom are now struggling to buy food.

“It’s been horrible,” agreed Mario Marovic, an Orange County restaurateur who is part of the advisory group.

Marovic said he was only able to keep a fraction of the staff at his 11 restaurants, just two of which remain open for take-out orders. The federal loans offered through the CARES Act are useless to him because three-quarters of the money must be spent on payroll in the next two months, but that’s unrealistic for restaurants that aren’t currently open, he said.

The task force also includes industry professionals representing grocers, hotels, entertainment venues, home builders and medical providers.

The two supervisors said their goal is to hash out guidelines for safely reopening, such as when masks and gloves might be required, and in what order to open different industries. While movie theaters and concert halls might have to wait, Wagner said with empty hospital beds and no spike in coronavirus patients so far, hospitals might resume performing some elective surgeries, which help keep them financially solvent.

Marovic said restaurants that are offering take-out already have procedures to sanitize their facilities, and he’s willing to discuss masks and customer capacity, but he believes May 1 should be the goal to reopen.

People should have the freedom to decide whether they feel comfortable going out to shop or dine, Marovic said, adding, “we did what we needed to do, we did it responsibly and now we need to open responsibly.”

At the moment, the state’s shutdown order remains in place, and Wagner said he doesn’t plan to challenge it unless mandated closures drag on beyond when most business and health experts agree it’s safe to proceed.

While May 1 may be overly optimistic, Wagner said, he believes reopening should begin within weeks, because “June 1 is way too late.”
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Drive-Up Coronavirus Test Site Opens In Redondo Beach

4/3/2020

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Drive-Up Coronavirus Test Site Opens In Redondo BeachThree more drive-up coronavirus testing sites opened Friday, including one in the South Bay.
By Emily Holland, Patch Staff
Apr 3, 2020 9:08 am PT | Updated Apr 3, 2020 9:09 am PT

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Los Angeles County is opening three more drive-up coronavirus testing sites Friday, including one in Redondo Beach. The county is also planning for at least three more of the testing sites.

The Redondo Beach testing site with be at the South Bay Galleria at 1815 Hawthorne Boulevard. The other two will be at the Pomona Fairplex at Gate 17, W. McKinley/Fairplex Drive and the Antelope Valley Mall at 1233 Rancho Vista Boulevard in Palmdale. Testing is by appointment only. Walk-up appointments are not available. Additional sites in Northridge, Long Beach, Lancaster and Pasadena are in the planning stages, and sites in Lancaster and Glendale are already operating.

The county's COVID-19 testing is limited to the most vulnerable residents — those who are age 65 and older and/or have underlying health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, chronic lung disease, or moderate to severe asthma.

Testing is also limited to those who are immunocompromised, including as a result of cancer treatment, and/or have been subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine period because they have been exposed to an individual with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and have more than seven days of the two-week quarantine period remaining.

Anyone interested in getting tested must first register on the screening website.

This first step determines if people are eligible to be tested. At the website, individuals are asked to answer basic questions, including name, date of birth, address and whether they are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.

The website — in real time — determines and confirms an individual's testing eligibility. Those who receive confirmation of testing eligibility will then be given a selection of testing sites, and available appointment times to complete the test registration process.

The registration number will be required at the testing site. All of the testing locations are drive-up and clients stay in their vehicles for tests — though pedestrian clients with appointments can be tested, as well.

The test is a self-administered oral swab, meaning clients must swab their own mouths/throats using instructions provided to them at the site. The testing process takes between 5 and 10 minutes, however waiting times may vary. More information and frequently asked questions are available at covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.

"The goal is to increase testing capacity as quickly as possible in Los Angeles County to meet the community's needs, which are growing every day," said Dr. Clayton Kazan, medical director of the L.A. County Fire Department, who is leading the countywide coordination of COVID-19 testing. Kazan is tasked with supporting and scaling the efforts of cities and healthcare providers that have begun their own testing programs, merge them into the countywide network and ensure that they have adequate supplies.

For more information and FAQs, go to the L.A. County coronavirus webpage. To register and see if you are eligible for a test, visit the City of Los Angeles coronavirus webpage.
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HIGHLIGHTS | President Trump and the Coronavirus Task Force Provide an Update to Americans

3/26/2020

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EVALUATING NEXT STEPS
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I want to thank the American people for the incredible sacrifices that they are making on behalf of our nation and I want to encourage everyone to keep following our guidelines on social distancing, avoiding large gatherings, and hand washing and all of the other things that everybody knows they are supposed to be doing.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Ultimately, the goal is to ease the guidelines and open things up to very large sections of our country as we near the end the end of our historic battle with the invisible enemy.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “My first priority is always the health and safety of the American people and I want everyone to understand that we are continuing to evaluate the data. We are working with the task force and making decisions based on what is best for the interests of our fantastic country.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I said earlier today that I hope we can do this by Easter. I think that would be a great thing for our country and we’re all working very hard to make that a reality.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We’ll only do it if it’s good and maybe we do sections of the country.”

LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC RELIEF
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We are working to pass the biggest and boldest financial relief package in American history. Senators will soon hopefully vote on a $2 trillion bill that will deliver direct cash payments to struggling Americans. No fault of their own.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The legislation will also include billions of dollars for additional resources for our and really heroic -- these are incredible doctors, nurses, brave, and hospitals; as well as support for hard-hit industries, such as the airline industry and cruise ship industry which employ tremendous amounts of people and obviously serves important functions beyond that.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Today, as you probably saw, the DOW surged over 2,100 points. That’s the all-time record history of the exchange. This is very encouraging and I think part of the reason is they are looking at what is close to being passed. And I think a very big part of it is they see we want to get our country open as soon as possible.”

NEC DIRECTOR LARRY KUDLOW: “This legislation is urgently needed to bolster the economy, provide cash injections and liquidity, and stabilize financial markets to get us through a difficult period.”

NEC DIRECTOR KUDLOW: “This package will be the single largest main street assistance program in the history of the United States.”

NEC DIRECTOR KUDLOW: “The total package here comes to roughly $6 trillion. $2 trillion direct assistance, roughly $4 trillion in Federal Reserve lending power.”

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “The Federal government is using every resource at its disposal to acquire and distribute critical medical supplies.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Through FEMA, the Federal government is distributing more than eight million N-95 respirators, 14 million surgical masks and many, many millions more under order.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “2.4 million face shields, 1.9 million surgical gowns. 13.5 million gloves and more than 4,000 ventilators to the areas of greatest need have already been sent and we have 4,000 being delivered to New York.”

VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: “New York state has prioritized three alternative medical facilities and, at the President’s direction, the Army Corps of Engineers is working on plans to build those facilities out. You’ve heard the President speak about the Javits Center, the addition of 1,000 beds.”

PRIVATE SECTOR STEPPING UP
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Private companies are heeding our call to produce medical equipment and supplies because they know that we will not hesitate to invoke the [Defense Production Act] to get them to do what they have to do.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Ford, 3M, General Electric Health are making tremendous numbers. They’ve already started on respirators, ventilators and face shields. They’re working together.”

GUIDANCE FOR NEW YORKERS
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: “For anyone in the New York metropolitan area who has traveled, our task force is encouraging you to monitor your temperature, be sensitive to symptoms, and we are asking anyone who has traveled out of the New York City metropolitan area to anywhere else in the country to self-isolate for 14 days.”

A Message from Amanda Robbins
Associate Director, White House Office of Public Liaison
 
The Vice President stated today, “The President has made it clear that he hopes -- in weeks, not months -- to be able to open up the country. But let me make one last encouragement to every American: We will get to that day quicker if every American will put into practice the President's coronavirus guidelines for our nation: "15 Days to Slow the Spread.” If every American will do this, I have no doubt that we will slow the spread, we will protect our most vulnerable, and we will heal our land.” 
 
We encourage you all to continue to put into practice the President’s 15 Days to Slow the Spread guidelines. Additionally, please see the highlights from today’s Coronavirus Task Force Briefing. Feel free to share these highlights and the guidelines across your networks.
 
If you would like other faith leaders to receive these updates, please let me know and we would be happy to include them. We are grateful for your continued prayers and ways in which you are serving your communities during this time.

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A special COVID-19 report from County Chair Supervisor
Michelle Steel, a Candidate for Congress

Hi all, this is Matt Ciepielowski, campaign manager for Michelle Steel for Congress. In this unprecedented period of crisis, we have temporarily changed traditional campaign activities. We will keep you updated on the Michelle-led county response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below find the letter Michelle sent to Orange County’s congressional delegation requesting their support for much needed medical supplies, testing kits, and productive equipment to help Orange County tackle COVID-19-
https://www.facebook.com/taxpayersadvocate/posts/3042396625813124


Real leaders vs. the pundits

A global crisis like the Coronavirus pandemic separates the real leaders from the pundits.
 
Real leaders know that every decision in Washington affects millions of Americans. Pundits, on the other hand, aren’t accountable to anyone except the media execs who sign their paychecks. They don’t have real jobs, so they don’t suffer when Democrats in Congress block a relief bill—or when politicians say it’s OK to shut down our entire economy indefinitely.
 
President Trump understands that when officials close down businesses to safeguard public health, there must be an ambitious recovery plan ready. Part one of that plan is immediate relief for millions of affected American workers. Part two is aggressive action to make sure America can open for business again the moment it is safe to do so.
 
Part one is nearly complete. Working late last night and into the early morning hours, Trump Administration officials and Senate lawmakers came together on a deal. “The legislation developed in the Senate is the first step to restoring confidence and stability to America’s economy,” the President said yesterday.
 
 Larry Kudlow: “This legislation is urgently needed to bolster the economy.”
 
The next step is preparing to get America back to work as soon as possible. Once again, the pundit class lined up to attack common sense—they say it’s too soon to even think about how our economy recovers once the threat passes.
 
Easy for them to say, of course. A mass quarantine doesn’t risk their paychecks, their families’ futures, or their ability to retire the same way it threatens millions of small businesses and workers. Most pundits don’t know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck; they don’t have to fear not being able to put food on the table.
 
Leaders, however, don’t have the “luxury of being one-dimensional,” as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) said this week. Public health is essential, but “we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality. You can't stop the economy forever.”
 
 President Trump: The best thing for our economy is victory over this virus
 
Gov. Cuomo also thanked President Trump and his team for their full cooperation and creative private-sector involvement during the outbreak. As President Trump says, bipartisan cooperation right now is crucial to get every American the support they need.
 
America’s future shines bright. No country on Earth is better prepared to handle this pandemic than we are. We will beat this virus together. And when we do, our economy will pick up right where it left off—with high wages, job growth, and rising 401(k)s.
 
Maybe that’s what the pundits are really worried about. 
 
“List: 74 actions taken by Trump to fight virus and bolster economy”


Together, we will prevail!

The American people are showing each day that unity and resolve define our nation.
 
“In the selfless actions of our amazing citizens, we’re seeing enduring strength of our magnificent nation, a spirit that can never be broken, and a victorious future that can never be denied,” President Trump said.


Nationally, the Republican led Senate reached a deal on a workers first coronavirus relief package.
 
CNN reports Republicans delivered:
 
  • $250 billion for direct payments to individuals and families
  • $350 billion for small business loans
  • $250 billion for unemployment insurance benefits
  • $500 billion for loans for distressed companies
 
However, the Democrats made clear they intend to use this crisis as an opportunity to push their far-left agenda. For example, Biden said that the pandemic is an “opportunity” to get the Green New Deal passed.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/do-you-qualify-for-a-stimulus-check-in-senates-coronavirus-response-bill  

https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/enhanced-unemployment-benefits-in-the-coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act/

USNS MERCY, 1000 bed Floating Hospital, No windows,
capable of transiting the Panama Canal.

It appears the ship is doing sea trials off the cost of San Diego after being outfitted upon coming off drydock there before being deployed to Los Angeles Harbor later this week.

https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-usns-mercy-california-navy-ship-1493688

President Donald Trump has approved the deployment of a U.S. Navy hospital shop to Los Angeles in order to assist the state of California as it deals with the coronavirus outbreak.

During a press conference on Sunday, Trump confirmed that the USNS Mercy, a hospital ship that has been docked in San Diego, will be deployed to the port of Los Angeles immediately.

The ship, measuring nearly 900 feet in length, holds around 1,000 hospital beds, including 80 intensive care unit beds.

Mercy's sister ship, USNS Comfort, is also set to be sent to New York in the next few weeks to assist with COVID-19 aid.

"The Department of Defense has been given direction to dispatch it to Los Angeles immediately," Gaynor said. "DoD has advised that Mercy can get into position within a week or less of today's order.

General characteristics
Orthopedic surgery performed in one of the ship's operating rooms.

Patient Capacity:
Intensive care wards: 80 beds
Recovery wards: 20 beds
Intermediate care wards: 280 beds
Light care wards: 120 beds
Limited care wards: 500 beds
Total Patient Capacity: 1000 beds
Operating Rooms: 12

Departments and Facilities:
Casualty reception
Radiological services including CT
Main laboratory plus satellite lab
Central sterile processing
Medical supply/pharmacy
Physical therapy and burn care
Intensive Care Unit
Dental services
Optometry/lens lab
Morgue
Laundry
Burn Treatment
Angiography
Blood Bank
Oxygen producing plants (two)
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Hermosa Beach to Close Beach and Strand This Weekend to Protect Public Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

3/25/2020

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Post Date:03/25/2020 6:00 PM

HERMOSA BEACH TO CLOSE BEACH AND STRAND THIS WEEKEND
TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC   

The Sooner, the Better: City Acting to Avoid Another Weekend of People Gathering at Beach, Which Would Increase the Risk of Virus’ Spread

HERMOSA BEACH, CA – The City of Hermosa Beach announced today that it will be closing its beach and beachfront walkway, the Strand, at 6 a.m. Saturday, March 28, to protect public health and prevent a repetition of last weekend, when groups of people congregated on the beach and Strand. These gatherings increased the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) because people were unable to maintain the required distance of a least six feet from people who are not members of their household.

San Diego, Laguna Beach and several other Southern California communities have also announced beach closures. Santa Monica, the City of Los Angeles and Manhattan Beach recently closed their beachfront parking lots. Hermosa Beach is unique among South Bay cities in owning its own beach and being able to proactively decide to close it. Los Angeles County owns the other South Bay beaches and will determine if those will be closed.

“We understand the desire to be outside and in nature is more powerful than ever and being out in nature is permitted if people avoid crowds and maintain six feet of distance from non-household members,” said Hermosa Beach City Manager Suja Lowenthal.“ While most people are staying home to slow the spread of COVID-19, the actions of a few who choose not to follow the rules can cost the lives of many. The sooner we close the beach and Strand, the better our chance to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Public health experts have reported that the virus can spread exponentially in groups, and the virus can remain on surfaces of such things as benches, railings and outdoor equipment for up to 72 hours.
“The Governor has said that people can still take short walks and enjoy other activities as long as they avoid congregating with people who are not members of their own households,” said Lowenthal.
Hermosa Beach’s Downtown Parking Structure also will be closed to the public to discourage people traveling to the beach and the Strand. Hermosa Beach’s closures will go into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday and will remain in effect until the City has determined it is safe to re-open the beach, Strand and parking structure.

Lowenthal said the closures were needed to ensure compliance with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Stay at Home Order, which requires everyone to stay at home except for essential needs. Essential Needs include getting food and necessary health care, caring for a relative or friend or going to an essential job. The governor also allowed for short walks near a person’s residence but has said people should not be congregating at public places, including California’s beaches.

To implement the closures, City Staff will be erecting signs and barriers at access points to the beach and Strand over the next two days, and the Hermosa Beach Police Department will be patrolling the beach to enforce the closures.

“We are hoping for voluntary compliance, and police officers will initially be informing the public about the closures,” said Hermosa Beach Interim Police Chief Michael McCrary. “But police officers will start writing citations and imposing fines, if needed, to keep the public safe. These closures apply to everyone because the beach belongs to all Californians, and the police cannot effectively enforce limited access for just local residents or select groups to use the beach and Strand.”
Information regarding coronavirus is changing frequently, and the City will provide the latest information about COVID-19 and links to resources on its website.  

To stay informed, please sign up for Hermosa Beach eNotifications, public safety alerts or follow the City on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Hermosa Beach

Founded in 1907, Hermosa Beach is a thriving community of some 20,000 residents. Located on the southern end of the Santa Monica Bay in Los Angeles County, with beaches ranked among the best in the world, Hermosa Beach has been recognized for its work to highlight Southern California beach culture, foster a vibrant local economy and protect coastal and environmental resources.
To learn more about Hermosa Beach, please visit the City website: www.hermosabeach.gov/
Or keep up with Hermosa Beach news and events through social media channels: 
 


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812 Coronavirus Cases In Los Angeles County: Where They Are

3/25/2020

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812 Coronavirus Cases In Los Angeles County: Where They AreHealth officials confirmed 151 more cases of the new coronavirus Wednesday.
By Emily Holland, Patch Staff
Mar 25, 2020 3:26 pm PT | Updated Mar 25, 2020 3:57 pm PT
There are 812 confirmed coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County as of Thursday, according to public health officials. (Shutterstock)
LOS ANGELES, CA — There are now more than 800 confirmed coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County Wednesday, and health officials reported three additional deaths.
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the county Department of Public Health, said the three new deaths were all people over age 65 with underlying health conditions. The deaths brought the county's total to 13 — with Ferrer saying the death of a 17-year-old boy in Lancaster that was reported Tuesday is no longer considered a coronavirus case, pending a determination by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ferrer said 138 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed by the county Department of Public Health, bringing the total to 799. However, the city of Long Beach announced 13 new cases not yet included in the county's number, meaning the actual total in the county is 812.

Read more: Quarantine Tightened As Coronavirus Deaths Mount In Los Angeles

The locations with confirmed coronavirus cases around Los Angeles County, as of Wednesday, are:
  • Los Angeles County: 764
  • Long Beach: 41
  • Pasadena: 7
By City
  • Agoura Hills — 3
  • Alhambra — 6
  • Altadena — 5
  • Arcadia — 4
  • Arleta — 1
  • Athens — 1
  • Baldwin Hills — 3
  • Bell Gardens — 3
  • Bellflower — 7
  • Beverly Hills — 13
  • Beverlywood — 8
  • Boyle Heights — 5
  • Brentwood — 34
  • Burbank — 3
  • Calabasas — 4
  • Canoga Park — 2
  • Canyon County — 1
  • Carson — 9
  • Castiac — 2
  • Century City — 7
  • Century Palms/Cove — 3
  • Cerritos — 2
  • Claremont — 1
  • Cloverdale/Cochran — 3
  • Compton — 2
  • Covina — 3
  • Crenshaw District — 2
  • Crestview — 7
  • Culver City — 6
  • Del Rey — 5
  • Diamond Bar — 2
  • Downey — 5
  • Downtown — 6
  • Duarte — 1
  • Eagle Rock — 2
  • East Hollywood — 1
  • East Los Angeles — 3
  • Echo Park — 4
  • El Segundo — 2
  • Encino — 13
  • Exposition Park — 1
  • Florence — 4
  • Gardena — 1
  • Glassell Park — 1
  • Glendale — 12
  • Glendora — 2
  • Granada Hills — 7
  • Hancock Park — 8
  • Harbor Gateway — 2
  • Harvard Heights — 1
  • Hawthorne — 8
  • Highland Park — 2
  • Hollywood — 23
  • Hollywood Hills — 8
  • Hyde Park — 1
  • Inglewood — 5
  • Koreatown — 5
  • La Canada Flintridge — 3
  • La Mirada — 4
  • La Verne — 2
  • Lake Balboa — 2
  • Lakewood — 4
  • Lancaster — 13
  • Lawndale — 1
  • Lomita — 9
  • Los Feliz — 3
  • Lynwood — 3
  • Manhattan Beach — 17
  • Mar Vista — 6
  • Melrose — 33
  • Miracle Mile — 8
  • Monterey Park — 4
  • Mt. Washington — 2
  • North Hollywood — 11
  • Northridge — 2
  • Pacific Palisades — 9
  • Palmdale — 2
  • Palms — 8
  • Paramount City — 1
  • Park La Brea — 8
  • Pico — 2
  • Pico Rivera — 1
  • Playa Vista — 5
  • Pomona — 1
  • Porter Ranch — 1
  • Rancho Palos Verdes — 5
  • Redondo Beach — 9
  • Reseda — 5
  • San Dimas — 1
  • San Fernando — 3
  • San Gabriel — 1
  • San Pedro — 4
  • Santa Clarita — 10
  • Santa Monica — 18
  • Santa Monica Mountains — 3
  • Sherman Oaks — 12
  • Silverlake — 6
  • South El Monte — 3
  • South Gate — 2
  • South Park — 1
  • South Pasadena — 3
  • South Whittier — 3
  • Stevenson Ranch — 2
  • Studio City — 7
  • Sun Valley — 2
  • Sylmar — 1
  • Tarzana — 9
  • Temple City — 3
  • Torrance — 9
  • Tujunga — 1
  • University Park — 4
  • Valley Glen — 11
  • Van Nuys — 4
  • Venice — 9
  • Vermont Knolls — 1
  • Vermont Vista — 3
  • Vermont Central — 1
  • Walnut — 1
  • West Adams — 4
  • West Covina — 2
  • West Hills — 4
  • West Hollywood — 31
  • West Los Angeles — 4
  • West Vernon — 5
  • Westchester — 5
  • Westlake — 1
  • Westwood — 9
  • Whittier — 3
  • Wholesale District — 4
  • Willowbrook — 1
  • Wilmington — 4
  • Wilshire Center — 2
  • Winnetka — 3
  • Woodland Hills — 11
  • Under Investigation — 56
These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation, county health officials said. For the most updated numbers, visit the county Department of Public Health website.
There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. However, as a reminder, CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
  • Follow CDC's recommendations for using a facemask.
    • CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
    • Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
    • If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
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The coronavirus outbreak could shut down the post office in less than 3 months, lawmakers say

3/24/2020

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The coronavirus outbreak could shut down the post office in less than 3 months, lawmakers say

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  • Two US representatives said on Monday that the coronavirus outbreak could shut down the Postal Service by June.
  • By Tuesday morning, more than 46,000 coronavirus cases had been identified in the US. As of Friday, at least 20 postal workers had been sickened.
  • Any interruption in mail service could delay critical medicine deliveries and upend postal voting in the November election.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Regular mail service could be shut down as early as June, two US representatives said, and the effects could be disastrous.
Critical supplies — like the more than 1 billion shipments of prescription drugs delivered by the Postal Service last year — could be stuck, mail voting in the November election could be stymied, and hundreds of thousands of postal employees could be out of work, Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Gerry Connolly said in a statement on Monday.
"Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House," Maloney and Connolly said.
"Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications. The Postal Service needs America's help, and we must answer this call."
The duo also introduced a bill that would provide $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service while eliminating the agency's debt and requiring it to prioritize medical deliveries.
The bill would also create temporary delivery points to protect workers. It's not clear what these might look like, as the design would be left up to the Postal Service, but the bill's language implies something similar to Amazon's delivery lockers that allow people to send deliveries to a secure location other than their home.Like hospitals, grocery stores, and other essential businesses, post offices have remained open despite many businesses closing as the coronavirus continues to spread. As of Tuesday morning, more than 46,000 cases had been identified in the US.
At least 20 postal workers had fallen sick by Friday, The New York Times reported this week. The head of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union told the paper that workers had gotten sick in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Portland, and other cities.
That's a small number of the agency's roughly 630,000 employees, but it underscores the outbreak's effects on several industries.
"These negative effects could be even more dire in rural areas, where millions of Americans are sheltering in place and rely on the Postal Service to deliver essential staples," Maloney and Connolly's statement said.
Coronavirus Live Updates 7 hours ago Coronavirus: Here's what to know

Latest news
  • New York state projects it will need nearly 90,000 more hospital beds. Gov. Cuomo warned that the same could happen to California, Washington, and Illinois.
  • Airlines are preparing plans to shut down US flights completely.
  • The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • At least 2.8 billion people worldwide are under some kind of coronavirus lockdown.
  • Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, will end its lockdown on April 8, allowing traffic to reenter and pass through the city.
  • The "Dr. Doom" economist has warned that the coronavirus could plunge the global economy into a "Greater Depression."
  • Trump wants America "opened up and just raring to go by Easter," while the Pentagon is bracing for at least a few months of crisis.
  • An Arizona man died after taking a version of an unproven drug that Trump has touted, and his wife has warned not to "believe anything that the president says."
  • Read live updates about case totals, death tolls, and new developments around the world. Here's the latest on the escalating situation in the US.
Evolving research about COVID-19
  • People older than 60 and those with preexisting conditions are at a much higher risk of severe illness and death. But a top US infectious-disease expert warned that young people are "not immune or safe."
  • The global COVID-19 death rate has doubled in the last two months, but that doesn't tell the full story.
  • The most common symptoms are a fever and a dry cough, though some people experience headaches, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
  • Doctors warn that symptoms start slow, sometimes even get better, then worsen quickly.
  • Some people who get the virus seem to lose their sense of smell or taste.
  • On average, a coronavirus patient infects at least two other people, but we can limit that spread with preventive measures.
  • More than 40 potential vaccines are in the works, and eight are set for human trials this year.
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Trump team fiercely debates how long coronavirus restrictions should stay in place

3/24/2020

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Trump team fiercely debates how long coronavirus restrictions should stay in place
By Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant - 03/23/20 03:51 PM EDT
A high-stakes debate is playing out among key figures in President Trump’s orbit over how quickly to loosen restrictions meant to combat the coronavirus.

A number of people around Trump have pushed for prioritizing the economy and sending people back to work as quickly as possible, particularly in less afflicted areas.

But Trump’s own public health officials and some of his allies on Capitol Hill have warned against risking higher infection rates and deaths for the sake of boosting the economy in the short term.

Sources close to the Trump administration described a “split” in the larger Trump World where some people around the president believe the federal government should ease recommendations on social distancing after the 15-day period while others favor waiting a few more weeks or taking even more dramatic action to stamp out the spread of the virus. 

“I think there’s a recognition that there needs to be some sort of medium between listening to the doctors and listening to other experts as well,” the person said. “There really isn’t a perfect answer.” 

There were more than 41,500 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of Monday afternoon, a large percentage of them concentrated in New York. More than 500 people in the U.S. had died of the disease. The pandemic has resulted in unforeseen businesses closures and massive layoffs across the country. 

On Monday, the camp in favor of kick-starting the economy as quickly as possible seemed to be winning out. Trump, apparently spurred on by commentary from Fox News host Steve Hilton, tweeted overnight that “we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself" and retweeted several supporters on Monday calling for Americans to get back to work.

Advisers and prominent commentators in conservative media lined up to voice concerns that the economic costs of maintaining restrictions had to be taken into consideration.

“In one week we need to be heading back to work, school, stores, restaurants and churches with new protocols in place,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted. “The risk if we don’t is that we lose far more in terms of death, pain and suffering than this pandemic will bring.”

Larry Kudlow, the White House’s top economic adviser, said the administration was discussing possible economic remedies and acknowledged “we’re going to have to make some difficult tradeoffs.”

“We can’t shut in the economy,” he said on Fox News. “The economic cost to individuals is just too great.”

Asked Monday whether the administration was considering relaxing the guidelines to stimulate the economy, Vice President Pence told reporters that the coronavirus task force would evaluate ways to potentially "adjust" the guidance after the 15-day period. 

“At the end of this 15 days, we're going to get with our health experts, we're going to evaluate ways in which we might be able to adjust that guidance for the American people,” Pence told reporters after a teleconference with governors at FEMA headquarters. “We'll look at where we are and we'll evaluate based on our health experts, what steps might be possible.”

The White House has bolstered its team of economic advisers amid the pandemic, bringing on Kevin Hassett, Trump’s former chief economist, as a temporary adviser. Hassett last week suggested on CNN that the U.S. may have to consider sending Americans back to work at a certain point even if the pandemic hasn’t abated to avoid a Great Depression-like event.

Trump also tapped Joseph Lavorgna, former chief economist for the Americas for Natixis, to a position on the White House National Economic Council where he will be responsible in part for studying the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the economy. 

Social distancing policies put in place by local governments and backed by the federal government are intended to slow the virus’s spread. This is seen as vitally important to prevent hospitals from being over-crowded with coronavirus victims. Fears about supply shortages in masks or ventilators have been widely reported.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been one of the most prominent members of the coronavirus task force who has advocated for drastic measures to stem the outbreak. He said Friday that Americans would likely need to stay home for several more weeks to blunt the spread of the virus. 

“If you look at the trajectory of the curves of outbreaks in other areas, it’s at least going to be several weeks,” Fauci told NBC News. “I cannot see that all of a sudden next week or two weeks from now it’s going to be over. I don’t think there’s a chance of that.” 

At the same time, the economic harm caused by the coronavirus and the shutting down of the economy is leading to deep fears about millions of job losses. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told GOP senators last week that it was possible unemployment could hit 20 percent, though he later backtracked somewhat by saying he was not offering a prediction.

Trump one week ago detailed recommendations urging Americans nationwide to avoid restaurants and bars, limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer and cancel nonessential travel for 15 days. The measures came as a handful of states and localities ordered schools and eating establishments to be closed and large events to be canceled. The federal government has ramped up testing for the virus in the days since, and the number of domestic cases have skyrocketed from a few thousand to more than 40,000. 

Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Monday warned that not enough Americans were taking the guidance seriously.

Some argue that by loosening the social distancing recommendations sometime soon after the 15-day mark, the federal government would be allowing people, particularly in parts of the country that aren’t seeing large numbers of cases, to begin returning to normal life. 

One source close to the administration argued that the decision shouldn’t be left entirely up to the public health officials because they are not experts on the economic effects of the virus. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday is expected to unveil new guidance for people working in critical infrastructure sectors, including first responders, which will help people who have been exposed return to work more quickly by wearing masks.

But some of Trump’s staunchest allies have cautioned against the public health risks of ignoring experts and shaking off social distancing recommendations before the virus is contained.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that he would urge the White House to follow the advice of Fauci and other medical experts and insisted that continuing with mitigation measures should be the priority to avoid overrun hospitals and catastrophic consequences.

“There is no functioning economy unless we control the virus,” Graham said.
Steve Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist, advocated on Sunday for an aggressive national shutdown to blunt the spread of the virus, “take the pain up front,” and hopefully shorten the amount of time businesses remain closed.
A similar debate is playing out across the country as governors who are imposing shelter-in-place advisories and ordering nonessential businesses to close are mulling how to keep their state economies from collapsing entirely.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who has emerged as the most visible Democrat leading the charge against the virus, told reporters at a news conference on Monday that he is already trying to plan for how to best wind down restrictions on workers. 

“You have to walk and chew gum in life,” Cuomo said.

One consideration, he said, is that young people who are less vulnerable to the virus could return to their jobs sooner than other populations.

But Cuomo has been consistent in warning constituents that restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus could be in place for the foreseeable future, predicting last week that New York would see the peak of the virus in 45 days.

Trump, with an eye on November, may be less inclined to wait out the virus while the economy contracts and unemployment skyrockets.

“The economic future of America is always going to be right toward the front of a president’s decision-making,” one former Trump adviser said. “But in this case if we take the big, bold, dramatic action now, then we’ll put ourselves on course to have a nice rebound in advance of the fall. If we just try to flatten the curve, that’s just going to prolong the national pain.”

Tags Laura Ingraham Steven Mnuchin Lindsey Graham Donald Trump Steve Bannon Larry Kudlow Mike Pence Coronavirus
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489072-trump-team-fiercely-debates-how-long-coronavirus-restrictions-should?fbclid=IwAR3R9asDJiz8SuZ8pH5RX6pRp7xxjNu6ew93McvpXBVHK8iAjFx3mdgVZ98
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Today in History: Patrick Henry’s Give Me Liberty Speech

3/23/2020

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Today in History: Patrick Henry’s Give Me Liberty Speech
by Dave Benner (read this article and Henry's full speech at this link)


Today in history, on March 23, 1775, tensions in Virginia were at their highest point during the imperial crisis with Britain.

The House of Burgesses, the state’s elected assembly, was about to make a bold decision – to commit its militia to the cause of independence. Britain had responded harshly to the Boston Tea Party the year prior through the Intolerable Acts. Virginians knew that any official pledge of military support could persuade the British to treat Virginia in the same way, and the matter became a hotly debated issue.

In St. John’s Church, Henry made a bombastic speech in which he drew a stark dichotomy between liberty and tyranny. Henry claimed the only legitimate authority over the colonies were the colonial governments, not Parliament – knowing that Virginians expected internal political matters to be addressed in Williamsburg, not London.

If Britain violated these local interests, surely it would show contempt for Virginia’s “ancient constitution” that was recognized for centuries. In Henry’s mind, the hope of peaceful reconciliation had run its course. Although Henry refused to speak for others, he believed the outbreak of war was assured circumstances necessitated an ultimate choice between liberty and death: “It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

According to Edmund Randolph, the convention sat in silent consideration of Henry’s words for several minutes. Much of the Virginia General Assembly was stunned by the provocative nature of Henry’s comments. Those still hoping to avoid independence strongly believed that such words would cause additional strain between Virginia and the mother country. Henry was even accused of treason for his oratory.

Despite the objections of some, Henry’s resolutions passed by the narrowest of margins, with popular figures such as George Washington and Richard Henry Lee voting in favor. On the dawn of independence, Virginia joined the military cause against the British.

Among the delegates within the assembly were George Washington, St. George Tucker, and Thomas Jefferson. While he did not particularly like Patrick Henry, Jefferson later wrote in reflection of his oratory: “It is not now easy to say what we should have done without Patrick Henry. He was before us all in maintaining the spirit of the Revolution.”

Henry’s speech was considered the defining moment that convinced the House of Burgesses to pass the resolution, and Virginia committed its militia to aid the patriot cause. Inarguably, Virginia was the most important colony to be won over in the great struggle for independence, and the decision proved to be one of the most significant events that changed what at first seemed to be an isolated civil dispute between New England and the crown.

The incident ignited Virginia’s transition from a British colony to an independent, republican state, and began to solidify a united, multi-colonial opposition toward Britain.

NOTE: Find Henry's speech at the bottom of Dave's article at this link.


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Pelosi unveils $2.5 trillion counterproposal to GOP coronavirus stimulus

3/23/2020

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Pelosi unveils $2.5 trillion counterproposal to GOP coronavirus stimulus



Alayna TreenePhoto: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled on Monday a sweeping counterproposal to Senate Republicans' $1.8 trillion coronavirus stimulus package.

Why it matters: House Democrats' legislation — which comes with a $2.5 trillion price tag — comes after negotiations between Capitol Hill leaders and the White House broke down over the weekend, culminating in two failed procedural votes that have left the Senate Republicans' bill in limbo.

The state of play: Democrats, who have asserted that the Senate GOP bill is a corporate slush fund that doesn't do enough to help American workers, are hoping that the release of this bill will give them more leverage in negotiations with Republicans.
  • But Republicans have accused Democrats of playing politics during a national crisis by stalling action on their bill, calling this latest measure a "Democratic wish list" — as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell characterized it.




The "Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act":

  • Increases the amount of money being offered to individuals to $1,500, and up to $7,500 for a family of five. The same GOP income thresholds in the GOP bill would apply — $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples, but the benefit would be available to anyone with an individual taxpayer identification number, retirees and unemployed individuals.
  • Waives $10,000 in federal student loan payments.
  • Dedicate $4 billion in grant funding to help states with upcoming elections and nationally mandates 15 days of early voting and no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail, including mailing a ballot to all registered voters in an emergency.
  • Includes a section that would cancel several executive orders and presidential memorandums that Democrats argue have weakened public sector unions' ability to engage in collective bargaining.
  • Creates new carbon offset guidelines for airlines, with a long-term goal of reducing jet fuel emissions by 50% by 2050. 
  • Allocates $150 billion to support hospitals, local health centers and government-funded medical programs, with an additional $80 billion in low-interest loans to hospitals.
  • Eliminates cost-sharing for coronavirus treatments and vaccines for all patients, including the uninsured.
  • Addresses broader health care concerns that Democrats have pushed for months, including increasing subsidies on the individual market and creating new incentives for states to expand Medicaid.
  • Provides child care assistance to health care workers and emergency personnel.
  • Would temporarily provide $600 per week to unemployed workers affected by the coronavirus. Self-employed workers, Americans whose contracts were canceled, and new entrants to the job market would also be eligible.
  • Expands paid sick leave and family medical leave, as well as gives more money to food-safety benefits.
  • Provides $500 billion in grants and interest-free loans to small businesses.
  • Creates a $200 billion stabilization fund for states and $15 billion for local governments through the Community Development Block Grant program. The legislation also authorizes the Federal Reserve to purchase state and local government bonds.
  • Pumps nearly $60 billion into schools and universities, with $50 billion directly provided to states for school funding and nearly $10 billion to higher education institutions.
  • Dedicates $20 billion to reimbursing the U.S. Postal Service for lost revenue, and forgives USPS debt.
  • Requires companies receiving federal assistance during coronavirus to institute a $15 minimum wage.




What's next: Discussions between McConnell, Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will continue over the next few days. Both sides are confident they will ultimately reach an agreement given the dire need to deliver this aid as soon as possible.

Read the bill ... and compare it to McConnell's.

Read the bill here
https://www.axios.com/nancy-pelosi-coronavirus-stimulus-proposal-d7b4a9a0-610a-4324-a07b-6bb64e1f5c81.html?fbclid=IwAR13sVgychLJsFcI1ug_AE2k9LdYOBG0oqe5NoDw78r_7YGqqCeVVzXFw40

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Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus

3/23/2020

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Picture
Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus

By SoCal Patch, News Partner
Mar 23, 2020 4:33 pm PT

In a sign the coronavirus is spreading, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank and former Mayor Susan Brooks both tested positive. (Shutterstock)


RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank and former Mayor Susan Brooks have both tested positive for coronavirus, the city announced Monday. Cruikshank and several other city officials attended a birthday party for Brooks on March 8, and some other officials who were at the party have opted to self-quarantine. "I am getting the rest and care I need and taking all necessary precautions as directed by my physician and public health officials," Cruikshank said in a prepared statement. "I hope my diagnosis underscores the need for all residents to take this crisis seriously and follow all directives from public health officials. COVID-19 is in all of our communities and we must all do our part to slow its spread."  Mayor Pro Tem Eric Alegria, who also attended the party, is not exhibiting symptoms and has not been tested, but he has chosen to self- quarantine, according to the city.  A city employee who was also in attendance has displayed symptoms and is self-quarantined, but has not yet been tested. City Manager Ara Mihranian and Interim Deputy City Manager Kit Fox did not attend the party but are self-isolating out of an abundance of caution due to their interactions with those officials who did, including Cruikshank, according to the city. "As soon as I got word of the mayor's diagnosis over the weekend, I immediately notified all city staff who were in contact with him and other city officials who attended the party," Mihranian said. "I also ordered the deep cleaning of City Hall and all city facilities visited by these officials." Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall has been closed to the public since March 14 and almost all employees are working remotely, the city stated, with only a handful of essential staff onsite that must practice social distancing and take all necessary precautions. Deep cleaning is being performed between shifts, the city stated. Rancho Palos Verdes City Council and advisory board meetings will be held by teleconference until further notice, according to the city. Self-quarantines for the coronavirus are to last 14 days, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

City News Service


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Say NO! Take Action to Stop Government Electricity - CCA!

8/8/2016

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Picture
Dear Friends:

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a bad choice for residents and consumers.
Government can't offer cheaper, more reliable electricity.

Government can't offer cheaper, more reliable electricity because of mandated
renewable energy, solar and wind, must be used in the production of electricity.

Renewable energy is taxpayer subsidized; once the subsidy is gone, electricity rates
will go up.

Community Choice Aggregation is a new program that allows California city
governments to operate “communitywide electricity buyers’ programs.” Commonly
known as community choice aggregators, or CCAs, these are new government
agencies created by Joint Powers Agreement among several cities. Additionally,
individual cities may run their own CCA programs.

Our local utility company, Edison, will still provide transmission, distribution and
customer billing services to the CCA agency for a fee that is passed along to
consumers.

Once our city council decides to join or establish a CCA, all residents are
automatically enrolled in the program. It will be up to individual residents to “opt
out” and continue with their regular service with Edison.
CCAs are vulnerable to changing market conditions. Energy procurement is risky,
complex, costly and long-term. Because withdrawal from CCA membership is costprohibitive,
our city’s decision to join binds future City Councils and future
generations of taxpayers.

CCAs operate without adequate oversight, virtually invisible to the public. Creating
Joint Powers Agencies (JPAs), such as CCAs, costs taxpayers money. JPAs employ
staff, set up offices and, most importantly, make decisions -- such as issue debt --
for which taxpayers are responsible but have no knowledge or say. JPA governing
board members are not directly elected by voters, which contributes to their
relative obscurity and lack of transparency.

Does the nominal increase in renewable energy use promised by CCAs justify their
risks? Unequivocally, no.

Local government doesn’t belong in the electricity business. It is reckless for
government to gamble on risky ventures for which it is ill-prepared and
unqualified. “Green” energy companies, consultants, activists and lobbyists all
stand to gain politically and financially from the proliferation of CCAs. Public
agencies rely on some of these same sources for advice on CCAs -- a clear conflict of
interest.

Today’s cities and counties struggle to provide essential services, including basic
public safety and human services. Throwing precious tax dollars into a CCA money
pit won’t help the environment, but will burden future generations with additional
unwanted debt.

Take Action Now:

The city of Hermosa Beach is scheduled to introduce the government electricity
ordinance exploring options to form a CCA at the August 23 meeting.
Please see this 3 minute video of the previous Hermosa Beach Mayor, whose
professional background is in business finance, explain how the new CCA energy
plan will likely deceive residents into unknowingly sign up for “clean” energy.
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0pPzFVzWO0
You can read the proposed program here and watch the video of the last council
meeting discussion from July 26, 2016 here. (Time stamp 3:46:00).
Submit your comments to the city clerk before noon on Monday, August 15,
2016 to be included in the City Council regularly printed agenda for the meeting on
Tuesday August 23, 2016. Later submissions will be included in the online agenda
up to the afternoon of the 23rd.

Send e-mail comments to cityclerk@hermosabch.org
Group email for the City Council: citycouncil@hermosabch.org
Here are some suggested comments that you can use. Additional letters submitted
to council are here under Attachments. Please feel free to put them into your own
words:

1. Please be aware of the issues that have surfaced since; per the (past)
Mayor of Hermosa Beach:

• Once residents agree to be part of the CCA plan for Electricity, they can not back
out. It is permanent.
• The introductory costs (on their SCE bill) are based on temporary credits, so
the real costs will be later and are permanent increases.
• It is based on the cost of clean energy, which has never been lower than fossil
fuels.
The most significant ramifications are:
• this permanent subsidy to "clean" manufactures eliminates any incentive for
them to make clean efficient

• there is no limit to the amount of increases you would be subjecting your
residents to

• there is a lack of accountability as to whether it is really "clean" and how much;
huge exposure for fraud

As someone who cares passionately about the environment, I think we can do a much
better job through innovation and integrity.

I will share this information with others as well. DM

2. Hermosa Beach City Manager Tom Bakaly said during last week’s city council
meeting discussion on Community Choice Aggregation that we need to hurry up and
push this thing through in order to meet the city’s carbon neutrality goals. What he
didn’t suggest was for our city government to be practical or fiscally responsible. Do we
really want to dive into something that our city government knows little about and the
residents know even less about? Bakaly also said that this Community Choice
Aggregation program gives residents a choice to purchase renewable energy at a lower
rate than they could purchase from Edison. I did my own research on this and found
that in all four of the current California cities listed on the city’s deceptive marketing
piece that purchasing renewable power is more expensive than the standard bundle of
power residents are currently paying with Edison. If this program is implemented, all
residents will be automatically enrolled in the program, unless they make the effort to
opt out. Where is this “choice” Bakaly speaks of? If there is really a choice, then why is
the option not to opt IN instead of opting out? Very few residents have any idea what
this Community “Choice” Aggregation nonsense is. If this program is as financially
disastrous here in Hermosa as it is in Lancaster, we will all be paying for it, even those
who were wise enough to opt out. Tell your Hermosa Beach city council members to
say No to CCA. LA

3. From the postcard I just received, it might as well have said “City Council will
adopt Community Choice Aggregation on July 26…” rather than “consider”. With all
the misleading information on the back of this mailer, it would appear that CCA will be
moving ahead regardless.

I reviewed all the websites for the cherry picked “Current CCA programs in California”
and they all say the same thing: “greener energy at lower rates”. And then they proceed
to show a cost comparison that proves the exact opposite! The bottom line of the bill is
what counts, not just one of five or six lines of charges. Classic double speak.
Conveniently left off the mailer were all the failed CCAs, the startup and ongoing
expenses, and financial risk to the city at a time when we have other more pressing
basic functions to provide, not to mention debt service. How anyone can expect to
reduce costs by adding a board of directors, salaries, pensions and associated costs to a
system is beyond comprehension. This is such a common sense no-go it should not
even be on your agenda for consideration. This is why your meetings go to 1:00am.
You should direct the City Manager to stop padding your agenda with such nonstarters.
I was under the impression that you had adopted priority based budgeting. Either that
is not the case, staff doesn‘t know what that means, or you need a readjustment of
priorities. WB

Tracy Hopkins
Advocates for Hermosa Beach

JOIN By Liking No CCA in HB on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NoCCAinHB/
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South bay Republicans are reaching out to Local Minorities

11/1/2015

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PictureCA GOP National Committeeman Shawn Steel & Arthur Schaper
Posted by Arthur Schaper
11/01/2015 12:30pm

Conservatives lament the Republican Party’s -- and particularly the California Republican Party’s -- lack of outreach into black and Hispanic communities. The previous history of slips and near misses gives us some insight as to why. When Republicans were not engaging in the circular firing squad torpedoing the candidates who don’t quite make it at Election Day, or shooting down one another because they were not winning (today, we are) the echo chamber would take over, and everyone wondered: “Hispanics care about faith and family, and so do African-Americans. Republicans care about all those things, too. Why are minority voters still voting Democrat?”

One Republican candidate in Torrance, CA -- an Armenian! -- pressured a group of like-minded partisans: “Did you ever bother meeting with them and asking for their vote?” One group of active conservatives, including California’s Representative to the National Federation of Republican Assemblies Johnnie Morgan and Torrance native Todd Blair (Go Balanced City!), decided to take on that challenge.

While the California Republican Assembly has endured hits and misses, one unit of “The Conscience of the Republican Party” has reopened in the most unlikely of places: South Los Angeles and Inglewood, now called the South LA, Inglewood Republican Assembly (SLAIRA for short). Their mission? Reaching out to black voters and supporting Republicans in these otherwise deeply Democratic regions to elected office. I first met the current president, Keith McCowen, after a difficult assembly run in the South L.A. region. He related to me that early on, he had been a Republican. “My mother showed me a picture from the 1800s. Two Klansmen were pointing their rifles at a black man in chains, and were telling him: ‘Vote Democrat.’"

Unlike too many African-Americans in our country, Keith – and a growing number of his friends, acquaintances, and political allies – remember and recognize that the Republican Party has been the party of abolition, free enterprise, suffrage, and limited government. This story has too few storytellers today, but that story is changing. SLAIRA has worked with state senate and even local candidates. Wins are not forthcoming yet, but cultural changes with the right group of diligent activists take time and the efforts are slowly paying off.

On October 18, 2015, SLAIRA held their first luncheon at the Baldwin Halls Mall, specifically at the Museum of African-American Art. For the event’s festivities, the leadership identified their growing inroads into otherwise non-Republican areas, which has become all too much of Los Angeles proper. A necessary history lesson emerges. Let’s face the political facts: Los Angeles has been a Democratic stronghold from the Civil War, and even some secessionists staged their headquarters in the City of the Angels to take the Golden State away from the United States. The good news for California and the country began with another Democrat, who started to show his more “Republican side.”

Opposed to slavery and supportive of the union, this Democrat -- Phineas Banning, the father of the Port of Los Angeles – seceded from the secessionist sentiment and helped equip pro-union forces. To this day, San Pedro and Wilmington, CA residents can visit Banning’s home and the Drum Barracks, which highlight Banning’s efforts to maintain our union.

After the Civil War, California Republicans, stressing their pro-freedom agenda, began winning statewide offices, and even claimed the governorship a number of times, along with strong showings in Congressional and local races. Over the last five decades, however, California Republicans had failed to adapt to the demographic changes, and thus lost legislative seats. Today, they are catching up, with stronger grassroots and better outreach.

Which brings us back to SLAIRA and their first Annual Legislator Recognition Lunch Buffet. Out of about 75 people, nearly half were African-Americans. It was a nice change of pace, as a white person, to be the minority Republican for once. Mayor Suzanne Fuentes of El Segundo finally made contact with me (I wrote about her in a previous Townhall column). Republicans of diverse backgrounds throughout the Los Angeles area arrived to celebrate six California Republican legislators. Those six received due recognition for their efforts promoting conservative values in Sacramento, one of the most hostile places in the country toward individual liberty, limited government, and constitutional rule. Two state senators, Mike Morrell of Rancho Cucamonga and Joel Anderson of El Cajon, drove all the way from their respective counties to attend. I was beyond impressed. My assemblyman, David Hadley, also attended, despite massive demands on his time, as well as the dubious honor of “Number One Target” for the Democratic Party in 2016.

California Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel (pictured above with me) arrived on behalf of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Assemblywoman Young King of Fullerton, the first Asian-American to represent that district and one of the first Korean-American Republicans to sit in the state legislature. A staff member for Congressman Ed Royce (also of Fullerton) received awards on his behalf.

For many of my friends, their big celebrities are rock stars and Hollywood types. Sure, they make lots of money, but they don’t make a difference. For me, senators like Mike Morrell and Joel Anderson, who vote to protect our civil rights and property, those are my celebrities. Earning a high CRA conservative rating of 90%, they stood up to the Progressive Democratic Majority in Sacramento and said “No!” to more taxes and fees on hard-working but still struggling California residents. Assemblymembers Hadley and Kim were recognized as the most promising legislators. And well they should be. Hadley, a freshman in the minority party, worked across the aisle to pass school choice for military families, from a state legislature dominated by the anti-choice California Teachers Association, signed by Governor Jerry Brown. Impressive, and SLAIRA, a new unit raising Republican profiles with black communities, reward their work.

With better outreach to minority communities, California conservatives are winning again, working hard, one election and voter at a time, to turn the Golden State from a barren hue of blue back to a roaring sea of red.


Arthur Christopher Schaper is a blogger, writer, and commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. Follow his blogs at The State of the Union and As He Is, So Are We Ministries. Follow him on Twitter @ArthurCSchaper. Email him at ArthurSchaper@hotmail.com





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California Republican's Long and Rich History with Minorities... Time for Truth

5/3/2015

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PictureRomualdo Pacheco (R) California's first and only Hispanic Governor
Posted by Arthur Schaper
May 3, 2015 at 9:45pm


In his latest column, Washington Post commentator EJ Dionne advises National Republicans to learn from California's mistakes, or face declining voter support in election cycles to come.

His first point of contact on this matter? The current Chairman of the California GOP, Jim Brulte:

“California is the leading edge of the country’s demographic changes,” Brulte said in an interview. “Frankly, Republicans in California did not react quickly enough to them, and we have paid a horrible price.”

That is true. Up to the 1980s and the early1990s, California was a majority white state, Republicans did very well working the entire state. Other critics can rightly point out that the party structures got complacent, with easily redrawn Congressional and state representative districts which made it very difficult to remove an incumbent. Still, the demographic changes took the California Republican Party by surprise, and indeed they are playing catch-up for much of the last 20 years.

The strange turn of Dionne's article, however, highlights the liberal columnists’ infusion of their left-leaning vision onto everything. They would prefer all political parties participate and promote that view. The Republican Party, by platform and legacy, is dedicated to a conservative standard, i.e. limited government, local control, individual liberty, small-scale constitutional form of governance.

In one flagrant example of this liberal bias, Dionne plays the race card to diagnose the California Grand Old Party's middling appeal to minorities:

The principal cause of the GOP’s troubles is its alienation of Latinos, Asian Americans and African Americans in a state whose population is now majority non-white.

This statement is disconcerting and false. Lack of outreach, yes. Offensive, alienating policies? No!

Before anyone claims that GOP stands for "Grandpas and Old People", a little history lesson about the California GOP is well in order. From its early stages as the opposition to the otherwise Democratic machine dominance in San Francisco and Los Angeles (where Confederate sympathizers attempted to secede California from the United States), the Republican Party boasted a diverse array of candidates. The first Latino Governor of California, Romualdo Pacheco, had started out as a Democrat, but left the Democrat party over slavery (Pacheco opposed it!) then became an elected Republican.

In the next century, Progressive (when it really meant “progress”) Republican Governor Hiram Johnson initiated the referendum and recall process. Another famous California Republican Governor, Ronald Reagan, relied on Hispanic outreach to unseat Governor Pat Brown. After eight years of Jerry Brown Part One... Republican leader George Deukmejian, of Armenian descent, restored the Golden State from its wasteful, profligate predecessor. He also divested state funding from apartheid-run South Africa and engaged the black vote, depriving then - Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley of a possible upset during Deukmejian's 1986 reelection.

One of the latest (hopefully not last) Republican US Senators for California, Japanese-American S. I. Hayakawa unseated an absentee incumbent Democratic US Senator John Tunney in 1976. What bolstered the profile of this non-politician? His courage, when he stopped unruly black militant protests during his tenure as President of San Francisco State, despite ethnic cries of prejudice. His bold stance against disrespectful disruption gained the respect of conservative voters. He campaigned on a pro-America, keep Panama platform, and won in a year when Jimmy Carter upset incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford. (Ironically enough, the roots of failed GOP minority outreach began with Ford, who failed to re-charter RNC groups to reach out to Hispanics.)

Refusing to be defined narrowly by race, Hayakawa, a celebrated linguist and writer as well as outsider-politician, questioned paying reparations to interned Japanese-Americans during World War II, and even founded a lobbying group to promote English as the official language.

The California Republican Party already boasts a winning legacy with other ethnic groups.

Predictably, the party's more government-averse views jar with progressive Dionne and the Democrats whom he also interviewed for his column. No wonder they (and the media) counsel Republicans to go liberal: “Be like us, and lose more elections!”

Like many liberals, Dionne beats the CA GOP with the Prop 187 stick, claiming that the popular (passed by 57%) initiative to block public benefits to illegal aliens ended up alienating Hispanics. Despite this misleading information, Dionne still has to explain the growing array of California’s Republican state and federal legislators of Hispanic origin.

Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance/Santa Monica), born in Taiwan, first elected to the Torrance City Council in the late 2000s, who mountaineered his way to federal office, commented that Republican opposition to in-state tuition for illegal aliens has hurt their brand:

“Republicans were saying, ‘Come support us, we like you, but we want to deport your children.’ ”

Another patently offensive remark with no factual basis.

Some California Hispanic voters opposed Governor Jerry Brown Part II's "DREAM" Act, which benefitted three thousand illegal aliens at the expense of the millions of legal students, in-state or not, who still pay high and rising tuition rates.

What really “rankled” Asian-American voters? The Democratic legislature’s attempt to reintroduce discrimination into the college application process. Dionne did mention the CA GOP’s strong and growing outreach to California’s Asian-Pac communities, with an unprecedented number of Asian-Americans in the state legislature, all Republicans, evidently CA GOP leaders are learning from their past mistakes. By the way, there are more women in the GOP caucus then their liberal counterparts. Who is waging a War on Women now?

Before conservatives nationally or in California panic about the Republican Party’s future, a historical and political perspective is essential. For the CA GOP, the issue has been messaging, not massaging the truth, but more importantly punching back at the heated, racist narrative played out by the California Democratic Party for the past two decades (see one example here).

In 2014, Republicans already learned and applied key lessons. With wide-spread technological advances, a broader appeal through recruitment, outreach, and grassroots investment, the Grand Old Party is getting more than its well-deserver make-over. The National GOP needs to follow on those reforms in California, not take up the “advice” of liberal California Congressmen like Lieu, or liberal columnists like E. J. Dionne.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer, blogger, and political commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
The State of the Union: aschaper1.blogspot.com
As He Is, So Are We Ministries: asheisministries.blogspot.com





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Upcoming challenges for Torrance Unified School District members

2/7/2015

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Picture
Posted by Arthur Schaper
Feb 7, 2014 at 1:00pm

Torrance Unified School District is one of the most successful, welcoming districts in the state, and certainly in Los Angeles County. In spite of staggering funding cuts, the school board has done more with less. Test scores are rising, and more parents want their kids to go to Torrance Schools, even if they do not live in the city.

One district official informed me that the school district makes money with every permit student, since the district can choose whom to take. Often, they take students who do not have federal demands attached to their education (special education students). Moreover, these students work hard and behave, because they want to stay in the district.

Torrance Unified is a clear example of what school choice can accomplish when parents decided where their kids go, and school districts have more authority to determine who can stay (or rather, when a student has to leave).

Election Year 2013 had its hits and misses. Despite one challenger, John-Paul Tabakian running for one of three open seats, the three incumbents were also seeking election, and they all won. Lessons learned, expectations changed, and this year, local conservatives and anyone interested in the long-term welfare and success of Torrance Unified have the opportunity to cast votes for two of the seats.

Don Lee is running again. He has one more election in him, and wants to oversee the new bond money accorded the district through Measures T and U.

Terry Ragins informed me that she was running again, although rumors suggest that she may not run again after all. She may decide to end her tenure on the Board and spend more time with family and other career pursuits.

Whoever chooses to run for the School Board, whether incumbent or new-comer, the following issues need to be addressed.

1. Proper management of the Measures T and U bond monies. I have been listening to local residents share deep concerns about how the money will be allocated. Two homeowners complained that TUSD School Board sold the bond measures with a loose promise of "Trust us" regarding how the money would be spent. One resident was really upset, complaining that these bonds are always sold on the pretense of "It's for the kids!" but the money gets wasted.

2. Common Core. More parents are worried about this curriculum, including the data mining attached to it. I talked to one South Los Angeles parent who had to push back against course programs which sought personal information from students and their parents. Local parent groups are also complaining to school boards about the introduction of controversial programs relating to Islam, as well as explicit material in sex ed course and English classes. I have spoken with individual parents, who have shared their worries about the federal program cobbled together with input from governors across the country.

3.SCROC. So far, the Governor's proposed 2015-2016 budget contains funding for vocational schools, but nothing specific has been appropriated yet. The two ROC centers will be lobbying really hard for continued funding for SCROC. Board Member Terry Ragins has been working hard on this project, but Member Michael Wermers has broached the subject of either funding another funding stream or restricting the ROC programs entirely.

4. Site maintenance, repair, and upgrades. Torrance schools need ongoing upkeep and maintenance, which was the purported purpose behind the T and U bond measures. Which schools need particular attention? Should the district discuss expanding schools or opening up another school? Are there any abandoned or sequestered sites which could be converted in the event that enrollment rises, requiring another campus?

5. Human Resources. Torrance teachers are underpaid, and Torrance schools are understaffed, particularly in administration. After talking with School Board member Michael Wermers, he explained the importance of having an adequate administrative staff, since requiring ten different departments to report to one person is impractical and unsustainable. I remember when Torrance high schools had three assistant principals and one principal. Now, they struggle with only two assistant principals. Can anything be done to provide better salaries for Torrance teachers and better administrative support?

These issues, along with general fiscal prudence and efficiency, should concern all candidates running for Torrance School Board in 2015.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer, blogger, and political commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Follow Arthur on Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
Like him on Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
email him     arthurschaper@hotmail.com






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David Hadley took the oath of office Monday as the South Bay's new State Assembly Member for the 66th Assembly District

12/5/2014

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Picture
DECEMBER, 2014

WEBSITE: WWW.ASMRC.ORG/HADLEY | EMAIL: ASSEMBLYMEMBER.HADLEY@ASSEMBLY.CA.GOV
PictureAssemblyman David Hadley, 66th District
David Hadley took the oath of office Monday as the South Bay's new State Assembly Member for the 66th Assembly District.

“I’m honored to be your Assemblyman,” said Hadley. “The South Bay has been my home for more than 18 years. I have raised a family here and built my business here. I look forward to serving our entire district and bringing much needed change to Sacramento.”

Hadley's top priorities in the State Legislature are: to improve our business climate so big companies like Toyota and small businesses can stay and grow in California; to protect and extend local control for our South Bay schools and to ensure that our schools are not financially punished for their success; and to protect taxpayers and Proposition 13.

David was born and raised in Fullerton, and attended Servite High School in Anaheim. He completed his Bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College and his Master’s degree at the London School of Economics. In 1999 he founded a financial advisory firm in the South Bay.  In the last 15 years David and his co-workers have advised over 100 companies and have helped entrepreneurial and family-owned businesses create thousands of jobs.  David and his wife Suzanne have been married for over 22 years and they are the proud parents of four children. Their 19-year-old son, Jack, is a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Their three daughters are Claire (17), Ellen (15) and Faith (13). Claire and Ellen are students at Mira Costa High School and Faith attends Manhattan Beach Middle School.

The 66th Assembly District includes the South Bay cities of Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, the Los Angeles communities of Harbor City and Harbor Gateway, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance, and the unincorporated communities of El Camino Village and West Carson.

If you would like more information or to contact Assembly Member Hadley, please email Assemblymember.Hadley@assembly.ca.gov or contact his office at 310-316-2164

Picture
Assemblyman Hadley with his wife Suzanne, son Jack and daughters Claire, Ellen and Faith.

CAPITOL OFFICE
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249
(916) 319-2066
(916) 319-2166 fax

DISTRICT OFFICE
3460 Torrance Blvd., Suite 306
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 316-2164
(310) 316-2480 fax 

© 2014 CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY | DISCLAIMER

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Brown and Hadley Photo-Op (Reflections)

12/4/2014

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Picture
Governor Jerry Brown with Assemblyman David Hadley
I wonder if Assemblyman David Hadley could have ever imagined himself standing next to California Governor Jerry Brown. The former President of the Beach Cities Republicans, a Manhattan Beach small business owner had until four years ago spent very little time engaged in active politics, is now the state assembly representative for the South Bay.

More importantly, he is the first assembly Republican to represent the fiscally conservative region in Sacramento in twenty-two years. Most importantly of all, South Bay voters have a non-politician representing them who cares about local control, good schools, and economic growth geared toward helping small businesses, individual consumers, and home owners.

I am certain that Governor Brown had to drink something to settle his nerves. With Hadley's win in the 66th Assembly District, the South Bay GOP gave a serious shock to the Sacramento system. Brown has lost his Democratic super-majority in the state assembly as well as the state senate. His prized, vetted, and groomed Democratic candidate, incumbent Al Muratsuchi, along with Brown's union-funded machine lost to a local businessman relying on individual donations within his district. Hadley carried the clear message of helping business and improving schools, to goals which the former Assemblyman could not deliver on his promises for local control and strong funding.

Myopic cynics will posit that Hadley only eked out a victory by 706 votes. Extensive background information is essential to understand that the small margin is actually a big win.

The South Bay GOP has been in disarray, either because of arbitrary gerrymandering or intra-party conflict for thirty-years. A lack of coordination among local leaders, plus state party neglect, allowed Democrats to pick up seats in an otherwise conservative region of the state. With Hadley's win, that is no longer the case.
Picture
Kurt Schroeder
Also, and Assemblyman Hadley affirmed this fact: he did not win this race on his own. Not in the slightest. Active involvement from volunteers in Orange County, Fresno, and even West Los Angeles (Kurt Schroeder) worked tirelessly for eighteen months. Gathering names, volunteers, reaching out to local leaders, making the necessary phone calls, writing post cards directly to non-voting registered Republicans, and registering more voters.

By the way, Schroeder was the guy who told me about all the oil money that Muratsuchi was getting. Talk about Democratic hypocrisy.

So,  South Bay (and Sacramento) Democrats had Big Business, Big Labor, and their Big Government agenda in full force, and yet the Republican candidate, David Hadley, beat down the Machine.

Once again, there is a very clear reason why Governor Brown has the drink in his hand.

At this time, Hadley has joined a fragile yet larger minority in the state assembly. Once again, critics will claim that the new Republican assemblyman will have little influence. No one can doubt that Democratic leaders will pull every stunt to make his two-year tenure difficult. Nevertheless, voters already sent a message to Sacramento, and the momentum is against Democratic special interest pandering and government micromanaging.
 
As for Hadley's future prospects, if time and resources prove difficult for California voters, and the frustration with stagnant economic growth animates otherwise apathetic residents, and the Republican Party brings out a solid Presidential candidate, Hadley will not only have his place secure for another two years, but will find more like-minded colleagues assisting him, the South Bay, and the state of California to recover its finances, restore its former luster, and resurrect a welcoming business climate and educational system. 

######

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.
Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
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James Spencer Candidate for CA State Senate District 35 - the only Right Choice

11/30/2014

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PictureJames Spencer R-CA St. Sen. 35

Posted by Authur Schaper
November 30, 2014

The residence of California's State Senate District 35 (Inglewood, Hawthorne Lawndale, Torrance), deserve honest representation in Sacramento.   Former State Senator Roderick Wright resigned following his conviction and sentencing on eight felony counts, including voter fraud. He served a grand total of one hour in jail, then was released for time served.
At least he will never serve as an elected official in Sacramento ever again.

This Tuesday December 9th the 35th state senate district is up for grabs, four candidates have certified their interest.

First, there's James Spencer, a Republican from Inglewood, CA. I believe that party leaders should be interested in the outcome of this race. Democrats have been turning on issues dear to African-Americans for years, including gay marriage. This district voted almost two-to-one for Prop 8 in 2008, even though the district has fallen in line for Democratic candidates, statewide and federal, for the last two election cycles.

A Republican is running to replace disgraced Roderick Wright in the state senate, and his position in the legislature would assist local leaders seeking to improve local schools, expand job opportunities, and increase public safety.

His name is James Spencer.

I recently had a chance to speak with candidate Spencer on the phone, and get information on his campaign.

While discussing his campaign, with election Day coming on December 9th, Spencer highlighted the below key issues:

We have a problem with high incarceration because people can't jobs.

His biggest problem with the Republican Party has been messaging:

This is a simple message. If you are going to cut welfare, explain why you're going to cut. Why are you shutting down the government.

He then pointed out how Democrats work with the public:

The Democrats rile people up. "The Republicans are going to cut social security." So people vote to protect their money. You need to explain to people so that they have a better understanding.

One of candidate James Spencer's key interests is education:

I support the voucher system, Think about it. "Its for the children", people say. How much more money are we going to give to the schools before we see a product? We have the lottery for the school districts. We add taxes on property for school. The government has to pay money . Half the budget goes to schools. But why aren't we getting a better product? We are spending $8,000 per kid. I would like to give that money to the parents themselves and let them pay scientists to teach their kids, then save the rest of the  money for college.

The argument about public funding, and the lack of results, cannot be ignored. The number one challenge to vouchers and school choice often reverts back to "We need to give the schools more money." Yet with all the funding, the dysfunctions of public education has only gotten worse. How much longer are parents willing to wait for more money to make education "more better"?
 
If you look at, look at all the money we are wasting, and we not getting anything for it. All of our kids should be in top-notch schools. We are not getting in return. We have a high dropout rate. We need to sit down with the kids and ask them "Why aren't you going to school?"

Mr. Spencer also stressed the importance of reintroducing trade skills into schools.

We had high schools which specialized in trade skills, specialized training. On the other hand, kids go to college, get hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and they get a job paying only $30,000 a year.

Now, every pundit and political operative has to be realistic about the stats on the ground. This district is overwhelmingly Democratic. Yet over the last two years, the Democratic Party has been practically sticking its eye in black voters, rejecting school choice, the definition of marriage, depriving working people of employment opportunities.

The question remains: What is your ground game, Mr. Spencer?

If we can get the Republican Party up and running,  and we are getting into newspapers. We don't have $300,000 to spend.

Yet candidate Spencer was confident that he would not need the money.

Your cell phone is like your own private office now. We are basically able to do everything we need to through our phone. Social media is the thing now. Half the people don't even know that there is an election now. Isadore Hall has been sending out mail for getting elected to Assembly, then voters are going to ask: Didn't he just run for office?

We both acknowledged that an unusually low turn-out will help Republican chances, since they more often vote, regardless of the year. Did Spencer think he could force a run-off? Commenting on the most likely challenger to his chances, Assemblyman Isadore Hall (D-Compton), Spencer answered:

I know we can make it into the Top Two, if we have the Democrats who are tired of the old network. Isadore Hall] has been on the school board, the city council, the state assembly, and what has changed? Nothing. He is going with the same program. His brochure says the same thing he's going to do when he first got elected. He says "Create good jobs." He has been in these offices, and where are these jobs? Where are the programs so that everyone is working. He is a former school board member. Keeping neighborhoods safe. He was a deputy sheriff. Are any of the communities he represents, are they safe?

He brought up Inglewood Unified School District, which is  now in receivership. Compton Unified also ended up in receivership. And who was in charge when these school districts were failing?

This is all the Democrats. They are supposed to be helping the poor and disenfranchised What's happened. They are more disenfranchised.

He faulted President Obama and his wife Michelle, who for all the pretenses, have actually harmed African-Americas:

Obama cut the DC voucher program. Republicans should have run on that. Michelle wants to run around and tell me how to eat? She wants everyone to get by on two carrots sticks and a slice of apple. The Republicans have to stop letting the Democrats say that they are the rich, and the Democrats are poor.

With a strong  message, an active ground game, and an alert conservative electorate interested in better education and economic opportunity, James Spencer has a chance to win the state senate district and start expanding GOP outreach to communities which have shared Republican values, but have yet to hear Republican operatives tell them: "You are one of us!"

Reminder: The special election for State Senate District 35 takes place on December 9th, 2014. If no one candidate gets a simple majority, the top two candidates will compete in a run-off election to be determined. The Secretary of State has qualified these four candidates to run in the special election, including Harbor Planning Commissioner Hector Serrano, retired classroom teacher Louis Dominguez, along with assemblyman Isadore Hall and businessman James Spencer. Residents in North Torrance, Gardena, West Carson, San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Compton, Inglewood, and South Los Angeles (including West Athens) will be able to vote in this election.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
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Torrance Lost Toyota to Texas:  City Council Candidate Milton Herring Weighs In

6/1/2014

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PictureCandidate Milton Herring
Posted by Dotti Martin
June 1st, 2014

On the morning of Monday April 28, residents of the South Bay woke up to news reports that Toyota Motors had decided to move out of Torrance. Milton Herring, retired Army lieutenant colonel, long-time Torrance resident and candidate for Torrance City Council, like most of us, was surprised and dismayed at the news.

However, Herring was very disappointed to hear Mayor Frank Scotto say that the city staff were surprised. Herring cites Jonathan Kaji, who serves on the California Economic Development Commission, who said in an e-mail to the Daily Breeze, “the city staff was fully aware of ongoing recruitment and outreach efforts,” Kaji stated. “I believe that due to complacency, arrogance, laziness and the belief that Toyota Motor Sales was ‘too big to leave,’ the city staff failed to launch a coordinated effort to retain Toyota.” see the Daily Breeze article here

According to Toyota, approximately 3000 jobs from Sales and Marketing and from Financial Services will relocate to Plano, Texas by 2017, leaving mostly vacant approximately 2 million square feet of office space on the 3000-plus acres of its current campus just off the 405. click here for the Daily Breeze article

While candidate Herring acknowledges state leaders have not been as supportive as they could have been in recent years, in dealing with Toyota, he also sees evidence in the Toyota move that Torrance city leaders were asleep at the wheel as well.

Losing Toyota to Texas is a major blow to the city of Torrance, but now the question is, what will the city do moving forward? Mayor Scotto reported that two other companies had expressed interest in the Toyota site, which could recoup the lost jobs. Daily Breeze article with Mayor Scotto's quote. However, the question remains not only how to prevent these types of decisions for other companies, but also how to reverse the trend and attract new business to the city.

Mr. Herring believes that in order to attract and retain business in Torrance there must be a greater collaboration between Sacramento and city leaders as they look towards future. Milton Herring agrees with County Supervisor Don Knabe's belief that Californians "need to come together, quickly and aggressively, and work across state, county and city borders to improve the business climate.” (Supervisor Knabe's Toyota Statement)

Says candidate Herring, “I think that Toyota is leaving for the same reasons Nissan left in 2006.” He cites statements by Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn when he announced the decision to move the company’s headquarters out of California, "The costs of doing business in Southern California are much higher than the costs of doing business in Tennessee.” Read Carlos Ghosn 2005 quote here

Herring points out that just as Tennessee offered incentives to Nissan for its move in 2006, Texas is offering incentives to Toyota to relocate, in addition to the fact that Texas has no individual income tax, making it a challenge for Torrance to remain competitive as a home to business.

Says Herring, “I am proposing that Torrance, in cooperation with the city’s Office of Economic Development, establish 'Economic Empowerment Zones (EEZs).’ These would serve as tech centers, Silicon Valley-like enterprise zones to attract and retain our tech savvy youth by providing incentives for start-up businesses.” Herring continues, “They [the tech centers] would also establish working relationships with schools like SoCal Regional Occupational Center and El Camino College.”

Herring believes that Torrance’s future job growth will be from the tech and space sectors and therefore “we must make plans for pursuing these kinds of businesses.”

Herring has been endorsed in his candidacy for Torrance City Council by former Torrance police chief James Herren, former Torrance city councilwomen Maureen O’Donnell and Marcia Cribbs, and the Daily Breeze.

On June 3rd, electing a pro-active and visionary leader like retired Lieutenant Colonel Milton Herring to the Torrance City Council could go a long way toward jump-starting that desperately needed job growth in the city.


Dotti Martin is a life long Southbay resident and tirelessly volunteers to help improve our community

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THREE REASONS DAVID HADLEY IS EITHER TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE....

5/21/2014

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PictureDavid Hadley (R)
Posted by John May
May 21, 2014


....OR EXACTLY WHO WE NEED.

If we California voters elect two more Republicans to the State Assembly, the dominant party would no longer have a two-thirds super-majority and would be more likely to consider minority opinions.

David Hadley seems well positioned to win that 27th seat of the 80 seat chamber. Part of the reason is that his district, the 66th, was redistricted in 2011 to include more of the Republican voters in the South Bay, reducing the gap between the two sides to a mere five percentage points or so.  That’s one reason.

Here’s another: He has an intimate relationship with the ebb and flow of commerce, industry and employment in California and the South Bay, and his ambition is to restore the economic fertility we used to enjoy. He sees our electricity prices 70% over the national average, our 71 cents per gallon gasoline tax, our 10% state and county sales tax rate and the top state income tax rate in the nation as repellent to business. That is why Toyota has decided to move its headquarters to Texas after more than 50 years, and why 4 million more people have left California in the past twenty years than have moved into the State.  In ancient times, victorious invaders would sow salt in the fields to prevent the return of fertility. Now the Democrats do it.

The third and best reason: His command of a body of expertise that is truly rare and well suited to the task of restoring prosperity. David has an acute grasp of economics from having studied at the London School of Economics (Masters’) and Dartmouth College, followed by a dozen years with a Wall Street investment banking firm as a specialist in the communications technology industry. He left New York to come to the South Bay 18 years ago, when his son Jack was born. He and his wife Suzanne now have daughters Claire, Ellen and Faith too.  In 1999 he started his firm, Hadley Partners, Incorporated which provides strategic financial guidance on such matters as financing expansions, mergers and acquisitions with people here, in San Francisco and New York.

That sort of thing generally brings good wages, and the firm’s successful transactions have been numerous. So it is no small thing to put his career on hold and focus on what he believes must be the first step: rebuilding the Party. David’s intention is increase the depth of the Republican vote one person at a time.

If he wins the election he will get a salary of about $8,000 a month, and we get him.   Now, that’s a deal!


John May spent the first half of his life in New York and the other half in California. He has worked in the finance industry for over 50 years as an analyst on Wall Street, pension fund manager, investment adviser and speechwriter.

He began writing for fun and performing at open mics in Long Beach, California in 2007. Favorite topics for the poet, known locally as “Jack,” include romance, war, economics, politics, philosophy and comedy.

Jack and wife Peggy have been married for over 50 years; they have two children, Jacqueline and John, who have a total of five more



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Alex See - the right candidate for Torrance City Council

5/7/2014

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PictureAlex See
Posted by Arthur Christopher Schaper
M
ay 7, 2014

At first, I had no idea what to think when I learned about Malaysian-born Torrance resident Alex See.

I knew so little about him, compared to the other candidates whom I was researching, and it seemed to me that he was ill-prepared for his run for Torrance City Council. After all, he was on a business trip earlier this year, while other candidates were already prepping their campaigns with inaugural dinners.

In January, I invited him to come the school board meeting, along with other city council candidates.  Even though he had been overseas at the time, and had just returned home the night before, Alex arrived at the school board meeting, and gave me the opportunity of meeting him. Sharing his concerns about education as well as greater civic engagement from the Asian-American community in Torrance, Alex a small businessman (which he conveniently advertised at the North Torrance Home Owners Association two weeks ago) as well as engineer, Alex See has been a city fixture for many years.

Unlike some of the younger candidates for office, as well as the more seasoned public officials, Alex See promotes a semblance of honor and respect, willing to listen to others, considering the key needs of small businesses and employers in a city where regulations, fees, and taxes can cause more harm than good.  The fact that he took my calls and came to a public forum to speak with me was enough to win my vote.

Here are his answers to seven questions which I posed to him about himself, his campaign, and his plans once he gets elected:

1. Why are you running for city council this year? Did you ever plan on running for office before?

I am running for office because I want to give back to the community and to serve the city that my family and I call home. My family and I love living in Torrance because it is a diverse, well-balanced and safe community with an excellent school district. I have not seriously considered running until I read that that our mayor and most council members are encouraging diversity on the council to represent the city (ref. Daily Breeze’s article). For many years I have volunteered my time and resources to be an integral part of the success of this community. Therefore, I am running for Torrance City Council because I know that my unique background will add a different perspective to examining city issues and solutions.

2. You are a registered Republican. Why?

I am registered as a Republican because I believe in being fiscally responsible, small government, low taxes and family values.

3. Tell us about your prior professional/political experience and how they can help the City of Torrance?

I’ve served the Torrance Community as a Water Commissioner for 8 years. As a water commissioner, I have worked with fellow commissioners to ensure Torrance continues to provide low water rates (2nd lowest in the region), high quality and reliable potable water to its residents and businesses. I’ve also supported our amazing school district as a committee member on the TUSD Bonds Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee, TUSD Facilities and Asset Review Committee and high school Site Council to ensure that our students have the proper means of gaining an education and skills to prepare them to enter the job market.

4. What measures, reforms, and policies would you implement on a city level to bring in more business and increase economic activity in the City of Torrance.

We need to attract and retain businesses to increase revenue for the City. As a small business owner in Torrance I am acutely aware of the necessity to have a Government environment that respects and encourage businesses to come and stay in our city. I strongly endorse any efforts to be a friendly city in an increasingly unfriendly business state. I will always be open to ideas for streamlining the system. Our one-stop permitting center was an effort in that direction and while that adds to the convenience, we must go a step further to cut through the red tape our city produces. We live in the 21st century and online services and permitting should be available for the conveniences of all citizens and businesses. Improvement and revamp of City websites need to ensure residents are well informed and know the facts.

5. What concerns do you have about crime and public safety in Torrance.

I am deeply satisfied with our fantastic public safety services. Living in one of the safest cities in America provides my family and I the security that we do will never take for granted. However, in addition to the rising pensions of public workers, my main concern is the recent release of criminals due to AB 109. Although, I am confident that our police and public safety officials will do all that is necessary to continue to provide the protection that we are accustomed to.

6. There are growing revelations about the city's massive pension liabilities -- $400 million, an online reports confirm that at least 600 city employees out of 200 are earning at least $100,000 a year in total compensation (per 2012 data). What reforms or steps do you support to deal with these massive pension liabilities?

The men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect Torrance residents deserve to know that their hard work will benefit them in the future. It depends on what pension reform should look like. Pension reform is needed to prevent abuse and to make sure the system is sustainable. We need to incentives the best law enforcement candidates possible and Torrance residents deserve the best public safety officials available. If elected, I will work with the rest of the Council and the City Manager to make sure that we have the funds for a first-class police department that will not cut corners on the shoulders of the men and women who protect us.

7. How have residents and prospective voters responded to your campaign?

So far I have received a lot of positive feedback from the voters I have spoken with. Most like what I stand for, the work I have done for the community and share similar values. Like most candidates running for office, I have received the occasional voter who was either unaware of the June 3rd election or tend to have a general dislike of politics. All in all, I am greatly surprised and happy with all the support I have received and it encourages me to continue fighting for what I believe in, helping our city and citizens progress into a better tomorrow.

From private sector investment to public sector involvement, Alex See is worth seeing and voting for.

On June 3rd, please vote for Alex See for Torrance City Council

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com



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Small Torrance nonprofit looking for BIG help

5/6/2014

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Picture
In the city of Torrance there is a place you should know about. Tucked away between Carson and Maple Streets, in the corner of an office building on Crenshaw Boulevard is The Torrance Pregnancy Help Center.

  This is a wonderful place that holds a message of HOPE to all who enter, for the born and unborn alike. For this is a nonprofit agency dedicated to the helping of those, who may find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy and in need of short or long term assistance.

This is an organization dedicated to the service of the most vulnerable among us. Many of the women who enter may be young and totally unprepared to handle the situation they now find themselves in. Scared and not knowing what to do, or where to turn for help, the Center is always there for them. And this is why the Center is so important, for this is a safe caring environment staffed with people who only want the best for all involved.

The mission of the Pregnancy Help Center is, “to provide a safe, caring environment where every woman facing a crisis pregnancy can receive counseling, education, and practical assistance in order to eliminate the crisis and choose life for her baby; and to inspire others to embrace sexual health and integrity.” Other services provided are: pregnancy testing, ultrasound, STD testing along with the counseling.  These services are free for all clients, and are part of the Center’s operating costs.

  So this is where you and I come in, and why we all need to Walk for Life on May 17th. We are not only walking to raise money for the Pregnancy Help Center, but also to raise awareness for the Center; because the life of the unborn is not something to be taken casually, or ignored.  If God counts every sparrow that falls from the sky, how much more will He remember those who are the most vulnerable among us?

So now it’s time to take action and prepare to walk, so take out your day planner, grab your check book, and write down this date, time and place: May 17, 2014, Veteran’s Park in Redondo Beach California, 90277, between the hours of 8:30- 11:00 a.m. That’s when and where the 27th annual Walk for Life is going to take place.

Onsite registration will start at 7:15, with the Walk actually beginning at 8:30 a.m., with all ending promptly at 11:00 a.m.

Online registration is available at http://www.ministrysync.com/event/?e=6079.

Also there will also be a fundraiser for the Center at California Pizza Kitchen in the Manhattan Village, 3280 N. Sepulveda Blvd in Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 all day on May 28th with 20% of your check will go to the Pregnancy Center. To take part in this fundraising event  please bring an event flyer which can either be picked up at the Walk or at the center itself.

For more information on either of these events, to volunteer or donate to the Center, please call the Torrance Pregnancy Help Center: 1311 Crenshaw Blvd. Suite A, Torrance, Ca. 90501, 310-320-8976, www.supportphctorrance.org.

So, I am looking forward to seeing you all at the beach, where we will walk for Life. And please remember EVERY STEP MATTERS!

-Michael


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