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9-11
Meta Index September 11 2001
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 California
- Capital:_Sacramento
CALIFORNIA News:
20080806
 John
McCain -  Oil
-  Politics
-  Military
- 2008
Election -  Arizona
- Calif
-  Fla
-  US
-  Iraq
-  International
"Bundler
Collects From Unlikely Donors." ... "The bundle of
$2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign
on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic
from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier [California], the manager of Rite
Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge
in Fullerton [California]." ... "But the man who gathered checks from them
is no stranger to McCain -- he shuttled the Republican on his private plane
and held a fundraising event for the candidate at his house in Delray Beach,
Fla [Florida]." ... "Harry Sargeant III, a former naval officer and the
owner of an oil-trading company that recently inked defense contracts potentially
worth more than $1 billion, is the archetype of a modern presidential money
man." ... "Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live
in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never
given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his
associates. Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics.
And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records
show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates
between December and March." ... "Both Sargeant and the donors were vague
when asked to explain how Sargeant persuaded them to give away so much
money." ... "His firm, International Oil Trading Co. (IOTC), holds several
lucrative contracts with the Defense Department to carry fuel to the U.S.
military in Iraq." ... "The work has not been without controversy. Last
month, [California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.
[Democratic-California]) initiated a review of IOTC's contract to determine
whether it was overcharging the military for jet fuel, and to learn how
the company, which did not submit the lowest bid, landed the contract to
supply the fuel." (1, 2)
-By Matthew Mosk with contributions by Ashley Surdin,
Lucy Shackelford, Alice Crites and Julie Tate
-WashingtonPost
20080729
 Homes
-  Nevada
- Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Los
Angeles - San
Diego - San
Francisco - California
- Florida
-  Michigan
-  Minnesota
-  Illinois
-  Ohio
-  Georgia
-  New
York - Seattle
-  Washington
-  Massachusetts
- Portland
-  Oregon
-  Colorado
-  Texas
-  North
Carolina
"Home
prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven
of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show."
... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus
are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means
four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are
down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of
the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through
May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix
[Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego
[California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa
[Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC],
down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down
9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City,
New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts],
down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%;
Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%."
-By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch
20080710
 Karl
Rove -  Don
Siegelman - US
Attorney - Politics
-  Investigation
-  Alabama
- California
"Rove,
Defying Subpoena, Doesn't Appear at Hearing (Update2)."
... "Former [Republican President Bush] White House political director
Karl Rove, defying a subpoena, failed to appear before a [United States]
U.S. House panel investigating whether the Justice Department prosecuted
people for political reasons." ... "Rove's action today prompted the House
Judiciary subcommittee to rule that his reasons for skipping the appearance
weren't legally valid, a first step toward a possible contempt of Congress
vote." ... "The panel is trying to determine whether Rove influenced the
Justice Department's decision to bring a corruption case against former
Alabama [Democratic] Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rove has rejected
the claim and said he would speak with the committee only in private, not
under oath and without a transcript. He also proposed answering questions
in writing." ... "[California Democratic Representative Linda] Sanchez
noted that Rove's offer was limited to discussing the Siegelman case. The
panel also wants to question him about other topics, including the 2006
firing of nine U.S. attorneys, she said." ... "The Justice Department's
ethics office also is probing whether Siegelman was the victim of selective
prosecution. " -By Robert Schmidt
-Bloomberg
20080603
 Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain -  Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - New
York - Arizona
- Illinois
- Nevada
- California
- "Pelosi,
Reid, Dean Go Public: Democrats Need To Endorse."
... "In the absence of a concession speech from [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday
night, top figures in the Democratic Party went public, urging all uncommitted
officials to declare their presidential affiliations." ... "[Nevada Democratic
Senator and] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, [California Democratic
Representative and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chairman Howard Dean,
and an official with the Democratic Governors Association released a public
statement on Wednesday morning requesting that the party close its ranks
and prepare for the race against [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain." ... "The move, which
had been anticipated but seemed unnecessary following [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator Barack] Obama's clinching of
the nomination on Tuesday night, is an indication that few figures beyond
Clinton's utmost loyalists are willing to stomach a prolonged vacation
period for the New York Democrat to make up her mind."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
20080602
 Education
- Consumer
- Poor
-  People
- Oregon
- Calif
-  Federal
"Student
Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges." ... "Some
of the nation’s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community
colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions,
even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the
nation’s top universities." ... "Citibank has been among the most aggressive
in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust
say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as
well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University
[Oregon] and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif. [California],
say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders." ... "The practice
suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student
loan business persist, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt
the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school
or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they
will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default
if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years." ...
"Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But
these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs
or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower rungs of the economic
ladder. More than 6.2 million of the nation’s 14.8 million undergraduates
— over 40 percent — attend community colleges. According to the most recent
data from the College Board, about a third of their graduates took out
loans, a majority of them federally guaranteed." ... "“If we put too many
hurdles in their way to get a loan, they’ll take a third job or use a credit
card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant dean for financial aid at
Mendocino College in California. “That almost guarantees that they won’t
be as successful in their college career.”" (1, 2)
-By Jonathan
D. Glater -NYTimes
20080523
-
 Oceans
- Global
-  Climate
-  Science
-  Environmental
-  Atmospheric
-  Industrial
-  Factories
-  Cars
-  History
-  Animals
- Seattle
- Washington
- California
- Oregon
- US
-  Canada
-  Mexico
- "Acidified
seawater showing up along coast ahead of schedule."
... "Climate models predicted it wouldn't happen until the end of the century."
... "So a team led by Seattle [Washington] researchers was stunned to discover
that vast swaths of acidified seawater already are showing up along the
Pacific Coast as greenhouse-gas emissions upset the oceans' chemical balance."
... "In surveys from Vancouver Island [British Columbia, Canada] to the
tip of Baja California [Mexico], reported Thursday in the online journal
Science Express, the scientists found the first evidence that large amounts
of corrosive water are reaching the continental shelf — the shallow sea
margin where most marine creatures live." ... "Off Northern California,
the acidified water was only four miles from shore." ... ""What we found
... was truly astonishing," said oceanographer Richard Feely, of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratory in Seattle. "This means ocean acidification may be seriously
impacting marine life on the continental shelf right now."" ... "All along
the coast, the scientists found regions where the water was acidic enough
to dissolve the shells and skeletons of clams, corals and many of the tiny
creatures at the base of the marine food chain. Acidified water also can
kill fish eggs and a wide range of marine larvae." ... ""Entire marine
ecosystems are likely to be affected," said co-author Debby Ianson, an
oceanographer at Fisheries and Oceans Canada." ... "Though it hasn't received
as much attention as global warming, ocean acidification is a flip side
of the same phenomenon. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from
power plants, factories and cars that is raising temperatures worldwide
also is to blame for the increasing acidity of the world's oceans." ...
"Normally, seawater is slightly alkaline. When carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere dissolves into the water, it forms carbonic acid — the weak
acid that helps give soda pop its tang. The process also robs the water
of carbonate, a key ingredient in the formation of calcium carbonate shells."
... "Since the Industrial Revolution, when humans began pumping massive
amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Feely estimates the oceans
have absorbed 525 billion tons of the man-made greenhouse gas — about one-third
of the total released during that period." ... "By keeping some of the
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the oceans have blunted the temperature
rise due to global warming. But they've suffered for that service, with
a more than 30-percent increase in acidity." ... "The acidified water upwelling
along the coast today was last exposed to the atmosphere about 50 years
ago, when carbon-dioxide levels were much lower than they are now. That
means the water that will rise from the depths over the coming decades
will have absorbed more carbon dioxide and will be even more acidic." -By
Sandi Doughton -SeattleTimes
-
McCain
- Obama
- Clinton
- Veterans
- Education
- Money
-
 Legislation
- 2008
Election - California
- "McCain
misses vote on a new GI Bill, scorns criticism from Obama."
... "Support for the troops returned as an issue to the presidential campaign
yesterday with harsh words from both sides." ... "The Democratic National
Committee accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John
McCain of being AWOL [Absent WithOut Leave] from the Senate vote yesterday
for a new GI Bill to provide better education benefits for returning veterans.
McCain was in California on a campaign and fund-raising trip, while both
Democratic [2008 Election Presidential] contenders, Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama, left the campaign trail to vote for the bill, which passed
by a veto-proof 75-to-22 majority." ... "On the Senate floor, Obama questioned
why McCain opposed the bill. "I can't believe why he believes it is too
generous to our veterans," Obama said. "There are many issues that lend
themselves to partisan posturing, but giving our veterans the chance to
go to college should not be one of them." ... "The bill, which [Republican]
President Bush has threatened to veto, would pay tuition and other expenses
at a four-year public university for anyone who has served at least three
years since the 2001 terrorist attacks." -By Foon
Rhee -BostonGlobe
20080520
-
 Kyle
Dustin "Dusty" Foggo -  Brent
Wilkes -  Randy
"Duke" Cunningham - Money
- Politics
-  Vacations
-  Intelligence
- Federal
-  Va
- Calif
- "Former
CIA official indicted anew in bribery case." ...
"A new indictment of a former top CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] official
alleges that he received bribes in the form of "sexual companionship" in
exchange for helping a friend get an edge in landing multimillion-dollar
contracts from the agency." ... "Federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va.
[Virginia], on Tuesday obtained a superseding indictment against Kyle "Dusty"
Foggo, who as executive director held the CIA's No. 3 rank before leaving
in 2006." ... "The indictment accuses Foggo of accepting tens of thousands
of dollars in meals, vacations and other perks in exchange for helping
friend Brent Wilkes obtain various contracts with the CIA." ... "Wilkes
has already pleaded guilty to paying bribes to then-[California Republican
Representative] Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. [Republican-California],
some of which came in the form of prostitutes." -By
Matthew Barakat -AP
via -SFGate.com
20080516
-
California
- Gay
- People
-
 Parents
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "California
Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban." ... "The
California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage
Thursday in a broadly worded decision that would invalidate virtually any
law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation." ... "The 4-3
ruling declared that the state Constitution protects a fundamental "right
to marry" that extends equally to same-sex couples. It tossed a highly
emotional issue into the [2008] election year while opening the way for
tens of thousands of gay people to wed in California, starting as early
as mid-June." ... "The majority opinion, by Chief Justice Ronald M. George,
declared that any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation
will from this point on be constitutionally suspect in California in the
same way as laws that discriminate by race or gender, making the state's
high court the first in the nation to adopt such a stringent standard."
... "The decision was a bold surprise from a moderately conservative, Republican-dominated
court that legal scholars have long dubbed "cautious," and experts said
it was likely to influence other courts around the country." ... "But the
scope of the court's decision could be thrown into question by an initiative
already heading toward the November ballot. The initiative would amend
the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex unions." ... "The court's ruling
repeatedly invoked the words "respect and dignity" and framed the marriage
question as one that deeply affected not just couples but also their children.
California has more than 100,000 households headed by gay couples, about
a quarter with children, according to 2000 census data." ... ""Our state
now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and
long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to
care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual
orientation," George wrote for the majority. "An individual's sexual orientation
-- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis
upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Maura Dolan with contributions by Patrick McGreevy,
Rong-Gong Lin II, Jean-Paul Renaud, Francisco Vara-Orta, Molly Hennessy-Fiske,
John M. Glionna and Lee Romney -LAtimes
-
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - New
York
-
 South
Dakota - Illinois
- Nevada
- California
- US
-  Israel
-  Iran
-  Syria
- Military
-  Terrorism
- Politics
- History
- 2008
Election - "Bush
Assails ‘Appeasement,’ Touching Off Storm." ... "[Republican]
President Bush used a speech to the Israeli Parliament on Thursday to liken
those who would negotiate with “terrorists and radicals” to appeasers of
the Nazis — a remark widely interpreted as a rebuke to [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama, who has advocated
greater engagement with countries like Iran and Syria." ... "The comments
created an angry tussle back home, as Democrats accused Mr. Bush of breaching
protocol by playing partisan politics overseas." ... "Mr. Obama delivered
a quick and pointed response, saying in an e-mail statement to reporters
that he had no intention of dealing with terrorists and accusing Mr. Bush
of using his visit, timed for the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence,
to “launch a false political attack.”" ... "On Thursday, other Democrats
leapt to the Illinois senator’s defense. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada,
the Democratic leader, called Mr. Bush’s remarks “reckless and irresponsible.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Mr. Bush had behaved in a manner
“beneath the dignity of the office of president.” Representative Rahm Emanuel
of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, accused Mr. Bush
of violating the unwritten rule against playing politics overseas." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York] Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential
nomination, joined him in taking issue with Mr. Bush. Weighing in from
South Dakota, Mrs. Clinton said: “President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat
to Nazi appeasers is offensive and outrageous, especially in the light
of his failures in foreign policy. This is the kind of statement that has
no place in any presidential address.”" -By Sheryl
Gay Stolberg and Jim
Rutenberg -NYTimes
 WATCH
Pelosi's comment on Bush's criticism of Democrats while in Israel,
"What the President did in that regard is beneath the dignity of the office
of the President and unworthy of our representation at that observance
in Israel. And I would hope that any serious person would disassociate
themselves from the President's remarks who aspires to leadership in our
country."
20080507
-
Secret
- Government
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Illegal
-
 Surveillance
- Investigation
-  Internet
- Archive
-  Library
-  Electronic
- Civil
Liberties - Brewster_Kahle
- Censorship
- San
Francisco - California
- Student
-  Health
- Consumer
-  Telephone
- Electronic
- Data
- National
Security Letter - "FBI
Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses."
... "The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the
web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act
order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the
order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning." ...
"On November 26, 2007, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] served
a controversial National
Security Letter (.pdf) on the Internet
Archive's founder Brewster Kahle, asking for records about one of the
library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address and activity
on the site." ... "The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's
lawyers, fought the NSL [National Security Letter], challenging its constitutionality
in a December 14 complaint
(.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco [California]. The FBI agreed
on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some
of the documents available to the public." ... "The Patriot Act greatly
expanded the reach of NSLs, which are subpoenas for documents such as billing
records and telephone records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations
without a judge's approval. Nearly all NSLs come with gag orders forbidding
the recipient from ever speaking of the subpoena, except to a lawyer."
... "Brewster Kahle called the gag order "horrendous," saying he couldn't
talk about the case with his board members, wife or staff, but said that
his stand was part of a time-honored tradition of librarians protecting
the rights of their patrons." ... ""This is an unqualified success that
will help other recipients understand that you can push back on these,"
Kahle said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning." ...
"Though FBI guidelines on using NSLs warned of overusing them, two Congressionally
ordered audits revealed that the FBI had issued hundreds of illegal requests
for student health records, telephone records and credit reports. The reports
also found that the FBI had issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs since
2001, but failed to track their use. In a letter to Congress last week,
the FBI admitted it can only estimate how many NSLs it has issued." -By
Ryan Singel -Wired
20080501
-
US
- Iraq
-
- Cameras
-  Media
- Politics
- San
Diego - California
- ""Mission
Accomplished," 5 Years Later: Since [Republican President]
Bush Announced Major Combat Operations In Iraq Ended, Another 3,924 Troops
Have Been Killed." ... "It was a picture-perfect moment, made for the TV
cameras, in which a military leader stood before heroes and heroines to
declare a victory which seemed to come easier than anyone dared hope, in
a conflict which was opposed by many friends and foes alike." ... "May
1 marks the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished"
speech aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln." ... "After being landed
on the deck of the carrier in an S-3B Viking 30 miles off the coast San
Diego [California] (Ari Fleischer said the president "could have helicoptered,"
but "he wanted to see a landing the way aviators see a landing"), Mr. Bush
appeared in a flight suit to the cheers of the ship's personnel and the
glare of television lights." ... "Later, he stood at a podium against a
backdrop of an enormous banner reading "Mission Accomplished."" ... "To
the assembled audience and the world, Mr. Bush said, "Admiral Kelly, Captain
Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans:
Major
combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United
States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged
in securing and reconstructing that country." ... ""In this battle, we
have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world. Our
nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment - yet it is you,
the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage
- your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other -
made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because
of you, the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free." ... ""Tonight, I have
a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks, and for all
the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is
grateful for a job well done."" ... "Now in its sixth year, the war in
Iraq has claimed the lives of at least 4,058 members of the U.S. military
- 3,924 of whom have died since Mr. Bush landed on the deck of the USS
Abraham Lincoln." ... "And there are currently more U.S. troops in Iraq
than there were when the U.S. invaded with a contingent of other coalition
forces." -AP
via -CBSNews
20080423
-
Noteworthy
- Government
- EPA
- Opinion
- Science
- Politics
-
 Food
-  Drug
- Oceanic
- Atmospheric
- Climate
- Health
- California
- Investigation
- "Hundreds
of EPA Scientists Report Political Interference Over Last Five Years:
UCS [Union of Concerned Scientists] calls for strengthened protections
for federal scientists." ... "An investigation of the Environmental Protection
Agency released today found that 889 of nearly 1,600 staff scientists reported
that they experienced political interference in their work over the last
five years. The study, by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), follows
previous UCS investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, Fish and
Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and
climate scientists at seven federal agencies, which also found significant
administration manipulation of federal science." ... ""Our investigation
found an agency in crisis," said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS's Scientific
Integrity Program. "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported political interference
in their scientific work. That's 900 too many. Distorting science to accommodate
a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our
democracy itself."" ... "The UCS report comes amidst a flurry of controversial
activity swirling around the EPA. Congress is currently investigating administration
interference in a new chemical toxicity review process as well as California's
request to regulate tailpipe emissions. And in early May, the House Oversight
and Government Reform Committee is expected to hold a hearing on political
interference in the new EPA ground-level ozone pollution standard." ...
"UCS's investigation revealed political interference is most pronounced
in offices where scientists write regulations and at the National Center
for Environmental Assessment, where scientists conduct risk assessments
that could lead to strengthened regulations." ... ""The investigation shows
researchers are generally continuing to do their work," said Dr. Grifo.
"But their scientific findings are tossed aside when it comes time to write
regulations."" ... "Nearly 100 scientists identified the [Republican President
Bush's] White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the primary
culprit." -UCSUSA.org
-
 Mary
Peters - Covert
- Language
- Law
- Politics
- Greenhouse
Gases - Clean
Air Act - Environmental
- Transportation
- Auto
- Makers
- Fuel
- Economy
- San
Francisco - California
- Massachusetts
-  US
- Global
- Climate
- "Bush
fuel economy rules swipe at California." ... "When
the [Republican President] Bush administration announced proposed regulations
Tuesday to raise fuel economy standards for cars and trucks to 31.6 miles
per gallon by 2015, even some environmentalists applauded. But then they
read the fine print." ... "Tucked deep into a 417-page "Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking" was language by the Transportation Department stating that
more stringent limits on tailpipe emissions embraced by California and
17 other states are "an obstacle to the accomplishment" of the new federal
standards and are "expressly and impliedly preempted" by federal law."
... "California Attorney General Jerry Brown called it a covert assault
on California's rules. Environmentalists said the language will be used
by automakers in their legal challenges to two recent federal court rulings
that sided with the states." ... "The language showed that beneath the
bipartisan veneer of support for new fuel economy standards - approved
by [the Democratic controlled] Congress and signed by [Republican] President
Bush in December - the conflict is still raging between the White House
and the states over who will set the nation's first limits on greenhouse
gases." ... "Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who announced the proposed
rules Tuesday, acknowledged that the preemption language was included in
the document." ... "The Supreme Court ruled in the Massachusetts vs. EPA
case last year that the Transportation Department's authority to set fuel
economy standards should not impede other efforts under the Clean Air Act
to reduce greenhouse gases." ... "[California Democratic Representative
and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D[Democratic]-San Francisco [California],
responded: "The administration is continuing to block climate change progress
by asserting that California doesn't have the right to move forward with
its own global warming regulations. That is completely unjustified."" -By
Zachary Coile -SFGate.com
20080422
-
John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Military
- Real
Estate -
 Land
- Lawsuit
- California
- Tucson
- Arizona
- Environment
- 2008
Election - "A
Developer, His Deals and His Ties to McCain." ...
"Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer [based in Tucson,
Arizona], was racing to snap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed
by the closing of an Army base a decade ago when he turned to an old friend,
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John
McCain." ... "When Mr. Diamond wanted to buy land at the base, Fort Ord
[in California], Mr. McCain assigned an aide who set up a meeting at the
Pentagon and later stepped in again to help speed up the sale, according
to people involved and a deposition Mr. Diamond gave for a related lawsuit.
When he appealed to a nearby city for the right to develop other property
at the former base, Mr. Diamond submitted Mr. McCain’s endorsement as “a
close personal friend.”" ... "Writing to officials in the city, Seaside,
Calif. [California], the senator said, “You will find him as honorable
and committed as I have.”" ... "Courting local officials and potential
partners, Mr. Diamond’s team promised that he could “help get through some
of the red tape in dealing with the Department of the Army” because Mr.
Diamond “has been very active with Senator McCain,” a partner said in a
deposition." ... "A longtime political patron, Mr. Diamond is one of the
elite fund-raisers Mr. McCain’s current presidential campaign calls Innovators,
having raised more than $250,000 so far." ... "In California, the McCain
aide’s assistance with the Army helped Mr. Diamond complete a purchase
in 1999 that he soon turned over for a $20 million profit. And Mr. McCain’s
letter of recommendation reinforced Mr. Diamond’s selling point about his
McCain connections as he pursued — and won in 2005 — a potentially much
more lucrative deal to develop a resort hotel and luxury housing." ...
"In Arizona, Mr. McCain has helped Mr. Diamond with matters as small as
forwarding a complaint in a regulatory skirmish over the endangered pygmy
owl, and as large as introducing legislation remapping public lands. In
1991 and 1994, Mr. McCain sponsored two laws sought by Mr. Diamond that
resulted in providing him millions of dollars and thousands of acres in
exchange for adding some of his properties to national parks. The Arizona
senator co-sponsored a third similar bill now before the Senate." ... "Mr.
Diamond and his family have given more than $55,000 to Mr. McCain’s campaigns
(and more than $600,000 to other federal candidates). More significantly,
the developer has collected (or “bundled”) hundreds of thousands of dollars
in contributions from others, and is now serving as a national co-chairman
of the finance committee for Mr. McCain’s current presidential run." ...
"Mr. Diamond is close to most of Arizona’s Congressional delegation and
is candid about his expectations as a fund-raiser. “I want my money back,
for Christ’s sake. Do you know how many cocktail parties I have to go to?”"
... "“Don Diamond has done very well through these land exchanges,” said
Sandy Bahr, director of the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club. “It is
the public that got shortchanged.” " (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By David
D. Kirkpatrick and Jim
Rutenberg with contributions by Kitty Bennett and Barclay Walsh
-NYTimes
"[MAP
GRAPHIC] Land Swap." ... "Laws in the 1990s, supported
by Senator John McCain, allowed private owners to exchange land near Saguaro
National Park for land elsewhere in Arizona and or for monetary compensation.
Mr. McCain co-sponsored a similar Senate bill in 2007."
-NYTimes
"[DOCUMENT:
John McCain letter supporting campaign contributor Donald R. Diamond.]"
... "A letter from Senator John McCain may have helped Donald R. Diamond,
a longtime friend, gain the rights to develop property at a former Army
base. Mr. Diamond has raised more than $250,000 so far for Mr. McCain’s
presidential campaign." -NYTimes
-
 Jack
Abramoff -  John
Doolittle - Criminal
- Money
- Politics
- Sports
- Government
- Texas
- California
- "Former
Justice official pleads guilty in Abramoff probe."
... "The [Republican President Bush] Justice Department lost one of its
own to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal Tuesday as a former high-ranking
department attorney pleaded guilty to conflict of interest." ... "Robert
E. Coughlin II admitted in federal court in Washington that he accepted
meals, concert tickets and luxury seats at Redskins and Wizards games from
a lobbyist while helping the lobbyist and his clients. He pleaded guilty
to a single conflict-of-interest charge and faces up to 10 months in prison
under a plea deal with the government." ... "The lobbyist is identified
in court documents only as "Lobbyist A," but details make clear that he
is Kevin Ring, a former member of Abramoff's lobbying team who also is
under investigation." ... "Coughlin, now 36 and living in Texas, accepted
the gifts from 2001 to 2003 while working on legislative affairs for the
Justice Department. He later became deputy chief of staff of the department's
criminal division - the same division handling the Abramoff probe - before
he resigned a year ago, citing personal reasons." ... "Ring worked for
[California Republican Representative John] Doolittle, who's retiring from
Congress at the end of this year, before going to work for Abramoff." -By
Erica Werner with contributions by Matt Apuzzo
-AP via -Courier-Journal.com
-
Corporate
- Health
Care - California
-
 Woman
- "Judge
Awards Canceled Cancer Patient $9 Million." ... "A
woman who had her medical coverage canceled as she was undergoing treatment
for breast cancer has been awarded more than $9 million in a case against
one of California's largest health insurers." ... "Patsy Bates, 52, a hairdresser
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