At The Rock, an evangelical megachurch in Point Loma, the subject didn't come up yesterday, but 17,000 parishioners previously heeded the pastor's call to sign a petition to place on the November ballot an initiative for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Member Christine Lerma of San Diego said she has a brother-in-law and co-worker who are gay, but would not attend their weddings if invited. “Marriage is a union created by God for men and women only,” Lerma said. “I couldn't lower my standard of belief. I could not acknowledge the marriage.”
San Diego TribuneCan we save money and time by closing the “Diamond Lanes” when gas is over $4.00 per gallon in California? This much is certain: Gas prices will not be dropping. Weeks of record-setting prices for gasoline - which reached $4.42 a gallon in California recently - have helped cement that notion. Fewer than 10 years ago, gas was 99 cents a gallon. But since May 2004, when the U.S. average first topped $2, the upward movement has been fairly steady. The $3 plateau was topped in September 2005, and the U.S. average rose above $4 this week - as it moved closer to $5 in the Bay Area.
Oakland TribuneThe Costa Mesa company had problems selling the mix-and-match figurines before the court decision. Now orders are pouring in. Paloma Esquivel in the
Los Angeles TimesGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger charged into office in 2003 with a promise to "clean house" and bring an end to what he called the irresponsible spending of Democrat Gray Davis. The charge helped make Davis the first governor in state history to be recalled. Despite different economic circumstances, both Davis and Schwarzenegger enjoyed strikingly similar growth in tax revenues: up 31.1 percent for Davis from 1999 to 2003, and up 34 percent so far for Schwarzenegger, who has now served approximately the same length of time. And both men increased spending at about the same clip. The state general fund grew by 32 percent, from $57.8 billion to $76.3 billion, under Davis. It surged 33.4 percent, from $76.3 billion to $101.8 billion, under Schwarzenegger.
Mercury NewsPete Wilson: the negotiator - By working with Democrats and Republicans, the GOP governor closed a massive deficit with spending cuts and tax increases. Greg Lucas in the
Los Angeles Times. Pat Brown: the 'big-government man' - The postwar Democrat governed at a time when even Republicans were not averse to new taxes. Ethan Rarick in the Los Angeles Times Earl Warren: the independent - The World War II-era Republican governor pushed hard for social progress - even when it was expensive. Jim Newton in the Los Angeles Times Ronald Reagan: the pragmatist - The GOP governor closed a major deficit by trimming government and increasing taxes. Lou Cannon in the Los Angeles Times “Should a Republican governor ‘raise taxes’ to close the budget hole?”
