In the fury over the Cheney shooting and my own deadline scramble (my mercury story, "Things to do Before You Get Pregnant" is here), I missed the chance to blog Bettina Boxall's astute and thorough story about Tracy Republican Richard Pombo in Tuesday's L.A. Times. It's framed as an exploration of Pombo's ties to Abramoff, but it amounts to a measured expose of all the Congressman's lies: he's "exaggerated" the impact of endangered species protection on his own land (it was never declared "critical habitat" for the kit fox); he portrays himself as a rural rancher when in fact he wanted to sell off his own land to suburban sprawl; and the man is bought and paid for on nearly every issue he champions:
According to data compiled by the Campaign Finance Analysis Project, Pombo has, during his congressional career, collected more than $800,000 from agriculture, timber and fishing interests. The building industry has given him $205,000; oil and gas, $169,000; mining, $55,000; and casinos and gambling, $147,000.
Pombo watchers will want to cut this one out and carry it around in their pockets.
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Honestly, why would you have fury over the cheney shooting? How many accidents have you had? I think that with current government trends and such a hot housing market, we are losing to sprawl. I live in rockland county, ny and the county north to me, orange county is expanding at its fastest rate in history. What was once farmland is being taken over by the McMansion virus. It's absolutely horrible. I think, though, in New Orleans, smart growth should be adopted and the majority of damaged homes that are in "wetlands" should be razed and the area should be returned to its natural state. Pretty interesting stuff...
Posted on February 16, 2006 12:02 PM by semanticparanoia
Closer to home (LA)...Federal EPA particle rule changes could allow LA to walk away from the regional dust hazard at Owens Lake. Students in Lone Pine can't go out for recess during dust storms, more students are using inhalers and the elderly on oxygen head for the hospital emergency room. Let's ask that the new mayor who wants LA to be the greenest city in America oppose any Federal EPA particle rule changes and show that residents of the Owens Lake region deserve the same health standards that are being sought in LA. Comments end in April.
"Let them eat lake," LADWP policy at Owens Lake from 1913-1998.
Posted on February 17, 2006 9:02 AM by Mike Prather
Miami Arena Makes Bid as Glitterati Central
is wearing white and it's socially acceptable to rock a pair of dark sunglasses while watching a game, writes Chris Silva of the
Posted on June 7, 2006 10:06 PM by writes Chris