links for 2009-04-15

California Department of Finance statistics, released in December, show that California recorded domestic outmigration of about 135,000 people. It was the fourth consecutive year that more Americans left the state than moved in.

Each person who leaves the state has a different story. Bertha at Base Line U-Haul in San Bernardino declined to give her last name but said she has noticed people who recently moved to California are moving east again.

One woman who made the trip from Florida didn't find what she was looking for and rented a trailer for the return trip. Several families have returned to Colorado recently, she said.

Alaina Harris, now of Oklahoma City, said she grew up in Vacaville and went to college at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa.

She said she moved to Oklahoma City to take a public-relations job after earning a master's degree from Georgetown University in 2007.

"I was able to purchase a home out here, which is something I would not be able to do at my age in Cal

In the last few months, he said, nearly a dozen parishioners have told them they plan to return to their homelands because jobs in construction, restaurants and the janitorial trade have dried up here. Others say they are discouraging their relatives from coming here because of the economic slowdown and workplace immigration raids that have snared scores of unauthorized workers.

The board of Southern California's major water wholesaler voted Tuesday to effectively cut water deliveries across the region by 10% this summer.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has warned for months that the state's drought and environmentally driven cutbacks in water shipments from Northern California would leave demand higher than the supply.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) is asking the Federal Election Commission for permission to use up to $7,500 in campaign funds to pay for increased security at his home, charging that he and his wife have repeatedly been harassed by an alleged drug addict.

In a request to the FEC, Gallegly recounts a months-long ordeal for his family that began on Oct. 23, just two weeks before Election Day. According to FEC documents, a man approached Gallegly’s wife at their home, claiming to be a gardener. Gallegly’s wife told the man that she had no work for him and asked him to leave, the documents show.

On Oct. 27, the documents say, the same man left a letter at the Gallegly’s home, demanding to be allowed to stay “at your place or anywhere filled with Republicans for a guaranteed win of office.”

A White Plains dentist has been charged with sending phony dental bills to an insurance company, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's office.

Dr. Joanne Baker of Scarsdale was arraigned in White Plains City Court today on felony charges of insurance fraud and grand larceny. She is free on $10,000 bail.

The Obama administration and its European allies are preparing proposals that would shift strategy toward Iran by dropping a longstanding American insistence that Tehran rapidly shut down nuclear facilities during the early phases of negotiations over its atomic program, according to officials involved in the discussions. The proposals, exchanged in confidential strategy sessions with European allies, would press Tehran to open up its nuclear program gradually to wide-ranging inspection.
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Which then means that Iran will drag out the talks while developing enough uranium to manufacture a number of nuclear weapons.
Uhhhhh, NO!

When it comes to congressional races, California — despite its 53 seats — is typically one of the least competitive states in the nation. Next year, however, that may change.

The emerging consensus in both parties is that a highly gerrymandered state that rarely sees tightly contested House races is about to see a surge of them in 2010, largely because of erosion in the Republican base.

“There are a few [Republican incumbents] that are probably in danger,” said Dave Gilliard, a California-based GOP strategist. “A lot of these guys aren’t used to working the district, and they’re going to have to.”

-Republican Norm Coleman will appeal Monday's court decision that gave Democrat Al Franken the protracted U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, a spokesman said.

On Monday, a three-judge panel rejected claims by Coleman's legal team that there were systemic problems in the Senate vote tally and that more absentee ballots should have been counted.

Franken, the 57-year-old comedian-turned-politician, won the initial ballot recount in January by 225 votes. Coleman sued, contesting the election results.

Last week, yet another ballot count gave Franken an edge. This time, he had a 312 vote lead over 59-year-old Coleman, the incumbent. The count was of 351 of 387 previously rejected absentee ballots. Forty-two of the ballots went to other and third-party candidates.

Lawyers said most of the discarded votes came from precincts Coleman won. They said by counting more, Franken's lead would have likely been erased.

Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday will announce plans to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, according to people with knowledge of the governor’s plans.

Mr. Paterson’s move, which he first signaled last week after Vermont became the fourth state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, reflects the governor’s desire to press the issue with lawmakers in Albany as other states move ahead with efforts to grant more civil rights to homosexuals.