California Politics Today

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Articles

12-18-07: Terry Tamminen, former head of the California EPA, disagrees with California Energy Commission about “feed-in tariffs,” calls for major, tobacco industry-style lawsuit against oil companies to recover damages from their “lies“ and “conspiracy“ against the public welfare (California Politics Today™ #693)

12-15-07: California Feed-In Tariff Initiative (CalFIT INIT) is launched to create jobs and reduce dependence on imported and CO2-emitting energy sources (California Politics Today™ #692)

10-12-07: Valley Village Neighborhood Council candidates meet their public at Colfax Elementary School one week before crucial ballot on "mansionization" (California Politics Today™ #691)

4-30-07: Kucinich for President 2008 California Volunteer Coordinator Mary Jacobs makes the case for electing Dennis Kucinich President and provides details of three Cinco de Mayo (and one May 6th) Kucinich campaign events in Southern California (California Politics Today™ #690)

4-27-07: Missile Defense Agency spokesperson Rick Lehner talks about the technology of U.S. missile defense systems (California Politics Today™ #689)

4-26-07: Republican campaign consultant Allan Hoffenblum discusses the presidential candidacies of Senator John McCain and others; links Republican chances in 2008 to Iraq War developments (California Politics Today™ #688)

4-25-07: Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) talks about subpoenaing Condoleezza Rice to get the truth about the “16 words” used to justify the Iraq War, before going to the House floor to vote on a supplemental bill to fund, with conditions, the war so justified (California Politics Today™ #687)

4-18-07: Patrick Goggin, California counsel for the Hemp Industries Association and Vote Hemp, makes the case for AB 684, the “California Industrial Hemp Farming Act“ (California Politics Today™ #686)

4-16-07: Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) talks about Iraq, Iran, tobacco, and impeachment (California Politics Today™ #685)

4-12-07: Conservative Republican California State Assemblymember Chuck DeVore wants to legalize hemp growing in California with AB 684, the “California Industrial Hemp Farming Act” (California Politics Today™ #684)

2-27-07: Anti-Proposition 71 attorney Dana Cody updates the story of CIRM opponents' efforts to block $3 billion in bond sales to fund embryonic stem cell research in California (California Politics Today™ #683)

2-3-07: CPUC Assigned Commissioner Rochelle Chong proposes implementing regulations for Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (DIVCA); "utility watchdog" TURN says these rules subjugate consumer interests to "anyone capable of filling out an application" (California Politics Today™ #682)

11-7-06: Grass in the Desert 2: Committee to Tax and Regulate Marijuana (CRCM) spokesperson Patrick Killen explains how Ballot Question 7 would change Nevada's marijuana laws and urges its passage (California Politics Today™ #681)

11-5-06: Leonardo Dicaprio headlines Proposition 87 get-out-the-vote rally on the new Celebrity Activist Channel (California Politics Today™ #680)

11-3-06: Sondra Widland, program director, LA Region, American Lung Association of California, voices support for California Propositions 86 and 87, rise in smokefree cities, appears in multiple Etopia News/Online Broadcasting Service Brightcove online broadband television video players (California Politics Today™ #679)

10-22-06: Democratic Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi, on Viacom/CBS's 60 Minutes, pledges not to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney when her party takes over the House of Representatives (California Politics Today™ #678)

10-20-06: Grass in the Desert I: CRCM vs. CCC in the battle to regulate and tax marijuana in Nevada through Ballot Question No. 7 (California Politics Today™ #677)

10-19-06: Joel Schwartzberg, Senior Producer for New Media at NOW on PBS, comments on NOW/PBS's attitude towards, and use of, YouTube (California Politics Today™ #676)

10-17-06: Reed Stager, Chairman of the Digital Watermarking Alliance and Executive Vice President at Digimarc, talks about watermarking as protection against digital piracy on GoogTube and elsewhere (California Politics Today #675/ Etopia Entertainment News #40)

10-14-06: Bill Clinton makes the case for California Proposition 87 at UCLA on YouTube, Google Video, and Brightcove (California Politics Today™ #674)

10-13-06: A comparison of video quality on YouTube, Google Video, and Brightcove (California Politics Today™ #673)

10-13-06: Former President Bill Clinton strongly supports California Proposition 87, the "Clean Alternative Energy Initiative," before a large, cheering crowd at UCLA (California Politics Today™ #672)

5-1-06: University College London-based bio-medical researcher Robin Williams talks about his bi-polar disorder research (California Politics Today™ #671)

5-2-06: Aspiring talent network in Hollywood (California Politics Today™ #670)

4-30-06: Conversations with Veoh CEO Dmitry Shapiro (California Politics Today™ #669)

5-9-06: Haskel Wexler, renowned cinematographer and director, talks about his latest project, "Who Needs Sleep?" (California Politics Today™ #668)

5-1-06: AMPAS President Sid Ganis, actress Rachel McAdams, and AMPAS Scientific and Technical Awards Committee Chair Richard Edlund talk with OBS Entertainment at the 2006 Tech Oscars (California Politics Today™ #667)

10-11-06: Energy expert David Hughes talks about peak oil, natural gas, Canada's role in the production of hydrocarbons, and the ASPO-USA 2006 Boston World Oil Conference, "Time for Action: A Midnight Ride for Peak Oil," scheduled for October 26-27, 2006, in Boston, Massachusetts (California Politics Today™ #666)

10-11-06: City of Santa Monica bans outdoor smoking (California Politics Today™ #665)

10-10-06: Advocates of a smokefree City of Santa Monica expect Santa Monica City Council to approve city ordinance banning smoking on world-famous Third Street Promenade (California Politics Today™ #664)

10-9-06: Google-YouTube deal leaves Brightcove platform as the principal challenger for online video distribution (California Politics Today™ #663)

10-7-06: Huntington Beach, California, City Councilmember Debbie Cook talks about energy policy and the ASPO-USA 2006 Boston World Oil Conference, "Time for Action: A Midnight Ride for Peak Oil," scheduled for October 26-27, 2006, in Boston, Massachusetts (California Politics Today™ #662)

10-4-06: Larry Tanz, CEO and President of LivePlanet, talks about the primacy of talent in production, and of young people in the consumption, of emerging and evolving media (California Politics Today #661/ Etopia Entertainment News #39)

10-3-06: Peak oil educator Richard Heinberg talks about peak oil, The Party's Over, Powerdown, The Oil Depletion Protocol, and the ASPO-USA 2006 Boston World Oil Conference, "Time for Action: A Midnight Ride for Peak Oil," scheduled for October 26-27, 2006, in Boston, Massachusetts (California Politics Today™ #660)

9-21-06: Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas-USA co-founder Steve Andrews talks about peak oil, ASPO-USA, and the ASPO-USA 2006 Boston World Oil Conference, "Time for Action: A Midnight Ride for Peak Oil," scheduled for October 26-27, 2006, in Boston, Massachusetts (California Politics Today™ #659)

9-21-06: Congressmembers Maurice Hinchey, Carolyn Maloney, Ed Markey, and George Miller call for House hearings on alleged Interior Department "pattern of corruption" and "collusion with oil companies" (California Politics Today™ #658)

9-20-06: Spokesperson for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer discusses greenhouse gas emissions lawsuit against General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan (California Politics Today™ #657)

9-19-06: HP spokesperson says "We are declining to comment on your question and cannot accommodate an interview request" about whether HP gave board member and employee Social Security numbers to private investigators looking into leaks (California Politics Today™ #656)

9-13-06: Roscoe Bartlett, Republican Congressman from Maryland, talks about peak oil (California Politics Today™ #655)

9-12-06: James Martin talks about The Meaning of the 21st Century (California Politics Today #654/Etopia News Book World #1)

9-11-06: $12-billion, 60,000-employee Eaton Corporation goes green with hydraulic hybrid vehicles for UPS (California Politics Today #653/Modern Transportation World™ #10)

9-11-06: New media innovator Etopia Media leads the pack with 34 Brightcove Players on offer at Brightcove Syndication Directory/Affiliate web site (California Politics Today™ #652)

9-11-06: Spokesperson for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer comments on HP "pretexting" case, says "we believe that crimes have been committed," specifically, identity theft (California Politics Today™ #651)

9-11-06: Scott Rafferty, plaintiff's attorney in Bridgeman v. McPherson, makes the case against a secret ballot waiver in overseas vote-by-fax arrangements (California Politics Today™ #650)

9-10-06: NBC4 weathercaster Fritz Coleman deconstructs the 11 o'clock news, with laughs, in his one-person play Tonight at 11!, now playing at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California (California Politics Today #649/ Etopia Entertainment News #38)

9-7-06: Paul Moreno, spokesperson for Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), talks about net energy metering and PG&E's plans to increase its use of renewably-generated electricity (California Politics Today™ #648)

9-6-06: Byron King "congratulates and commends" Chevron on their ultra-deep ultra-high tech oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, says it will have "no impact whatsoever" on the general question of peak oil (California Politics Today™ #647)

9-5-06: Lee H. Wallach, founding board member and president of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California (CoejlSC), talks about concentrating solar thermal power as the Electric Sunshine Channel premieres (California Politics Today #646/ Solar World #17)

9-4-06: Brightcove Players containing Etopia News' Greatest Hits, Volumes 4-6 feature a wide range of video interviews with politicians, protesters, UCLA technology professors, media executives, and aspiring Hollywood actresses on an innovative distribution platform (California Politics Today™ #645)

9-3-06: Brightcove Players containing Etopia News' Greatest Hits, Volumes 1-3 feature a wide range of videos about energy, politics, medicine, culture, and technology on an innovative distribution platform (California Politics Today™ #644)

9-3-06: Gardasil®'s re-emergence in the news as possibly more effective than originally claimed recalls earlier interview with Dr. Rick Haupt at Merck talking about Gardasil® as a safe and effective vaccine against genital warts and cervical cancer caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus (California Politics Today #643/Etopia Medical News #132)

9-1-06: David Roth, Democratic challenger to U.S. Representative Mary Bono (R-45th C.D., California), talks about the issues and his campaign for Congress (California Politics Today™ #642)

9-1-06: Nancy Skinner, U.S. Director of the Climate Group, talks about AB32, the "California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #641)

8-29-06: Marc Roper, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, SCHOTT Solar, Inc., talks about photovoltaic solar electricity and related subjects (California Politics Today #640/ Solar World #16)

8-28-06: U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY, 15th C.D.) talks about re-instating the draft, and related issues (California Politics Today™ #639)

8-26-06: Dr. Robert Lanza, at Advanced Cell Technology, and Richard Doerflinger, at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, debate "non-destructive" embryonic stem cell creation on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and discuss hESC issues in re-surfacing Etopia News audio interviews from 2004 and 2005 (California Politics Today™ #638)

8-24-06: Josephine Gonzalez, Solar Program Manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, talks about LADWP's renewed commitment to distributed solar electricity generation through performance-based incentives (California Politics Today #637/ Solar World #15)

8-24-06: Actor/environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr., talks about peak oil, California Proposition 87, wind farms, electric cars, and photovoltaic electricity (California Politics Today™ #636)

8-22-06: Jonathan Tasini makes the case for his candidacy against incumbent U.S. Senator from New York State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the September 12, 2006, Democratic primary (California Politics Today™ #635)

8-17-06: Byron King, attorney and trained geologist, talks about his August 13, 2006, Pittsburg Post-Gazette op-ed piece, "Peak Oil—Get used to it" (California Politics Today™ #634)

8-17-06: Ryan Hottle at Ohio Peak Oil Action talks about relocalization, permaculture, earth ethics, and bioregionalism in the Buckeye State (California Politics Today™ #633)

8-16-06: Proposition 87 may prohibit an "oil tax pass-through," but everyone but its sponsors agrees it will raise gas prices at the pump (California Politics Today™ #632)

8-15-06: Robert Rapier talks about Vinod Khosla, Proposition 87, peak oil, and the need for transportation electrification (California Politics Today™ #631)

8-14-06: The Climate Group's U.S. Director, Nancy Skinner, talks about its plans to stave off global warming by reducing carbon emissions, and by other means (California Politics Today™ #630)

8-14-06: The Medical Interview Channel launches with conversations about bi-polar research, remote medical presence, and psilocybin research (California Politics Today #629/Etopia Medical News #131)

8-14-06: Sustainable Cities Channel debuts with an interview with Santa Monica's Shannon Parry talking about making Santa Monica a sustainable city in the face of peak oil and global warming (California Politics Today™ #628)

8-13-06: Three innovative chroniclers of digital media innovation cover launch of SightSpeed 5.0, and each other (California Politics Today #627/ Entertainment Technology World #45)

8-12-06: As Hillary Clinton's position on the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq takes center stage, footage of an April 21, 2006, Code Pink anti-war/anti-Hillary demo in Beverly Hills resurfaces in a Brightcove Player (California Politics Today™ #626)

8-12-06: ElectionMall Technologies CEO Ravi Singh talks about his "one-stop shop" for campaign and election tools and its strategic partnership with videoconferencing software maker SightSpeed (California Politics Today™ #625)

8-11-06: Bob Hope Airport spokesperson says August 10th security upgrade was successfully accomplished, can't say if laptops and handheld electronic devices will be banned, all on the new Airport Channel (California Politics Today™ #624)

8-11-06: Measure A defense attorney Ann Higginbotham makes the case against the Pasadena First lawsuit, while Pasadena First attorney Fred Woocher comments on Judge Simpson's decision to let Measure A remain on the November 7, 2006, consolidated Los Angeles County election ballot, all on the "NFL in Pasadena? Channel" (California Politics Today™ #623)

8-10-06: Pasadena First president Carolyn Naber explains its case for removing Measure A, which would revive Pasadena's bid for an NFL franchise, from the November, 2006, ballot, on the "NFL in Pasadena? Channel" (California Politics Today™ #622)

8-9-06: Pasadena First attorney Fred Woocher explains its case for removing Measure A, which would revive Pasadena's bid for an NFL franchise, from the November, 2006, ballot; on the "NFL in Pasadena? Channel" (California Politics Today™ #621)

8-7-06: Daniel Yergin, the "Energy Pope," pooh-poohs peak oil and calls for more spending on "energy security"; infallibility not guaranteed (California Politics Today™ #620)

8-6-06: AB2987, California's "Digital Infrastructure and Cable Competition Act of 2006," is close to passage; watch and listen to the debate about it on the "Campaign to Pass AB2987 Channel" (California Politics Today™ #619)

8-6-06: The Net Neutrality Channel focuses on, um, net neutrality (California Politics Today™ #618)

8-4-06: Michael Armstrong, staff to the Portland Peak Oil Task Force, talks about how Portland is planning to deal with peak oil (and global warming) (California Politics Today™ #617)

8-3-06: SightSpeed President and COO Scott Lomond talks about SightSpeed 5.0 (California Politics Today #616/ Entertainment Technology World #44)

8-2-06: Randy White, member of Portland Peak Oil and the City of Portland Peak Oil Task Force, talks about (what else?) peak oil in Portland (California Politics Today™ #615)

8-2-06: June 12, 2004, Oil World article featuring Dr. David Goodstein's April 16, 2004, Etopia Media Book World audio interview about his Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil" raised "peak oil" issues then; 2004 interview now available on 2006's Peak Oil/Global Warming Channel (California Politics Today™ #614)

8-1-06: Bryant Urstadt's interview about "Imagine There's No Oil—Scenes from a Liberal Apocalypse," his August, 2006, Harper's Magazine cover story about "peak oil" and the people who worry about it, is added to the Peak Oil/Global Warming Channel, an innovative worldwide video distribution platform from Brightcove (California Politics Today™ #613)

7-31-06: Etopia Media and the Online Broadcasting Service (OBS) lead the way in using smaller Brightcove Players to syndicate indie news content (California Politics Today™ #612)

7-30-06: Portland, San Francisco, and Salisbury, Maryland, consider "peak oil"; "peak oil" meet-ups planned in Santa Monica and Pasadena, but not in Los Angeles, world oil consumption capital (California Politics Today™ #611)

7-29-06: Etopia Media and the Online Broadcasting Service (OBS) lead the way in using Brightcove Players to syndicate indie news content (California Politics Today™ #610)

7-29-06: Bryant Urstadt talks about "Imagine There's No Oil—Scenes from a Liberal Apocalypse," his August, 2006, Harper's Magazine cover story about "peak oil" and the people who worry about it (California Politics Today™ #609)

7-28-06: Dan Bednarz calls for the creation of "Energy & Health Centers" to address effects of peak oil on public health and health care (California Politics Today #608/Etopia Medical News #130)

7-27-06: Dr. Charles Grob at UCLA-Harbor Medical Center talks about his research with psilocybin for "existential anxiety" in seriously-ill cancer patients (California Politics Today #607/Etopia Medical News #129)

7-23-06: City of Santa Monica votes 5-1 to go smokefree (California Politics Today™ #606)

7-25-06: As California swelters and the power grid strains to keep residents and businesses cool, Ross Gelbspan explains global warming and ways out in a Year 2000 Book Radio interview (California Politics Today #605/ Solar World #14)

7-23-06: "Yes on Proposition 87" chief scientist and spokesperson Dr. Shelley Luce makes the case for passing the California "Clean Energy Initiative" on the "Yes on 87 Channel" (California Politics Today™ #604)

7-23-06: Scott Macdonald, spokesperson for "No on 87—The $4 billion Oil Tax," makes the case against Proposition 87 on the "No on 87 Channel" (California Politics Today™ #603)

7-22-06: Scott Macdonald, spokesperson for "No on 87—The $4 billion Oil Tax," makes the case against Proposition 87 (California Politics Today™ #602)

7-21-06: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "missed an opportunity to bring the CIRM a little more fully under state control," according to Center for Genetics and Society Project Director for Biotechnology Accountability Jesse Reynolds (California Politics Today™ #601)

7-21-06: "Looney Tunes™" smokefree proposal for Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade from 2004 will be considered on July 25, 2006, by the Santa Monica City Council (California Politics Today™ #600)

7-21-06: "Peak Oil" and should gas prices be higher? (California Politics Today™ #599)

7-20-06: Brad Pitt-supported and Mikhail Gorbachev-inspired Global Green USA works on "green building" for cities and schools, climate change and energy, water, weapons of mass destruction, and recycling, and operates a "Green Building Resource Center" (California Politics Today #598/ Solar World #13)

7-20-06: Dr. Rick Haupt at Merck talks about Gardasil®, a safe and effective vaccine against genital warts and cervical cancer caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus (California Politics Today #597/Etopia Medical News #128)

7-18-06: A difference of opinion regarding Proposition 87's "pass-through" prohibition (California Politics Today™ #596)

7-18-06: "Yes on Proposition 87" chief scientist and spokesperson Dr. Shelley Luce makes the case for passing the California "Clean Energy Initiative" (California Politics Today™ #595)

7-18-06: Opponents of "stage 2" jet aircraft at Van Nuys Airport make the case for phasing out take-offs and landings of these planes in the San Fernando Valley (California Politics Today™ #594)

7-13-06: New "Photonics Channel" covers the emerging science, engineering, and applications of light-based communications (California Politics Today™ #593)

7-13-06: Valerie Beck at California Public Utilities Commission talks about the California Solar Initiative, designed to "mainstream" solar energy and undermine "petro-pirates" (California Politics Today #592/ Solar World #11)

7-11-06: Michael Sohigian, attorney for plaintiff Melinda Birke, explains her side of Birke v. Oakwood Garden Apartments, the smokefree apartment complex common areas case (California Politics Today™ #591)

7-10-06: California Apartment Association spokesperson Debra Carlton explains the CAA's views on making apartment complexes smokefree, as called for in Birke v. Oakwood Garden Apartments (California Politics Today™ #590)

7-8-06: University of California counsel/spokesperson says that UC-ICOC conflict of interest issue has already been decided; reveals plan by California Attorney General Lockyer to block new Sacramento-based anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on Monday (California Politics Today™ #589)

7-7-06: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil® will be available from, but not required by, Los Angeles Unified School District (California Politics Today™ #588)

7-6-06: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil® on track for inclusion in Vaccine for Children (VFC) program; CDC spokesperson sees no "wave of public sentiment" against this breakthrough treatment for the prevention of cervical cancer (California Politics Today #587/Etopia Medical News #127)

6-29-06: California Cable and Telecommunications Association President Dennis Mangers discusses how incumbent cable franchisees will be able to abrogate their existing franchise contracts and "opt-in" to new state franchising rules under AB 2987; doesn't expect cable-telco price wars; says that all existing municipal cable franchises will be replaced with state cable franchises as they expire (California Politics Today™ #586)

6-29-06: Spokesperson for Californians for Technology and Video Choice reports on today's approval of AB 2987, California's "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006," by the California Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications chaired by State Senator Martha Escutia (California Politics Today™ #585)

6-27-06: Spokesperson for California State Controller Steve Westly denies any conflict-of-interest or illegality in Controller's transmission of $6.7 million to the University of California under terms of Proposition 71 following approval of these funds by stem cell board ICOC with nine UC-affiliated members (California Politics Today™ #584)

6-27-06: Caltech Professor and Vice Provost David Goodstein is not optimistic about breaking the global addiction to oil; calls for leadership, use of multiple adaptive strategies (California Politics Today™ #583)

6-26-06: They're baaaaaaaaack--National Tax Limitation Foundation and California Family Bioethics Council file suit against California State Controller Steve Westly and University of California President Robert C. Dynes to block transfer of $6.7 million in Proposition 71 embryonic stem cell research funding, on grounds of conflict of interest (California Politics Today™ #582)

6-26-06: Austin, Texas, emerges as a leader in the movement for PHEVs and the distributed generation of electricity to run them (California Politics Today™ #581/ Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle World #8)

6-26-06: Toyota spokesperson says the company is now "really and truly" moving towards the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles (California Politics Today™ #580/ Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle World #7)

6-19-06: City of West Hollywood asks Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Office to de-prioritize enforcement of marijuana possession and use laws in the territory within its jurisdiction (California Politics Today™ #579)

6-16-06: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) powered by solar-generated electricity would power clean, fast transportation while preserving the environment and reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil (California Politics Today™ #578)

6-7-06: H.R. 5252, the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006" (COPE), would authorize national cable franchising; public access producers protest (California Politics Today™ #577)

6-6-06: Angelides slightly ahead, Westly hopeful, as Rob Reiner's "Preschool for All" initiative, Proposition 82, loses 3-2, along with anti-war Democrats Winograd and Coleman; Padilla ahead of Montanez in State Senate race; Lloyd Levine unanimously re-nominated for 40th A.D. Assembly seat; California State Controller candidate Joe Dunn lagging behind John Chiang (California Politics Today™ #576)

6-2-06: inclue! CEO Nick Gogerty explains how "one click delivers it all" (California Politics Today™ #575)

6-2-06: Click.TV offers annotatable videos (California Politics Today™ #574)

6-1-06: AB2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Cable Competition Act of 2006," unanimously passes California State Assembly on 77-0 vote; co-author Assemblymember Lloyd Levine, Verizon Pacific Region President Tim McCallion, and California Cable and Telecommunications President Dennis Mangers comment (California Politics Today™ #573)

5-27-06: Pioneering start-up Online Broadcasting Service (OBS) leads the way towards "a la carte" video programming and the possible disintegration through disintermediation of the existing video/television distribution paradigm (California Politics Today™ #572)

5-26-06: Eric Brown, Senior Vice President, Western Division, Charter Communications, and Chairman of the Board of the California Cable and Telecommunications Association (CCTA), talks about AB2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Cable Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #571)

5-26-06: Lloyd Levine, Chair of the California Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee and co-author, with California Assembly Speaker Fabián Núñez, of AB2987, talks about the "Digital Infrastructure and Cable Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #570)

5-25-06: Kurt Schwenk, General Manager, Digital Cinema Division, NEC Solutions (America), talks about starring role for NEC's STARUS™ NC2500S DLP Cinema® projector at outdoor premiere of Disney's "Cars," the first multi-screen digital cinema premiere ever and the largest digital cinema display to date (California Politics Today™ #569)

5-25-06: Pro-AB2987 Californians for Technology & Video Choice hold a press conference at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel near Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood to express support for the "Digital Infrastructure and Cable Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #568)

5-24-06: Los Angeles City Councilmember Alex Padilla makes the case for electing him to the California State Senate on June 6th (California Politics Today™ #567)

5-23-06: Internet giant Google follows the lead of pioneering start-up Online Broadcasting Service (OBS) in offering "opt-in" video ads (California Politics Today™ #566)

5-22-06: Internet pioneer and UCLA Computer Science Professor Leonard Kleinrock recounts how he developed packet-switching theory, sent the first message over the ARPANET/Internet, and discusses the present and future of the Net (California Politics Today™ #565)

5-20-06: Online Broadcasting Service (OBS), using Brightcove Players on California Politics Today, OBS News, and its flagship Online Broadcasting Service, offers a variety of broadcast-quality, broadband-based, television-like videos about politics, entertainment, medicine, the Internet, and more (California Politics Today™ #564)

5-20-06: California State Assemblymember Cindy Montanez (D-39th) makes the case for electing her to the California State Senate on June 6th (California Politics Today™ #563)

5-19-06: California Assemblymember Paul Koretz talks about California Assembly Joint Resolution 39 (AJR 39), which calls for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney (California Politics Today™ #562)

5-19-06: Verizon Pacific Region President Tim McCallion urges support for AB 2987, California's "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006," at a demonstration of the FiOS platform that Verizon wants to build out under the terms of this legislation (California Politics Today™ #561)

5-18-06: Marcy Winograd, a "rounded character" and a "dream anti-war candidate" takes her Congressional challenge to "worse-than-Lieberman-and-worse-than-Feinstein" and "Bush" Democrat incumbent Congressmember Jane Harman to Manhattan Beach Marriott in California's 36th Congressional District (California Politics Today™ #560)

5-17-06: Anti-Iraq War candidate Charles Coleman challenges incumbent Congressmember Howard Berman in California's 28th Congressional District (California Politics Today™ #559)

5-15-06: Federal Building Coalition seeks to prevent use of Westside land deeded for the care of U.S. war veterans for other purposes and to control development in an already-traffic-saturated area of Los Angeles (California Politics Today™ #558)

5-14-06: Code Pink demonstration in Beverly Hills calls attention to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's position on the Iraq War (California Politics Today™ #557)

5-13-06: Online Broadcasting Service (OBS), using Brightcove Players, seriously reduces the dependence of political candidates on big campaign contributors in order to directly and effectively convey their messages to voters (California Politics Today™ #556)

5-13-06: California State Senator Joe Dunn makes the case for his election to the post of California State Controller (California Politics Today™ #555)

5-13-06: Anti-Iraq War candidate Marcy Winograd challenges incumbent Congressmember Jane Harman in California's 36th Congressional District (California Politics Today™ #554)

5-11-06: 42nd Assembly District candidates square off at St. Timothy's Roman Catholic Church, seeking votes at a meeting of the Tract 7260 Homeowners Association (California Politics Today™ #553)

5-11-06: Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavky talks about his goals and accomplishments in a syndicatable video player as he runs for re-election (California Politics Today™ #552)

4-26-06: Congressman Maurice Hinchey supports states' right to legalize medical marijuana, despite recent FDA claims regarding marijuana's lack of medical usefulness, and discusses possible impeachment of President Bush following a Democratic take-over of the House of Representatives in November, 2006 (California Politics Today™ #551)

4-25-06: No stem cell bond sales until Spring, 2007; California gubernatorial candidates Angelides and Westly laud Sabraw ruling in Proposition 71 case, holding out hope and attacking anti-Proposition 71 plaintiffs, respectively (California Politics Today™ #550)

4-24-06: After it passes the California Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee on a 10-0 vote, Verizon Pacific Region President Tim McCallion is even more optimistic than previously that AB 2987, California's "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" will become law this year (California Politics Today™ #549)

4-24-06: California Cable and Telecommunications Association Director of Governmental Affairs Marc Burgat talks about today's California Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee vote to approve AB 2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #548)

4-24-06: Spokesperson for California Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez updates the AB 2987 story (California Politics Today™ #547)

4-24-06: Disappointed, but not surprised, Dana Cody, anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit attorney, says she'll appeal last week's Alameda County Superior Court decision upholding the constitutionality of Proposition 71 (California Politics Today™ #546)

4-22-06: Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Lewman Sabraw decides Proposition 71 stem cell lawsuit in favor of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, upholding its constitutionality (California Politics Today™ #545)

4-22-06: Code Pink protesters in Beverly Hills highlight Hillary Clinton's support for the Iraq War, calling her "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and a "warmonger" (California Politics Today™ #544)

4-21-06: Monterey County, California, Board of Supervisors Chair Jerry Smith asks California Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez to "oppose provisions of [AB 2987] that would remove the requirement for wired video providers to obtain franchises from local governments" (California Politics Today™ #543)

4-21-06: California Cable and Telecommunications Association Director of Governmental Affairs Marc Burgat updates developments regarding AB 2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #542)

4-21-06: Hillary Clinton's supporters to be targeted on her Iraq War stance by Code Pink demonstrators outside Beverly Hills home as she and former President Clinton attend $1,000-a-plate "dessert fundraiser" among "Hollywood liberals" (California Politics Today™ #541)

4-20-06: Online Broadcasting Service™ (OBS) now available on Google Video, Revver, and MySpace (California Politics Today™ #540)

4-20-06: National Taxpayers Union spokesperson Pete Sepp makes the case for lower taxes, less regulation, and the passage of AB2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #539)

4-17-06: California Congresswoman Jane Harman builds SecureUS PAC to help elect "tough and smart" Democrats to Congress (California Politics Today™ #538)

4-17-06: Google Video lets Online Broadcasting Service (OBS) compete with Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) by helping OBS publish "all the video that's fit to broadcast" about "California Politics Today" (California Politics Today™ #537)

4-15-06: SightSpeed videoconferencing software enables a range of remotely-recorded video interviews about remote language instruction, Internet deployment, regulation, and censorship, "Preschool for All," bi-polar disorder, medical robots for remote consultation, and, of course, about the technology of remotely-recorded video interviews (California Politics Today™ #536)

4-15-06: Lisa Nieboer, Director, BeGlobal Language School, talks about remote, worldwide language instruction on OBS (Online Broadcasting Service™) (California Politics Today™ #535)

4-14-06: Marc Strassman uses OBS (Online Broadcasting Service), a 21st century platform, to reprise turn-of-the-century digital democracy concepts such as universal, ubiquitous, instantaneous, and always-on remote Internet voting (California Politics Today™ #534)

4-14-06: California gubernatorial candidate and State Controller Steve Westly's staffers provide details of how "his crackdown on corporate tax cheats brought in billions" (California Politics Today™ #533)

4-14-06: OBS (Online Broadcasting Service) presents video interviews about bi-polar disorder and medical robots (California Politics Today™ #532)

4-13-06: Comcast stalls municipal cable franchise negotiations in Northern California county, hoping to benefit from a state-issued franchise under AB2987, using a loophole reported on in two recent California Politics Today articles (California Politics Today™ #531)

4-12-06: Dennis Mangers, President of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, updates his comments about AB 2987, the "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #530)

4-12-06: No comment from Time Warner or the City of Los Angeles, but AB 2987 co-author's consultant confirms that "when the existing franchise expires, they [incumbent cable providers] can apply for a state-issued franchise" (California Politics Today™ #529)

4-12-06: Verizon Pacific Region President Tim McCallion makes the case for AB 2987, California's "Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #528)

4-9-06: Los Angeles Times plays catch-up with Etopia News on "net neutrality" (California Politics Today™ #527)

4-9-06: Time Warner Cable, soon-to-be Los Angeles' monopoly incumbent cable provider, could benefit from AB 2987, the state-franchising of cable systems reform bill strongly opposed by the cable industry in California (California Politics Today™ #526)

4-6-06: Dennis Mangers, President of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, offers his views on video franchising reform in California (California Politics Today™ #525)

4-6-06: Bill Hamm, former California Legislative Analyst, analyzes Proposition 82 (California Politics Today™ #524)

4-6-06: Fabian Núñez, Lloyd Levine, announce plan for statewide cable franchises in California (California Politics Today™ #523)

4-6-06: Ken McNeely, President, AT&T California, says he sees using his company's new data pipes as one way to help alleviate traffic congestion in California (California Politics Today™ #522)

4-6-06: Ken McNeely, President, AT&T California, says three times that he knows of no plans to violate "net neutrality" in AT&T's California data network (California Politics Today™ #521)

4-4-06: Ken McNeely, President, AT&T California, talks about franchise reform in California (California Politics Today™ #520)

4-3-06: Creation of a "State of California Bio-tech Corporation" (SCBC) would obviate the need for cooperation with bio-tech firms unwilling to accept Proposition 71 money with strings attached (California Politics Today™ #519)

4-3-06: John Simpson at FTCR wants ICOC to ensure a return to California taxpayers and consumers from $6 billion in stem cell research money (California Politics Today™ #518)

3-28-06: Arnold Schwarzenegger supports Proposition 71, but can't or won't say what authority he has as governor to manage or control the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee that it set up (California Politics Today™ #517) (shorter version)

3-28-06: Arnold Schwarzenegger supports Proposition 71, but can't or won't say what authority he has as governor to manage or control the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee that it set up (California Politics Today™ #516)

3-26-06: University of California, San Diego, student newspaper, says of UCSD Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Edward W. Holmes' membership on the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee: "If this isn’t a conflict of interest, it’s hard to imagine what would be" (California Politics Today™ #515)

2-25-06: Dave and Bekah Mays make fun of Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle," appearing on Google Video, but not yet on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"; is this fair use for purposes of parody, or copyright infringement? (California Politics Today #514/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #31)

3-23-06: Spokesperson for California Treasurer Phil Angelides, two days after Proposition 71 passed in 2004, prophetically says that "it'll take a while before these bonds ever get to market" and that the ICOC will set its own conflict of interest rules (California Politics Today™ #513)

3-23-06: Deborah Ortiz, California State Senator, wants the court to uphold the constitutionality of Proposition 71 (California Politics Today™ #512)

3-22-06: Brilliant pre-Proposition 71 election article in the New Yorker highlights the "independence" of the "Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee," which now claims to be, as constitutionally required, "under the exclusive management and control" of the State of California (California Politics Today™ #511)

3-20-06: Russell Korobkin, professor of law at UCLA, elaborates on his recent "The stem cell initiative, sabotaged"/"An abusive stem-cell lawsuit" op-ed pieces in the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle and addresses the question of how an "Independent" Citizens' Oversight Committee can be under the "exclusive management and control" of the State of California (California Politics Today™ #510)

3-18-06: Faced with unexpected legal insurgency, and several other unresolved issues, California's Proposition 71 may devolve into "stem cell civil war" (California Politics Today™ #509)

3-17-06: Dana Cody, anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit attorney, expects to lose, plans to appeal (California Politics Today™ #508)

3-16-06: California's Attorney General and opponents of ICOC/CIRM stem cell research effort exchange briefs in Alameda County Superior Court, while further lengthy appeals loom (California Politics Today™ #507)

3-9-06: Dmitry Shapiro, Founder and CEO, talks about the Veoh personal television station system (California Politics Today #506/ Entertainment Technology World #43)

2-25-06: Google Video provides a platform for Marc Strassman to advocate for digital democracy (California Politics Today™ #505)

3-4-06: Google Video web site provides convenient showcase for popular Etopia Media News Networks and Etopia Media Pictures videos (California Politics Today #504/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #28)

2-25-06: Marc Strassman advocates for "digital democracy" (California Politics Today™ #503)

2-19-06: Actress Rachel McAdams, Academy officials, and Russian and American cinema technologists comment at AMPAS Scientific and Technical Awards in Beverly Hills (California Politics Today #502/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #27)

2-16-06: Spokesperson at British Embassy in Washington, D.C., says that "it would be for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to bring a prosecution or not" against V for Vendetta on charges of "glorification of terrorism" (California Politics Today #501/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #26)

2-15-06: California State Senator Sheila Kuehl talks about her proposal for a "single-payer" health insurance system for all California residents (California Politics Today™ #500)

2-13-06: California Sierra Club spokesperson Eric Antebi talks about that group's opposition to White House plan to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest in California (California Politics Today™ #499)

1-30-06: California Assemblymember Loni Hancock talks about AB 583, the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006,"'s passage by the California State Assembly (California Politics Today™ #498)

1-23-06: Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) meets to consider draft intellectual property policy for non-profit grantees of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) (California Politics Today™ #497)

1-19-06: California Assemblymember Joseph Canciamilla supports AB 583, the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006," as a first step toward improving the electoral landscape (California Politics Today™ #496)

1-19-06: AB 583, the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006," passes the California Assembly Appropriation Committee, 13-5, in historic progress for Clean Money/Clean Elections (California Politics Today™ #495)

1-18-06: Craig Dunkerley, Southbay Area Coordinator, California Clean Money Campaign, offers a "Rebuttal to Political Consultant Allan Hoffenblum Re: AB 583" (California Politics Today™ #494)

1-17-06: Political consultant Allan Hoffenblum talks about AB 583 and other campaign finance issues, calls for "full disclosure" rather than public financing of election campaigns (California Politics Today™ #493)

1-13-06: Armando Viramontes, Legislative Assistant to AB 583 author Assemblymember Loni Hancock, talks in detail about provisions and prospects of the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #492)

1-12-06: California Assemblymember and Appropriations Committee Chair Judy Chu previews committee consideration of AB 583, the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #491)

1-10-06: "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006," AB 583, passes 4-3 in crucial Assembly Elections Committee vote (California Politics Today™ #490)

1-9-06: California Clean Money Campaign Communications Director Eric Tang updates the AB 583 story, urges supporters to contact swing vote Assembly Elections Committee Chair Tom Umberg (California Politics Today™ #489)

1-7-06: San Fernando Valley citizens ask their California legislators to support Assemblymember Loni Hancock's Clean Money bill, AB 583 (California Politics Today™ #488)

1-6-06: California Assemblymember Loni Hancock talks about AB 583, the "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act of 2006" (California Politics Today™ #487)

12-21-05: California Clean Money Campaign tries to put the "demos" back in "democracy" (California Politics Today™ #486)

12-15-05: Plaintiffs' attorney Dana Cody discusses setting of February 27, 2006, date for Proposition 71 constitutionality trial (California Politics Today™ #485)

12-14-05: Dr. Evan Snyder, Director of Stem Cell Research at the Burnham Institute, says that the controversy swirling around the South Korean lab of Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk "slows us up" and that the race to be the first to successfully produce customized human stem cells may be on again (California Politics Today™ #484)

12-14-05: Los Angeles City Councilmember Wendy Greuel talks about "Clean Money/Clean Elections" for the second-largest city in the U.S. (California Politics Today™ #483)

12-13-05: Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl talks about "Clean Money/Clean Elections" for the second-largest city in the U.S. (California Politics Today™ #482)

12-9-05: State of California files "Report of Proposed Debt Issuance" for between $18 million and $55 million in "Stem Cell Research & Cures Bond Anticipation Notes"; spokesperson for California State Treasurer Phil Angelides says that "CIRM intends to use the BAN proceeds to fund training grants" only (California Politics Today™ #481)

12-1-05: California Assemblymember Hector De La Torre, author of AB 903, seeks "level-playing field" to benefit cities and customers, while waiting on FCC and Congress, and Verizon and AT&T, to make their next moves (California Politics Today™ #480)

11-30-05: Alameda County Superior Court ruling denying all parties' motions and moving to trial in Proposition 71 case is called "a huge victory" by Dana Cody, anti-Proposition 71 attorney, and "very important progress for the CIRM" by James Harrison, counsel for the CIRM (California Politics Today™ #479)

11-25-05: Dr. Hwang resigns top stem cell job in South Korea after lying about where he got his eggs; head of California's ICOC still in office after blatantly lying about pre-election claims (California Politics Today™ #478)

11-23-05: Bob Klein responds to yesterday's question about the possible "overselling" of Proposition 71 (California Politics Today™ #477)

11-22-05: ICOC's IP Task Force Subcommittee meets at Stanford and decides on principles of interim intellectual property policy (California Politics Today™ #476)

11-18-05: Stem Cell Wars, Volume 2, Chapter 2: Human Egg Farming (California Politics Today™ #475)

11-19-05: Eric Frankel, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution (WBDCD), talks about the In2TV roll-out of legacy television content repurposed for the Internet on AOL (California Politics Today #474/ Entertainment Technology World #37)

11-18-05: California Assemblymember Paul Koretz talks about anti-smoking legislation in California (California Politics Today™ #473)

11-18-05: Brian Perry, Chief Legislative Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine, talks about LA Rx drug discount program (California Politics Today™ #472)

11-17-05: Featured in this month's Vanity Fair, Arianna Huffington and John-Roger discuss their then most-recent books as of April, 1999, and John-Roger calls Arianna "very widely-read [and] very intelligent" (California Politics Today™ #471)

11-17-05: Proposition 71 stem cell quagmire deepens as "egg recruitment" and "cellular vampirism" issues receive heightened scrutiny (California Politics Today™ #470)

11-17-05: Attorneys from both sides talk about today's hearing on Proposition 71's constitutionality at the Hayward Hall of Justice in Alameda County Superior Court (California Politics Today™ #469)

11-16-05: Stanford Law Professor Hank Greely answers some questions about the anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit now pending in Alameda County Superior Court (California Politics Today™ #468)

11-15-05: No ruling on the merits yet, as Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Lewman Sabraw orders contending parties in anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit to appear in her court on Thursday, November 17, 2005, prepared to address some complex legal issues (California Politics Today™ #467)

11-15-05: Oocytes hit the fan as Schatten ends cooperation with Hwang over alleged unethical "egg recruitment" for cloning research (California Politics Today #466/Etopia Media Medical News Network #119)

11-14-05: Saying she's neither clairvoyant nor arrogant enough to predict tomorrow's tentative ruling in her client's anti-Proposition 71 lawsuit, plaintiffs' attorney Dana Cody says there's a 90% chance of an appeal if her side loses (California Politics Today™ #465)

11-11-05: Big surprise! Giant pharmaceutical company sells allegedly dangerous drug (Ortho Evra®), allegedly ignores risks, women die, belated warning issued. Everyone is "shocked, shocked" (California Politics Today #464/Etopia Media Medical News Network #116)

11-10-05: Calling plaintiffs' arguments "extremely weak," Stanford Law Professor Hank Greely predicts victory for California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) after November 17th hearing (California Politics Today™ #463)

11-9-05: Los Angeles County Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding talks about avian influenza ("bird flu") preparedness in the largest county in the U.S. (California Politics Today #462/Etopia Media Medical News Network #115)

11-9-05: Samsung announces convergent products and strategy, including plans to roll out WiBro in 84 Korean cities in the first half of 2006, offering throughput speeds of up to 30 Mbps (California Politics Today #461/ Technology Products World #8)

11-9-05: Attorney General Bill Lockyer asks the court to throw out the "meritless" consolidated reverse invalidation action against Proposition 71 and its offspring, while reminding the court that "the ICOC must insure that the state benefits from patents, royalties and licenses that result from state-financed research" (sort of) (California Politics Today™ #460)

11-7-05: California Treasurer Phil Angelides, in letter to CIRM President, distances himself from Proposition 71 "proponents" and proposes resolving the "tax-exempt bonds vs. returned royalties" problem by selling taxable bonds, which he says may be the "lowest-cost choice" (California Politics Today™ #459)

11-7-05: Robert Feyer, Chief Bond Counsel for the State of California, says he had no contact with State Controller Steve Westly about stem cell financing prior to the November 2, 2004, election; declines any further comment on questions about his conversations with State Treasurer Phil Angelides on this subject (California Politics Today™ #458)

11-5-05: Chiron Corporation fouls up multiple times, is rewarded with key role in global response to possible H5N1 bird flu pandemic, and cashes out, while co-founder repeats discredited Proposition 71 economic promises at legislative hearing (California Politics Today #457/Etopia Media Medical News Network #111)

11-4-05 Tracy Westen, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Center for Governmental Studies (CGS), talks about HealthVote.org, Video Voter, and the possible impact of new technology on the democratic process (California Politics Today™ #456)

11-4-05: John Nicoletti, Public Information Officer for the City of Anaheim, talks about that city's exclusive 20-year municipal broadband wireless deployment agreement with EarthLink (California Politics Today #455/Broadband Wireless Access World #62)

10-31-05: Stem Cell Wars, Volume 2, Chapter 1 (California Politics Today™ #454)

10-31-05: California Assemblymember Dave Jones, Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the "Joint Information Hearing" on the implementation of Proposition 71, talks about today's hearing (California Politics Today™ #453)

10-31-05: "Yes on 78/No on 79" can't help making Freudian slips acknowledging the truth behind their PhRMA-funded campaign (California Politics Today™ #452)

10-31-05: Stanford University says it "is aware of the [CALEA] issue and is researching the impact and appropriate response" (California Politics Today #451/ CALEA World #2

10-30-05: October 25th Chronicle article answers September 19th California Politics Today question about what California State Treasurer Phil Angelides knew about the impossibility of the State of California getting royalty revenues from patents generated with tax-exempt stem cell bond money, and when he knew it (California Politics Today™ #450)

10-29-05: Etopia Media News Networks covers some repeated instances of recent "scam/cover-up/scandal" cycles (California Politics Today™ #449)

10-28-05: PhRMA companies spend some of their $80 million war chest on ads declared "misleading" by non-partisan election watchdog HealthVote.org, while their spokesperson accidentally admits the truth (California Politics Today™ #448)

10-28-05: RFID industry spokesperson Tim Heffernan defends RFID against California State Senator Joe Simitian's SB 768 3-year driver's license RFID moratorium legislation (California Politics Today™ #447)

10-27-05: "Halloween Hearing" in San Francisco on October 31, 2005 will feature testimony about scary Proposition 71 intellectual property (IP) issues (California Politics Today™ #446)

10-26-05: Anna Meyer, Project Manager at Center for Governmental Studies' HealthVote.org, talks about Propositions 73, 78, and 79, on November 8, 2005, California Statewide Special Election ballot (California Politics Today™ #445)

10-23-05: A compilation of Etopia Media News Networks articles about Propositions 78 and 79, and related matters (California Politics Today™ #444)

10-22-05: Dean Fryer, Director of Communications, California Department of Industrial Relations and CAL/OSHA, talks about bi-lingual labor inspectors, a crucial link in California's economic health (California Politics Today™ #443)

10-17-05: "e-stonia" conducts first national Internet election (California Politics Today #442/Etopia Media Voting News #23)

10-5-05: California State Senator Tom McClintock talks about propositions on the November 8, 2005, California Statewide Special Election ballot (California Politics Today™ #441)

10-4-05: ICOC Chair Robert Klein urges efforts to defeat Senator Brownback's anti-chimera bill, while Stanford OKs mouse/human chimera along with plans for "immediately killing any that display human-like behavior" (California Politics Today™ #440)

10-1-05: CyberCIRM launched with webcast of its first scientific meeting; moderator calls stem cell research "a war on disease and it's also a war, I think, on ignorance and anti-science" (California Politics Today™ #439)

9-29-05: The most comprehensive conference ever on the future of stem cell therapeutics is scheduled for October 1-2, 2005, at the Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel in San Francisco and will be webcast (California Politics Today™ #438)

9-28-05: Geoff Joyce, senior economist at RAND Corporation, says of bio-medical breakthroughs, including ones funded by Proposition 71, "generally…many of these technologies are wonderful but they are not cost-reducing." (California Politics Today™ #437)

9-26-05: Susan Clark, project director for the Easy Voter Guide, talks about this electoral aid (California Politics Today™ #436)

9-21-05: Dana Cody, attorney for People's Advocate, reports on court schedule for consideration of the "reverse validation action" lawsuit against Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee (California Politics Today™ #435)

9-20-05: Jesse Reynolds, program director at Center for Genetics and Society, comments on a variety of stem cell-related issues (California Politics Today™ #434)

9-20-05: California State Treasurer Phil Angelides' Director of Communications says there was no communication between state bond counsel and his office "prior to the election" (California Politics Today™ #433)

9-19-05: California taxpayers unlikely to see any cash return on their $6 billion investment in stem cell research under Proposition 71 (California Politics Today™ #432)

9-19-05: Betsy Rosenfeld at CGS talks about Video Voter (California Politics Today™ #431)

9-16-05: California Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology Chair Gene Mullin talks about who should profit from California's investment in embryonic stem cell research (California Politics Today™ #430)

9-16-05: A collection of avian influenza and Tamiflu® articles from 2004 and early 2005 from the Etopia Media Medical News Network web site is published on the occasion of ABC News and President Bush sounding an alarm about avian flu in mid-September, 2005 (California Politics Today™ #429)

9-14-05: Bruce Conklin, associate investigator at the Gladstone Institute, talks about stem cell exhibit at the Exploritorium and CIRM stem cell research training grants (California Politics Today™ #428)

9-13-05: No answers yet about whether Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly knew about "tax-exempt bonds vs. revenues for California" contradiction during their campaign to pass Proposition 71 on these conflicting bases (California Politics Today™ #427)

9-13-05: Stanford's "call for applications from potential trainees" on hold; Childrens Hospital Los Angeles preparing lecture course for stem cell trainees (California Politics Today™ #426)

9-11-05: Names of previously-anonymous recipients of non-existent embryonic stem cell grants revealed; grantees go along with the gag, hoping for more real money later (California Politics Today™ #425)

9-10-05: Proposition 71 stem cell research funding process descends into farce as conflicted ICOC panel members vote on unfunded grants for anonymous recipients (California Politics Today™ #424)

9-10-05: California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) talks about the future of SB 768, formerly SB 682, the RFID-on-mass-documents-moratorium bill (California Politics Today™ #423)

9-10-05: Requiem for "1 million solar roofs" plan, crescendo for "California Electric Sunshine Initiative" (California Politics Today™ #422/ Solar World #9)

9-8-05: Robert Liden, EVP and General Manager at Stirling Energy Systems, talks about SES deal with SDG&E and other solar electricity issues (California Politics Today™ #421/ Solar World #8)

9-5-05: A second look at a Stanford professor's study touting both "tax-free, general obligation state bonds" and "state royalty revenues of from $537 million to $1.1 billion" as reasons to vote for Proposition 71 (California Politics Today™ #420)

9-4-05: Robert Klein, Chair of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee (ICOC) created by Proposition 71 to spend $3/6 billion in California taxpayers' money on embryonic stem cell research, now and then (California Politics Today™ #419)

9-4-05: Stuart Leavenworth, editorialist at the Sacramento Bee, calls for openness in stem cell research funding process (California Politics Today™ #417)

9-3-05: Robert Feyer, lead bond counsel for the State of California, explains the intricacies of the stem cell bond situation (California Politics Today™ #416)

9-1-05: Jerry Flanagan, consumer advocate at Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about LA Rx, Propositions 78 and 79, and political corruption in Sacramento (California Politics Today™ #415)

8-31-05: Denise Davis, spokesperson for Yes on 78/No on 79, inadvertently admits publicly that "78 is a false promise" (California Politics Today™ #414)

8-30-05: hESC "reprogramming" breakthrough at Harvard Medical School; alleged special pleading at the Washington Post; consolidated validation action venue is appealed; ICOC to consider three lawsuits in "closed session" (California Politics Today™ #413)

8-30-05: California Family Bioethics Council seeks a change of venue for consolidated Proposition 71 stem cell research "reverse validation action" from Alameda to Sacramento County (California Politics Today™ #412)

8-30-05: Denise Davis, spokesperson for Yes on 78/No on 79, calls for passage of Proposition 78 and the defeat of Proposition 79 (California Politics Today™ #411)

8-28-05: Stem Cell Wars, Volume 1 (California Politics Today™ #410)

8-26-05: No filings yet from ICOC for any bond, or bond anticipation note, sales (California Politics Today™ #409)

8-25-05: ICOC Chair Robert Klein offers incomplete and misleading comments about human cloning, stem cell research, and bond anticipation notes (California Politics Today™ #408)

8-20-05: South Koreans and associates move ahead on hESC research and commercialization, while U.S. efforts and funding are tied up by California litigation and Congressional vacations (California Politics Today™ #407)

8-17-05: Ren Benjamin, stem cell stock analyst, talks about bio-medical, financial, and political aspects of investing in stem cell stocks (California Politics Today™ #406)

8-16-05: California takes the lead on prescription drugs, RFID on driver's licenses, and celebrity sex scandals (California Politics Today™ #405)

8-16-05: Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Health Access California, urges "Yes on Proposition 79/No on Proposition 78" (California Politics Today™ #404)

8-15-05: Nicole Ozer, Northern California ACLU Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director, talks about SB 682, the RFID bill (California Politics Today™ #403)

8-14-05: Can Governor Schwarzenegger survive yet another tabloid-related scandal stemming from his original cover-up deal with David Pecker and American Media, Inc.? (California Politics Today™ #402)

8-13-05: Governor Schwarzenegger is immune from prosecution for alleged statutory rape violation due to three-year statute of limitations covering alleged 1975 crime; Lt. Governor Bustamante is next in line should he resign or be impeached (California Politics Today™ #401)

8-9-05: Dana Cody comments on the consolidated law suit against Proposition 71's off-spring (California Politics Today™ #400)

8-3-05: California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and AeA/High-Tech Trust Coalition spokesperson Roxanne Gould discuss SB 682 (California Politics Today™ #399)

8-3-05: Motion to consolidate two stem cell cases is granted (California Politics Today™ #398)

8-3-05: Dana Cody updates stem cell lawsuit consolidation proceedings story; calls ICOC Chair Robert Klein "a religious bigot"; says her arguments are constitutionally, not religiously, based (California Politics Today™ #397)

8-1-05: California State Treasurer Phil Angelides' press secretary discusses "bridge funding" of embryonic stem cell research in California (California Politics Today™ #396)

7-30-05: Stem cell chief Robert Klein II hopes to fund first grants in September using a "bridge financing approach"; denounces Proposition 71 opponents' "constitutional arguments as a front for their opposition" (California Politics Today™ #395)

7-29-05: Roxanne Gould, High-Tech Trust Coalition spokesperson, makes the case against SB 682 (California Politics Today™ #394)

7-28-05: Nevada Senator Ensign proposes telecom reform plan including provisions that would negate the "Community Broadband Act of 2005" proposed by Senators Lautenberg and McCain (California Politics Today #393/American Politics Today #38)

7-25-05: California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) updates SB 682 developments, warns of "surveillance by skimming" dangers, says he wants more discussion (California Politics Today™ #392)

7-23-05: California resumes medical marijuana ID card trial (California Politics Today™ #391)

7-21-05: Spokesperson for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and re-districting advocate Ted Costa talk about the court decision to remove Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-districting plan, Proposition 77, from the November, 2005, ballot (California Politics Today™ #390)

7-21-05: California Attorney General seeks to consolidate the lawsuits that "have clouded the marketability" of Proposition 71 bonds to facilitate "a judicial resolution as quickly as possible so that the voters' will can be enforced once and for all" (California Politics Today™ #389)

7-19-05: Bardach expose gains traction while Democrats threaten complaint and hearings in "Consultinatorgate" (California Politics Today™ #388)

7-16-05: Ethical and legal questions remain as Schwarzenegger sends back the money, while Propositionista Ted Costa tries to have it both ways (California Politics Today™ #387)

7-15-05: California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and the State Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) "have no comment" on the specifics of conflict-of-interest investigations involving Governor Schwarzenegger, but the FPPC does have a general statement about such cases (California Politics Today™ #386)

7-15-05: Investigative reporter who broke the story about Governor Schwarzenegger and his tabloid deal says he'll need to cut his ties with American Media, Inc., and may face a conflict-of-interest investigation (California Politics Today™ #385)

7-14-05: Today's Los Angeles Times expose of Governor Schwarzenegger's alleged tabloid-based conflict of interest recalls August 27, 2004, California Politics Today interview with investigative reporter Ann Louise Bardach detailing similar allegations (California Politics Today™ #384)

7-14-05: California Family Bioethics Council files "reverse validation action" to shut down Proposition 71 and all its progeny (California Politics Today™ #383)

7-13-05: California's Attorney General and Secretary of State square off over Proposition 77, the re-districting initiative (California Politics Today™ #382)

7-11-05: California Department of Health Services spokesperson talks about the decision to suspend California's state medical marijuana ID pilot program (California Politics Today™ #381)

7-11-05: Alleged "special interest" attorney discusses pending litigation against California's Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee (ICOC) embryonic stem cell research group (California Politics Today™ #380)

7-11-05: Ted Costa, CEO of People's Advocate, defends Proposition 77's right to be on the November 8, 2005, California Statewide Special Election ballot, while Bill Lockyer, California's Attorney General, explains why it shouldn't be there (California Politics Today™ #379)

7-2-05: Karl Rove outed as source of criminal leak from White House; will Bush fire him? (California Politics Today #378/American Politics Today #36)

6-29-05: AMD spokesperson discusses anti-trust suit against Intel (California Politics Today™ #377)

6-29-05: Tom Cruise's behavior prompts "War of the Worlds" boycott and petition (California Politics Today #376/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #20)

6-28-05: Big advances all along the podcasting front (California Politics Today #375/Podmedia Reports #2)

6-27-05: Ali Partovi, CEO of GarageBand.com, talks about GarageBand's mission and its expansion into music and non-music podcasting (California Politics Today #374/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #19)

6-27-05: Saying he's "horrified but powerless" Brand X President Jim Pickrell comments on U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring cable networks "information services" and not "telecommunications services" (California Politics Today #373/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #18)

6-25-05: Owner of 330 Hardee's restaurants feelings about Paris Hilton car-washing/hamburger-eating commercial: "that's too hot," won't run it (California Politics Today #372/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #17)

6-18-05: With only 9 days to go until the second debut of the Paris Hilton Hardee's® Spicy BBQ Thickburger™ Topped with Texas Toothpicks™ television ad, Brad Haley, EVP at Carl's Jr., talks about the impending launch (California Politics Today #371/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #14)

6-18-05: Only 10 days to go until the launch of the Paris Hilton Hardee's® Spicy BBQ Thickburger™ Topped with Texas Toothpicks™ television ad (California Politics Today #370/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #12)

6-15-05: Possible candidate for Lt. Governor of California in 2006 Mary "Mary Carey" Cook addresses the issues in a 2003 California gubernatorial recall election phone interview (California Politics Today™ #369)

6-13-05: Connie McCormack, Registrar of Voters for Los Angeles County, says the County "will rise to the challenge," of a $10-13 million dollar November, 2005, Special Election, as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tells LA County "to put it on our tab" (California Politics Today™ #368)

6-7-05: Utah Department of Public Safety spokesperson discusses Utah's "Driving Privilege Card" and associated issues (California Politics Today #367/ American Politics Today #29)

6-7-05: Sprint spokesperson discusses PCS Vision's "walled garden" and "open garden" approach to protecting underage cell phone users from pornography (California Politics Today #366/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #11)

6-3-05: Latest on Michael Jackson trial: Jury not deliberating (California Politics Today #365/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #10)

6-4-05: California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), spokespersons for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security discuss high-tech ID card issues (California Politics Today™ #364)

6-3-05: U.S. Department of Homeland Security says "it is too early in the process to discuss the type of technology that may be required" to implement the "common, machine-readable technology" provision of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (California Politics Today #363/ American Politics Today #28)

6-3-05: California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) discusses SB 682, the Identity Information Protection Act of 2005 (California Politics Today™ #362)

6-2-05: EFF attorney explains why the high-tech civil liberties group supports California Senate Bill 682, which would, in most cases, prohibit RFID on California government ID documents (California Politics Today™ #361)

5-28-05: Saying "We simply should not go down the road of using taxpayer dollars to kill young humans," U.S Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) condemns House vote on embryonic stem cell research (California Politics Today #360/ American Politics Today #27)

5-28-05: Rumor surfaces that a "body double," not Paris Hilton, sudsed up and violated a Carl's Jr.'s Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger™ in infamous tv ad (California Politics Today #359/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #9)

5-27-05: Blocked by ClearPlay, posing as the Paris Hilton burger commercial, porn surfaces on underagers' cell phones (California Politics Today #358/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #8)

5-25-05: Anti-Paris Hilton/Carl's Jr. boycott gathers steam, while parodists and critics abound (California Politics Today #357/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #7)

5-25-05: Brad Haley, EVP at Carl's Jr., says company has no plans to pull the Paris Hilton ad, emphasizing that, "at the end of the day, it's just an ad" (California Politics Today #356/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #6)

5-25-05: Dr. Leon Kass, Chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, discusses current issues in cloning and stem cell research (California Politics Today #355/ Etopia Media Medical News Network #79)

5-24-05: Melissa Caldwell, Parents Television Council spokesperson, calls Carl's Jr.'s Paris Hilton ad "a violation of families' trust," but says PTC won't be filing a complaint with the FCC or organizing a boycott against the company (California Politics Today #354/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #5)

5-24-05: Paris Hilton pretends to have sex with a $6 hamburger for money in public while Parents Television Council objects (California Politics Today #353/ Etopia Media Entertainment News Network #4)

5-19-05: Korean team led by Hwang Woo-suk creates 11 lines of human embryonic stem cells from afflicted patients; ethical issues remain (California Politics Today #352/ Etopia Media Medical News Network #70)

5-18-05: Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa elected by 9% of over-18 year olds in the City of Los Angeles (California Politics Today™ #351)

5-17-05: BPL bill passes Texas Senate, BPL operations at merged Duke-Cinergy, BPL Symposium in Long Beach, House Resolution 230 calls for moratorium on BPL deployment pending further review of BPL RFI by FCC and more public comment (California Politics Today #350/ Broadband over Power Line World™ #31)

5-16-05: National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe discusses President Bush's "biodiesel event" and provides biodiesel backgrounder (California Politics Today #349/ Biodiesel World #1)

5-15-05: A bio-medical, ethical and political embryonic stem cell primer (California Politics Today™ #348)

5-11-05: California cannot sell $3 billion in embryonic stem cell research bonds until a lawsuit challenging its right to do so is resolved (California Politics Today™ #347)

5-10-05: U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) thanks the White House and various U.S. Senators for their support of REAL ID Act of 2005 as the U.S. Senate approves it (California Politics Today™ #346/ American Politics Today #16)

5-9-05: LA-Rx program sets timetable for implementing bulk purchasing/drug discount card arrangements (California Politics Today™ #345/ Etopia Media Medical News Network #66)

5-6-05: Jerry Flanagan, consumer advocate at Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about building consumer power through bulk purchasing (California Politics Today™ #344)

5-5-05: Provo, Utah, Mayor Lewis K. Billings, speaking on behalf of the United Telecom Council (UTC) and the American Public Power Association (APPA) tells U.S. House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet that he supports municipal broadband (California Politics Today™ #343/ Broadband over Power Line World™ #30)

5-4-05: Los Angeles City Council adopts "LA-Rx" plan for bulk pharmaceutical purchasing (California Politics Today™ #342/ Etopia Media Medical News Network #65)

5-4-05: Dr. David Adamson, Chairman and CEO of Advanced Reproductive Care, Inc. (ARC), talks about egg donations for embryonic stem cell research (California Politics Today™ #341/ Etopia Media Medical News Network #64)

5-3-05: Bill Aho, CEO, ClearPlay, Inc., talks about his company's DVD filtering technology (California Politics Today™ #340/ Entertainment Technology World #21)

4-29-05: Screen Actors Guild spokesperson supports anti-piracy, but opposes third-party editing, provisions of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 (California Politics Today™ #339)

4-29-05: SBC spokesman says the City of Los Angeles should look before it leaps into Wi-Fi (California Politics Today™ #338)

4-29-05: Directors Guild of America (DGA) takes strong exception to the legalizing of third-party editing of its members' work (California Politics Today™ #337)

4-29-05: Thera Bradshaw, General Manager of the City of Los Angeles' Information Technology Agency (ITA), talks about "Fast & Easy: the Future of WiFi & Beyond in the City of Los Angeles" (California Politics Today™ #336)

4-28-05: Curt Gibbs, Senior Resource Development Officer at the City of Los Angeles' Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), talks about "Fast & Easy: the Future of WiFi & Beyond in the City of Los Angeles" (California Politics Today™ #335)

4-28-05: Morley Winograd, chair of the Los Angeles City WiFi & Beyond Executive Panel, talks about "Fast & Easy: the Future of WiFi & Beyond in the City of Los Angeles" (California Politics Today™ #334)

4-28-05: City of Los Angeles' WiFi & Beyond Executive Panel launches "Fast & Easy: the Future of WiFi & Beyond in the City of Los Angeles (California Politics Today™ #333/ Unwired LA #15)

4-27-05: Jonathan Moreno, co-chair, National Academy of Sciences Embryonic Stem Cell Research Guidelines Committee, talks about these guidelines (California Politics Today™ #332)

4-27-05: Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves, talks about embryonic stem cell research, calls for a moratorium on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) (California Politics Today™ #331)

4-27-05: Richard Doerflinger at United States Conference of Catholic Bishops talks about embryonic stem cell research (California Politics Today™ #330)

4-26-05: Major investor-owned utilities in California comment on their broadband over power line plans (California Politics Today™ #329)

4-25-05: Bill Rosendahl, candidate for Los Angeles City Council in the 11th Council District, talks about the issues in his campaign (California Politics Today™ #328)

4-25-05: Robert Berger, Project Director, Fresh Air Dining Program, talks about the arrival of smoke-free outdoor dining in Los Angeles (California Politics Today™ #327)

4-22-05: California Public Utilities Commissioner Susan Kennedy explains why the FCC and not the states should determine voice-over-IP (VoIP) rules (California Politics Today™ #326)

4-22-05: California State Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) discusses add-ons to Proposition 71 provided by SB 18 and SCA 13 (California Politics Today™ #325)

4-20-05: Embryonic Stem Cell and Human Reproductive Cloning: Resources, Arguments For and Arguments Against (California Politics Today™ #323)

4-19-05: David Fink, spokesperson for Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about prescription drug initiatives for California, including "Cal Rx" (California Politics Today™ #322)

4-19-05: Same, but different, controversies rage around embryonic stem cell research in Australia/Tasmania and the U.S. (California Politics Today™ #321)

4-18-05: Betty Poirier, Massachusetts State Representative, discusses the possible exploitation of women as "egg farms" for embryonic stem cell research and treatments (California Politics Today™ #320)

4-17-05: Fears of "female human egg farming" grow, while local, national, and global battles over human cloning rage (California Politics Today™ #319)

4-16-05: A remotely-recorded video of Jim Pickrell, President, Brand X, discussing Brand X v. FCC, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding ISP access to cable networks (California Politics Today™ #318)

4-15-05: Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association, talks about "Cal Rx" (California Politics Today™ #317)

4-14-05: Kristine Yahn, Executive Director of Californians for Patient Care, discusses "Cal Rx" (California Politics Today™ #316)

4-14-05: President Bush "strongly endorses Senator Brownback's bill, S. 658, which would ban the practice of human cloning" (California Politics Today™ #315)

4-12-05: Major drug companies launch multi-media "Cal Rx" initiative campaign (California Politics Today™ #314)

4-9-05: S. 658, U.S. Senator Sam Brownback's bill to ban "therapeutic" as well as "reproductive" human cloning, will be opposed by organizational clone of Proposition 71 campaign committee (California Politics Today™ #313)

4-6-05: Attorney and Plaintiff in anti-ICOC suit explain their case (California Politics Today™ #312)

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