I'm posting a bounty for any and all City Hall costume pictures sent my way.

A bounty of delicious candy. Full-size for department heads and up.

Posted by Todd at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From this day on, the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish. Silence! In addition to that, all citizens will be required to change their underwear every half-hour. Underwear will be worn on the outside so we can check. Furthermore, all children under 16 years old are now... 16 years old!

What laws would you make? Assemblyman Mike Eng wants to know:

ASSEMBLYMEMBER MIKE ENG TO LAUNCH FIRST ANNUAL “THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW” CONTEST

El Monte, CA – Assemblymember Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) will be introducing the first annual “There Ought To Be a Law” Contest at a press conference scheduled for Thursday, November 8, 2007, at 10:00am. The press conference will take place at his District Office in the city of El Monte and will feature members of the community who support this program.

The “There Ought To Be a Law” Contest is a creative effort to engage more constituents in the legislative process. Specifically, it encourages constituents of the 49th Assembly District to submit a legislative idea by no later than December 14th. The winner of the contest will have her/his bill idea introduced in the 2008 legislative session, have the opportunity to travel to Sacramento to testify in support of the bill in a committee hearing, receive a tour of the State Capitol, and have lunch with Assemblymember Eng.

“Everyone at some point in time comes up with a great idea for a new law,” stated Assemblymember Eng. “What’s great about this contest is that it will actually help someone take that idea and turn it into a bill and possibly a new law.”

Who: Assemblymember Mike Eng
What : “There Ought To Be a Law” Contest
Where: District Office of Assemblymember Mike Eng
9420 Telstar Avenue, Suite 103
El Monte, CA 91731
When: Thursday, November 8, 2007, at 10:00AM
Parking: Available on site
Contact: Diana Quach (916) 319-2049 or visit our website: www.assembly.ca.gov/eng

Posted by Todd at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Updated the web with the outcome of Monday's special meeting on the Rose Parade controversy.

Council was unanimous in supporting the concept of human rights, but disagreed onwhether China should be singled out after hearing a couple hours of testimony on that country's rights abuses.

Of using our relationship with Beijing to communicate a stance on human rights, Councilwoman Margaret McAustin said last night they should "be mindful of the fact we don't want to appear to be hitting them over the head in a negative way."

Here's the U.N.'s "universal declaration" they agreed to endorse.

Thorny issue prompts 'generic' statement from council
By Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/29/2007 11:11:37 PM PDT

• PDF: Human Rights Commission recommendations
reports on the Beijing float
PASADENA - A Catholic monk's withered arm, deformed from what was described as years of torture, only compounded the City Council's unease Monday night as it considered a response to wide-ranging complaints over China's participation in the 2008 Rose Parade.

Thrust into the spotlight by a local controversy that has grown into a referendum on China's suitability as Olympic host, the council resembled an international court as the dozens of speakers lined up to deliver testimony on the balance of that nation's past and current abuses.

Read the full post for the rest of the story.

Some were present to support the Beijing Olympic float, an idea years in the making with the help of the city's own Sister City Committee and Mayor Bill Bogaard, designed to celebrate the spirit of the Olympic Games.

Ultimately the council agreed to endorse a 60-year-old "universal declaration" of human rights from the United Nations to be sent to federal officials and all of Pasadena's sister cities, including one at the heart of the debate -- Xicheng, a Beijing district.

No action was taken regarding the float itself.

Float supporters were eclipsed by a vocal majority, from local residents to international human rights organizations, which used the phalanx of cameras and media coverage to declare China had broken its promises to clean up its act with respect to human rights.

"It's symbolic," said Bob McCloskey, a local labor union activist. "The Olympics are going to happen, but they made commitments to improve human rights and they haven't."

McCloskey added imprisonment and abuse of workers to the balance of religious persecution, trafficking in human body parts, complicity in abuses in Sudan and Burma, quashing dissent, jailing journalists and more.

In a striking piece of visual testimony, Rev. Peter Zhou Bangjiu held high his emaciated arm he said was the result of years of torture and abuse because he wouldn't comply with the Communist Party's directives about how he practiced Roman Catholicism.

Bogaard said he thoughtfully weighed calls for his recusal from the discussion but said he was confident in his ability to be fair. As for those critical of China's rights record, the mayor added he respected "their right to have those views" but again strenously avoided making any statements which could be perceived as critical of China. After the meeting, he again declined to comment on China's record.

First to speak was Kenneth Hardy, the chairman of the advisory board whose report was before the council. The council delivered high praise for the report but rejected most of its recommendations.

Making a pre-emptive move against the argument that the debate was too big or exceeded the bounds of the City Council, Hardy cited examples when the city took positions on external matters and called attention to the mayor and Sister City Commission's role in making the float happen.

"By having the sister city relationship itself, the city has already decided to step outside of its borders," he said, adding that the commission was struck by float supporters' "profound lack of sensitivity to their fellow Chinese" who have complained.

Hardy also alluded to a parallel between Beijing today and Berlin in 1936 when Adolf Hitler presided over the Olympic Games.

Providing counterpoint, Sister City Chairman Fred Alcantar said his group was part of promoting human rights but discouraged the council from taking action he considered out of its jurisdiction.

"We don't believe the remedy should come from the local level," he said.

That point was raised most directly by District 6 Councilman Steve Madison:

"I don't believe I was elected by my constituents to express opinions on international matters."

Just as the council didn't issue a resolution condemning Al Qaida for Sept. 11, Madison said, weighing in on the issue would open the door for Pasadena to be asked to address any number of perceived unjustices. "We don't have a sister city relationship with Al Qaida," said Councilman Chris Holden in response. "We do have one with China."

There was unanimous consensus to support the concept of human rights, but the council hesitated when it came to applying that to China specifically.

Councilmembers Victor Gordo, Chris Holden and Jacque Robinson favored a more direct statement designed for China.

"If they come back and say we have a problem with your view of human rights, then we'll have to re-evaluate wheter that city is the right fit for Pasadena," Gordo said.

Gordo accepted the idea of including a letter that said the resolution came in response to "allegations of human rights abuses" by China, but Holden urged the council to focus on the matter at hand.

Saying they'd "side-stepped the whole issue of the float," he suggested sending a specific statement to China, which only Councilwoman Jacque Robinson supported.

As the meeting adjourned, Ann Lau, president of the human rights group Visual Artists Guild, held up a drawing she made of a chicken.

The cost of the Beijing Olympic float, estimated at $400,000, was split between Avery Dennison Corp. and an association of Chinese-American organizations, at least one of which was created by the Chinese Government.

todd.ruiz@sgvn.com

(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444

www.insidesocal.com/pasadenapolitics

Posted by Todd at 2:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)