UPDATED: Wayne writes to say he's nominated Rene Amy, Esquire to stand in for him. Will Secret Service be available?

As per Janette's story, here's the message disseminated by Wayne Lusvardi re: declining to accept the Thorny Rose in person:

This is to inform you, after some further thought following our phone conversation, that I have decided to decline participation in the Doo-Dah Parade as the recipient of the Thorny Rose award.

Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG), of which I am chairman, is a serious citizens organization which intends to continue with the scrutiny of taxes and public policies in Pasadena in the same vein as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assocation (which now has broad support across the political spectrum). As Chairman I do not want CRG type cast as an unserious organization or some wacky conservative group forever in the eyes of the public and the media. CRG must build coalitions if it is to be viable. CRG is for responsible government, not foolishly for no government or for some disrespected version of "conservative" government. I do not want CRG's public "brand" in the media to be forever as the village idiots who should be marginalized to the freak show of a counter cultural parade.

CRG was taken to court in Demember 2007 by the City Clerk for "over-the-top" statements in its Rebuttal to the City of Pasadena's Argument for Measure D -the Internet Tax - and the Superior Court struck all of the statements challenged by the City. I don't want CRG to be discredited again like that in the eyes of the public. Fortunately, both the City of Pasadena and the Court did not dispute the wording in our ballot Rebuttal that Measure D is an Internet tax that will have no effect on public services.

The contest over Measure D is merely a dispute over whether the City should tax the Internet and how much budget surplus the City should have, not a dispute over funding for essential public services.

The Doo Dah Parade is way past its hey day of the counter cultural movements of the 1970's. The scheduling of the parade on a Sunday morning is a cultural statement in itself. I would rather make my own cultural statement on that morning by not participating in the parade and attending religious services.

I realize that this may not change your decision to tap me for the award. I have no opposition, nor do I have any control over, you going down your Thorny Rose nominee list and having someone else participate in the Parade; or, as you suggested, substituting a costumed person in my place or whatever.

There are some of us who more quietly march to the beat of a different Parade drummer than that of the Doo Dah Parade. I realize I run the risk of being duped a "spoiled sport" but I hope the media and the community will at least respect my decision.

Thank you.
Wayne Lusvardi
Chairman
Citizens for Responsible Government

Posted by Todd at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (140)

Hugh Hoyland is angry.

In fact, the Monrovian could be one of the angriest men in the San Gabriel Valley. For decades, no one has listened to his simply presented evidence of greater truths. In fact, many reasonable, yet timid, minds have turned their backs on what is irrefutably the most important issue of the human race.

Much to Hugh's abiding dismay and disapprobation.

On Tuesday, Hugh threw wide the newsroom door, shouted something incoherent (except for the word "myopic") and stormed out.

Long before I worked for the Star-News, stories of the infamous "Mars Man" reached me via my JPLer father and the odd media account. The Mars Man would stand in front of the lab and show up at various events with his placards mounted with photos of the Mars Face and other irrefutable evidence of Little Green Men.

So it was something of a personal treat when Hugh Hoyland camped out in front of the newsroom for 10 days or so last year. He never articulated the purpose of his silent stand, but it seemed a safe assumption that he was sending a message to science reporter Elise Kleeman that her shilling for the corporate-space-Martian-government complex's lies were not going unnoticed.

I wanted to believe, until I walked out to speak to Hugh. Insisting that I wasn't getting close enough to see the truth of his pixelated images, Hugh began screaming when I made a terrible mistake. I smiled at him.

"Laughing? Laughing?!! Just get away from me!" Hugh screamed.

In the ensuing months, Hugh has taken to sending all sorts of affectionate messages to Elise, including the above amiable sentiment.

Posted by Todd at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino dispatches his response to the governor's State of the State Address yesterday:

“In what is widely considered to one of the worst fiscal crisis’ our state has ever faced, I am extremely disappointed the Governor did not call for the elimination of exorbitant pay raises given to UC and CSU executives. Many vulnerable segments of our population have been asked to bear the budget burden year after year, yet these unaccountable executives who run our public universities continue to vote themselves lavish pay increases despite the state’s economic downturn. Before we turn to students, the blind, aged, and disabled to bridge our budget shortfall, we should demand the Governor freeze the salaries of his appointees making hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.”

In October Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1413, which would have required the CSU Board of Trustees "to approve all executive contracts in public session, revealing all benefits, not just salary and housing."

Posted by Todd at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)