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On 2nd try, gov's donor cashes in
By DAVE MCKINNEY, Chicago Sun-Times

Springfield, Illinois, August 28, 2006 -- How does someone who lost a $250,000 state consulting gig -- apparently for doing no work -- get a $900,000 no-bid contract a few months later from Gov. Blagojevich's administration? That was the good fortune of Chicago lawyer Myron "Mike" Cherry, a major Blagojevich donor who is the main protagonist in yet another story of clout and big money in state government.

Angry voters throw out their imperial governor
 By the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, California, August 28, 2006Political forecasters looking for cutting-edge national trends      shouldn't read too much into Alaska Gov. Frank H. Murkowski's decisive defeat in that state's Republican primary last week. The message voters delivered was as timeless as it was bipartisan. He made them mad, so they dumped him.

Republicans give Murkowski the boot
Governor receives only 19 percent of vote, finishes third

Anchorage, Alaska, August 23, 2006 -- Sarah Palin, former Wasilla mayor and mother of four, was the clear choice of Alaska Republican voters to be their nominee for governor in the November election.

By late Tuesday night, Palin had won 51 percent of votes cast in the Republican primary, Fairbanks businessman John Binkley received 30 percent of the votes and Gov. Frank Murkowski about 19 percent.

Democratic candidate and former Gov. Tony Knowles will likely be her challenger in the fall. He was leading his primary race with 60 percent votes cast.

In the hotly contested Republican race, candidates claimed to be the best person to negotiate a deal to build a $25 billion natural gas pipeline.

Before Tuesday's election, Murkowski had the second-lowest approval ratings of all governors in the nation. Despite last-minute campaign ads candidly addressing his slip in popularity, the former U.S. senator was unable win back voters who supported him in 2002.

Nevada Primary Election update -- Titus, Gibbons to face off in November to replace Guinn

Reno Nevada, August 16, 2006 -- State Sen. Dina Titus was one of the big winners in Tuesday's Democratic primary. Titus defeated her opponent by nearly 20 percentage points and will face Republican Jim Gibbons in November.

Republican Jim Gibbons, a congressman from Reno, won in a landslide with 48 percent of the Republican vote. State Sen. Bob Beers took 29 percent, while Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt managed just 18 percent.

There hadn't been competitive races on both sides of the gubernatorial primary in Nevada in more than a decade.

Turnout in Clark County was slightly up from previous years, with 27 percent of registered voters casting ballots. Primary turnout in recent years has been about 25 percent.

Nevada's 2nd CD race to close to call

Reno, Nevada, August 16, 2006 -- Reno Assemblywoman Sharron Angle and Secretary of State Dean Heller took turns leading as ballots were counted in Tuesday's too-close-to-call race in the Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District. They were running to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, who won the Republican nomination for governor in Tuesday's primary.

No surprises in Nevada's 3rd CD

Reno, Nevada, August 16, 2006 -- Tessa Hafen won the Democratic primary for Nevada's 3rd Congressional District as expected on Tuesday.

With 100 percent of votes counted Tuesday night, Hafen, a former aide to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had 58 percent of the vote, more than 42 points ahead of her closest opponent.

Hafen will take on Republican Rep. Jon Porter in November.

Republicans pass tax bill in Juneau -- special session adjourns

Juneau Alaska, August 11, 2006 -- The Alaska Legislature passed oil and gas tax bill in the waning hours of the special session.

The bill is Alaska's biggest tax law rewrite in decades, and it will have significant implications for developing the state's 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

If the Legislature had failed to pass the production tax bill for the third time this year, Gov. Frank Murkowski would have brought lawmakers back for another special session beginning today. It would have been the year's third special session.

John Manly, the governor's spokesman, said although the bill that passed included a higher tax than he had proposed, Murkowski didn't plan to veto it.

Murkowski is negotiating a financial deal with the state's largest oil companies -- BP PLC, Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. -- that is meant to make constructing a $20 billion gas pipeline to Canada attractive.

The three companies negotiating the contract are the state's largest oil producers, lease the rights to the North Slope's gas reserves and would own the pipeline jointly with the state.

The tax bill would set a base tax rate of 22.5 percent of companies' profits from their Alaska operations. That tax rate would rise by .25 percent for every $1 rise in the price of oil above $55 per barrel.

At current prices, the tax rate would be about 28 percent of companies' profits.

The companies would be able to claim credits and deductions in the tax bill and use them to partially pay for developing natural gas facilities and infrastructure on the North Slope.

Proponents of the plan say the tax is expected to bring Alaska $2.4 billion this year when oil is $60 per barrel, according to state Department of Revenue estimates. That is $1.3 billion more than the state's production tax takes in now at similar prices.

GAO report on BORDER SECURITY

Sacramento, CA, August, 2, 2006 -- The following GAO report is interesting in its conclusion.  A link to the report, just released today, is below.

WPR Editor's note: Our assessment is that lax border controls can only exacerbate the cigarette smuggling problem that we continue to see in this high tax environment.  With the prospect of dramatically increased excise taxes in CA in 2007, and the implementation of Texas’ $10/carton hike also in 2007, it would not be surprising to see a dramatic increase in contraband moving across both the northern and southern borders.

Click here:  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06976t.pdf

Continued Weaknesses in Screening Entrants into the United States
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Summary:  The results of our current work indicate that (1) CBP officers at the nine land border crossings tested did not detect the counterfeit identification we used and (2) people who enter the United States via land crossings are not always asked to present identification.

Furthermore, our periodic tests since 2002 clearly show that CBP officers are unable to effectively identify counterfeit driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and other documents.

This vulnerability potentially allows terrorists or others involved in criminal activity to pass freely into the United States from Canada or Mexico with little or no chance of being detected.

It will be critical that the new initiative requiring travelers within the Western Hemisphere to present passports or other accepted documents to enter the United States address the vulnerabilities shown by our work.

Oil Severance Tax in trouble?

Sacramento, CA, August 2, 2006 -- The American Lung Association is touting the latest Field Poll which shows Prop. 87, a draconian gasoline tax, as an indication that the measure is doing well.

WesternPR.com insiders suggest that at 52 to 31 lead in the notoriously leftist Field Poll is not much more than a sop to the environmental community.

One consultant put it this way, "This initiative has got issues..."

Donation squabble in Sacramento

Sacramento, CA, August 2, 2006 -- Governor Schwarzenegger's political lawyer, Tom Hiltachk, is on the record now bashing Phil Angelides for 'questionable fundraising practices.'

Since Team Schwarzenegger has decided not to 'blow up to boxes' after all we'd suggest they let sleeping dogs lie.

Our sources on the Angelides side tell us that "no-one's fundraising activities will get more scrutiny this fall than Governor Schwarzenegger's."

Cigarette thieves strike Albertson's
Lakewood grocery targeted in unusual crime
By Tracy Manzer, Staff writer
Long Beach Press-Telegram, August 2, 2006

LAKEWOOD - Perhaps the steep price of cigarettes was the motive behind a blatant robbery at a local grocery store early Tuesday.

Employees at Albertson's, 3400 South St., were stocking shelves in the closed supermarket around 1:20 a.m. when four thieves pried open the store's locked front doors, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Chris Marks of the Lakewood Sheriff's Station.

The men, who were described as black males between the ages of 18 and 20, laid out a blanket on the floor and, after smashing a glass case, began laying out thousands of dollars worth of cigarette boxes on the blanket, Marks said.

They then bundled up the blanket and left, calmly walking past several employees who had come to the front of the store after hearing the commotion.

Authorities estimated the group took between $6,000 and $7,000 worth of cigarettes, said Lt. Rod Armalin.

At one point, the employees yelled out for the thieves to stop and began to follow them out of the front door. The clerks retreated after one of the suspects pulled out a pair of bolt cutters and chased them back into the business, Marks said.

The robbers were last seen driving off in two cars - a silver sedan and a white sedan, he said.

WPR Editor's note... One can only shudder when thinking about what hardened criminals will do if the price of a carton of cigarettes goes up an additional $26 in California.

Texans take note, your tax is not far behind…

It didn't take long to find the follow-up story:

Bandits rob Novato cigarette shop
By Gary Klien
Marin Independent Journal, August 2, 2006

Three men robbed a Novato convenience store of five cases of cigarettes Tuesday and assaulted the clerk, police said.

The robbery occurred at 11 a.m. at Discount Cigarettes at 2055 Novato Blvd. One of the three men claimed to have a gun, although the clerk did not see one.

The men assaulted the clerk and stole the cigarettes, fleeing in a dark red or brown Volvo sedan, said Novato police Sgt. Mike Howard. A detailed description of the suspects was not available.

The clerk suffered minor injuries but did not require immediate medical treatment. The cigarette store remained open after the robbery.

A store employee estimated the value of the cigarettes at $4,000 to $5,000. There are typically 10 packs of cigarettes in a carton and 30 cartons in a case.

Initiatives on ballot add up to $1 billion
County adds open-space measure to the hefty list
By Leigh Dethman, Deseret Morning News

Salt Lake City, Utah, August 2, 2006 -- The Salt Lake County Council added another $48 million initiative to the November ballot Tuesday — for a bond that would pay to snap up land for parks, trails and other open space before development takes over all the pristine spots.

Add that to $895 million for TRAX expansion and another $63 million for zoo, arts and parks projects, and it brings the grand total of projects on the ballot to $1 billion. If voters approve all three initiatives, property taxes on a $200,000 home would jump by $133 per year.

Those kind of numbers could cause a bad case of "voter fatigue," several members of the council said Tuesday. With that, every initiative likely won't pass, Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said.

Idaho returning for a special session to reduce property taxes -- raise sales taxes

Boise Idaho, August 1, 2006 -- Governor Jim Risch is calling legislators to return to Boise August 25 for a special session on property tax relief.

In the call, the Governor cites the following:

• Removing the 3-mil maintenance and operations levy, to reduce property taxes statewide by $260 million;

• Adding one-cent to the sales tax to bring in $210 million annually;

• A net overall reduction in taxes is $50 million.

The one-cent sales tax increase would be effective October 1 if passed by the special session of the Idaho Legislature.

The governor wants to use $50 million of the surplus to make up the difference between the property tax cut and the sales tax increase. He would also transfer $100 million to an education “rainy day” savings account to protect education funding from any future economic downturn. The state’s fiscal year ended with just over $200 million more in the bank than projected.

The proposal also includes an advisory vote on the November 2006 ballot.

Senate Race Glows With Nuclear Attack On Nelson
From Nebraska StatePaper.com

Lincoln, Nebraska, August 1, 2006 -- The GOP has opted for the nuclear option in an effort to unseat incumbent Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson.

It was always a matter of when the nuclear card would be played. Republicans long ago made clear they would hammer Nelson with criticism for his refusal as governor to let a multi-state compact build a nuclear dump in rural Nebraska.

A full-age ad in the Omaha World-Herald criticized Nelson. The weekend ad was intended to benefit Republican Pete Ricketts, the Omaha businessman opposing Nelson’s bid for a second Senate term.

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