Too bad they don't come up with an annoying noise to keep away the telemarketers. LOL

OT- Calif. politics. This ok with the board? I started getting these E-mails after sending some E-mails to the Legislature on some bills up for consideration. (is this your guy Datarox?)

MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM
By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
July 7, 2003

BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A NICKEL?
Over the last four or five months, some of my Democrat friends have
been complaining that, since 1997, Californians have received $26 billion in
tax breaks, which, they claim, is almost equal to our budget problem. They
add wistfully that if the legislature had not cut taxes, the state would not
have a budget problem.
Except the fact is that the total yearly amount of those tax rate
reductions cost state government only about $5 billion per year (assuming
that letting you keep your money costs government anything). These math
wizards get the $26 billion number by adding up the tax saving you got each
year one on top of the other to get the $26 billion number. Using that
logic, California state government has spent $148.6 billion more since 1997.
What do you think caused the $26 billion per year deficits? $26 billion
total in tax cuts or $148.6 billion total in spending increases? Or, to
compare apples to apples-what do you think caused our $8 billion per year
overspending problem--$5 billion in tax cuts or $20 billion in spending
increases?
Now-I understand that in the new, new math that my more liberal
friends want to teach in schools, kids won't be required to do simple
calculation drills, like 20 minus 5 is 15, which means that we have spent
$15 billion a year more in expanded government programs than we have in
letting people keep the money they earn. Our school system is going to
teach our children mathematical concepts. Well, here is a concept-20 is
four times bigger than five. How about this one? An $8 billion deficit
cannot be caused by $5 billion in tax cuts, because 8 is bigger than 5, even
in the new, new, new math.
Recently, the new Superintendent of Public Instruction proposed
getting rid of the high school exit exam, an exam that would make sure that
the school system, which eats up over $50 billion of the money we spend, is
actually teaching kids basic math skills (among other things). The
Superintendent is essentially saying he doesn't care if the schools are
doing their job or not, and we should just let the kids go into the world
without proving that they have ninth grade math skills.
I am not a conspiracy theory kind of guy. But, if the children we
are graduating today don't have basic math skills, they would never figure
out that the Democrats are lying to them about the budget numbers. Is
eliminating the test a coincidence, or a conspiracy-you decide?
I can compare mathematical apples and oranges to make my point just
as easily as they can: The Democrat's recent budget proposal increases
state spending over last year by $2 billion. To do that, they want to raise
your car tax by at least $500 in many families. The Republican's recent
budget proposal asks the largest government in state history to give up just
one nickel of every dollar it spent last year. Five cents v. Five Hundred
dollars. Even after this nickel reduction, most of the programs in this
state will still be bigger than they were in 1998, when Gray Davis took over
as Governor.
If I had my way, I'd take a dime out of every program's dollar.
Even at this rate, most programs would still be larger than they were in
1998. There is at least a dime's worth of fraud, abuse and waste in most
government programs, but, in the spirit of compromise, I'll settle on a
nickel, as will just about all my Republican colleagues. It is better than
raising taxes on drivers by $500. Anyone can figure that one out, even if
they can't pass the high school exit exam.

******************************

The Anti-Business Climate Heats Up
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=46062
07-01-03

Even as California's state government lunges toward a fiscal meltdown, the
Legislature's most liberal members are still calling for an ever-increasing
amount of government spending and punitive anti-business policies that will
cause more businesses to leave the state. That doesn't bother high-ranking
legislators such as Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Sylmar, who recently told a
Sacramento weekly newspaper: "You can't blow off California. If a few
companies want to go and rip off some other state, that's fine with me."

******************************

Taxpayer Group Files Suit Over Vehicle Fee
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/6216887.htm
07-02-03

Anti-tax advocates made good on their threat Tuesday and legally challenged
an increase in the state's vehicle license fees scheduled to take effect
Oct. 1. The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court by the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association, alleges that the hike in what is often called
California's car tax is unconstitutional because it was not approved by
two-thirds of the state Legislature. The action irked local officials, who
see the fee increase as one way to safeguard vital revenues for local
governments, and raised the specter that the solution to California's budget
crisis could partly be determined by a judge.

******************************

Higher Sales Tax Could Cost Jobs
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/6225866.htm
07-03-03

The higher sales taxes that are seen as one cure for California's budget
ailments could unleash a host of plagues, including thousands of lost jobs
and slumping retail sales, according to economic studies by two state
agencies. Even worse, these unwelcome side effects would come at a time when
California's economy is already mired in recession. As Democrats and
Republicans negotiate a solution to the state's budget woes, one plan that
seems to surface with regularity is the notion of raising the statewide
sales tax, despite adamant Republican opposition to any tax increase.

******************************

State's Crime Rate Up 2.4% In 2002
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E1865%257E1490035,00.html
07-02-03

California's overall crime rate increased 2.4 percent in 2002 compared to
2001, with a decrease in violent crimes offset by an increase in property
crimes, Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced Tuesday. Violent crimes --
homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- decreased 2.7
percent statewide from 2001 to 2002, while property crimes -- burglary and
car theft -- rose 4.9 percent. Lockyer tried to put the situation in
perspective by noting that California's violent crime rate was 33.6 percent
lower in 2002 than it was in 1980, when crime here reached its historic
peak.

******************************

New Housing Law
http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21479~1487090,00.html
07-01-03

Housing too expensive? The politicians in Sacramento want to fix that, just
like they're fixing the state's budget problems: Ignore the cost and pass
another law. The latest legislative fix is SB 178, which aims to provide
more affordable housing by mandating it. This bill would do away with a
voluntary approach to providing low-priced housing in new developments. What
would happen if a new development didn't make economic sense when low-priced
units are factored in? That's easy: It wouldn't get built.

******************************

Supporters Of Recall Prepared To Sue State
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/6209066.htm
07-01-03

Leaders of the landmark campaign to oust Gov. Gray Davis threatened Monday
to sue California's elections chief in a roiling spat that could determine
when a recall vote is held. After weeks of behind-the-scenes haggling, the
Recall Gray Davis Committee said it is ready to take the issue to court
unless Secretary of State Kevin Shelley backs away from a controversial
decision that allows county elections officials to take a go-slow approach
to qualifying the measure for the ballot.

******************************

Charter Power
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20951~1488852,00.html
07-02-03

A new study confirms what those paying attention have long known: California
charter schools perform every bit as well as their traditional public school
counterparts. They also do it with far fewer resources, but then, they have
to. That's because both in Sacramento and in Los Angeles, the education
establishment continually leverages its mighty power to thwart the charter
movement. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, charter schools find
themselves besieged when it comes to applying for their charters, obtaining
funding or remaining free from district micromanagement.

******************************

Identity Theft Is Target Of New Laws
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/6955421p-7904619c.html
07-01-03

Californians possess several new weapons in their fight against identity
theft starting today -- laws aimed at deterring the crime and helping
consumers cope if they are victimized. In the most far-reaching of the three
measures, state agencies and businesses operating in California would have
to disclose to consumers any breach in computerized credit data, such as
credit card or Social Security numbers.The other laws give victims access to
free monthly credit reports for one year and place new controls on issuance
of two crucial documents, birth and death records.

******************************
Full legislative text, analyses and votes are available on the State web
server at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov

Assemblyman Haynes' office can be reached at (909) 699-1113 in Temecula
or in the Capitol at (916) 319-2066
To subscribe to this Memorandum by e-mail, please send a request to:
Assemblymember.Haynes@assembly.ca.gov
To Contact State Senators:
http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp
To Contact State Assemblymembers:
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7text.htm
Redistribution or reproduction of this Memorandum with attribution
is permitted and encouraged!
To be removed from this distribution, reply: "remove."

zamia- reposting your message from the RB board.
"strickly, are you here? I;m in
jailhouse on Hub, no idea why. I speak
nicely.
looks like we are going for good earnings, judging on surging stock!
regards
zamiaa "

pajaso- you got it right! Reluctant to post that e-mail on this board but I know many of us here are in So. Cal. and might be interested since we don't hear much about the political process until something objectionable has quietly been passed.

Hmm- that's a good question. At least we won't have trouble finding a governor for SO. Cal. Plenty of actors in Hollywoody.

OT- of California interest:MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM
By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
June 30, 2003

Pull My Trigger. . .

There has been much discussion, wailing and gnashing of teeth in
California in recent months as taxpayers learn about the decision to triple
our car tax. Every bit as maddening as the increase itself (a $20,000
vehicle's tax will roughly go from $150 to $450) is the sneaky, underhanded
way that the majority party is doing it.
Back in February, Speaker Herb Wesson was willing to do it the
semi-honest way. While they claimed they only needed a simple majority to
triple the tax, instead of the 2/3 vote the state constitution requires,
they did require most of their members to put their votes on the line and
tried to force the Governor to take a position on the issue. Governor
Doubletalk was too tricky to fall for that, though. He publicly proclaimed
that the bill was unnecessary and that he would not sign it. A victory for
taxpayers? Not quite. He simultaneously sent a letter to the Speaker
telling him that the alchemists in his legal office had cooked up a scheme
to increase the car tax without anyone being held responsible for it.
The "trigger" was born. Described by some as "immaculate taxation",
the idea behind it was that when the legislation that cut the car tax was
passed, a little known (and totally un-debated) provision was inserted that
allowed the tax to be increased automatically in the future if we ever ran
out of money. Nobody would have to vote for it, nobody would have to
support it, it would just magically be triggered when we reached a certain
financial state.
The beauty of this tax increase is that it apparently pulls its own
trigger! In a further feat of unaccountability, the Governor's lawyers
decided that the person who could decide that we were officially out of
money could be his un-elected (and therefore unaccountable) Finance
Director. Even he wouldn't actually increase the tax, he would merely
mutter the magic words "We're broke!" and somewhere under the silk scarf,
the trigger would be pulled and the car tax would triple itself.
This whole scene explains a lot about the liberals in Sacramento.
It certainly explains some of their firearms-phobia. If they truly believe
that triggers can pull themselves without anybody else being held
responsible, it is no wonder they have such an irrational fear of guns. It
also explains why they have been so reluctant for so long to punish those
who actually mis-use guns. After all, it wasn't their fault, the trigger
pulled itself!!!
I'm not a shooter myself, but I was given a blackpowder revolver for
my support of the right to self-defense, and I keep it in a framed box
behind my desk. I'd heard a lot of bad things about guns, so I wanted to
keep it where I could see it. I can report that after five years of
watching that thing, the trigger has yet to pull itself. I've talked to
others on my staff who own more guns than I do, and they are quite insistent
that none of their guns have ever pulled their own triggers, either. In
fact, it appears that somebody is directly responsible for every trigger
that is pulled, whether intentionally or accidentally.
Somebody is responsible for pulling the car tax trigger, too. The
attorney's hired by the Republican caucus have told us that the tax increase
cannot be triggered in this way. We have already prepared the lawsuit to
prevent this illegal tax increase the day it goes into effect. We have also
identified who is responsible for pulling this trigger. According to the
newspapers, the Governor who was responsible for pulling the car tax trigger
(and inventing the whole crazy concept) may well be punished for his
negligent discharge, just as someone who negligently causes damage with a
firearm would be.
By November we may have a new Governor who will take responsibility
for what he is doing and will put the car tax and its revenues back where it
belongs-out of the hands of the Sacramento spending lobby and back into the
pockets of California's taxpayers.

******************************
'Lean, Not Mean' Indeed
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/6165339.htm
06-25-03
Democrats in the state Senate floated a budget proposal on Tuesday.
Republicans sank it. Democrats will blame Republicans' anti-tax torpedos,
but this budget wasn't seaworthy. It didn't cut nearly enough expenses to
get state spending in line with a realistic projection of future revenues.
Republicans have said they will accept no tax increases. Democrats proposed
a half-cent increase in the sales tax. But the sales tax wasn't what was
wrong with the Democratic proposal. John Burton, the Democratic leader in
the Senate, called the budget ``lean not mean.'' Indeed. It was so un-mean
that people who receive a welfare supplement to their Social Security
payment would get a cost-of-living increase.

******************************
Economy not to blame for states' budget woes
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-06-22-state-spending-cover_x.htm
06-22-03
The financial problems racking many state governments this year have less to
do with the weak national economy than with the ability of governors and
legislators to manage money wisely.
That is the key finding of a USA TODAY analysis of how the 50 states spend,
tax and balance their budgets - or don't. The National Governors
Association says states are suffering their worst economic crisis since
World War II. But for many states, the analysis shows, the fault is largely
their own. Some states that have enjoyed handsome growth in tax revenue
nonetheless have huge budget shortfalls. At the other extreme, some of the
best-managed states suffered sharp declines in tax collections but promptly
took painful steps to balance their books. Utah, Georgia and Delaware are
the best financial stewards, according to the USA TODAY analysis of the
states' financial performance. The key to their success: restraint. During
the economic boom of the late 1990s, these states limited both spending
growth and tax cuts. After the economy weakened in early 2001, they acted
swiftly and decisively to keep their finances sound. California, the
worst-performing state in the analysis, did the opposite. It approved huge
spending increases and tax cuts during the boom. When the economy soured,
the state began borrowing money and using accounting gimmicks to avoid its
day of reckoning. Today, it continues to spend $1 billion a month more than
it takes in.

******************************
State asks interpreters to become employees
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=45671§ion=NEWS&subse
ction=FOCUS_REGION_STATE&year=2003&month=6&day=28
06-28-03
FRESNO - When Turkish truck drivers get speeding tickets on Highway 99,
Sarkis Vartanian translates their testimony for Fresno court judges. When
Italian delegations come to the Tulare agricultural fair, Vartanian helps
them talk shop with the locals. French restaurateurs, Armenian workers and
Arabic farmers in California's Central Valley also rely on Vartanian's
language skills. He's one of nearly 1,600 registered and certified court
interpreters in California who until now have worked as independent
contractors. But on July 1, a new law will invite interpreters to become
state employees.

******************************
Little-known agency holds schools' fate
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%7E1865%7E1484993,00.html
6-29-03
State hires consultants with no-bid contracts that undergo little scrutiny
yet shape children's future. While much attention in recent weeks has
focused on new Oakland schools chief Randy Ward, a cadre of private
consultants working behind the scenes may have at least as much power and
influence over the troubled district for years to come. Yet these
consultants, who typically are well-paid with state funds administered
through no-bid contracts, undergo little scrutiny in the high-stakes world
of California public education, interviews and public records show.

******************************
Donor's Dad, 80, Gets Seat On Panel
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-confirm27jun27,1,1922517.story?co
ll=la-headlines-politics
06-27-03
A. John Shimmon, 80, a Democratic activist whose son is one of Gov. Gray
Davis' most generous campaign contributors, was confirmed by the Senate on
Thursday as a member of the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.
Davis' nomination of Shimmon to the $114,191 a year position was approved on
a bipartisan 28-2 vote, over the opposition of Senate Republican leader Jim
Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga and Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). In
floor debate, McClintock charged that Shimmon's "only qualification for this
office is that his son gave a six-figure campaign contribution to the
governor for his reelection. We all know what this governor is doing."

******************************
Reading The Signs
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=45251
06-25-03
California students continue to score among the bottom states in the reading
portion of the test of basic knowledge called the National Assessment of
Educational Progress. Only 21 percent of our state's students were
considered "proficient and above." After a decade of reform, we had hoped
for more. The NAEP tests a sampling of fourth- and eighth-grade students The
latest results were released June 19. Of 44 states and the District of
Columbia, the NAEP ranked California above only Louisiana, Mississippi and
Washington, D.C. One reason for the poor performance is demographics.


******************************
BAD BUSINESS BILL WATCHLIST
Bills Still Active for this year
This list of bills has been compiled by Assemblyman Ray Haynes' office as a
legislative service for those individuals interested in business
legislation.

AB 17 (Kehoe) Domestic partnerships and State contracts. Would prohibit a
state agency from entering into a contract with a vendor for goods or
services who does not offer benefits to registered domestic partner
employees equal to benefits offered to married employees. Passed Asm floor
on 42-32 vote on 6-5-03. In Sen Judiciary, hearing 7-1-03.
AB 76 (Corbett) Harassment. Makes employers liable for harassment of a
worker by persons over whom the employer has no control, such as clients and
customers. Passed Asm Floor 50-27 on April 24th. In Sen Industrial
Relations.
AB 196 (Leno) Redefines term 'gender' to include "perceived gender."
Allows fines up to $150,000 against employers (religious businesses, Boy
Scout councils would be effected) that refuse to hire individuals on the
basis of gender as perceived from the "victim's point of view," which could
include cross-dressers and transsexuals. Passed Asm floor on 42-34 vote on
April 21st Passed Sen Judiciary 5-2 vote on 6-17-03. In Sen
Appropriations.
AB 1093 (Lieber) SB 996 (Alarcon) Living Wage. Would enact provisions known
as the California Living Wage Act, which would require the state, and any
employer that contracts with the state pursuant to provisions governing
state procurement to pay a living wage to its employees." ( $10/hour with or
$12/hour without health insurance. Passed Asm Floor on 45-31 vote on
6-3-03. In Sen Labor & Ind Relations, hearing 7-9-03. SB 996 passed Sen
Floor on 25-14 vote on 6-4-03. In Asm Rules.
AB 1527 (Formmer) Health care tax. Requires employers with 51 or more
employees to provide health insurance to employees or pay a health care
coverage tax. Applies to all employers in 2005. Passed Asm floor on 47-31
vote on 6-5-03. In Sen Insurance, hearing 7-2-03.
AB 1528 (Cohn) Health Care Tax. Requires employers to pay 80 percent of the
health care costs of their employees. Passed Asm floor on 47-30 vote on
6-5-03. In Sen Insuarnce, hearing 7-9-03.
SB 2 (Burton/Speier) Health Care. Requires California employers to provide
health insurance to all employees and their dependents or pay a tax.
Employees would bear 20% of this cost. It would create the State Health
Purchasing Program, administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance
Board. The bill would require the board to determine annually the fee to be
paid by these employers. The bill would authorize the board to coordinate
coverage under the program with coverage available under the Medi-Cal
program and the Healthy Families Program. Passed Sen Floor on 25-14 vote on
6-2-03. In Asm Health, hearing 7-1-03.
SB 17 (Also SBx1 3) (Escutia) Proposition 13. Would significantly alter the
law governing when a "change of ownership" occurs under Proposition 13 by
requiring reassessment if at least 50 percent of a corporation's stock or
ownership changes hands. Goal - to increase business property tax revenues
billions of dollars. Passed Sen Floor on 23-14 vote on 6-2-03. In Asm
Rev & Tax, hearing on 6-30-03.
SB 191 (Alarcon) Extended Unemployment Benefits. Provides that an
individual is defined as unemployed, if in any week of less than full time
work, he makes $50 or 40% less than a full week wages. Why work, when you
can get 80% of your previous wages, and still work part time. Passed Sen on
24-13 vote on May 29th. In Asm Insurance, hearing 7-9-03.
SB 921 (Kuehl) Universal Health Care. Establishes a single-payer,
government-run universal health care system funded by payroll taxes on
employers, employees, and the self-employed. Also declares the intent of
the Legislature to impose taxes at unspecified rates on unearned income,
tobacco and alcohol (and anything else they can think of). Would include
medical, dental, optical, mental health, prescription drugs, and translators
and transportation coverage to access it. Creates several new government
positions and bureaucracies: Health Care Commissioner; Health Policy Board;
Office of Consumer Advocacy; Office of Medical Practice Standards; Medical
Practice Standards Advisory Board; regional health agencies throughout the
state; and Office of Inspector General for the California Health Care
System. Passed Sen Floor on 23-14 vote on 6-4-03. In Asm Health.

******************************
Full legislative text, analyses and votes are available on the State web
server at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov

Assemblyman Haynes' office can be reached at (909) 699-1113 in Temecula
or in the Capitol at (916) 319-2066
To subscribe to this Memorandum by e-mail, please send a request to:
Assemblymember.Haynes@assembly.ca.gov
To Contact State Senators:
http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp
To Contact State Assemblymembers:
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7text.htm
Redistribution or reproduction of this Memorandum with attribution
is permitted and encouraged!
To be removed from this distribution, reply: "remove."

Rich- Thanks for that great piece of advice from the SI board. Do you save these posts in an archive under Heading of "History repeats"? LOL Let's see $200. + repeat.

Yeah Biz- on the power plant. See the SRE board for my posts that the company digests and e-mails us. Several recent references on that. On the one -hand crying about the price and lack of elect. power plants, on the the other hand is a group trying to keep the power from being sold across the border into Calif. ( probably backed by our competitors).

So what's new?? All politically and money motivated.

SRE- $ .25 per common share dividend paid July 15 to
owners of record on June 23rd. That's a little less than 1% per quarter at today's price of $28.85 + or -.

Got $100,000. that you want to make a quick $925. on? LOL

OT-Good morning Datarox and Biz. Have a good day. The weather is nice out here but Biz may not be enjoying the liquid sunshine in the east this week. Don't forget to wear your rubbers, Biz!

OT- ImClone Founder Gets 87 Months in Prison
Tuesday June 10, 5:46 pm ET
By Gail Appleson and Paul Thomasch


NEW YORK (Reuters) - ImClone Systems Inc.(NasdaqNM:IMCLE - News)founder Samuel Waksal was sentenced on Tuesday to more than seven years in prison, the first chief executive to go to jail in the spate of scandals that have rocked corporate America.
U.S. District Judge William Pauley ordered Waksal to serve the maximum 87 months in prison, pay the top fine of $3 million and pay $1.26 million in restitution. The insider trading scheme led to last week's indictment of Waksal's good friend, style-setter Martha Stewart (News).

Pauley harshly criticized ImClone's former chief executive for the harm he caused to his family, co-workers, the investing public and cancer patients who are still awaiting the development of the company's cancer-fighting drug, Ebitrux.

"You abused your position of trust as the chief executive officer of a major corporation and undermined the public's confidence in the integrity of the capital markets," Pauley said. "Then you tried to lie your way out of it."

Pauley said the harm Waksal wrought was incalculable: "You even jeopardized the well being of your family."

The judge ordered Waksal, 55, to surrender on July 2, and said he must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and remain house arrest until he goes to prison.

Waksal was indicted for trying to sell ImClone shares ahead of an announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (News - Websites) would reject the company's highly touted cancer drug. Erbitux has recently shown signs of success.

He pleaded guilty in October to six of the 13 charges in that indictment. He fashioned his plea to omit conspiracy charges that alleged his father, an 81-year-old Holocaust survivor and his daughter knew they had received inside information before selling their ImClone shares.

At that time, Waksal said he insisted that his daughter sell her shares. But he maintained he never told her the reason. In addition to two securities fraud charges relating to insider trading, Waksal pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, perjury and bank fraud charges.

In March, he also pleaded guilty to new charges that he evaded sales tax on $15 million worth of art work.

In his sentencing, Pauley rejected defense arguments that Waksal's crimes were "spur of the moment" weaknesses and that he should not be compared with defendants in major accounting fraud cases involving former executives at WorldCom and Enron.

Pauley said the ImClone founder's crimes "are not simply a 24-hour window of catastrophic poor judgment or a crime of impulse. Rather these crimes are emblematic of a pattern of lawlessness and arrogance from your own self description of a short-term cash flow needs."

The judge gave Waksal the maximum term suggested by federal sentencing guidelines. He denied all arguments that the defense presented for a reduction in the possible 70-87 month range, including Waksal's philanthropy and good works. Pauley said although he had received more than 120 letters supporting Waksal, his contributions were not extraordinary for a "captain of industry."

The government opposed a reduction in the sentencing range and alleged numerous examples of lying by Waksal. Included in the government's court papers was a letter retrieved from his computer written on behalf of Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis, with whom prosecutors said Waksal was romantically involved.

In the letter, Waksal, who has a doctorate in immunology, appeared to be impersonating a medical doctor asking that Alexis be excused from jury duty.

Prior to his sentencing, Waksal addressed the court and apologized to family, ImClone employees, shareholders and cancer patients. Members of his family attending the hearing at a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan were emotional, and some cried.

"I am deeply disturbed and so very sorry for my actions," said Waksal, who kept clearing his throat and tried to gain composure in front of a packed courtroom.

"Please know how much I tried to do for the cancer community," he said. "I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. Erbitux is moving forward to help ease the pain and suffering of cancer patients."

Stewart, who recently resigned as chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE:MSO - News), came under investigation for selling nearly 4,000 ImClone shares one day before the FDA rejection became public. She has pleaded not guilty to charges in last week's indictment.

FINALLY!! A REAL-WORLD USE FOR VIDEO PHONES. LOL

Qualcomm (QCOM: news, chart, profile) was also cut down by a downgrade, and fell 39 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $30.96. SG Cowen lowered its rating on the wireless technology company to "market perform" from "outperform," citing slower subscriber additions, excess chip inventories and increased competition.

CEOcast:
The rally continued as all three indices posted solid, although subdued gains for the week. The Dow rose 74 points, or slightly less than 1%, ending the week at its highest level since December. The S & P 500 gained nearly 11 points, or 1.2% to close at its highest level since July. The Nasdaq rose 18 points, or 1.2% and was last at these levels in June. For the year, the Nasdaq is up 15.2%, the Dow 4% and the S&P 500 7.4%. The Russell 2000 continues to rise, as it is up 9% for the year.

We hate to be an alarmist, but we continue to see signs that the rally is beginning to run its course and is due for at least a short-term correction. Several examples this week seem to support this contention. Dell Computer (NASDAQ: DELL) posted solid, in-line quarterly results, but the stock, which had rallied nearly 20% since mid-March, fell 3% after results were announced. Likewise, semiconductor equipment leader Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) issued a solid earnings report, but investors used it as an opportunity to take profits as the shares fell 8% after rallying 34% since early March. Finally, share of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), which have surged 18.5% since early March, slumped 6.7% after the company met expectations. This reaction suggests that investors may be looking to take profits in stocks with big run-ups as they "sell the news".

The technical factors also suggest that the market may be overheated. The "fear indexes" such as the Volatility Index (VIX) are at very low levels, indicating investor confidence, a contra-indicator. Likewise, the Investors Intelligence polls show a strong increase in the bullish camp. One indicator of the extreme overbought condition that exists in the market today is the number of technology stocks that trade over their 200-day moving average. Currently, 83% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks exceed this level, the highest number since December, 2001. Also, the Dow and S&P 500 reside just below important resistance levels that have served to cap previous rallies. The market has also entered a historically sluggish period for stocks, as volume usually diminishes after Memorial Day, causing weakness in the market as well.

What should investors expect this week? Very little market-moving news, as investors are likely to begin the unofficial start of Summer early. The light earnings calendar will be dominated by retailers, beginning with Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and Nordstrom's (NYSE: JWN) on Monday. Tuesday morning Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Saks (NYSE: SKS) will release results, while later that day Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) will post second quarter profits. Wednesday morning, Talbots (NYSE: TLB) is expected to issue results. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) holds its annual meeting the same day. Ford Motor (NYSE: F) will webcast an investment community meeting on Tuesday.

Lehman Brothers holds a two-day wireless conference beginning Monday in New York. Goldman Sachs hosts a Chemical Conference beginning Tuesday in New York. Weyerhauser (NYSE: WY) holds an analyst meeting on Wednesday. UBS Warburg sponsors a three-day energy conference beginning Tuesday in Arizona. The bond market closes at 2 p.m. on Friday ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. Monday, the Leading Economic Indicators for April will be announced. Thursday, weekly Initial Jobless claims will be released. In general, there is little economic data that is expected to move the markets.

OT- Good morning Biz. I'm buying breakfast this morning just tell them to send me the bill.

OT-In the So. Cal. area:
Digging in the yard? Watch out
for power, gas lines, SEU warns

As springtime winds into summer, more and more homeowners will pursue projects in their yards, such as putting up a new wall or fence, planting a tree or putting in a swimming pool. Officials at Sempra Energy Utilities (SEU) urge customers to "call before they dig" to avoid hidden utility lines.

"We're heading into the season when many homeowners are digging on their property, and they don't realize that the gas line, and in some cases their electric line, that serves their home is underground and out of sight," says Roy Rawlings, senior vice president of SEU's Distribution Operations. "Safe and reliable energy service is our number-one priority. A quick phone call to Underground Service Alert to have utility lines marked can help customers avoid costly damage, possible injury or service interruption."

Call Underground Service Alert
Customers should call Underground Service Alert (USA) at 1-800-227-2600 at least two working days before digging in their yards. As a free service, USA will contact area utilities, and the utilities will locate and mark their underground lines at no charge.

As a rule, SEU-owned electrical and natural gas lines extend from the main facilities, in front of or behind the home, to the electric and gas meter.

Customer-owned piping is the line that runs beyond the gas or electric meter to a building or area where there are electrical or gas-fueled equipment or appliances. To have these lines located and marked, SEU advises customers to call pipe- and leak-locating services or plumbing contractors who provide maintenance services.

Dig with care
Once all lines are marked, customers should "carefully use only hand-digging tools within two feet of marked utility lines," Rawlings says.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) are separate companies. Each utility has a distinctive service area within the Southern California region.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Info:

10:44AM Qualcomm lower amid competitive concerns (QCOM) 32.18 -0.65: Hearing that Fulcrum comments contributing to early weakness in the stock. In a recap of a Texas Instrument event yesterday, firm says TXN is going on the defensive introducing a cdma2000 product in Q3 to directly compete with QCOM. According to firm, this is new market initiative, opening up a potential of about 20% of the handset market to TXN. Because of a prior agreement this is not expected to result in royalty payments from TXN to Qualcomm, but handset manufacturers may still be required to do so depending on individual agreements in place. Specific details of the new product were not provided.

You too Biz!!

Good morning Datarox- you are early to rise today. Must be on the right coast this week. Have a good day -amigo.

Four local [San Diego] companies make Fortune's list
San Diego Daily Transcript, by Tim Coffey, Tuesday, April 1, 2003.

A defense contractor, an energy company, a computer maker and a telecommunications firm, all based in San Diego, made the Fortune 500 list, an annual ranking of America's top revenue producing corporations.

Although no local company claimed the top spot, or a place in the top 100, that four San Diego firms from different industries could make the list, which was based on revenues from 2002, a down year for many businesses, shows the success of a diverse economy.

Economists have alluded to a strong mix of business here as the reason for low levels of unemployment and expected economic expansion this year.

Science Applications International Corp., a private defense firm that makes regular financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, led San Diego companies with 2002 revenue of $6.1 billion and a ranking of No. 288, up from No. 294 last year.

Sempra Energy followed with $6 billion in revenue, making No. 291 on the list, down from No. 241 the year before.

Gateway Inc., the Poway-based maker of personal computers and related technology products, had sales of $4.2 billion in 2002, good enough for No. 387, down from No. 296.

And Qualcomm Inc., the wireless telecommunications firm, posted revenue of $3 billion and the No. 489 spot. Qualcomm failed to make the list last year, but was No. 500 in 2001.

The list of the largest revenue producing companies has been compiled annually since 1955 by the editors of Fortune, a New York-based financial magazine.

The latest rankings are published in the April 14 issue. While the list ranks companies according to revenue and not profit, it does serve as a status symbol for listed companies.

Several companies yesterday issued press releases proclaiming the recognition. No San Diego firm did so.

The behemoth retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. led the Fortune 500 for the second consecutive year with sales of $244 billion for fiscal 2003, compared to $218 billion in 2002.

Wal-Mart had $60 billion more in sales than the No. 2 company, General Motors Corp.

After that, there was the usual swapping.

General Motors jumped up from No. 3, switching places with Exxon Mobil Corp. Ford Motor Co. retained fourth place and General Electric Co. moved up one to No. 5. Citigroup Inc., ChevronTexaco Corp., IBM, American International Group and Verizon Communications Inc. rounded out the top 10.

The San Diego companies represent a trinomial in the way each has placed in the last three years.

On the one end is a company, SAIC, that increased revenues three straight years and steadily went up in the rankings.

In the middle are two firms, Sempra and Qualcomm, with fluctuating revenues since 2000 and rankings that varied as much as 50 spots.

Then, there's the firm, Gateway, with steadily declining revenues and places on the Fortune 500 list to match.

SAIC, as the defense contractor is commonly called, increased revenues for the third straight year, up from $6 billion in 2000. The company benefited from an increase in government spending and the firms' percentage of business from the government has increased the last three years. SAIC's top competitors are IBM and Computer Sciences Corp., No. 167.

Sempra Energy, parent of San Diego Gas & Electric, was one of a host of energy companies to make the list last year. But, like many of them this year, Sempra fell significantly, down 50 spots.

Other energy companies to fall included Enron Corp., which dropped off the list after making No. 5 last year, Duke Energy Corp., which fell from No. 14 to No. 118, and Dynegy Inc., which fell from No. 30 to No. 336.

Qualcomm, like SAIC, increased its position on the list, jumping 56 spots to make the list. Few telecom companies placed in the top 500, while Qualcomm secured its highest ranking since 2001.

Though Qualcomm competitor Motorola hit No. 59, others such as Nokia Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. failed to make the list. Gateway placed, but No. 387 was a long way from the No. 194 spot the company held in 2001. Moreover, the PC maker has watched revenues decline more than 56 percent since then. But Gateway wasn't alone.

Profits for the 500 plunged 66 percent to a collective $69.6 billion after a record drop in 2001. Fortune editors said the decline was largely caused by accounting changes, which have made many companies far more conservative in their financial reporting.

OT_-Excellent post- Biz- truly a gentleman and a scholar as always.

OT: strickly_biz ( from Zamia on the Qcom RB board)
Could you post my message on Datarox's bulletin board for me? I am travelling, and being half senile, (the upper half!) can't remember the provider.
Personal update, I've been busy writing a novel and so haven't been online as much. Still own Qualcomm extensively.
Personal note, my nephew is in the middle of Iraq someplace. Why the hell aren't the enough troops there to back him? Not to mention that for political, diplomatic, humaritarian and national security reasons, we needn't to have sufficient resources to get this war over quickly.

-

OT- Sure 'nuff Biz. There's Rich to keep us honest. LOL

OT- Biz- isn't that S&W 50 cal a little hard to hide? LOL

OT-Saddam getting the troops ready for the war: " Ok, cousin Omar you will be on the frontlines to Kuwait. Your very important duties will be to surrender your troops in groups of 3 to 5 men at a time as the Allies move forward and delay them as long as possible while they take you into custody. I will remain here in Bagdad safely in my bomb shelter in complete control of the air groups and missile batteries ready to make a hasty getaway to my hideaway castle in France (purchased with our people's oil profits). Good frigging luck amigo!!"

OT-OT: OT: WHAT WE DID FOR FRANCE, CORRRECTED LINK.

http://www.abmc.gov/no1w.jpg

One of many American Cemeteries located in France.

This picture is one at Normandy Beach on The French Coast

GUESS WHO'S BURIED THERE AND WHAT THEY WERE DOING TO END UP AS ONE OF THE 10,943 IN THIS CEMETERY ALONE?

MAYBE WE NEED NEW FRIENDS!

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG IF YOU FEEL AS I DO!

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM
StockPickReport.Com Rating: BUY (6)

Qualcomm develops, designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on the code division multiple access (cdma) technology.

Our technical analysts hold the opinion that the stock should persist with the recent market direction and move higher still, as indicated by the stock's most recent near-term stochastic mark. Moreover, traders that hold shares of QCOM may find it useful to consider that QCOM's end-of-day price moved up over the last couple of weeks based on the 1-week average of the 3-week average. In conclusion, the short-term number of shares traded for the stock fell lower than previous trendlines over the last few sessions.
In our opinion, StockPickReport.Com research indicates a "long" strategy (selling puts, buying calls, closing short positions, or outright buying QCOM) at current levels offers traders a nice chance for a profitable trade

OT- This just in from CNN,NPR,CBS,NBC,ABC,CNBC,MSNBC, and
all other TV news
>networks.....
>
>France has just announced that they have deployed
1,000 of it's Elite Special Forces Surrender Brigade to Baghdad, to
instruct the Iraqi
>armed forces on how to "surrender with dignity".
>
>Under the command of French General Jean-Pierre
Fondulac, who himself
>has surrendered to enemy forces 213 times in his 40
year military
>career, Sadaam Hussein's armed forces will be trained
by their French
>allies on proper surrender techniques, including
laying down their
>rifles without damaging them, the correct protocol in
raising the
white
>flag of surrender, and how to place your hands
behind your head with
>dignity.
>
>Miscellaneous instruction by Iraq's French allies
will include the
>technique
>of becoming an enemy sympathizer and collaborator, a
course for Iraqi
women
>titled "Sleeping With The Enemy", and a complete
seminar titled "How
To Be
>Arrogant, Condescending, and Ungrateful".
>
>In a related story, the French government has
completed the sale of
>100,000 surplus World War 2 French rifles to the
Iraqi government. The
>rifles were never fired, and were dropped only once.

Thanks Jim- I'll take a look at it.

OT-01 Feb 2003, 02:35 PM EST Msg. 231889 of 231889

THESE COLORS DON'T RUN - clear to every terrorist

Three cheers for U.S. District Court Judge William Young -- who yesterday sent a dramatic message, loud and clear, to every terrorist who has declared war on America.

"We are not afraid," he declared.

"We are Americans. We have been through the fire before."

The Boston-based jurist yesterday sentenced al Qaeda's Richard Reid to life in prison for trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with a shoe bomb.

Before the judge imposed sentence, Reid -- a British citizen who converted to Islam -- sneered at the judge: "You will be judged by Allah!"

But Judge Young wasn't about to let Reid rant on without some stinging verbal payback. He said what most Americans have felt since 9/11 -- and something that not a few folks in Washington and Hollywood, who are now trying to undermine President Bush's was on terrorism, need to hear.

"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," the judge declared.

And then he ripped into Reid:

"You are not an enemy combatant -- you are a terrorist," said Young. "You are not a soldier in any way -- you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist, and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

And then, pointing to the Stars and Stripes behind his bench, Young said:

"You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten." Indeed it will.

He could just as easily have let Reid rave, then dryly passed sentence.

But the judge understood that the times called for something more important.

God bless Judge Young.

And God bless America.

WAR CRITICS WILL SUFFER

POLLING often shapes reality in American politics - but there are times when reality shapes polling. This is one of them.

The United States and Britain will invade Iraq within the next month or so. We will win and, likely, win quickly and relatively easily. And then the fun will start.

Day after day, week after week, we will be gorged with revelations from Iraq. Our troops will find chemical and biological weapons caches, scientists who will testify to Iraq's effort to get the bomb, labs brimming with fiendish new inventions ordered by the twisted, perverted mind of Saddam Hussein. It will be like it was in February, March and April of 1945 as U.S. and British troops, in their mad dash across Germany, stumbled on concentration camps with their skeletal survivors.

The evidence of why the war was justified will not be in the books of the arms inspectors, but in the evidence that will be plainly apparent once the war is won.

Then, as this data becomes publicly available, those who opposed the war will pay a steep political price. They will have lots of explaining to do. But the explanations will never satisfy a public furious, in retrospect, at their folly.

As John F. Kennedy said at his inauguration: "Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger, ended up inside." The Democrats who now call for a delay in the war will one day, likely, have to explain why they counseled delay when evidence emerges that Saddam was months away from acquiring nuclear weapons.

We seem to forget that, unlike many issues, this is a question of pure fact: Is Iraq acquiring weapons of mass destruction? If so, we'll find them once we win the war. If not, then Bush and Co. will have to do the explaining.

But, make no mistake, George W. Bush is not seeking to topple Saddam Hussein to fulfill a family obligation. He undoubtedly has evidence to justify his intensity and determination. As French President Charles de Gaulle said during the Cuban missile crisis (when France was, indeed, a U.S. ally), "Great powers do not act without evidence."

The question of Iraqi capabilities and intentions is not going to remain a guessing game for long. By March or April, our 200,000 troops will find what a handful of weapons inspectors did not - the damning evidence to justify the war.

I printed out Mosher's ( Datarox's posts #800- 810) to read later offline. Note that it takes approx. 40 pages so fill your printer first.

OT- from CNN news-thought was worth passing along.
Pop-up hijacker snares Web victims
Friday, January 31, 2003 Posted: 6:40 PM EST (2340 GMT)


GET RID OF CULPRIT
To find out if you have GAIN on your computer, click the "Start" button, move your cursor to "Programs," and look for a line that says "GAIN." You can also search for a file called "gator.com." To remove it, you have to find and remove any GAIN-supported programs. Follow the instructions in the GAIN program or ask for help by e-mail: support@gatorcorporation.com.

To remove Xupiter, click the FAQ button at www.xupiter.com and look for the instructions to uninstall the program.





(Reuters) -- If pop-up advertisements are swamping your screen when surfing the Internet, you may have GAIN or GAIN-type software on your computer.

GAIN, which stands for Gator Advertising & Information Network, is a major annoyance for many computer users. And, in many cases, you may not realize you have the program installed.

It shows up on some PCs after downloading free video compression software. The GAIN mini-program floods computers with ads, and it takes some effort to figure out how to get rid of it.

Promises broken
GAIN promised that when the video compression software is removed, the ads would disappear as well. It didn't happen during a recent test.

The company's Web site had no directions for removing the program manually, so it took sending an e-mail to Gator for instructions. (The company, to its credit, responded promptly.)

The request to download GAIN sometimes pops up when loading a Web site, making it appear that it's a mini-program like Flash, Adobe Acrobat or RealOne Player that must be installed to view the Web page properly. In fact, it's just a request, couched as a free software offer, to swamp Web surfers with ads.

Not only that, GAIN tracks a user's movements as they browse.

GAIN not alone
Gator isn't the one software that does this. Xupiter has a similar system and reserves the right to show those who have installed their software as many ads as the company wants.

Xupiter's toolbar installs itself automatically on systems that have low security settings. And many computer users do not realize they have installed it until they start getting annoying advertisements and games. The program changes the browser's homepage and redirects searches to pre-selected sites.

Folks who read the fine print will learn what they're getting into. But few are likely to do that. Gator's agreement is over 5,500 words.

If you want to sue them, by the way, Xupiter says its agreement users governed by the laws of Hungary.

Experts say the best way to avoid installing either program is to decline any pop-up message that mentions The Gator Corporation or Xupiter.

Geld - from witnessing drivers on the LA freeways over the past several years I would have to agree about the possibility of brain damage being caused by cell phone use. Of course, I can't rule out the possibility of the reverse being true. That brain damaged people use cell phones while driving.

I got the same score you did Geld. But my eyesight is not that good, my sense of touch is better. Where do I go to squeeze the Charmin?
LOL

Accounting rules changed to bar tactics used by Enron
New York Times, by Floyd Norris, Thursday, January 16, 2003.

The nation's accounting rule makers took steps yesterday intended to make it harder for companies to hide debts and assets from their shareholders.

At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules aimed at changing other practices thrown into a harsh light by recent financial scandals.

The accounting group, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, adopted new rules for the accounting of special-purpose entities, which are usually created to buy certain corporate assets.

"A significant number of entities will be consolidated" into the financial statements of the companies that created them, said Edward W. Trott, a member of the board who led the effort.

He said the new rules certainly would have forced consolidation of the entities used by Enron before that company collapsed.

Enron's collapse gave special-purpose entities such a bad name that the new rule even comes up with a new term, variable interest entity, or V.I.E., to describe such vehicles. They get that name because different investors in them have interests that will vary with the success of the enterprise.

Under the old accounting practices, auditors permitted companies to keep such entities off their balance sheets if an outside investor put up all the equity, so long as that equity amounted to at least 3 percent of the total assets.

The new rule creates a guideline of 10 percent, but says that the auditor must assess whether any level of equity capital is enough to support the enterprise, given the nature of its assets, or whether a guarantee from the sponsor, like Enron, is necessary for it to borrow the money it needs. If the auditor believes that the guarantee is in fact needed, then the sponsor will have to consolidate the entity on its balance sheet.

Even when companies are not required to consolidate an entity, more disclosures will be required concerning the maximum loss that the entity could cause.

Mr. Trott said that one strategy he expected companies to use was to seek multiple guarantees. In that case, if three companies provided the guarantees, none of them a majority, none of them would have to consolidate.

"The people who really want to not have a consolidated V.I.E. can accomplish that, but they will spread the risk to more entities," Mr. Trott said. "And those parties will be providing more disclosures. I think this will improve financial reporting. Does it solve all the problems of consolidation? The answer is no."

An earlier version of the proposed rule had a provision saying that if the equity owner operated a real business and consolidated the entity, then the company providing the guarantee would not have to do so.

That was scorned by critics as a "rent a balance sheet" provision and it was removed from the final draft. Now that entity would still have to be consolidated by the company providing the guarantee if that would otherwise be appropriate.

The S.E.C. votes came on rules the commission was required to issue under the Sarbanes-Oxley law, passed last summer in response to a wave of corporate scandals.

The rules set forth requirements for the way a company can issue "pro forma" earnings numbers and make clear that it is illegal to issue such figures in a misleading way.

They also bar company executives from selling company stock at a time when employees in the company's 401(k) plan are barred from doing so.

The most contentious of the new rules concerns company disclosures on whether the audit committee of its board has a "financial expert" on it.

An earlier version of the rule defined such an expert as a person who had been involved in auditing or preparing financial reports of a similar company. The new version expands that definition to include many other people with financial expertise.

The rule requires a company to identify the financial experts on its audit committee, or explain why it does not have any. It also states that being identified as a financial expert will not expose a director to any additional responsibilities or possible legal liabilities.

OT- Is ot allowed?- many of us are Californians.
California vote spells end of energy deregulation
Reuters News Service, by Leonard Anderson, Thursday, January 16, 2003.

California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation ended with a whimper Thursday in a brief order issued by state utility regulators.

The five-member California Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to cancel an order from April 20, 1994, that set the state on a course toward cheaper electricity through free market competition, letting homeowners and businesses choose their power provider.

Today's order, which CPUC Commissioner Carl Wood called "historically significant," noted that restructuring the energy market was now moot.

"The commission should close this deregulation proceeding, not just because there is no continuing need for it, but also because it was a disaster for ratepayers, utilities and their employees," said Wood, a harsh critic of the failed scheme.

None of the commissioners who pushed for deregulation nine years ago still sits on the CPUC.

But their first steps toward making electricity a freely traded commodity, taken amid great fanfare and the promise of cheaper electricity, led in 1996 to a unanimous vote by California lawmakers to deregulate the electricity market.

Calling deregulation "the most expensive public policy mistake in the history of California," Wood said the former CPUC's "almost religious belief in market forces rather than regulation created an epic disaster for ratepayers."

The deregulation law urged the state's investor-owned utilities to sell off their power plants to foster competition but forced them to purchase power supplies from the wholesale market while capping the rates they could charge customers.

By spring 2000, wholesale power prices were soaring and the California market was plunging into chaos, Wood said, adding "in each of 2000 and 2001, Californians spent $20 billion more for electricity than in 1999."

The crisis worsened in late 2000-early 2001 with power blackouts, a growing shortage of electricity supplies and a financial meltdown at PG&E Corp.'s giant Pacific Gas and Electric unit and Edison International's Southern California Edison subsidiary.

Pacific Gas and Electric, California's biggest utility with 14 million customers, ran out of cash and credit and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2001, while SoCalEdison worked out a rescue plan with the CPUC.

California officials also charged that big merchant energy companies engaged in exotic electricity trading strategies to wrest huge profits from the state.

The state is trying to recover almost $9 billion dollars from them to help pay the bills from the deregulation mess, estimated to cost the state $45 billion.

An aggressive campaign to add new power plants, stricter energy conservation and emergency power purchases by the state have helped stabilize the market, driving down power prices while building up supplies.

Rolling blackouts last struck California in May 2001. In Washington on Thursday, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) judge ruled that California must meet a high burden of proof to justify canceling long-term contracts it signed with four suppliers during the height of its power crisis in 2000-2001.

All of California's long-term contract cases are now directly before the FERC commissioners, who have pledged a decision by the end of March.

Check out Churak's "halfway house for RB r's" here at investorshub!
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1477

Check out Churak's "halfway house for RB r's" here at investorshub!
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1477

OT- Ok Geld- it doesn't matter how you spell "integrity" or in what language as long as you have it friend. 8^{)

NASD rule 2280 - public disclosure

The National Association of Securities Dealers offers toll-free access to its Public Disclosure Program, intended to help investors determine whether they wish to do business with an individual broker or securities firm. The NASD also offers a brochure providing detailed information regarding the Program. Contact the NASD at 1-800-289-9999 or at www.nasdr.com.

Sorry Rich-I can't help. I'm just a "point and click" kind of guy. Computer ebonics? or computer illiteracy? Not very good for a guy who spent 35 years in instrument maintenance,-electric, electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical- in oil and gas industry production, compression, underground storage, pipeline and control operations, military radar- and who spends twelve hours a day in front of a console of four monitors at work and a couple more hours at home. LOL
Good luck.