Last week in a standing-room-only (275 occupied chairs) Tea Party meeting, donations were requested to fund the planned 9/12 rally on the West Steps of the Capitol. The Sept. 12 date was selected to memorialized that day in 2001 following the attacks by Muslim terrorists on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “United to the Finish” is the official title of the 9/12 event, which will be held from noon-3 p.m. Currently, similar rallies are scheduled for only two other cities, Saint Louis and Washington, D.C. In addition to other discussion and a question-and-answer session later on in last week’s meeting, the event also had a speaker: Jack Smithart. His PowerPoint presentation repor

The group that produced the “Tea Party” on the steps of the California State Capital building on both April 15, Federal Tax Day, of 2009 and 2010 is expanding that effort. Someone else can argue about the number of people in attendance, but don't be distracted. There were thousands of citizens at both work-day events. Estimates are that there are currently 200+ separate Tea Party groups in California, and polls record that 30 percent of citizens relate to the grassroots movement. The organizers are not paid and volunteers do the setup and cleanup. Donations fund expenses such as portable toilets, PA systems, barriers, etc. “NorCal Tea Party Patriot's function is to provide an umbrella of

This article is in response to the May 26, 2010 article Design Dialogue: Evolving Riverfront.  Sixty years of local (and national) experience has demonstrated that continued geographic leap-frog sprawl is not the solution to responsible real-estate development. Inner-city infill, plus rural and city structures improvement or replacement must supersede the historic focus on new land-use projects. Infrastructure and energy needs of existing developments must take precedent. Entrenched and politically (left and right) corrupt, “redevelopment agency” tax-based operations should be minimized. The markets, using private financing in a competitive profit environment, will function in the best i