Boosting the Boosters
Thank you, Signal Tribune, for running our Millikan Rams Baseball car wash press release in October. Many readers took an interest and visited the car wash and made donations. It was a great day for Millikan Rams Baseball Boosters.
Shelly Hamagishi
Rams Baseball Boosters
Millikan High School
Addressing distractions
This has been a banner year for the Latino Caucus. We set out to make a difference and were able to make major strides in improving the lives of all Californians by facilitating driver’s licenses for the undocumented community, expanding healthcare access to the uninsured and expanding educational opportunities for millions of students.
Unfortunately, recent allegations against one of our Caucus members, Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), threaten to overshadow our accomplishments and undermine the integrity of the Caucus as a whole.
We take these grave allegations seriously. While we make no judgment as to the veracity, we have a duty to protect the integrity of a distinguished Caucus.
In fact, since my election as chair last year, I have worked hard to make the Caucus, its policies and finances as transparent and open as possible. It should go without saying, but I do not take lightly the public trust that comes with elective office, and I do not condone nor would [I] ever engage in any activity that puts that trust in question.
In order to address all distractions that may impede our progress, the California Latino Legislative Caucus has removed Senator Calderon as a member of our executive board. In his place, I have appointed Sen. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) who today [Nov. 12], was also selected to sit on the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics.
As a Caucus, we stand proud of our legislative accomplishments this year. Our focus remains on working together to build upon these policy successes with another ambitious policy agenda in 2014.
Calif. Sen. Ricardo Lara
Chairman
California Latino Legislative Caucus
[Ed. note: Although not charged with any crimes, Calderon is the subject of an FBI investigation into whether he accepted $60,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent assuming the identity of a film-studio executive in exchange for pursuing an expansion of tax credits for the movie industry. The news of the alleged bribery was first reported by the Al Jazeera America cable network.
