PORN STARS AT THE CAPITOL

FREE SPEECH COALTION

Porn stars Mary Carey and Nina Hartley are at the State Capitol today to lobby their  lawmakers on behalf of the Free Speech Coalition.  The group of more than a dozen adult entertainers, as they like to be called, are trying to kill Assembly Bill 2914.  The measure by Charles Calderon (D) Whittier Assemblyman, would levy an 8% tax on the adult entertainment industry. The tax is designed to counteract the negative “secondary effects” of porn movies, adult video stores and strip clubs.

The porn star lobby says the claims of adverse effects are fictitious with little or no evidence to back them up.  Lobbyist Matt Gray says “the industry has amassed dozens of independently researched studies which are peer reviewed and published in academic journals showing lower than normal adverse secondary effects.”  Mary Carey, the adult film star who ran against Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor in 2003,  will be arguing you are safer having an adult business in your neighborhood than you are in a public school, gas station or convenience store.

 

DEADBEATS DELIVERED ONLINE

TOP 250 TAX CHEATS REVEALED

The Franchise Tax Board came out with a list today you don’t want to be on.  It’s the top 250 tax debtors in California – the deadbeats who owe more than $123 million in unpaid income taxes.  California law requires the state to post a list of names on the Internet of anyone owing more than $100,000  in back taxes. Topping the list this year is something called Pinehill Investment of Rye, New York, which owes $6.1 million, according to the FTB.

Second on the list is another New Yorker – Michael S. Fitzsimmons, who owes $4.4 million, says the FTB.  A San Franciscan is 4th on the list – Xin Mian Pan.  State records indicate he’s behind by $2.8 million on his taxes.

NO JUICE FOR THE JUICE

O.J. Simpson is on the list again, as he has been for every year since 1999. State officials have thrown a yellow flag against him for being delinquent on $1.5 million worth of back taxes, according to the latest list. California’s practice of playing the Shame Game to get deadbeats to pay up seems to be working…State Controller John Chiang says the Franchise Tax Board received approximately $4.2 million in payments since January, from taxpayers trying desperately to keep their names off the list.

To see the entire list of the Top 250 Income Tax Debts….click here..

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/txdlnqnt.shtml

MIGDEN TAKES ON TOXIC TOYS

CONSUMER PROTECTION OR JUNK SCIENCE ?:

On Monday, Senate Democrats will unveil their plans to eliminate what they believe to be poisonous products sold in California.  Senator Carole Migden (D), San Francisco will introduce her Toxin-Free Toddlers and Baby Act that would ban lead and other chemicals found in baby bibs, lunch boxes and toys.

The supporters of SB 1713 include a Washington State University professor who has studied reproductive problems associated with BPA…a phthalate chemical that’s said to be present in sippy cups and other children’s products. But opponents from the American Chemistry Council and others insist Migden is waging a fear-mongering campaign that is based on junk science.  Should be an interesting showdown on Monday before the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

RIFT OVER MA LEGISLATION

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D), San Francisco wants to create a government Web site listing those convicted of domestic violence.  If you think the measure has universal support from women’s groups – think again.

The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence is opposing the Ma measure, saying it could harm victims and their families.  Marivic Mabanag, the group’s Executive Director has issued a statement saying Ma’s bill “does not address domestic violence victims wrongly convicted of a domestic violence offense, it would become a mechanism to further victimize an already vulnerable population.”

Fiona Ma tells me she has the support of other women’s groups and hopes to prevail when her bill comes up before the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, April 8th.