Dear Patriots, There will be changes coming to this blog soon. On the front page I will be featuring some of my own musings and opinions on the illegal immigration fight. As always most of my focus will be on the issue of the Laguna Beach day labor site, but I will continue to follow the Latino vs. Blacks issues in LA, as well as the rising gang crime situation in OC.  Please bear with me, as I’m just learning to blog. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

The news section will always be updated throughout the day, every day. The Gallery section will be added to as pictures from events come in. If you have pics to add, send ‘em in. And the biggest bit of news will be that I’m adding videos to the blog! 

So, stay tuned and keep checking back.

Keeping Our Country Strong,
Betsy Ross

Report prepared by Eileen Garcia.
The following is a photo report of a visit to Laguna Beach by Congressman John Campbell’s Washington, DC staffer, Christopher Bognanno.

The meeting took place Tuesday, January 29th at 2pm.
To read all of Congressman Campbell’s letters to ICE asking for a raid in Laguna Beach go to http://www.betsyrosspatriots.com and click on the tab “Documents”.

Congressman Campbell’s staff member, Christopher and I met across the highway of the Laguna Beach day labor site.  (Both properties, the DLS and the parking area where we are standing belong to the state of California Caltrans Department).  We witnessed at least 25 guys still at the site, although it was officially closed for business. There was no supervision and no police in sight. 

There were approximately 15 guys at the site, 2 men were up the highway out of the day labor site boundaries and it appeared they were soliciting trucks. Four men were on our side of the highway (right behind us in this photo). They were huddled around a car which had the back door opened.  One other man was sitting in a different car appearing to be either sleeping or listening to the radio. Although the city policy states there is to be NO parking on the DLS property, you can see some guys pulled their truck up and were “hanging out” listening to music. Notice the man near the front of the truck giving us the double flip off.

This group of men were playing some sort of dice game. We watched for several minutes and continued to snap pictures of their gambling.  Nothing phased their game, as they continued to throw dice and money was being exchanged. You can clearly see the man in the middle with the dark sweatshirt is the keeper of the “booty” and he would dole out the money with each roll of the dice. You can see the wad of bills in his hand.

The Congressman’s staffer stared in amazement at the brazenness of this group of men who knew full well they were being watched and photographed. Please keep in mind this is CALIFORNIA STATE LAND!

The next few shots you will see guys darting back and forth across the state highway. At one point a car had to slam on their brakes in an effort to miss striking him.  In addition to these photos we had a FILM camera with us and we are waiting for it to be developed. There are approximately 20 photos taken of men darting across this major state highway.

This side of the highway is NOT included in the Caltrans sale of the DLS land, so this will continue to be owned by the State of California. As you can see the day laborers use this side as their parking lot. At all times of the day you can find guys loitering around and some sleeping in their cars.  There have been reports by Laguna Beach city officials that the day workers are camping in the canyons above the DLS. TO VIEW MORE CRIMES OF LOITERING, GAMBLING, AND RUNNING THROUGH TRAFFIC GO TO THE GALLERY SECTION AND CHOOSE “LAGUNA BEACH DAY LABOR CRIMES”.

As you view this photos please remember the recent case where the city of Dana Point paid out a $50 MILLION settlement when two joggers were hit on another state highway (Highway 1 PCH).

The City of Laguna Beach and Caltrans have been put on notice many times that having this day labor site operating right next to a major state highway (Highway 133) is a dangerous situation.  It’s only a matter of time before there will be an injury or fatality. Do we, as California and Laguna Beach taxpayers, want to continue to bear the responsibility for this lawsuit waiting to happen?

It’s time for Laguna Beach and Caltrans to Shut Down this day labor site.  Now a Federal official has seen these crimes firsthand. There are NO MORE EXCUSES!

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN, STATE SENATOR, and ASSEMBLYMAN AND TELL THEM WE DO NOT WANT OUR TAX DOLLARS PAYING FOR ANY MORE DAY LABOR SITES!

Congressman John Campbell
Orange County Office:

610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 330
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (949) 756-2244
Fax: (949) 251-9309
Washington Office:
1728 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5611
Fax: (202) 225-9177

State Senator Tom Harman
State Capitol, Room 2052
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4035
Fax: (916) 445-9263

950 South Coast Dr., Ste 240
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: (714) 957-4555
Fax: (714) 957-4560

Assemblyman Chuck Devore
EMAIL: 

Office Locations
Capitol Office
State Capitol Room 4102
Sacramento, CA 94249-0070
Ph: (916) 319-2070
Fax: (916) 319-2170

Irvine District Office
3 Park Plaza Suite 275
Irvine, CA 92614
Ph: 949-863-7070
Fax: 949-863-9337

Updated: Jan 17, 2008 - 17:28:58 PST
http://www.coastlinepilot.com/articles/2008/01/17/opinion/cpt-harmanletter18.txt
(Add comments at this link)
OPINION:
City rigged hiring site purchase price
By Tom Harman
Reader Feedback - Currently No comments posted. Comments
I hate to see the government waste money on boondoggle projects. Recent actions by the city of Laguna Beach present a perfect example of how taxpayer dollars can be wasted.

The good citizens of Laguna Beach should be up in arms over the actions of their city officials. I am referring to the city’s waste of taxpayers’ monies supporting the operation of a Day Labor Site which caters mainly to illegal immigrants. Using tax funds to support a hiring area for illegal immigrants is bad enough, but the city’s recent actions to “rig” the purchase price of the property where the Day Labor Site is located is outrageous.

The Laguna Beach Day Labor Site property is owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). When Caltrans declared the property to be excess and not useful for transportation purposes, the decision was made to sell the property. Caltrans had the property appraised, and it was determined that its value was $1.26 million. This appraisal was based on the potential for the property to be used for commercial purposes. Using the sale procedures it was required to follow, Caltrans put the property up for auction with a starting bid of $950,000, 75% of the property’s value.

Struggling with a $14 billion budget deficit, the state of California is currently faced with an unprecedented fiscal emergency. The opportunity to quickly sell surplus property and generate additional revenues for essential programs is vital to solving the budget deficit crisis. However, when the city discovered Caltrans was planning to sell the property, it threatened to rezone the property as open space. If the city did that, then no commercial development of the property would be allowed. The only practical use of the property would be its use as a Day Labor Site.

Because of the city’s threat to rezone the property, Caltrans was forced to pull the property off the market and obtain a new appraisal. The new appraisal determined the value of the property was greatly depreciated because of the threatened zone change. The land originally put on the market with a starting bid of $950,000 is now being offered for sale by Caltrans for a meager $18,000. To make matters worse, the cost charged to Caltrans for the new appraisal was $18,000.

At the end of the day, the state will walk away with absolutely nothing if the sale of the property moves ahead. It is wrong for the city to use discriminatory zoning in order to devalue state property. If allowed to do so, the city will deprive the state of desperately needed funds.

I have asked Caltrans to reconsider its decision to sell the property for $18,000. This price is shockingly low for a property which was recently appraised as having a value of $1.26 million. Why not just hold onto the property until it can be sold and used for its highest and best use? I intend to do whatever I can in the Legislature to make sure that the state receives a fair price for this property.

The residents of Laguna Beach need to feel secure that their tax dollars are not being wasted. The city’s shameful and discriminatory threat to rezone this property must not be permitted.

TOM HARMAN represents California’s 35th Senatorial district, which includes Laguna Beach.