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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

President Donald Trump finally visited California when he landed in the San Diego area to tour the border wall prototypes as part of a whirlwind trip that also included an address to the troops at Marine Air Station Miramar and a swank fundraising dinner in Los Angeles.

After having my car keyed during the Bush era for a pro-president bumper sticker, I have avoided those with political slogans. As I live in California, in a veritable sea of soccer mom mobiles, having a distinguishing feature on my Honda is critical. So I chose "Star Trek Valedictorian".

The big news from California that Democrats are trying to promote is that there is over $6 billion in an unexpected budget surplus.
"We have to be on our guard. It's not exciting, it's not funding good and nice things, but it's getting ready" for the next recession, [California Governor Jerry] Brown said. But in the five months ahead of a budget revision in May, when the governor's Finance Department will offer updated revenue and spending figures, Democrats in the state legislature are likely to offer their own ideas about how to spend the state's $6.1 billion surplus, beyond the constitutionally mandated $1.5 billion contribution to the rainy day fund.

I have a startling admission to make: I do believe global warming is making a comeback.  Why? Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Administrator Scott Pruitt's rollback of senseless regulations warms my heart so much that I am sure it has raised the global temperature average! To begin with, the EPA is now scrapping Obama-era rules tightening restrictions on the disposal of coal ash, the byproduct from coal-fired power plants.

It appears that over 200 illegal immigrants in Northern California ignored the warnings of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who warned on Twitter of impending ICE raids.
Federal immigration officials concluded Wednesday a days-long sweep of Northern California in the days since a warning of their raid was blasted out by a public official — a move which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says “created another magnet for more illegal immigration.”

President Donald Trump's administration has already implemented nearly two-thirds of the 334 agenda according to the conservative Heritage Foundation, which is a pace faster than former President Ronald Reagan. One of Trump's biggest promises was to roll back regulations, especially those promulgated under the behemoth of the Environmental Protection Agency. New reports indicate that the agency's enormous power, magnified under Obama, is steadily receding.