All In The Family

For pure entertainment value, the 28^th State Senate Race is one that just can't be beat. The battle between Supervisor Jeff Stone and Bonnie Garcia is an all GOP affair with attack ads and sewer politics galore. Not to be outdone are the contributions from family members. Now normally I would leave family members alone but in this case you have so much crazy stuff, it is hard to do.

Bonnie Garcia's ex-husband Javier is a Riverside County DA Investigator who just happened to videotape DA Paul Zellerbach tearing down his opponents campaign signs. His current wife, Gina Garcia just got out of jail after hitting and killing 18 year old Danica Denton with her car, in Cathedral City in 2009.

Bonnie's son Javier Jr., currently a corrections officer in Nevada, is considered a witness of some importance in the Pinyon Pines murder investigation which has been splashed al over the press recently.

On the other hand, comes news today of the indictment of Vincent Cusamno, the 23 year old stepson of Jeff Stone. Cusamano works as a bail bondsman and it is alleged that he went all, “Dog The Bounty Hunter” including waving a gun while looking for a fugitive.

Maybe the apples or step apples as the case may be don't fall far from the tree.

How The Better Half Really Lives, I'll Be Damned

While the world battles Isis and the Ebola outbreak, it is always good to see what the real problems are affecting our local area. It appears that some citizens in Indian Wells are rude and aggressive and sometimes use foul language. Now the city is looking to reign that in.

It will debate Thursday whether or not to give power to city manager Wade McKinney to take away residents perks and cards that allow them dining, golf and other perks for patterns of rude and abusive behavior.

Now this being Indian Wells, the reaction to being told to not act like jerks has spawned, of course, said reactions. City Councilman Doug Hanson has compared the first proposal to a police state. Hanson of course, allegedly told a chef at the IW Club that he would, “Shove a hamburger up the Chef's a#$” if not cooked to his satisfaction a few years ago.

What I of course find amusing is the fact that Indian Wells one of the wealthiest enclaves in the United States, feels it has to codify codes of behavior. It just goes to show that as always, money can't buy class.

This ordinance has no way of passing any proposed constitutional test but it certainly provides us all with a clear definition of First World Problems.

Gay Democrats Stage Replay Of The Out-Of-Towners

Well local gay Democrats are at it again. For the 2^nd time in less than 2 months, they are staging a fundraiser for Congressman Mark Takano who hails from Riverside. The invite list for the bash for cash, taking place this Sunday at Lulu's Bistro read like a Who's Who of local Gay Democratic officials.

I personally like Mark Takano who is an openly gay man, first elected to Congress in 2012 in the 41^st district. He faces opposition this year in Riverside councilman Steve Adams who is considered to be no real threat . This fundraiser is obviously a gay pride issue and while there is a lot to be said about that, it must be troubling for local Democrats to see that local resources are being spent on out of district candidates.

This is not just problem for local Democrats. National GOPers use the Coachella Valley as a political ATM machine during the Presidential years as well. Plus we have also seen some fundraisers for out of state GOPers take place here.

While all this is legal and in many cases understandable, I wonder what the reaction of Riverside Democrats would be if Raul Ruiz threw a fundraiser there?

Palm Springs specifically, the gay mecca of the Valley is on the verge due to redistricting of being represented by ultra conservative GOPers in both the Assembly and State Senate. Perhaps funds should be diverted to building up a local bench rather than given to an out of district Congressman assured of winning.

Steve Kelly is heard weekdays from 4 to 6 PM on 1450 KPTR Palm Springs.

36th Debate

First of all I want to thank the Democrats Of The Desert for hosting me at last night's debate. They were very nice to me and the 2 pizzas I bought were not a factor at least I hope. Now on to the grades.

Raul Ruiz

I thought Dr Ruiz started out slow. He made a classy move by opening up with a handshake. As the debate went on he got better and better. He should have pointed out more about the connection from Brian Nestande to the Paul Ryan budget. The 700 billion dollar figure Nestande quoted was actually 70 billion a year for 10 years and would be used from over charges from insurance companies. I think the Doctor should have pointed out that Medicare is government health insurance. Dr Ruiz did well in pinning Nestande on gay marriage, despite the attempt of Kris Long to save him. So much so that Nestande had to issue a statement this morning saying his position had evolved. B-

Brian Nestande

He started out well but then started to hit every right wing checkpoint he could including Benghazi. The Salton Sea license plate was beyond absurdity. Plus his use of the term Democrat instead of Democratic was childish. His ending seemed to be a rerun of Mary Bono Mack 2 years ago. B-

The Moderators

Always tough and in full disclosure I know all 3 of these people and have on panels with them. I felt they let Nestande come back to questions that were asked and answered.

Karen Devine I thought she did very well. She had to herd cats including her co-panelist Kris Long. I will give her an A minus.

Erica Felci

Erica did well up until the end with her, “What bill that your opponent sponsored would you vote for?” question, A bizarre moment B-

Kris Long

Kris, Kris, Kris. The debate is not about you. The question about a Democratic mailer was a cheap shot and the legalized marijuana question silly. Throw in the fact he seemed to be mugging for the camera, and he gets a D.

All in all I rate this a tie and since Dr. Ruiz is the front runner, tie goes to him