Showing support in the halls of government

Paul Clinton

Local military men and women won recognition for their service on

Friday in the halls of county government.

Assemblyman Ken Maddox, who represents Costa Mesa, and Supervisor

Jim Silva, who represents Newport-Mesa, dedicated a “wall of honor,”

which will display photos of military service people.

“Many of the Orange County residents we will honor ... have not

yet returned home,” Maddox said in a statement before the event.

“Many are still in Iraq, elsewhere in that region or in other areas

of service around the globe. Wherever they are, each of them plays a

part in the security of this great country. My pride in this group is

immeasurable.”

Maddox and Silva dedicated the temporary wall at 9:30 a.m. at the

county’s Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.

The display features about 50 photos of Orange County residents

now on active duty. A photo of Costa Mesa Marine Jose Garibay, who

was killed in an ambush in Iraq in mid-March, is on the wall.

Garibay’s picture is partially covered by a small black ribbon

across the right edge of the photo to signify his sacrifice.

Plans are underway to add more walls to accommodate any more

photos that are submitted, Maddox has said. All the photos are 5 by 7

inches.

Silva, who has a son and a daughter serving in the Air Force, said

the wall was an easy idea to support.

“It’s an honor to recognize these selfless men and women who leave

their Orange County homes to ensure the security of those who

remain,” Silva said in a statement. “I’m proud to join Assemblyman

Maddox in this celebration of service and I look forward to shaking

the hands of those who have returned from overseas.”

A POLICY OF TAX CUTTING

Rep. Chris Cox has been leading the charge in support of President

George W. Bush’s $550-billion tax-cut passage that passed the House

on May 9.

Cox is echoing the White House’s view that the tax-cut package

will act as a job-creating engine in an economy still reeling from

employer cutbacks. California’s unemployment rate hung at 6.7% for

April, according to Employment Development Department data.

“The tax relief the House passed will help Orange Countians who

need jobs,” Cox said at the time. “By reducing the double tax on

savings in stocks of mutual funds, it will help the almost 300,000

seniors in Orange County. And by reducing the capital gains tax rates

to 5% and 15%, it will help small businesses expand.”

Bush’s proposal reduces the tax on stock dividends and capital

gains. It would also eliminate the so-called “marriage penalty” tax,

raise the child tax credit and lower income taxes.

Democrats have derided the tax-cut plan as a benefit to the

nation’s wealthiest taxpayers.

COSTA MESA CONGRESSMAN GOES TO THE DOGS

To cut down on a rash of dog fatalities, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has

introduced a bill to turn the taste of antifreeze bitter instead of

sweet.

Rohrabacher is co-sponsoring the Antifreeze Safety Act, which he

introduced in March. Each year, about 10,000 pets die by ingesting

the sweet-tasting chemical.

The bill would require antifreeze manufacturers to add denatonium

benzoate, a bitter-testing substance, to antifreeze sold in

containers of 55 gallons or less.

“A mere sip for children or lick of antifreeze for pets results in

immediate kidney failure,” Rohrabacher wrote in a March 13 letter to

House colleagues. “[Several safety groups] have noted that the

addition of nontoxic averse agents to toxic household products makes

these products so unpalatable that most children and domestic animals

will reject the products when tasting them.”

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) has co-sponsored the bill with

Rohrabacher.

CHRIS COX’S PRESS SECRETARY’S MOTHER RESIGNS

Kate Whitman’s mom made news on Wednesday.

Whitman, press deputy for Chris Cox, is the daughter of Christie

Todd Whitman, who resigned from her Cabinet post as head of the

Environmental Protection Agency.

“I know she was proud of the work she did at the EPA,” Kate

Whitman said Wednesday. “She’s just excited to get home.”

The elder Whitman, 56, said Wednesday in a letter to Bush that she

was leaving so she could spend more time with her husband, a venture

capitalist, in New Jersey. She joined the administration in 2000,

after seven years as governor of the Garden State.

ACLU, WHERE ARE YOU?

The American Civil Liberties Union held a workshop in Costa Mesa

on Tuesday for budding activists.

Malek Moazzam-Doulat, an associate with the ACLU, spoke to an

audience at the Unitarian Church, at 1259 Victoria St. Moazzam-Doulat

outlined a handful of strategies during the evening meeting.

MADDOX EARNS THE UNION LABEL

Assemblyman Maddox has won the endorsement of one of the county’s

largest public-safety unions in his bid to win the 35th Senate seat

now held by Ross Johnson. Assemblyman John Campbell is also in the

race.

On May 8, Maddox announced he had pinned down the support of the

Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn.

“Ken Maddox is the only candidate in this race that we trust to

support public safety,” said Mike McClanahan, a spokesman for the

group. “Ken has never wavered in his steadfast support for the men

and women who fight on the public safety front line.”

Before running for office, Maddox spent two years as a Los Angeles

County sheriff’s deputy and seven years as a Tustin police officer.

He is now on reserve duty with that city’s department.

COX TO TALK ABOUT HOMELAND SECURITY

Rep. Cox is taking his duties as the chairman of the newly formed

Homeland Security Committee to heart.

Cox is scheduled to speak in Irvine on May 29. His speech will be

“Homeland Security: How Safe Can We Be?”

“Although a military victory may have been achieved in Iraq, the

ability and impulse of terrorists to commit aggressive acts against

Americans on our own soil remain,” Cox said in a statement.

Reservations are required in advance to attend the event, which

will be held at the Irvine Marriott, at 18000 Von Karman Ave. The

cost is $35 or $45. The event will be hosted by Orange County Forum.

For more information, call (949) 588-9884.