Report from the office of Senator Hollingsworth

MURRIETA — State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (Rep.) was busy late last year with the approximate 1,600 homes destroyed in in the October fires in San Diego County.

He visited command posts while fires savaged his huge rural district in order to make sure firefighters were getting the support needed from State resources to battle the blazes.

As the largest evacuation in California’s history took place, he spent long days visiting the local shelters to assure that those who had been displaced during the fires and those who had lost their homes received the necessities they needed to get through those critical first weeks.

As weeks went by, Hollingsworth’s staff oversaw the development of community fire assistance groups for the stricken areas, while the senator attended oversight meetings to determine the effectiveness of the fire response by first responders and to determine how support can be improved in the future.

Last week Senator Hollingsworth returned to the Senate to face the staggering $14 billion deficit. [Remember how Republican Senators, led by Senator Hollingsworth and other Republican Senate leaders, were rebuked just a few months ago by the press for stopping an additional $6 billion from being spent and then arguing that further deficits were being hidden by the Democratic leadership?]

Other battles remain:

• The Delta Bay is only releasing half the water to Southern California than it did last year, at this time through a court order, because a little fish called the Delta Smelt can’t stay away from the pumps.

• The State is suing the Federal Government because the State wants to impose a Kyoto-type environmental restriction on its citizens and the Federal government said no.

• The Democrats want to increase taxes and add regulation on businesses which could drive businesses and jobs out of California.

• Democrats plan on introducing more social bombshells on education and thus forcing families to leave public education for private schools and spend their money on the private schools, while their taxes go to schools their children will never attend. And the list goes on.