This morning, the latest Field Poll delivered some very positive news for Tom Campbell: not only does he continue to lead California's GOP Senate primary, but he now leads Barbara Boxer in a hypothetical primary matchup.

Wow.

Focusing on the primary for a moment, here's how this morning's numbers broke down:

Tom Campbell 28%

Carly Fiorina     22%

Chuck DeVore    9%

In other words, there's been very little movement since the last Field Poll in late January. This despite efforts from both Fiorina and DeVore to call into question Campbell's support for Israel and the veracity of his current views on taxes. These are fair, legitimate questions a potential nominee should have to face in a primary but so far, they clearly haven't had an impact.

Moving to the general, here comes the stunner:

Tom Campbell  44%

Barbara Boxer   43%

Again: WOW.

These numbers might explain why I'm hearing from D.C. that the Demcrats are in full-scale panic mode over Boxer, as evidenced not only by Al Gore's recent fundraiser for her, but by the fact that even President Obama will be coming out here next month to lend her a hand. "Democrats are freaking out about Boxer," was the exact quote from a well-placed politico.

And it's in these general election numbers where Fiorina and DeVore can find much more comfort, with Carly in a statistical tie with Boxer and Chuck DeVore down only four points.

But those general election numbers won't matter if they can't get the primary polls to budge.

It's no longer "early," a claim that those behind in the polls could fall back on until now. DeVore has to get some momentum or, presumably, lining up donors will become increasingly challenging. And Carly's notoriety as a public CEO is seemingly nullified by Campbell's name recognition as a long-time California politico, so she's going to have to find a way to break through on the issues.

In what remains one of the most compelling primaries in the country, the last 83 days of this California GOP Senate battle should be downright fascinating.

Owner of Big West refinery confirms Alon as sole bidder    (Bakersfield Californian)
Flying J Inc. confirmed Wednesday that only one bidder -- the Dallas-based subsidiary of Alon Israel Oil Co. Ltd. -- has made an eligible offer to buy Big West, the refinery it owns on Rosedale Highway.

KHSD appoints principals, lays off 10    (Bakersfield Californian)
The layoffs, district officials said, were not state budget-cut related, but instead made because of school boundary changes and a decrease in federal money that funded some positions.

Conrad jumps in race for the 25th    (Modesto Bee)
Ex-councilman says tax bill spurred him to join field of five

Race for the 32nd starts out hot    (Bakersfield Californian)
 

Jon Fleischman of Flashreport.org just posted a very interesting article "Breaking News:  GOP AG Candidate Eastman Files As 'Assistant Attorney General'"

Mr. Eastman states that he was appointed by the South Dakota Attorney General on February 23, 2010 to represent and argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court Reisch v. Sisney, No. 09-953.

Furthermore, Mr. Eastman is now an "Assistant Attorney General" not for California, but for South Dakota.

It is quite amusing to read that Mr. Eastman says relative to the case he is working for the State of South Dakota:

Pursuant to the terms of my retainer agreement, I will be paid $20,000 for researching and writing the Petition for Certiorari and representing the state in submitting a reply to opposing briefs.

Then, Mr. Eastman can't live with the retainer amount when he wraps up the case:

I anticipate I would bill the state at least an additional $100,000 for such additional work.

There are two problems:  1) Ballot Designation and 2) Controllable Expenses on such a case.

If Mr. Eastman is going to bill the taxpayers of South Dakota 5 times what was the initial cost in the retainer agreement, then it makes many wonder if he will do the same as California's Attorney General.

I wish Mr. Eastman was forthcoming on this issue over the weekend with the delegates at the California Republican Party Spring Convention in Santa Clara and not after the fact.

We expect candidates to come clean with the voters and not play games, because we are getting tired of those "legal eagles" who think they can out smart the voters!

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At a joint press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon last year, President Obama vowed to make ending border violence a "top priority." How's that hope and change working out? Drug-related crime is out of control, the State Department is warning spring-break vacationers to avoid the Mexican states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua, and the bloodshed has now reached the U.S. consulate's office.

A young American consulate worker and her unborn baby were slain this weekend in Mexico, along with her U.S. detention officer husband and the Mexican husband of another consulate worker. The wanton murders appear to have been a coordinated drug cartel hit; the victims had all just left a children's birthday party in Juarez and were headed across the border back into Texas. The pregnant American official, Lesley Enriquez, is reportedly the first consulate employee to die in drug-related violence since 1985. Her 7-month-old daughter, terrorized by the gunfire while strapped in her car seat, was the lone survivor of the attack.

The State Department has now authorized the evacuation of dependents of U.S. personnel in six Mexican cities along its northern border with the U.S. And the resort town of Acapulco saw at least 13 murdered over the past week -- including four beheadings. The total death toll over the past three years is nearing 20,000.

Mexican government officials have been quite content to blame their neighbors for the outbreaks; to play the race card; to demand blanket amnesty for illegal aliens from their country trying to flee the violence and misery; and to collect massive infusions of U.S. aid that have fallen into the wrong hands. The question for this White House is: How many more Americans will be targeted for execution before we stop rewarding such fatally arrogant behavior?

Reminder: With bipartisan support, the Bush administration handed over $1.6 billion to help Mexico control its border chaos in 2008. The crime-fighting package known as the "Merida Initiative" funded helicopters, surveillance equipment, computer infrastructure, the expansion of intelligence databases, anti-corruption initiatives, human rights education and training, and an anti-money laundering program for our southern neighbors.

President Obama accelerated the release of Merida Initiative cash to Mexico and tossed even more taxpayer funding into the mix. All of this while our own measly border enforcement initiatives have been shortchanged, demagogued or completely abandoned.

Critics of the Merida Initiative (including yours truly) warned that lax oversight would lead to inevitable plundering of the money by corrupt Mexican government officials and more unabated bloodshed. Calderon cried "racist!" and demanded that the aid be forked over with no strings attached: "Give it to me. And give it to me without conditions," he told Congress.

Well, who's watching over the program now? Who's measuring its success or failure? Judging from the endless pile of corpses and horrific headlines, the Merida Initiative has turned out to be a boon and a boondoggle for the Mexican thugocracy. The civilian police force is notoriously under the thumb of the drug networks across the country. Infiltrators have penetrated at all levels.

The Brookings Institution warned two years ago: "Multiple Federal agencies have earned a reputation for ineffectiveness and corruption; among them, the Attorney General's Federal Investigative Agency, the Ministry of Public Security's Federal Preventive Police Force, the Ministry of Government's Center for Investigation and National Security and the Ministry of Finance's Customs Administration. … State security agencies and the courts have not protected the citizenry effectively. According to surveys carried out by Transparencia Mexicana, the police and justice system are perceived as having worse problems of corruption and inefficiency than other public agencies."

Yet, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the lesson of this weekend's killing spree is that the U.S. needs to work even closer with the Calderon administration -- and at least one House Democrat in Texas, Henry Cuellar, is calling for a second Merida Initiative package. This is a recipe for an even bloodier Mexican Drug Cartel Stimulus Package.

If you subsidize it, you'll get more of it. Loco.

The Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee and San Francisco's KGO-TV ABC 7 all reported about the salary pay increases for the top staffers of Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles, District 46) and GOP Minority Leader State Assemblyman Martin Garrick (R-Solana Beach, District 74).

The pay increases were not modest, but rather hefty salary increases.

Speaker Perez's Chief of Staff Sara Ramirez salary went from $125K to $190K.

Assemblyman Garrick's Chief of Staff Michael Zimmerman salary went from $66K to $111K.

The public outcry on the pay increases has been pretty fierce up and down the state, while the economy is still stuck in low gear and California's unemployment is at staggering 12.5%.

Few weeks ago, former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Culver City, District 47) discreetly approved pay raises to her key staffers on her last day as Assembly Speaker on Friday, February 26, 2010 according to the Sacramento Bee.

Unfortunately, if I had known that Assemblyman Garrick had given his key staffers pay increases, I would have asked him serious questions at last weekend's California Republican Party Spring Convention in Santa Clara.

It still boggles my mind to think that those HUGE pay raises may seem acceptable for the top legislative staffers and expect the taxpayers to pick up the tab.

We need to remind legislators that public service is noble service with an understanding there are people who are willing to do the work with a reasonable salary!