Per all the comments and e-mails I recieve about earmarks, I thought what could be better to post than this article below from the PE.  Now, I know not all conservatives are on the same page in their opinions of earmarking.  Regardless, it is safe to say there is a huge difference between the responsible allocation of federal funds to congressional districts and the bridge to nowhere.  It is even safer to say that Congressman Lewis will be winning his re-election in November.

Eleven years ago -- during a previous epidemic of home foreclosures -- Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, returned to his boyhood neighborhood near San Bernardino High School and was disturbed to see vacant, boarded-up homes.

Back in Washington, he pondered what could be done to reverse the decline.

Doing laps in the Congressional pool one day, he had an idea: Use federal dollars to buy up abandoned homes, refurbish them and sell them to low- and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers.

Owner-occupancy would stabilize the neighborhoods and pride of ownership would keep the properties maintained.

Then proceeds of the sales could fund other projects.

As then-chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on housing, Lewis was in a position to make it happen.

The success of that Neighborhood Initiative Program inspired him to expand it to Highland, Redlands and other parts of San Bernardino. In 1998, a pilot project was launched with $15 million.

Last week at a ribbon-cutting for a youth center and a groundbreaking for senior housing in Redlands, both funded by proceeds of the initial $15 million, Lewis touted the program as an example of a good earmark.

In the first five years, it funded the purchase of 600 foreclosed homes for about $45,000 each, refurbished them for about $38,000 and resold them at fair market value to buyers who met the income criteria and qualified for their own financing, said Paul Herrera, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency, which oversaw the program.

The initial $15 million investment multiplied into about $65 million from the sales proceeds, Herrera said.

Some of the proceeds helped fund construction of the Highland Community Center, the Mentone Library and Senior Center and the Redlands Boys and Girls Club. The money was also used to install curbs, gutters and sidewalks, as well as to refurbish homes, in a rundown North Redlands neighborhood.

But I wondered how many of the refurbished homes have remained in good condition, and how many have lapsed back into foreclosure. So I checked.

I recalled that Messina Street in Highland had been one of the hardest hit in the late 1990s, with 18 foreclosures on one street. How does it look today?

Highland Councilwoman Jody Scott had driven Messina Street the night before and found it in fair condition, with only a few empty houses and unkempt yards. Not bad considering today's foreclosure crisis.

Highland Police Sgt. Don Lapeer agreed: "As far as the blight, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be." The buyers got in before housing prices skyrocketed and the subprime mortgage boom imploded, he said.

Lewis' Democratic challenger, Tim Prince, has spoken out against Lewis' earmarks. But he said with proper accountability and disclosure, they can be good. He criticized Lewis for refusing to disclose his earmarks this year, raising questions about who will benefit.

Congress was pleased enough with the program to replicate it in Greensboro, N.C., Detroit, Syracuse and other cities, according to Lewis aide Jennifer Wickre.

Accountability is vital to ensure taxpayer money is well-spent. It seems to have been with this earmark program.