Cox wants probe of Bush story

Alicia Robinson

Newport Beach Rep. Chris Cox on Tuesday formally requested a House

subcommittee investigate CBS News’ use of allegedly forged documents

on President Bush’s military service record. Questions have been

raised since CBS’ “60 Minutes” last week reported on documents

showing that, while in the Texas Air National Guard, Bush didn’t

follow orders to take a physical.

In a letter to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who chairs the House

telecommunications and Internet subcommittee, Cox wrote that “despite

the growing abundance of evidence that CBS News has aided and abetted

fraud, the network has declined to reveal the source of the disputed

documents.”

Cox asked for a speedy response in light of the fast approaching

election. An item on the CBS website said the network “continued to

defend the legitimacy of its recent story” and has not commented on

Cox’s request for an investigation.

Problems closer to home

Cox will take time out from worrying about CBS and homeland

security this weekend to attend to more pressing matters, like the

leaky toilet that moistened his new home. Earlier this week, Cox said

his family moved into a house a block away from where they were

living in Newport Beach’s port streets. While he was off in

Washington, D.C., working, an upstairs bathroom was being soaked.

“Even a new house can have problems,” he said. “I think I may have

a project on my hands for the weekend.”

The good news about the new home: Cox’s three children will no

longer have to share a room.

Moving mountains -- of silt

How many legislative meetings does it take to move 2 million cubic

yards of silt? The jury’s still out. A trip to Washington, D.C., last

week by Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway wasn’t enough to secure

federal funding the city’s been seeking for a $24.5 million Back Bay

dredging project city officials hope to start in spring 2005.

“It was a successful trip; you just wish it was more successful in

that they would make a commitment,” Ridgeway said.

The city has been lobbying for months for the money, but officials

were dismayed to learn earlier this year that only $500,000 had been

earmarked for the dredging in the 2005 House appropriations bill.

Last month, city officials shifted their efforts to getting $3

million and the approval to advance their own matching funds to start

the work next year. Ridgeway said he’s not expecting much movement on

those requests until the lame duck session after the November

election.

Voting according to Campbell

With 16 statewide ballot initiatives before them in November,

voters may feel overwhelmed. But not to worry -- there are plenty of

people out there willing to tell you how to vote.

Among them is 70th District Assemblyman John Campbell, who is

running for the 35th District Senate seat. On Friday, he issued an

e-mail voting guide, listing each proposition and his position on it.

As could be expected of a Republican, Campbell suggests “no” votes on

four issues that would result in a tax hike or bond issuance, and he

recommends “no” votes on two different measures that would

renegotiate Indian gaming compacts and expand gambling.

To view Campbell’s voting guide, visit

https://campbellforsenate.com. Other perspectives on the fall ballot

are offered by the Orange County Taxpayers Assn. website at

https://www.octax.org and the California Chamber of Commerce at

https://www.calchamber.com. For nonpartisan election information,

visit the League of Women Voters website at

https://www.smartvoter.org.