THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Rep. John Campbell isn’t completely opposed to using earmarks to get money for Back Bay dredging, but he wants to see the system reformed first. For now, there isn’t any money to help with the dredging due to the country’s budget deficit, and the congressman fears using federal dollars to help the city.

“It can’t be seen as welfare for rich yacht owners,” Campbell said.

While he doesn’t believe in adding spending to bills, the practice that’s known as “earmarking,” Campbell said he would have no problem tossing some cuts into one.

After announcing his new legislation concerning a tax break to commuters on Wednesday, Campbell later said in response to comments from Democratic challenger Steve Young that he wouldn’t have any problem cutting the budget “to just about any department because we spend too much on all of them,” so he could pay for the gas bill.

Rep. wants preparation for asteroid threats

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is concerned the United States might not be prepared to deal with the possibility of an interstellar object colliding with Earth. He had a news conference Monday to discuss the issue on the centennial anniversary of a massive explosion, believed by some to be caused by a projectile from outer space.

One hundred years ago, in a Siberian forest, an explosion commonly known as the Tunguska Event demolished 80 million trees. Rohrabacher worries a similar event in a metropolitan area could cause a major catastrophe if not properly dealt with.

“I was once told the chances of being killed by an asteroid were the same as getting a flush in Las Vegas. Well, I’ve actually gotten a flush in Vegas, a royal flush,” Rohrabacher said.

Late last year Rohrabacher submitted House Resolution 4917, a bill calling for the creation of a comprehensive program to “eliminate and mitigate the serious and credible threats to humankind posed by potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids and comets.”

“He’s a senior member of the science committee, and he has a bill out concerning near-Earth objects, so he wanted to draw attention to the fact that we don’t have a plan to deal with them,” said spokeswoman Tara Setmayer.

Local artist’s work selected by the mayor

Being the mayor comes with its perks. Costa Mesa Mayor Eric Bever will soon be hanging a new painting in his office on the fifth floor of City Hall, and it won’t cost him a dime.

As part of a new city initiative to show city support for the arts and publicize local artists, Bever started the “Mayor’s Choice Award,” for which Bever hand-selects a piece of art to decorate the mayor’s office walls. At June’s Artist Showcase at eVocal on the Westside, Bever selected a portrait of a woman by local artist Terry Kim. Kim will loan his piece to the city free of charge to be displayed.

“My hope is that having their art in the mayor’s office is a source of pride for the [winners],” Bever said.

Company calls city’s bid proposals unfair

An item on the Costa Mesa City Council’s consent calendar generated a heated debate at Tuesday’s meeting.

The controversy started when an ambulance service provider vying for a contract to provide the city’s ambulances called the process for submitting bid proposals unfair.

Usually, the council votes unanimously to approve all the motions on the consent calendar, but this one was removed from the calendar and discussed for the better part of an hour to address the council’s questions about how the city decides which companies to contract.

The main concern was a provision in this particular bid process forbidding companies from contacting council members, to prevent improper lobbying. City Manager Allan Roeder said this process was used by neighboring cities in similar situations.

Eventually, the council decided to vote to approve the consent calendar item, permitting the city to begin negotiations with CARE Ambulance. Councilwoman Katrina Foley asked that next time the council is forbidden from being contacted by companies seeking bids, the city staff make it clear beforehand.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com. DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.