By Miriam Raftery
 

July 17, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)—Over a thousand letters poured into the office of Assemblyman Joel Anderson in just three days. The letters came from concerned citizens, mostly in the Borrego Springs community, in response to a state budget proposal that would close almost all state parks, including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, as a cost-saving measure.

By Assemblyman Joel Anderson

In the year AD 64, Roman emperor Nero fiddled at the top of a tower as a devastating fire swept through the city of Rome. According to many accounts, Nero himself started the fire and then blamed it on Christians.

Today, an economic fire is ravaging California.

Unemployment has climbed to 11.5%, income tax revenue is down 33.8% from last year and the budget deficit is now $24 billion.

May 28, 2009 (San Diego's East County)--“I spent 26 years serving my country in the US Navy, and I would do it again,” said Arthur Armagost, an Alpine resident and veteran. “But it pains me to see men and women I served with leaving California when they retire. They spent their entire careers stationed in California but can’t afford to live here anymore.”

State Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) agrees with Armagost and is leading an effort to make California friendly to veterans and military retirees.

May 26, 2009 (Sacramento)—Assembly Bill 157, a measure authored by Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) to help fire victims and other disaster survivors, passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 18 by a unanimous vote. Under Anderson’s bill, homeowners in the 2003 Cedar Fire, as well as those who lose homes in other disasters after July 1, 2007, will have seven years to replace their homes in San Diego County without facing property tax consequences.

By Miriam Raftery March 18, 2009 (San Diego)--Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has introduced AB 255, a bill that seeks to prevent terrorist acts by blurring online images of schools, government buildings, churches and medical facilities through Google Earth and other online aerial mapping technologies. The measure has drawn the attention of CNN News and sparked a debate among high-tech advocates in Silicon Valley.