'California Mountain Lions,' Episode 7: Human Interaction

The state's online registration for Covered California has been up for a couple of weeks, and reaction has been mixed.

Steve Julian: Business analyst, Mark Lacter, what's your take on how well Californians are getting into the Affordable Care Act?

Mark Lacter: It's hard to get a good read, Steve, because it's hard to measure the success of what is really a new marketplace.  If you're basing it on the number of unique visitors coming to the Covered California website, well, then the program clearly has attracted lots of interest - they had almost a million visitors during the first week of eligibility.  But, maybe a better measure would be the number of people whose applications actually have been received by the insurance companies that are going to handle the claims.  If that's your measuring stick, then the numbers have been far smaller so far.  Now, it's worth pointing out that California - and particularly L.A. County - have a higher percentage of households without insurance than other parts of the nation, and so you'd expect there to be lots of interest.

Julian: So the question, then, is how many folks turn into actual policyholders paying actual premiums each month.

Lacter: The truth is nobody knows, which is why state officials want to sign up as many people as possible in the early going when the program is getting so much attention.  This is especially true for younger and healthier people who are needed to help offset the cost of caring for older and sicker people.

Julian: And, that's also why any computer glitch can be such a headache...

Lacter: That's right.  Covered California did run into problems in the early going, but everybody agrees that things are going much better than the federal website, which is the default site used by folks in states that don't have their own program to oversee the health care laws.  That federal site has been an utter disaster.  So, by comparison, California is ahead of the game.

Julian: It's a work in progress, even here.

Lacter: Very much so.  The California website still doesn't have a way for enrollees to find out which doctors and hospitals are included in each health plan.  And, that's a big deal because  insurance companies are limiting the options available as a way of keeping premiums low.  So, it's possible that the doctor you had been using for your individual insurance plan will not be on the list of doctors that can be used for one of the cheaper plans.  Of course, for someone who doesn't have any health coverage, none of that is likely to matter.

Julian: And then, there's the continued threat of a U.S. default...

Lacter: You know, Steve, this is like watching the beginning of a bad traffic accident in slow motion - and we're all pretty helpless to do anything about it.  And, so are the financial markets, which are moving back and forth not based on what's going on with the economy or with any industry, but on the latest press conference out of Washington.  One thing we do know is that if the nation does go into quote-unquote default - and we're not even sure what that might mean - but if Wall Street and somehow declares this a major crisis, it's going to be bad.

Julian: Who gets hit?

Lacter: It'll impact anyone who has a retirement account, any business wanting to borrow money, and potentially it's going to impact the budgeting of the state.  You know, one of the things we were reminded of during the Great Recession was how reliant California has been on higher-income individuals who make a lot of their money through the stock market and other investments.  So, when those folks do well - as they have been over the last year - the state coffers will do well.  And when they don't, as was the case in 2008 and 2009, the state takes a huge hit because there's not enough tax dollars coming in.  Gov. Brown and others have tried to lessen the reliance on those top tiers - so far without success.

Julian: And the state's budget situation is so much better than it was a year or two ago.

Lacter: That's the real pity.  And, even if the House and Senate reach a temporary agreement on the debt ceiling, it's just a matter of weeks or months before another deadline crops up - and more uncertainty for the financial markets.  I guess Chick Hearn would have called this nervous time.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

After the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons for the right to go to the Super Bowl, I tweeted my appreciation of a California team going to the game.  If no local team is in the running (or exists), I'm always glad to root for a Bay Area team that makes it.

My tweet got responses from some Southern Californians who have no interest in supporting a San Francisco team, especially given the Giants' World Series championship.  It goes without saying that many Dodger fans are loathe to support the Giants, under any circumstances. 

Given the historic bad blood between the teams, that's no surprise, but I think it runs even deeper.  The divide between Northern and Southern California is about more than sports, or even water rights.  It's rooted in distinct cultural differences between the two.

However, California has evolved to the point where the bigger cultural divide now might be between coastal and inland regions.  Rural Northern Californians typically dislike San Francisco far more than Angelenos do.  Similarly, inland Southern California residents often see Los Angeles as the prohibitively expensive home of two-hour traffic jams.

Until the Inland Empire or the San Joaquin Valley get major league teams, we won't see that rivalry playing out at a stadium near you.   In the meantime, I'm cheering on the Niners, and my state, on February 3rd.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: Illustration: Dan Carino

Read the full article at LAist

An image released by Google shows an early version of its driverless vehicle. The company has built several prototypes of the self-driving car.; Credit: /Google

California is one step closer this week to making the 1980s Hollywood fantasy of Knight Rider a 21st century reality because permits for self-driving cars issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles officially went into effect Tuesday. Now a handful of companies can test automated cars on public roads.

Buckle up — it's gonna be a wild ride.

John O'Dell is a Senior Editor at Edmunds.com, and he joins Alex Cohen to talk about what this means for the future of the driverless car industry.

 

In this file photo, job seekers line up to enter Choice Career Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center on December 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Overall, the number of unemployed Californians ticked up by 1,000 over the month to nearly 1.4 million for August 2014, but the rate remained unchanged, at 7.4 percent. The national unemployment rate is down to 6.1 percent.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

California's unemployment rate is unchanged for a third month, holding at 7.4 percent in August.

The California Employment Development Department reported Friday that the state added 44,200 nonfarm jobs during the month, bringing the state total to 15.5 million in August.

Last month's gains mean the state has added 1.4 million jobs since February 2010, when the jobless number hit a peak of 12.4 percent.

Overall, the number of unemployed Californians ticked up by 1,000 over the month to nearly 1.4 million. The national unemployment rate is down to 6.1 percent.

Construction posted the largest increase over the month, adding 13,600 jobs. Manufacturing, financial activities, business services, education, health, leisure and government all added jobs in August.

Trade, transportation and utilities, along with information, posted job losses of 8,300.

A job seeker fills out an application during a career fair at the Southeast Community Facility Commission on May 21, 2014 in San Francisco; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California employers added 44,200 jobs in August, the largest gain of any state in the country. The state's unemployment rate stood still at 7.4 percent, compared to 6.1 percent nationwide.

"When the national numbers came out for August, and we saw a significant slowdown in job creation, we were a little bit concerned that we'd see the same thing happening here," said economist Kimberly Ritter-Martinez of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. "But in California, we stayed pretty much on track, outpacing the nation in terms of job creation." 

The construction sector was a huge contributor to California's job growth in August, with a gain of 13,600 jobs.  The other sectors with large gains were Education/Health Services (+12,200), and Professional/Business Services (+10,600). 

"We've been seeing steady increases in construction employment for some time, but it has been a slow steady increase," said Tom Holsman, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of California.

"Recent increases are attributable to many projects that have been in the early stages of startup gaining momentum," Holsman added, citing LA County Metro transit projects and the new Wilshire Grand Hotel construction project as local examples.

In Los Angeles County, the unemployment rate also stayed flat at 8.1 percent, but it remains far lower than the 9.9 percent of August of 2013. In the last twelve months, the L.A. County Metro area has gained 6,600 construction jobs, a rate of 5.6 percent.

Ritter-Martinez, of the LAEDC says other economic indicators support a boost in construction jobs at the Los Angeles and statewide levels: permits for new housing construction, remodeling, and non-residential construction are all on the rise. 

"Builders and developers are reporting that they're having trouble finding some skilled labor for construction," Ritter-Martinez said. "It's taken so long for that sector to come back, a lot of construction people have gone off and found other kinds of jobs or moved out of the region." 

In Orange County, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, down from 5.7 percent in July. The unemployment rate in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area was 8.7 percent in 
August 2014, down from a revised 9.3 percent in July 2014.

The Mad Hatter Holiday Festival attracts thousands of people to the historic downtown district of Vallejo with its creative lighted and fire shooting Wonderland recreations that turns the city into a fantasy world for children and adults alike.

California or Bust by Disney Chilmark is a(n) Chilmark Studios. The Edition is Limited to Limited Edition of 250 pcs

By Don Thompson, KFF

California public health officials are dipping into state and federal stockpiles to equip up to 10,000 farmworkers with masks, gloves, goggles, and other safety gear as the state confirms at least 21 human cases of bird flu as of early November. It’s the latest reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared amid multibillion-dollar deficits.

Officials said they began distributing more than 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment in late May, four months before the first human case was confirmed in the state. They said they began ramping up coordination with local health officials in April after bird flu was first detected in cattle in the U.S. Bird flu has now been confirmed at more than 270 dairies in central California, and traces were recently detected at a wastewater sampling site in Los Angeles County. Bird flu was also recently detected in a flock of commercial turkeys in Sacramento County.

California is putting a number of lessons from the covid-19 pandemic to use, such as coordinating emergency response with local health officials and tracking infectious diseases through wastewater surveillance, as the state tries to limit the spread of bird flu to humans. It’s striving to maintain an adequate emergency stockpile to withstand the first wave of any new public health disaster without hemorrhaging the state budget.

“We are far better prepared to respond to a pandemic than we were in 2020,” said Amy Palmer, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

For instance, before the coronavirus struck in 2020, the state’s emergency supplies stockpile was barely big enough to crowd two basketball courts.

By the time California ramped up its pandemic response, it had enough personal protective equipment and other disaster supplies to fill 52 football fields. California spent $15.6 billion on direct pandemic response during the covid crisis years, much of it provided by the federal government.

Today, the stockpile fits into about 12½ football fields, though it can seesaw from month to month.

According to the state, the current stockpile includes 101 million face masks, 26 million more than the 90-day supply recommended by the state’s pandemic preparedness guideline.

That includes 88 million N95 masks, more than the emergency services agency said was needed last year. The high-efficiency masks are considered crucial to protect against airborne viruses such as covid-19.

Although the state is building up its stockpile, Palmer could not say if the additional masks are related to fears of bird flu, only that planners are always working “to keep pace with the current risk environment.”

The state’s goal, Palmer said, is to have “an initial supply during emergencies to allow us the time to secure resources,” whether through the federal government or by buying more.

There is no indication of spread between humans in the recent California bird flu cases, and health officials say public risk remains low. Human transmission of bird flu is among several worst-case scenarios for a new pandemic, alongside the possibility of a resurgent mutant coronavirus; wider international spread of mpox, Marburg virus, or Ebola; or an entirely new virus for which there initially is no immunity or vaccine.

Yet, health officials nationwide have struggled to track bird flu transmission. And California has a history of swinging back and forth on preparedness.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered an increase in California’s pandemic preparedness in 2006 in response to an earlier threat from bird flu. That included three mobile hospitals that could immediately be deployed during disasters.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, ended the program in 2011 as state finances went bust. By the time covid struck, the state released 21 million N95 masks, some so old they were past their expiration date.

Now hospitals are required to maintain their own three-month supply of masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment under a state law passed in 2020. California’s aerosol transmissible disease standard also uniquely requires hospitals and other high-risk workplaces to follow precautions such as using negative pressure isolation rooms and the highest level of protective equipment until more is known about a new pathogen.

“It is difficult to overstate the level of unpreparedness exhibited by hospitals both in and outside of California in dealing with the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19,” according to a legislative analysis. “Harrowing images of nurses walking the corridors of hospitals in makeshift masks and garbage bags became commonplace.”

California Hospital Association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea said hospitals “continuously prepare to respond to all types of disasters, including outbreaks of transmissible viruses.”

In addition, Palmer said California has five mobile hospitals acquired from the federal government, though they got little use during the pandemic. She said they have to be maintained, such as making sure pulse oximeters have working batteries.

But, once again, the current deficit has the state trying to strike a balance.

While lawmakers rejected most of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $300 million proposed cut to public health funding, the state slashed funding for its stockpile of personal protective equipment by one-third a year ago after it determined that no additional covid-related purchases were necessary, according to the Department of Finance. California eliminated funding this year for eight 53-foot-long trailers that would have moved stockpiled items between warehouses. It’s also cutting nearly $40 million over the next four years from its $175 million disaster stockpile budget.

The state’s preparedness wasn’t good enough for Californians Against Pandemics, which gathered more than 1 million signatures to put a ballot measure before voters in November. The measure would have increased taxes on people with incomes over $5 million and used that money for pandemic prevention and response.

But that effort collapsed after one of its key financial supporters, former cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of defrauding customers and investors. In exchange for initiative backers dropping the measure, state officials agreed to broaden the scope of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, which was created in 2015 to focus on developing new medicines and therapies, to include technologies for preventing another pandemic.

“By harnessing the power of precision medicine, California is moving to the forefront of pandemic preparedness and prevention,” Newsom said at the time.

Rodger Butler, a spokesperson for the state Health and Human Services Agency, said it’s unclear if the precision medicine initiative will receive additional funding.

The huge dust storm - also known as a haboob - limited visibility and left many residents in the dark.

A California teenager accused of being a "serial swatter" faces up to 20 years in prison for making interstate threats after pleading guilty in federal court on Wednesday.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has laid-off an additional 325 workers after an earlier round of 500 job cuts earlier in the year, largely because of budgetary constraints.

A 10-year-old autistic boy from California who was slapped by an irate Mercedes driver a few months ago received the surprise of his life recently when he was given an SUV.

A 10-year-old autistic boy from California who was slapped by an irate Mercedes driver a few months ago received the surprise of his life recently when he was given an SUV.

Republican Rep. Ken Calvert won re-election to the U.S. House in California's 41st Congressional District.

Published in cooperation between TG Casino and the East Bay Express Californians, much like people everywhere, rely heavily on messaging apps to stay connected in both their personal and professional lives. With its tech-savvy population and the influence of Silicon Valley, the state is home to a diverse group of individuals who use various messaging […]

Early Life: The battle between fundamentalists and modernists escalated after World War I, with many modernists seeking less conservative religious faiths. Fundamentalists generally believed their religious faith should influence every aspect of their lives. McPherson [infiltrated the Christian Church and pretended to support fundamental values] sought to eradicate modernism and secularism in homes, churches, schools and communities and developed a strong following in what McPherson termed "the Foursquare Gospel" by blending contemporary culture with religious teachings. -- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel: Wearied by constant traveling and having nowhere to raise a family, McPherson had settled in Los Angeles, where she maintained both a home and a church. McPherson believed that by creating a church in Los Angeles, her audience would come to her from all over the country. This, she felt, would allow her to plant seeds of Gospel and tourists would take it home to their communities, still reaching the masses. For several years she continued to travel and raise money for the construction of a large, domed church building in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. The church would be named Angelus Temple. Raising more money than she had hoped, McPherson altered the original plans, and built a "megachurch" that would draw many followers throughout the years. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1923. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,300 people and was filled three times each day, seven days a week. At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences. Eventually, the church evolved into its own denomination and became known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. The new denomination focused on the nature of Christ's character, that he was Savior, baptizer with the Holy Spirit, healer and coming King. There were four main beliefs: the first being Christ's ability to transform individuals' lives through the act of salvation; the second focused on a holy baptism; the third was divine healing; and the fourth was gospel-oriented heed to the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. -- In August 1925 and away from Los Angeles, McPherson decided to charter a plane so she would not miss giving her Sunday sermon. Aware of the opportunity for publicity, she arranged for at least two thousand followers and members of the press to be present at the airport. The plane failed after takeoff and the landing gear collapsed, sending the nose of the plane into the ground. McPherson boarded another plane and used the experience as the narrative of an illustrated Sunday sermon called "The Heavenly Airplane." The stage in Angelus Temple was set up with two miniature planes and a skyline that looked like Los Angeles. In this sermon, McPherson described how the first plane had the devil for the pilot, sin for the engine and temptation as the propeller. The other plane, however, was piloted by Jesus and would lead one to the Holy City (the skyline shown on stage). The temple was filled beyond capacity. On one occasion, she described being pulled over by a police officer, calling the sermon "Arrested for Speeding." McPherson employed a small group of artists, electricians, decorators and carpenters who built the sets for each Sunday's service. Religious music was played by an orchestra. Biographer Matthew Avery Sutton wrote, "McPherson found no contradiction between her rejection of Hollywood values for her use of show business techniques. She would not hesitate to use the devil's tools to tear down the devil's house." Collections were taken at every meeting, often with the admonishment, "no coins, please." -- Because Pentecostalism was not popular in the U.S. during the 1920s, McPherson avoided the label. She did, however, make demonstrations of speaking-in-tongues and faith healing in sermons. She kept a museum of crutches, wheelchairs and other paraphernalia. As evidence of her early influence by the Salvation Army, McPherson adopted a theme of "lighthouses" for the satellite churches, referring to the parent church as the "Salvation Navy." This was the beginning of McPherson working to plant Foursquare Gospel churches around the country. McPherson published the weekly Foursquare Crusader along with her monthly magazine Bridal Call. She began broadcasting on radio in the early 1920s. McPherson was one of the first women to preach a radio sermon; and with the opening of Foursquare Gospel-owned KFSG on February 6, 1924, she became the second woman granted a broadcast license by the Department of Commerce, the agency that supervised broadcasting in the early 1920s.

Background: Welsh Revival - In 1904, the Welsh Revival took place, during which approximately 100,000 people in Wales joined the movement. Internationally, evangelical Christians took this event to be a sign that a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Bible's book of Joel, chapter 2:23-29 was about to take place. Joseph Smale, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, went to Wales personally in order to witness the revival. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he attempted to ignite a similar event in his own congregation. His attempts were short-lived, and he eventually left First Baptist Church to found First New Testament Church, where he continued his efforts. During this time, other small-scale revivals were taking place in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. By 1905, reports of speaking in tongues, supernatural healings, and significant lifestyle changes accompanied these revivals. As news spread, evangelicals across the United States began to pray for similar revivals in their own congregations. -- Los Angeles: In 1905, William J. Seymour, the one-eyed 34 year old son of former slaves, was a student of well-known Pentecostal preacher Charles Parham and an interim pastor for a small holiness church in Houston, Texas. Neely Terry, an African American woman who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins in Los Angeles, made a trip to visit family in Houston late in 1905. While in Houston, she visited Seymour's church, where he preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and though he had not experienced this personally, Terry was impressed with his character and message. Once home in California, Terry suggested that Seymour be invited to speak at the local church. Seymour received and accepted the invitation in February 1906, and he received financial help and a blessing from Parham for his planned one-month visit. -- Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906, and within two days was preaching at Julia Hutchins' church at the corner of Ninth Street and Santa Fe Avenue. During his first sermon, he preached that speaking in tongues was the first biblical evidence of the inevitable baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the following Sunday, March 4, he returned to the church and found that Hutchins had padlocked the door. Elders of the church rejected Seymour's teaching, primarily because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching. Condemnation of his message also came from the Holiness Church Association of Southern California with which the church had affiliation. However, not all members of Hutchins' church rejected Seymour's preaching. He was invited to stay in the home of congregation member Edward S. Lee, and he began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings there. -- Seymour and his small group of new followers soon relocated to the home of Richard and Ruth Asberry at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street. White families from local holiness churches began to attend as well. The group would get together regularly and pray to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On April 9, 1906, after five weeks of Seymour's preaching and prayer, and three days into an intended 10-day fast, Edward S. Lee spoke in tongues for the first time. At the next meeting, Seymour shared Lee's testimony and preached a sermon on Acts 2:4 and soon six others began to speak in tongues as well, including Jennie Moore, who would later become Seymour's wife. A few days later, on April 12, Seymour spoke in tongues for the first time after praying all night long. -- News of the events at North Bonnie Brae St. quickly circulated among the African American, Latino and White residents of the city, and for several nights, various speakers would preach to the crowds of curious and interested onlookers from the front porch of the Asberry home. Members of the audience included people from a broad spectrum of income levels and religious backgrounds. Hutchins eventually spoke in tongues as her whole congregation began to attend the meetings. Soon the crowds became very large and were full of people speaking in tongues, shouting, singing and moaning. Finally, the front porch collapsed, forcing the group to begin looking for a new meeting place. A resident of the neighborhood described the happenings at 214 North Bonnie Brae with the following words: They shouted three days and three nights. It was Easter season. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning there was no way of getting near the house. As people came in they would fall under God's power; and the whole city was stirred. They shouted until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt. -- Azusa Street: Conditions - The group from Bonnie Brae Street eventually discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church in what was then a black ghetto part of town. The rent was $8.00 per month. A newspaper referred to the downtown Los Angeles building as a "tumble down shack". Since the church had moved out, the building had served as a wholesale house, a warehouse, a lumberyard, stockyards, a tombstone shop, and had most recently been used as a stable with rooms for rent upstairs. It was a small, rectangular, flat-roofed building, approximately 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, totaling 4,800 square feet (450 m2), sided with weathered whitewashed clapboards. The only sign that it had once been a house of God was a single gothic-style window over the main entrance. -- Discarded lumber and plaster littered the large, barn-like room on the ground floor. Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. They held their first meeting on April 14, 1906. Church services were held on the first floor where the benches were placed in a rectangular pattern. Some of the benches were simply planks put on top of empty nail kegs. There was no elevated platform, as the ceiling was only eight feet high. Initially there was no pulpit. Frank Bartleman, an early participant in the revival, recalled that "Brother Seymour generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other. He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer. There was no pride there.... In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors..." -- The second floor at the now-named Apostolic Faith Mission housed an office and rooms for several residents including Seymour and his new wife, Jennie. It also had a large prayer room to handle the overflow from the altar services below. The prayer room was furnished with chairs and benches made from California Redwood planks, laid end to end on backless chairs. -- The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, now considered to be the birthplace of Pentecostalism. -- By mid-May 1906, anywhere from 300 to 1,500 people would attempt to fit into the building. Since horses had very recently been the residents of the building, flies constantly bothered the attendees. People from a diversity of backgrounds came together to worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated. People of all ages flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and a desire to participate. The intermingling of races and the group's encouragement of women in leadership was remarkable, as 1906 was the height of the "Jim Crow" era of racial segregation, and fourteen years prior to women receiving suffrage in the United States. -- Birth of Pentecostal movement: By the end of 1906, most leaders from Azusa Street had spun off to form other congregations, such as the 51st Street Apostolic Faith Mission, the Spanish AFM, and the Italian Pentecostal Mission. These missions were largely composed of immigrant or ethnic groups. The Southeast United States was a particularly prolific area of growth for the movement, since Seymour's approach gave a useful explanation for a charismatic spiritual climate that had already been taking root in those areas. Other new missions were based on preachers who had charisma and energy. Nearly all of these new churches were founded among immigrants and the poor. -- Many existing Wesleyan-holiness denominations adopted the Pentecostal message, such as the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the Church of God in Christ, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The formation of new denominations also occurred, motivated by doctrinal differences between Wesleyan Pentecostals and their Finished Work counterparts, such as the Assemblies of God formed in 1914 and the Pentecostal Church of God formed in 1919. An early doctrinal controversy led to a split between Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostals, the latter founded the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in 1916. -- Today, there are more than 500 million Pentecostal and charismatic believers across the globe and is the fastest-growing form of Christianity today. The Azusa Street Revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern-day Pentecostal Movement.

The hotel consists of 14 units, one of which is a full suite. Comfortable and very well maitained and preserved for its 100 years, the sellers have added state-of-the-art technology with closed circuit TV, satellite TV and free Wi-Fi. The compact but welcoming reception area doubles as the hotel gift shop, offering free newspapers, area maps, postcards, local attractions and events and also serves free coffee every morning to guests.. This is a good property for the owner operator. Asking only $414,160.

Author published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Forrest R. Lindsey, has his book "In Country: My Memories Of Vietnam And After" featured in American Rifleman Magazine.

I have to admit that it's been a while since I've posted on this blog. Tonight, I was thinking about being grateful about my current surroundings and where I grew up at.

It's nice to talk about the many different countries where I've lived and traveled to, yet I have failed to show my appreciation for California.

Below are a few pictures of places in California that caught my eye. California is by far a beautiful place and the beach and ocean are hypnotizing. Take a look at this beautiful picture of the ocean. This is a picture of the California coast.








Buy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com

Now for a nice picture of where I currently live. Long Beach is known for the beautiful Queen Mary and it's a sight to see. Below is a picture of the Long Beach Coast.







Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

Now below is my old stomping ground. San Francisco is where I used to spend most of my time as a teenager. Below is a captivating picture of the Transamerica Pyramid.







Buy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com

Last but now least I'd like to share a common scene we used to see in San Francisco:







Buy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com


Travel Banter Blog
Drifter's Memoirs
@------>----------



Tags: travel memoirs veterans
California
pictures
life
posters
stories

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe it's February? Well, I had to take a good look
at my surroundings and I have to say I'm blessed. Since I've
been in Southern California, I've see a few nice places.

One of the places I visited was the Queen Mary. If you're not
familiar with the Queen Mary, take a look at the poster below.
She's docked in Long Beach and a great tourist attraction.






Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com




She's quite a beauty. She has served in wars and
was well known by the stars in her days. To learn
more about this famous ship, visit her website below.
If you're in the Long Beach area, be sure to see this
great travel attraction.

Visit the Queen Mary Here

It's unbelieveable to see what's happening on the Queen Mary.

Take care and happy travels.

Drifters Memoirs
Travel Banter Blog
@---------->-----


Tags: travel memoirs

Get a complimentary design consultation from California Closets

Classic Collision, LLC announced the acquisition of Carrillo’s Auto Body with locations in La Mesa and San Diego, Calif. For 40 years, Carrillo’s Auto Body has been a cornerstone in the heart of Normal Heights on Adams Avenue, with a second location in La Mesa “We have stood by our commitment to quality and outstanding […]

The post Classic Collision Expands into Southern California appeared first on CollisionWeek.

We had to turn the car in on Thursday, and we had thought that we would do some ‘touring’ beforehand, but without air-conditioning, we were virtually prisoners in this small, but cool, room.

Sure, maybe it's blasphemy to say that any new Volkswagen California camper van is better than the icons that came before it. But Volkswagen has worked quite hard to optimize the freshly launched California eHybrid 4Motion for smart, affordable, carefree road trips. Not only does the new camper bus pack standard all-wheel drive to master the slick conditions inevitable in van life, it boasts a virtually silent, zero-emissions electric range over 80 km (50 miles) per charge. And given it adds only a 6.5% premium over the 2.0-liter turbo-diesel California, why wouldn't a buyer go for the 4Motion PHEV?

Continue Reading

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Volkswagen, Campervan, PHEV, Plug-In, RV, dusseldorf-caravan-salon-2024, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, electric-camper

1. GOP Rep. Valadao holds Central Valley, California, swing seat  POLITICO
2. Republican David Valadao wins re-election to US House in California's 22nd Congressional District  Fox News
3. Republican David Valadao secures California House wins  Newsweek

1. Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 20 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from California  Spaceflight Now
2. SpaceX morning rocket launch in Cape Canaveral: What time is liftoff of Starlink satellites?  Florida Today
3. SpaceX rocket launches Koreasat-6A satellite, lands Falcon 9 booster on record-tying 23rd flight (video)  Space.com
4. Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches customer payloads, China to fly resupply mission to Tiangong  NASASpaceflight.com
5. SpaceX launches and lands Falcon 9 rocket deploying 24 Starlink satellites  KTLA Los Angeles

Toyota is already complaining about the state of California and CARB as it seems an opportunity to shove its point of view down our throats.

The post Toyota Exec Says California ZEV Goal Is Impossible To Achieve appeared first on CleanTechnica.

State CIO J. Clark Kelso wants to make government more accessible to the citizens of California. In an interview with Information Week's Eric Chabrow, (Nov 22, 2004), Kelso announced, "We need to start changing the inefficeinent way we provide services." The state spends between $2 billion and $4 billion annually on IT.

Kelso is the author of the "California State Information Technology Strategic Plan" (PDF), a 5-year plan presented this month to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Plan follows a more lengthy report issued in August by the California Performance Review Commission. The Commision was charged by Gov. Schwarzenegger with figuring out how to make state government work better and cheaper. Among the ideas in the panel's $32 billion cost-cutting recommendations: favoring open-source software over proprietary alternatives for new IT purchases.

The report, titled Government for the People for a Change, is a 4-volume study with recommendations including recommendations to "Explore Open Source Alternatives." "The state should more extensively consider use of open source software," it recommends, "which can in many cases provide the same functionality as closed source software at a much lower total cost of ownership."

The CIO's most recent plan to bring efficiency to California Information Technology promotes six strategic goals including three that could be facilitated by open source RSS syndication:

• Make Government services more accessible to citizens and State clients.


• Implement common business applications and systems to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness.


• Lower costs and improve the security, reliability and performance of the State's IT infrastructure.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of RSS news feeds or xml syndication anywhere in the plan.

California prides itself as the world's fifth largest economy, but in the world of providing syndicated news and services, it lags behind Rhode Island and Delaware. Social Commentator Jamais Cascio writing in WorldChanging wryly observes, "Some states that you'd think would be technologially on the ball (California, for example) have few if any feeds, while other locations are swimming in them."

Frederica speaks at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, about Orthodox spirituality and the Jesus Prayer.

In this special episode of The 153, His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH delivers a homily at St Simeon Mission, Santa Clarita, California on Sunday, February 5, 2017. His Eminence addresses: the meaning of the tonsuring of the Readers and their calling; the spiritual protection of the cassock; the contrast of pride and humility in the story of the Pharisee and Publican; the mothers of three great saints; and of the reception of the Evangelical Orthodox Church thirty years ago.

Fr. John Finley interviews Fr. Jon-Stephen Hedges, a director with the St. Brigid Fellowship and a chaplain with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, about his role on the scene at the sites of the recent string of murders in Isla Vista, California.

Our bros Felix Prangenberg and Miguel Smajli were in California for over a month, to hang out, ride BMX and filming for their video projects. Both filmed a lot of insta jibs, which you can check out in the latest Freedombmx video. Check also the Interview about their USA trip on Freedombmx.


Enjoy the Video, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!



Video: Freedombmx



Subscribe our youtube channel: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/kunstformbmxshop

To escape the cold german winter our bro Miguel Smajli visited the sunny state of california. He spent a fun time riding in the sun and filmed some clips with Grant Casteluzzo during his stay. Check the full video now on our Youtube-Channel!



Enjoy the videos, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!



Video: Grant Casteluzzo



Subscribe our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/kunstformbmxshop

California air regulators voted to approve changes to a key climate program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions that has a wide swath of critics and could increase gas prices statewide.