Voter Fraud Found in Vernon Election

Sam Allen,  Los Angeles Times

An election officer on Monday claimed that voter fraud occurred during Vernon's June City Council election, throwing out seven of the sixty-four ballots cast and declaring a new winner in the race. The election was between Reno Bellamy and Luz Martinez who were running as candidates for the secretary of The Chamber of Commerce. Martinez lost the election by four votes in which seven had been thrown out. Superior Court Judge Debra Yang concluded that five of the voters in question were not residents of the city. Two others, she said, did not properly mail in their ballots. This now changes the entire outcome of the election. When Bellamy was questioned, he responded by saying that the hearing process was bogus because it is corrupt. He claimed that Judge Debra Yang was receiving 1,000 dollars an hour for her services. He was quoted saying, “The city government itself ran this show. When it comes to an election, they shouldn't be playing that part. They shouldn't have any say in who wins—that’s more corrupt than the old Chicago mob." To see voter fraud in a city with a population 112 people just shows us that voter fraud will and may have already occurred in much larger and more significant elections. It is obvious that new methods of voting need to come in to place in order to make elections fair.

The Scarlet Letter #3

Throughout The Scarlet Letter we were introduced to all the main characters and their problems. We also witnessed their emotions regarding the adulterous sin Hester committed with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. All the characters suffer either emotionally or physically. However I sympathize more for Roger Chillingworth. Roger had things to take care of and promised his wife they would meet up in Boston. After he was finished taking care of things, he expected to come to Boston and resume the relationship he had with his wife. However, he comes to Boston and the first thing he sees is his wife being punished in front of the whole town while holding her illegitimate child. This makes him feel backstabbed. He is so fueled with rage, he swore revenge on Hester's lover. As Hester's punishment was public, Dimmesdale's and Chillingworth's was internal. Dimmesdale's guilt was eating him inside and Chillingworth's envy and jealousy was bothering him. Chillingworth did not sin however, he has to live the rest of his life thinking about how things might have ended up if he was the father of Pearl. Dimmesdale did absolutely nothing to deserve this kind of emotional distress. Hester and Dimmesdale are the only ones who deserved the punishment for the sins they committed.

The Scarlett Letter #2

“Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”(Hawthorne 126). This is a conversation between Hester and Pearl that foreshadows bad events that will occur. As they are walking in the forest to meet up with Dimmesdale they take a narrow and dark path. The clouds cover up most of the sun but it manages to seep through and touch the end of the dark path. Pearl tries to touch the sunlight but everytime she gets near it, the sunlight disappears again. She blames the lack of sun on the letter and indirectly asks this question to point out the fact that evil is correlated with the letter. Eventually after playing with the sunlight for a while, Pearl manages to catch it but as soon as Hester reaches for the light, it disappears again. This shows the darkness and isolation in Hester's life. Pearl is very smart and realizes many things that others do not. She realizes that her mother is the only woman wearing an "A" on her chest. She does not understand the meaning of the scarlet letter yet. Pearl thinks that you get the "A" as you become a grown woman but still does not understand why the light hides from Hester.  This quote is important because the narrow and dark path that they walk on foreshadows a bad occurrence. It also shows that Pearl's lack of knowledge about the scarlet letter is bothering her inside and she wants to know more by indirectly asking questions about it. She realizes that evil , Roger, and Dimmesdale all have to do with the "A". This quote also shows Hester's grief and the severity of her punishment. She has been living in darkness which symbolizes the lack of life and isolation. That itself has really made Hester suffer and she hopes that Pearl will never face such punishment.

Generation i? 40% of teens say they have an iPhone

Los Angeles Times, Deborah Netburn

"Iphone fever  is not just an adult affliction. It has trickled down to the younger population as well", says Deborah Netburn in an article from The Los Angeles Times. According to a new survey, about forty percent of teenagers have an Iphone. Since it has become such a hot item in the market, this number is exponentially increasing. In the spring of 2011 only seventeen percent of teens said they owned an Iphone. By the fall of 2011 that number had grown to twenty-three percent. In the spring of 2012, the number was increased to thirty-four percent. However it has now reached forty percent. Apple's Iphone has successfully targeted its initial target, the teenage generation. They have market this product very well and it sure shows in the statistics. One of the factors that made the Iphone so successful is its price. You can purchase a new Iphone with a contract for about 200 dollars and if that is out of your price range, then you can purchase the old iphone for an even more affordable price. Apple's analysts expect this number to keep increasing as time goes by. Based on the consumption of Apple's line of "I" products, it is fair to say that this generation is generation "I". 

"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The ending of "The Scarlet Letter" has many possibilities that might lead to different outcomes. The way the story goes so far, Roger Chillingworth has sworn revenge to the mystery father of Pearl. Some clues are given that Pearl's father is Reverend  Arthur Dimmesdale like the fact that he does not ask Hester directly who the father is on the gallows. Roger has convinced everyone he is a doctor and has moved up in Salem's social hierarchy. What might happen is that Hester will accidentally tell Roger because she is very lonely and desperate for companionship under the condition that the reverend will remain unharmed. However, since Roger is so fueled with rage that he will take action that might cause Arthur Dimmesdale to die. Society then will blame Hester who has no choice but to flee Salem and Hester will forever be alone. Whatever path this story will take, a happy ending is nowhere to be found.

Gas Prices Set a Record in California

Nancy Rivera Brooks, Los Angeles Times

In the morning, Nancy Rivera Brooks wrote an article about the soaring gas prices in California. As of now, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California is 4.614 dollars. Prices of gas are increasing about twelve cents a day from the beginning of this week. Why the sudden increase in prices? Gas prices started to skyrocket when Exxon Mobil's refinery was shut down in Torrance due to a power outage as well as other problems in other refineries. Analysts say that the gas prices will begin leveling off next week when the refineries will return to their regular production. The gas prices are so high right now, some gas stations have temporarily closed down because they can not afford to fill up their huge storage tanks that can hold thousands of gallons of gasoline. The last time prices have been this high was in 2008 when a gallon of gas cost 4.610 dollars. It is times like these were having a hybrid or electric vehicle will be worth it.