ABC 30 Blogs

Poll: Growing "Disapproval" for Pres. Obama

President Obama is facing a very real and growing dissatisfaction among residents of the Central Valley and most of California. According to a new and exclusive Action News Poll conducted by Survey USA, the President's approval rating stands at 43%... the same number as the previous poll in August. However, 52% of those responding now say they disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing as President. That number is only 1% greater than the August rating, but more respondents now have an opinion about the President's job performance. A growing number of women (51%) as well as Hispanic (57%) and Asian (48%) respondents are also unhappy with President Obama. Republicans surveyed in the poll are overwhelmingly (85%) disapproving of the President, but the number of Democrats giving the President low marks jumped from 27% last month... to 35% now... and his disapproval rating with Independents has grown to 54% as his approval mark with Independents shrunk to 33%.

Will Pres. Obama ever visit the Valley?

President Obama is returning to California later this month with his hand out. The Oakland Tribune reports the President will hold two private campaign fundraisers in the Bay Area on September 25th. He’s also scheduled to make fundraising visits in Los Angeles and San Diego the next day. No trips to the Central Valley are on the schedule. In fact, Barack Obama has never visited the Central Valley of California as a candidate or as President… despite the importance of the region to the American economy and dinner plate.

Speaking of plates, one of the fundraisers the President will attend takes place at the Atherton home of Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg. The cost if you want to go? $35,800 per plate… better not serve any cold rubber chicken with yellow gravy for that price.

 

Valley Congressman Jeff Denham is trying to persuade the President to make a trip to the Central Valley. The Republican Representative recently sent a letter to President Obama thanking him for his Congressional address on the need to make job creation the top priority of the legislative session. Denham wrote “As the Representative from a district that has been particularly hard-hit during this economic crisis, I look forward to working with you to find bipartisan solutions to this issue.” In the letter, Denham tells the President how the foreclosure problem and the wider economic downtown have been compounded in the Valley by the water crisis.

A Soldier remembers 9/11

      
"9-11, well it's a day that changed my life forever. I'll never forget where I was when I found out the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been attacked. I had already been in the army 3 years, I was a team leader in 2nd Ranger Battalion, and we were on Temporary Duty in Germany conducting urban operations"

ABC30.com: Reviving Old Glory

In the days following the 9/11 attacks Americans began flying the American Flag. Old Glory could be seen on car antennas, bumper stickers, and at homes all across the Valley.

One Valley man wants that spirit to rise again on the 10th anniversary.

The images of that day are seared in the memories of everyone who saw them. Across the country and here in the Central Valley we painfully watched as the search for survivors became a recovery of remains. We saw the flags and chose to fly them ourselves. Some still do.

Click here for complete article...

Summer of Political Discontent

The kids are back in school and Labor Day Weekend is here... the unofficial send-off to summer despite the calendar and continuing hot temperatures in Central California. The weather has actually been mild this summer, but we stumbled through the season with high gas and food prices, a struggling economy, double-digit unemployment, the debt-ceiling crisis in D.C., the wars, fewer state services, and more. Not exactly "Fun, Fun, Fun" as the Beach Boys sang. California voters and residents are angry and they're ready to place the blame on politicians. That anger is reflected in several new and exclusive Action News Polls conducted by SurveyUSA.