With 86 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday night, Democrat Gil Cedillo was still far behind Democrat Judy Chu in the race to fill the 32nd Congressional District seat vacated by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

Chu had 32.6 percent of the vote compared to Cedillo's 23.7.

For the Republican race, Betty Tom Chu, a distant cousin to Judy Chu, was leading with 10.2 percent of the vote. Not far behind was Republican Teresa Hernandez, owner Cielito Lindo restaurant in South El Monte with 8.3 percent of the vote.

Newcomer Emanuel Pleitez also made a strong showing for the Democratic nomination. He earned 13.7 percent of the vote.

Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the winners from each party will square off in another election.

Three hours after hours after the polls closed, with 65 percent of precincts reporting, Chu had 33 percent of the vote.

Though State Sen. Gil Cedillo, considered her main Democratic rival, is gaining on her lead, he continues to trail significantly with 25 percent of votes. Political newcomer Emanuel Pleitez, a 26-year-old financial analyst, is in third among Democrats, with 14 percent of the vote.

In the Republican race, Betty Tom Chu, a Monterey Park councilwoman and distant cousin of Judy Chu, holds the lead, with 10 percent of the vote. Restaurateur Teresa Hernandez, who spent nearly $100,000 in the race, much more than any other GOP candidate, trails with 8 percent; and David Truax, a former mayor of Covina, has 6 percent.

The top vote-getters from each party will face off in a special general election in July. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district 2-1.  

Twenty minutes after the polls closed, with ten percent of polls reporting -- mostly vote by mail ballots - Judy Chu had 42 percent of the vote.

State Sen. Gil Cedillo, considered her main Democratic rival, had 17 percent.

Republican Betty Tom Chu, a Monterey Park City Councilwoman, had 13 percent; followed by 26-year-old Democratic Emanuel Pleitez, a financial analyst, with 8 percent; Republican Teresa Hernandez, a restaurant owner, with 8 percent; and Republican David Truax, a former mayor of Covina, with 7 percent.

If no single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top vote-getters from each party move on to the general election on July 14.

While voter turnout continues to be low in Los Angeles County - 17 percent as of 7 p.m., according to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder - officials are saying it has been higher in the 32nd Congressional District.

"We expected more of a spike here... and we have seen more activity in the district today," said Efrain Escobedo, Executive Liason for the Registrar-Recorder.

While voters trickled into polls throughout most of the day, by 6 p.m. a steady stream of voters were entering the precinct at Shirpser Elementary in El Monte.

"I have been very surprised for a special election... I am very pleased at the turnout," said David Leeper, a supervisor at the precinct.

32nd Congressional Candidates Judy Chu and Gil Cedillo have kept us up to date with their whereabouts today, letting us know things like what time they voted to what times they will be at the campaign headquarters to what time their election parties will be.

Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who came to Industry yesterday to plead for voter support on the propositions, is M.I.A. Instead, he is in Washington, D.C. announcing an agreement on fuel efficient vehicle emissions. The Governor, however, defends his trip.

Civic duty, patriotism and a $105 paycheck. That's what inspired James Nguyen, 28, to serve as a pollworker in today's election.

Even though he was working the polls, Nguyen was among the youngest faces spotted at the West Covina precint at Monte Vista Elementary School.

"Most of the voters are 50 and older," said Nguyen, who had voted absentee.

Other precinct workers noted that few voters 18 to 25 showed up.

For Charter Oak High School senior James Edwards, 17, who worked at the polling place at the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control in West Covina, he missed the opportunity to vote in this election by just three days.

"My 18th birthday is on Friday," he said. 

So why did he choose to work at the polls?

"To get a day off from school," he said. "And to get paid."

Even though Monte Vista Elementary School, 1615 W. Eldred Ave. in West Covina served as a polling place for two precincts, one poll worker described the day as a vacation. Combined, only 141 people cast their votes.

By 1 p.m., inspector James Nguyen said that only 76 voters had turned out at his precinct. Chip Holmes, inspector for the other precinct at the school, recorded 65 voters. At that rate, Holmes predicted it would be a total turnout of about 12 percent.

"A day like today is easy on everybody," said Holmes, who has worked the polls for the past seven years.

Over at the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control at at 1145 N. Azusa Canyon Road in West Covina, Denise Yarbarough of Montclair sat in a voter-less room at 1:30 p.m.

What's it been like today for her?

"Slow," she said.

About 80 ballots had been cast out of the 1,500 registered voters in the precint, coming out to 5 percent of registered voters.

There was a slight rush when the polls opened at 7 a.m., but that quickly died down. The polls close at 8 p.m.

"There have been others that have been slow like this," said Yarbarough, who has served as a pollworker for nearly 12 years. "It all depends on what's on the ballot."

What would it do?

•Temporarily redirect some Proposition 63 funding for services to the mentally ill to the general fund. Proposition 63, passed by voters in 2004, put a personal income tax surcharge of 1 percent on taxable income over $1 million to fund new and expanded mental health programs.

What is the objective?

•To help patch the budget deficit. The Proposition 63 account is running a surplus, and the governor and legislative leaders want to grab the money off the table for the general fund.

What does it cost taxpayers? Nothing.

What's the effect on the general fund? On the deficit?

• 1E would save the general fund about $230 million a year for two years, reducing the deficit by the same amount.

Who's for it? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, legislative leaders, California Chamber of Commerce, California Teachers Association.

Who's against it? Agencies that deliver mental health programs under Proposition 63, Mental Health Association in California, California Republican Party.

Interesting tidbit: State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Rusty Selix, executive director of the Mental Health Association in California, co-authored Proposition 63. Steinberg favors Proposition 1E and Selix opposes it.

What would it do?

•Redirect funds from the state and county First 5 commissions to the general fund. It would reduce the funding from tobacco taxes that, under Proposition 10, goes for First 5 programs like health access and school readiness.

What is the objective?

•To help patch the budget deficit. The First 5 account is running a surplus, and the governor and legislative leaders want to grab the money off the table for the general fund.

What does it cost taxpayers? Nothing.

What's the effect on the general fund? On the deficit?

• 1D would save the general fund up to $608 million in 2009-10 and $268 million annually for the following four years, reducing the deficit by the same amounts.

Who's for it? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, legislative leaders, California Chamber of Commerce, Association of Regional Center Agencies, California Teachers Association.

Who's against it? Agencies that deliver health services and school readiness programs in association with First 5, California Republican Party, Rob Reiner.

Interesting tidbit: Voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998 to direct tobacco tax money to early childhood development. Twenty percent of the revenue goes to the state commission and 80 percent goes to First 5 commissions in the 58 counties.

What would it do?

•Allow borrowing up to $5 billion from future lottery profits to help close the deficit.

•Allow bigger lottery payouts and more marketing to attract more play and more revenue.

•End payments to schools from lottery receipts.

•Direct about $1 billion from the general fund to schools to replace the lost lottery money. The first year, that would be in addition to the Proposition 98 funding guarantee for schools; in subsequent years it would be part of that guaranteed funding.

What is the objective?

•To reduce the current budget deficit by up to $5 billion.

What does it cost taxpayers?

•Nothing directly.

What's the effect on the general fund? On the deficit?

•The current deficit would be reduced by $5 billion. Effects on the general fund are difficult to predict. If lottery changes produce more revenue, the debt could be paid back with money left over for the general fund; if not, the general fund could be reduced due to debt payments. Education funding would probably grow faster than with the current lottery payments, possibly reducing the general fund and adding to future deficits.

Who's for it? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, legislative leaders, California Chamber of Commerce, California Teachers Association, California State Sheriffs' Association.

Who's against it? The California Republican Party.

Interesting tidbit: 1C allows the Legislature to borrow again against future lottery profits at any time.

•Extend the sales tax hike by one year and the income tax and vehicle license fee hikes by two years.

•Create a "rainy day" fund (replacing the ineffective one created under Proposition 58). Three percent of each year's projected revenues would be deposited in the fund until the fund reaches 12.5 percent of that year's estimated revenues. Money from the fund could be spent only for specified purposes.

•"Unanticipated" revenues, defined as those that exceed expectations based on the previous 10 years of actual revenues, adjusted for inflation and population growth, would go to paying off debts and filling out the rainy day fund. It's not a spending cap, per se, but it would restrict the overspending that generally results from "extra" revenues.

•Give the governor power to make midyear spending cuts when revenues fall short of projections.

What are the objectives?

•To smooth out future budgets, avoiding the boom-and-bust cycle that results in overspending in good times, and cuts and tax hikes in bad times.

•To gain more general fund revenue from the two-year tax hike extensions.

What does it cost taxpayers?

•About $16 billion over two years (from 2011-13).

What's the effect on the general fund? On the deficit?

•No immediate effect. Extending the taxes would increase two years' revenues and decrease the deficit. The rainy-day fund could reduce future deficits. The spending restrictions could reduce future expenditures, thereby reducing future deficits. The measure's complexity makes it difficult to predict its effects.

Who's for it? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican and Democratic legislative leaders, California Chamber of Commerce, California Teachers Association.

Who's against it? Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, California Federation of Teachers, California Faculty Association, California League of Women Voters, Health Access California.

Interesting tidbit: The governor could cut spending midyear in many areas, but not when it comes to collective bargaining agreements.

Associated Press

The special election called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers in February also contains a pair of bonus races - one to fill the Southern California congressional seat vacated by U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and another to fill the seat in a Los Angeles-area state Senate district.

The election, just six months after a presidential contest that swelled voter rolls, is expected to generate little interest. Voters who have been paying attention have told pollsters they are likely to reject propositions assembled by the governor and lawmakers as they sought to close what had been a $42 billion deficit over two years.

The deficit has re-emerged despite that budget agreement and is projected to hit $15.4 billion in the fiscal year that begins in July. And that's if voters approve the ballot measures.

If they don't, the deficit will grow to $21.3 billion, according to a proposal released last week by the governor's office.

That choice between bad options, confusion over what the propositions would do and voter frustration with politicians - not to mention election fatigue - have set the stage for a potential landslide against the measures.

Voters are trying to decide on a mixture of reforms, higher taxes, borrowing and funding shifts that will determine the

The most contentious measure, Proposition 1A, would create a state spending cap and rainy day fund, which Schwarzenegger has promoted as necessary to smooth out California's budget cycles in the years ahead. But the measure also would extend income, sales and vehicle tax increases enacted earlier this year by one or two years, a provision that has stirred opposition from conservative groups.

Proposition 1B would restore more than $9 billion to schools.

To help fill the projected state deficit, Proposition 1C would authorize the state to borrow $5 billion and pay it back, with interest, from future lottery revenue. Two other measures would shift hundreds of millions from children's and mental health programs to the state's general fund.

A sixth measure would prevent lawmakers and other state elected officials from receiving pay raises during deficit years. Polls show it is the only one of the six measures that appears to have enough support to pass.

Local election officials say they the sense that California voters are simply burned out, especially after three statewide elections in 2008.

Gone are last November's endless supply of volunteers helping election officials get out the vote, said Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin. Not that they would be needed for an election in which perhaps a third of California's 17.1 million registered voters are expected to turn out.

"We've tried to get creative," said Pellerin, who is vice president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. "We're on Twitter. I'm doing e-mail blasts."

Despite generating apathy among many Californians and animosity among others, the special election will have immediate consequences no matter what happens.

If voters approve the propositions, spending cuts will be less severe but taxes will be raised by $16 billion. If voters reject them, lawmakers will have to convene immediately and consider a range of cost-cutting options that could include shortening the school year by seven days, laying off thousands of state employees and eliminating health care services for tens of thousands of low-income children.

David Lau and Betty Tom Chu won two open seats in Monterey Park's City Council election Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the City Clerk's office.

Voters cast 2,982 votes for Chu and 2,607 votes for Lau. Luis Estrada came in third with 2,483 votes. Incumbent Sharon Martinez came in fourth with 2,100 votes.

Actor John Abajian got 207 votes Joe Ray Avila got 181.

The winners will join Mayor Frank Venti and council members Mitchell Ing and Anthony Wong. Venti publicly endorsed Tom Chu and Estrada with signs and mailers.
Most of the candidates zeroed in on an exclusive trash-hauling contract with Athens Services. Approved without a bid process in 2002, it is currently undergoing an audit.

ROSEMEAD -- A new majority in the city could mean big changes down the road.
The six candidates faced off on two opposing slates, with future development as a central battlefront.
Maggie Clark won with 1,914 votes, according to an unofficial tally provided by the City Clerk's Office. Clark was followed by Sandra Armenta with 1,809. Armenta and Steven Ly, who had 1,790 were nearly tied all night. Three seats were up for grabs.
Mayor John Tran, who appeared to have been bounced from office, tallied 1,679. Newcomer Henry Lo and incumbent John Nuñez also trailed with 1,511 and 1,280 respectively.
"I'm ecstatic, I think it's wonderful," Clark said. "I think the people want to have more control back in their hands."
The slate backed by Clark swept the elections. The winners will join councilwoman Polly Low, who usually voted with the former majority, and Gary Taylor, who typically voted with the Clark. Low and Taylor were not up for reelection.
Under the new council, Low will likely be outvoted on most issues by a 4-1 margin.
Each slate included incumbents and newcomers. On one side Mayor Tran and Councilman Nuñez teamed up with Lo, a member of the Garvey school board; on the other, Councilwoman Clark teamed up with Ly, an entrepreneur, and Armenta, a special education teacher at Sanchez Elementary.
Clark's slate asked voters to reject the direction the city has been headed since Tran and Nuñez took over as part of the council majority four years ago. They pointed most fervently to the city's new general plan, a blueprint for future development that was approved by the council majority last year.
Their campaign alleged the general plan would result in a development boom and population increase, creating more traffic and less parking, and vowed to amend the plan.
"We'll put it back to what it was, so each project would stand on its own merit," Clark said.
Tran, Nuñez and Lo countered that the new plan manages growth based on smart-growth principals. They said it would help bring development to struggling parts of the city and improve public transportation opportunities.
All of the candidates pledged to bring more mainstream retail to Rosemead, improve public safety and improve relations among residents of the diverse city.
Before becoming a teacher, Armenta, 36, worked for the city of Rosemead. She has lived in the city for more than 30 years and has also volunteered to direct local youth teams.
Clark has been on the city council for 18 years and lived in Rosemead for more than 40 years. She also served on the city's planning commission for three years and on various regional boards and commissions and holds a teaching credential.

Ly, 23, served as vice president of public policy on the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce last year and is starting his own business in real estate and consulting.

Incumbents Stan Carroll and Brian Bergman and challenger Carl Westerhoff were elected to the La Habra Heights City Council Tuesday. They defeated challengers George Edwards, Faith Grimm and Vincent Gomez. Turnout was 33.4 percent.

Carroll received 806 votes or 25.5 percent of the vote; Bergman, 668 votes or 21.1 percent; and Westerhoff, 617 votes or 19.5 percent. Edwards received 461 votes or 14.6 percent; Grimm, 363 votes or 11.5 percent and Gomez, 247 votes or 7.8 percent.

Measure G, which will allow the city to spend nearly $1 million fire tax revenue was approved by 828 votes to 177 or 82.4 percent to 17.6 percent. This will be Carroll's third term and Bergman's second term.

The city clerk is posting live results through the night. Here's the latest count:

The race for three seats on the Rosemead City Council looks like it could come down to the wire.

With absentee votes and all but two precincts counted:

Sandra Armenta 1372

Margaret Clark 1451

John Nunez 1037

John Tran 1344

Henry Lo 1219

Steven Ly 1364

No                       104     16.3 percent

Incumbent Susan Tripp and Gabe Garcia, a former Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District Board of Education member, easily won in Tuesday's City Council election. Measure A that would raise the city's transient occupancy tax from 7 percento to 10 percent over the next four years also won. Here are the results:

Susan Tripp        2,204  41.4 percent

Gabe Garcia       1,704  32 percent

Thomas Dawson,   754  14.2 percent

Ken Taylor,           659  12.4 percent
        

Measure A
Yes                   1,756  63.6 percent
No                     1,004  36.4 percent

With absentee ballots counted, Mayor John Tran had 930 votes, challenger Henry Lo had 819 votes and incumbent Margaret Clark had 761votes in the Rosemead City Council Election.

Three seats are open.

Three other candidates were not far behind. Challenger Steve Ly had 722. And challenger Sandra Armenta and incumbent John Nunez each had 690 votes.

Glendora early City Council results (absentee ballots) (two open seats):

Glen Murabito: 1,298

Karen Davis: 1,301

Brian Pagac: 213

Kristin Parisi: 606

Yousef "Joseph" Tweini: 313

------------------------------------------------

Measure C, yes : 1266

Measure C, no: 559

If the results hold, it appears there will be no change in the status quo in Glendora. The city Clerk's office expects updated results about 9:30 p.m.

Here are election results for La Habra Heights City Council with only vote by mail (absentee) ballots counted.

Stan Carroll,         334, 25.5 percent

Carl Westerhoff,    305, 23.3 percent

Brian Bergman,    289, 22 percent

George Edwards,  182, 13.9 percent

Faith Grimm,         103,  7.9 percent

Vincent Gomez,      98,  7.5 percent

Still to be counted are the votes from election day.

With all absentee ballots counted, incumbent Susan Tripp and candidate Gabe Garcia had big leads in the contest for two City Council seats.

Tripp has 1184 votes, followed by Garcia with 755.

Challengers Thomas Dawson and Ken Taylor had 471 and 294 votes.

Measure A, which calls for an increase to the city's hotel tax, was leading 881 to 505.  

Absentee ballots in eight out of 15 precints have been counted in La Mirada and incumbent Susan Tripp and newcomer Gabe Garcia have early leads.

Tripp has 633 votes. Garcia had 394. Challenger Thomas Dawson had 256 and challenger Ken Taylor had 160. Two seats are open.

Measure A, which calls for an increase in hotel bed tax,  was ahead 461-277.

Voting in Azusa ended at 7 p.m. Tuesday, making it the first area city to close the polls

Incumbents Keith Hanks and Robert Gonzales were challenged by Paul Naccachian, Nick Rosales and Ed Alvarez.

Polls in all  other cities are scheduled to close at 8 p.m.

Partial results from Azusa are expected very soon.

TODAY is election day for some of our local cities.

That bears repeating so we'll say it again: Today is election day for some of our cities.

We strongly urge you go to the polls or fill out an absentee ballot. For some communities, their local city council elections are held in November.

While this is all terribly confusing, we still urge you to do your civic duty and vote if your city is holding an election today. Find out when your city election is being held, where your polling place is and go vote. (The best way is to call your City Hall or look on the city Web site).

For the past month, we've been writing endorsement editorials for races that take place today. The full editorials (Our Views) can be found on our Web site.

What follows is a brief reminder of our choices:

La Mirada City Council:

Susan Tripp

Gabe Garcia

We endorse Tripp, the incumbent, and Garcia, a challenger.

Both Tripp and Garcia know how to make ends meet and can analyze complicated city budgets.

Tripp has been part of a good City Council for the past eight years, one that has made wise decisions concerning the city's budget and other issues.

We also support the new Splash! aquatic park which is on its way to being fully funded by membership fees. As Tripp explained to our editorial board, there needs to be a balance between just sitting on reserves and spending taxpayer dollars for worthwhile projects that serve the community. Tripp and the Council have found that balance.

Garcia, who heads the department of parks and community services for the city of Corona, has hands-on experience with balancing budgets. While the city is going well, it may face darker times in this extremely troubling economy. "I know the strengths and weaknesses of municipalities," he told our editorial board.

We like Tripp and Garcia for the City Council.

La Mirada Measure A: Yes

The measure would raise the transient occupancy tax from 7 percent to 9 percent effective Jan. 1, 2010, and then to 10 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2013. The bed tax has not been raised since 1985.

La Habra Heights City Council:

Stan Carroll

George Edwards

Carl Westerhoff

There are some tough issues surrounding the race for three city council seats in this hillside community of 5,700 people.

We believe that Carroll, Edwards and Westerhoff present a balanced choice, one that can address all these issues with the right mix of points of view and expertise.

Carroll, 66, already on the City Council, should be re-elected to a third term. His straightforward style, plus his institutional memory of the young city are other reasons why Carroll should be retained. He also has some excellent ideas for addressing the issue of fire safety.

Edwards, 40, a member of the La Habra Heights Fire Watch organization, is enthusiastic about helping neighbors feel protected and bringing additional fire protection to the city.

Westerhoff, 58, the former hospital administrator and executive of CareMore Medical Group, will lend a tremendous amount of expertise on budgets and management, but will also bring new energy and new ideas to the City Council.

La Habra Heights Measure G:

Yes.

Would allow the city to spend the current fire assessment tax on the fire department and other related items. Would not raise the assessment.

Monterey Park City Council:

Sharon Martinez

David Lau

The politics of nearby Monterey Park are in a bit of a mess but the city itself is actually in pretty good shape. The city has a very balanced budget thanks to its strong light-industrial base and its enormously bustling restaurant scene. It also has large cash reserves of $10 million. Martinez and Lau, seeking to retain their two open seats, are truly knowledgeable, hard-working advocates for Monterey Park, are supported by the county and the Valley's political establishment and have much to be proud of in their work for the city.

Rosemead City Council:

Margaret Clark

Steven Ly

John Tran

In nearby Rosemead, politics have been in an upheaval for several years. In fact, candidates running are running on slates. We look at the race differently and decided to choose candidates individually, as the voters are required to do. Clark is a hard-working, honest council person who should be retained. She was right on the issue of a Wal-Mart, which is now a highly successful super center that serves residents from Pico Rivera to San Gabriel.

Ly is a newcomer who would add balance to decisions on future retail and housing projects.

Tran has many ideas that are worth implementing and has been an energetic leader on the council.

We think voters should vote for these three today, election day.

The city of La Habra Heights will hold its General Municipal Election to choose three City Council members who will each serve a four-year term.

Incumbents Brian Bergman, 60, and Stan Carroll, 66, and challengers George Edwards, 40, Vince Gomez, 43, Faith Grimm, 47, and Carl Westerhoff, 58, are seeking seats.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In La Mirada, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters will elect two City Council members and vote on a measure that would raise the transient occupancy tax on hotel and motel rooms from 7 to 9percent on Jan. 1 and to 10percent on Jan. 1, 2013.

The candidates are Thomas Dawson, 67, Gabe Garcia, 45, Ken Taylor, 48, and incumbent Susan Tripp, 55.

For information on voting or polling locations, call La Mirada City Hall at (562)943-0131 or La Habra Heights City Hall at (562)694-6302.

D.C. has been a virtual playground for children this week, as they come from near and far  to explore the capital, get to know their leaders and bask in the knowledge that they have seen history.

Those that I have talked to are quite well aware of that history.

Take the 59 students from Lakeside Middle School in Norwalk who came to see the inauguration on Tuesday.

"It just goes to show that anyone from any race can be president and do anything," said Danielle Kreig, 14.

And that seemed to have them tuned in, and concerned about the course of the country and the world.

You could hear it in the questions they asked Rep. Grace Nopalitano Wednesday on the steps of the Capitol.

"What political party are you from?" one asked.

"What made you decide to run for office?"

"How do you think what is happening now will change the economy?"

The congresswoman did her best to answer, touching on everything from the Middle East to the need to stay in school.

For Debbie Kaesbauer, an algebra teacher at Lakeside, it was a difficult experience have to supervise nearly 60 students in the middle of Tuesday's chaos.

But it can't replace the abililty for these students to sit back years from now and say they were there for history, she said.

Linda Sanchez, who on Wednesday met with La Serna High School students, was excited to see them in the wake of Tuesday's events.

"It's an amazing opportunity when kids can witness events that will some day be printed in history books," she said. "I was proud to host them today and answer some insightful questions on congress, what a congresswoman does, and explain some of my policy positions."

It's the economy...

That's the focus as local legislators get into the swing of things in the wake of Tuesday's inauguration.

President Obama's economic stimulus plan will be at the top of the agenda here, and some local legislators are already pitching their ideas.

How those ideas play out will determine much of the success for the Obama administration, Rep. Adam Schiff said.

"Ninety-percent of what he needs to do is help turn around the economy," he said. "If he can't do that, then we're all going to be in the embrace of a long experience."

Rep. David Dreier's focus for revamping the economy consists of a mixture of tax cuts, incentives for home and car buyers.

Rep. Grace Nopalitano's focus has been on making sure any stimulus plan provides for community development funds that help revamp social services and money that get shovel-ready projects going.

Others, using their new positions on Capitol Hill, are hoping to be more pursuasive in getting those projects going back home.

"We have hit the ground running in the 111th Congress, facing enormous challenges as well as great opportunities, said Rep. Linda Sanchez. "This session I hope to accomplish many things, most importantly of which is an economic stimulus plan that will work for working families.  My new role on the influential Ways and Means Committee will allow me to play a more direct role in developing such a plan."

We'll see. The GOP is pushing back on parts of Obama's $825 billion spending plan to revamp the economy.

But hopefully, with all this time meeting with constituents this week, legislators got the message loud and clear that they need to get substantial work done.

In the photo above, Schiff, right, chats with Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, center, and his son, Joe, left.

There's a lot of stories trickling out in the days following the inauguration that aren't so great.

Many people didn't get in. People who had tickets, in very good sections, were turned away as the inauguration began.

Actually, turned away is the wrong phrase, since with so many people converging on the Capitol, there was no place to turn to, but to stand and wait it out.

But great stories still came out of these days.

One brief story came on Sunday, the day of the "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial.

Ina grassy areas, just off the National Mall, I couldn't help noticing a woman dancing with a boy who seemed to be her son.

They were in absolute joy in the moment, holding eachother and dancing in circles as U2 performed "City of Blinding Lights."

Turns out, Vanessa Robinson of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was fulfilling the dream of her husband, Arthur.

Arthur died last year, but he died knowing that Barack Obama would become president, and was determined to see his family get there. In fact, his last wish was that his family would get to D.C. to see Obama become president.

On Sunday, they were there. Arthur wasn't, but that was all the more reason for Vanessa and her son Christopher and his sister Arianna to be there.

Above is a picture of the Vanessa and her son Christopher enjoying the moment.

I saw all emotions today.
Grown men broke into tears, women closed their eyes in quiet contemplation and little children smiled in wonder. Others showed regret and anger at what is now the past, and happiness at the present.
I saw 2 million people crowd into the nation's capital for a national cleansing.
Yes, Barack H. Obama became the nation's 44th president today in D.C., but it was the people here that were the real stories.
They came from all nations, all colors and religions, they hugged each other, danced together, prayed together, booed and shouted  in unison, and listened like  you never thought 1.9 million people could listen.
The sound of that many people listening at one time is amazing in itself.
As I looked behind me from what lucky for me was a good seat to view the inauguration, the crowd, stretching as far back  -- almost 2 miles -- as the Lincoln Memorial was at times more interesting than what was happening on the Capitol's steps.
There was the Wave -- and then the chants -- Obama! Obama! Obama!
And then, they waved small American flags -- thousands of them at the same time.
It was an incredible sight and sound.
 What was happening behind me was surreal.
But with what was happening in front of me, it was clear why.
 I watched a new president tell the nation that it was time to "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of re-making America."
As a reporter, I'm supposed to be dispassionate about this kind of stuff.
But I couldn't help it, I felt some of those emotions too. And I'm not the only one.
I saw other reporters cry and clench their fists in commitment to the values that a new president has asked us all to seek.
That's because those reporters and myself, some might say, are just crazy liberals, bent on ruining the American way of life. But I don't think so. But I think there was more going on in what I saw today.
Two million people crowded into a city -- there wasn't one reported arrest as of the evening I write this -- braved the cold and listened in silence and wonder as Obama began his presidency with where he left off his candidacy. With a message of hope.
And I have to come back to how that message resonated in the crowd.
Many times today, people told me this was a "miracle," that a black man would become president in their lifetime and come to inspire  and unite so many people.
But it goes to show that a message of hope and peace, when it's articulated the right way at the right time, can go a long way.
But as I walked around D.C today I saw signs that we have a long way to go.
It is clear, many blacks are struggling to make a buck in D.C. And when you look across the nation, many communities over the last several years have witnessed a widening disparity of incomes.
I could see those two economies when just walking around the town.
I think that's what made Obama's message all the more powerful -- when he talked about how our badly weakened economy has been battered all the more with greed and "childish thinking" of the past.
And that's what makes this mass of humanity all the more powerful.
Obama is right. It's not about him, it's about all those people I saw today, rising in unison for change, walking en masse along a closed D.C. interstate to  a simple of oath of office, standing in lines for hours, wheeling their elderly loved ones up and down city streets in wheelchairs.
This is the America Obama is talking about.
My feet were really tired when I got home tonight, and my face  was cold from the freezing wind and my lips badly chapped. But I've got no right to complain. Many people sacrificed a lot more than a cold day to get to this day.
And it's on their shoulders that we can all stand. Because it really is about us. Not one man.
It's just that we have one man to thank for reminding us of that.

Marvin Gaye Park is located in a poor, African-American neighborhood in the northeastern section of the city. Originally named Watts Branch stream park, it is the longest city park in Washington, D.C., winding almost 1.6 miles through some pretty tough, drug infested areas. The name was changed a few years ago to Marvin Gaye Park to honor the famous singer who grew up nearby. The park had fallen into disrepair over the years until a group of local citizens created a public-private park revitalization project. We worked with the "Down by the Riverside Campaign of Watts Branch Park" of the Washington Parks and People group. If you are interested, you can find the entire story at: http://washingtonparks.net/wattsbranch.html .

I met Terrence Roberts and Carlotta Walls LaNier on Saturday. They may not be household names for some, but in civil rights history, they are giants.

They are members of the Little Rock Nine and are in town to see the inauguration.

The Little Rock Nine were the group of black students who were blocked from entering Little Rock Central High School in 1957 -- three years after desegregation -- because of the color of their skin. It took federal troops to escort them into the then all-white school and to protect them. And even still, that did not protect them from racially charged abuse.

And yet, they are not angry or bitter people.

Roberts said the abuse was intense, but they absorbed it.

It's wasted energy to be angry or bitter, he said. It was energy to spend on living, and living he has indeed done -- long enough for sure to see Obama elected.

I'm so grateful to have met these people.

Just as they never thought they'd see an African-American become president, I never thought I'd get a chance to meet one person -- let alone two -- who were at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights in this country.

Forefront is perhaps the wrong word.

Just as Obama's election stems from what the Little Rock Nine endured, and the progress it ultimately created, people like LaNier and Roberts are humble about where their own strength came from.

"We are standing on others' shoulders," he said.

 
She's leans left, he leans right and somehow they meet in the middle.

I've never seen so many porta-potties in one place in my life. They are ugly, green and everywhere.

You look at the beautiful white tones of the Capitol and the lawns of the National Mall, and then you see these things -- rows and rows of them -- all around. Although, I must say, there is a certain interesting symmetry to the rows of them...

Anyway, they've never been more necessary.

Turns out, there's going to be about 5,000 of these portable restrooms all over the National Mall and the inaugural parade route for the expected gigantic crowd.

I read one estimate that based on the number of people expected to show up for Tuesday's festivities, that will be one toilet for every 300 people.

I think I'm going to eat and drink light on Tuesday morning..if you know what I mean.

But if I really have to go, at least I'll have options...

The Capitol was quiet today... 
But showtime is coming up on Tuesday.