THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

The first two tries didn’t do it for Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, whose industrial hemp bill has now been vetoed twice by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but DeVore said Wednesday he isn’t giving up the fight.

The bill, co-written by DeVore and San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Mark Leno, would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp, which is non-hallucinogenic and can be used to make cloth, soap, paper and building materials. Opponents charge the crop causes problems for law enforcement because it’s easily confused with its illegal cousin, marijuana.

“I think that we’re going to try again,” he said, adding officials can look to North Dakota, where a similar law was passed. “There’s going to be some practical lessons learned from North Dakota that shows this is not the boogeyman to law enforcement that some people try to make it out to be.”

 Internet tax ban temporary, again

And in other failed legislation news, Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell on Tuesday had to grit his teeth and support a four-year continuation of the ban on Internet taxes, rather than the permanent ban he’s been pushing since he came to Congress in 2005. The ban, which prevents state and local governments from taxing Internet access, was passed by the House and now needs Senate approval.

“The leadership on the Democratic side did not want to go permanent,” Campbell said. Even though he and other legislators proposed bills for permanent bans, “they just shoved all three of those aside and put together this new one,” he said.

The most common argument is that federal and state governments stand to lose a lot of money if, for example, most people begin using web-based phone service rather than the land lines that are currently taxed. But Campbell argued if the country reaches a point where most business is done online, Congress could consider repealing a “permanent” ban.

Why worry about taxes on Internet use? “It’s a great way for people to have access to information, usually free, that they couldn’t get before,” Campbell said, and he wants to protect that access. If he’s still in Congress in four years, he said, he’ll try the permanent ban again.

 Councilwoman says wear sunscreen

When you can’t eat solid foods, Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley suggests green tea smoothies, peanut butter chocolate protein smoothies and soup. That’s what sustained her in recent weeks as she recovered from surgery to remove skin cancer on her lip. She’s improving, she said this week, but she wasn’t able to attend the last couple of council meetings, partly because she’s not supposed to talk while her lip heals.

It wasn’t Foley’s first occurrence of skin cancer. In March she had a spot removed from her nose. It was the size of a freckle, she said, and “I didn’t even know what it was for a long time.” That’s why she’s advising everyone to see a dermatologist once a year and, most importantly, wear sunscreen daily.

Harman makes blog headlines

Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman finds himself under fire on a new blog that was mentioned recently on the OC Blog and the more local Newport Beach Voices blog. Started by political consultant and California Republican Assemblyman Josh Barnett, the “Harman Watch” blog slings a few clods at the senator, questioning his use of campaign contributions, and criticizes his support for caps on the number of prisoners in state institutions.

Efforts to reach Barnett Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Harman said he doesn’t know Barnett and he’s not sure what’s behind the blog, but “I’m sure some political opponent of mine is pressing the buttons here.”

As to questions about the campaign contributions, Harman said, “He’s just on a fishing expedition, and I really don’t care to comment on it.”

Harman said he’s proud of his record in Sacramento as a strong fiscal conservative, a supporter of “law and order” legislation and an opponent of illegal immigration.

That doesn’t mean he won’t face a GOP challenger in 2008, when he has to run for reelection. Apparently rumors are flying that DeVore will try for the Senate seat, and DeVore said it’s a possibility. He’s otherwise expected to run for his third and final Assembly term next year.

Candidates have to file papers in March for November 2008 elections.

ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at [email protected].