Ken Lacorte

First-term Democratic incumbent Jack Scott has a tough fight in trying to hang on to this former Republican stronghold. The GOP, having all but conceded the neighboring 43rd District when its candidate there got into trouble, has shifted its resources to Scott challenger Ken LaCorte, a medical supplies company manager. Democrats recently lost a court bid to have Green Party nominee Shawn Waddell, a registered Democrat, knocked off the ballot.

Jack Scott in 1996 became the first Democrat elected to office in the 44th Assembly District, which covers an area stretching from Pasadena through parts of La Canada Flintridge, Glendale and into the northeastern San Fernando Valley. But the 65-year-old former president of Pasadena City College may have trouble duplicating his victory in November. The GOP is throwing its resources behind Ken LaCorte, a La Crescenta medical supply company manager.

In the first debate between first-term Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) and Republican challenger Ken LaCorte on Wednesday, both men touched on personal tragedies involving the loss of family members to gun violence. At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Pasadena, LaCorte described how his sister and her boyfriend were gunned down by a stranger in the foothills above Arcadia. LaCorte has fought for years to keep his sister's killer from being paroled.

First-term Democratic incumbent Jack Scott has a tough fight in trying to hang on to this former Republican stronghold. The GOP, having all but conceded the neighboring 43rd District when its candidate there got into trouble, has shifted its resources to Scott challenger Ken LaCorte, a medical supplies company manager. Democrats recently lost a court bid to have Green Party nominee Shawn Waddell, a registered Democrat, knocked off the ballot.

In the first debate between first-term Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) and Republican challenger Ken LaCorte on Wednesday, both men touched on personal tragedies involving the loss of family members to gun violence. At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Pasadena, LaCorte described how his sister and her boyfriend were gunned down by a stranger in the foothills above Arcadia. LaCorte has fought for years to keep the killer from being paroled.

The Republican candidate for the 44th Assembly District, in a challenge to California law, began distributing a booklet Thursday listing 938 registered sex offenders in the San Gabriel Valley. The candidate, Ken LaCorte, who last year distributed the names of sex offenders on the Internet, said he decided to publish the names, crimes and ZIP codes of the area's so-called high-risk and serious sex offenders because most people do not have Internet access.

Assemblyman Jack Scott lost a son when a host accidentally shot him in the head during a dinner party. Ken LaCorte lost a sister when a robber shot her and her boyfriend. Senseless tragedies by any measure, but what sets Scott and LaCorte apart are the roles the killings have played in each man's life. For Scott the Democrat, the 1993 slaying of his son Adam, a 27-year-old attorney, has transformed him into one of the Legislature's most ardent gun-control 0advocates.

Jack Scott in 1996 became the first Democrat elected to office in the 44th Assembly District, which covers an area stretching from Pasadena through parts of La Canada Flintridge, Glendale and into the northeastern San Fernando Valley. But the 65-year-old former president of Pasadena City College may have trouble duplicating his victory in November. The GOP is throwing its resources behind Ken LaCorte, a La Crescenta medical supply company manager.

West Covina Mayor Ben Wong, Monterey Park Councilwoman Judy Chu and Walnut Councilman Bob Pacheco are among local officials who filed papers to run in the June primary for seats in the state Legislature. Wong, a Democrat, is seeking the 60th Assembly District seat being vacated by Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar). Pacheco and Andy Ramirez, both Republicans, also are seeking the seat. Because Miller is not seeking reelection, other candidates have until Monday to file.

Re Valley Perspective Interviews, "44th Assembly District," Oct 18. While I am very glad that The Times asked two candidates how they would plan for the state's population explosion to 50 million in the next 25 years, I was most disheartened by the simplistic responses from both. It's obvious from their answers--build, expand, fund--that they haven't given any real thought to the complex problems of a state with finite resources overrun with people, or even better, how to limit or control this kind of explosive growth.

Assemblyman Jack Scott lost a son when a host accidentally shot him in the head during a dinner party. Ken LaCorte lost a sister when a robber shot her and her boyfriend. Senseless tragedies by any measure, but what sets Scott and LaCorte apart are the roles the killings have played in each man's life. For Scott the Democrat, the 1993 slaying of his son Adam, a 27-year-old attorney, has transformed him into one of the Legislature's most ardent gun-control 0advocates.

In the first debate between first-term Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) and Republican challenger Ken LaCorte on Wednesday, both men touched on personal tragedies involving the loss of family members to gun violence. At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Pasadena, LaCorte described how his sister and her boyfriend were gunned down by a stranger in the foothills above Arcadia. LaCorte has fought for years to keep his sister's killer from being paroled.

In the first debate between first-term Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) and Republican challenger Ken LaCorte on Wednesday, both men touched on personal tragedies involving the loss of family members to gun violence. At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Pasadena, LaCorte described how his sister and her boyfriend were gunned down by a stranger in the foothills above Arcadia. LaCorte has fought for years to keep the killer from being paroled.

The Republican candidate for the 44th Assembly District, in a challenge to California law, began distributing a booklet Thursday listing 938 registered sex offenders in the San Gabriel Valley. The candidate, Ken LaCorte, who last year distributed the names of sex offenders on the Internet, said he decided to publish the names, crimes and ZIP codes of the area's so-called high-risk and serious sex offenders because most people do not have Internet access.

Indian gaming backers have spent nearly $150,000 on behalf of Republican Ken LaCorte, more than doubling his campaign's resources and prompting criticism from his opponent, Assemblyman Jack Scott. Surrounded by supporters at his Pasadena election headquarters Friday, Scott (D-Pasadena), criticized help LaCorte has received from Native American Tribes for Truth in Government.

A new documentary about Fox News Channel continues to spur intense debate over the network's famous claim of "fair and balanced" coverage. On Thursday night, a Fox News employee stood up in a Los Angeles theater to defend his employer at a screening of the documentary "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism." The film, by documentarian Robert Greenwald, harshly criticizes Fox News for alleged bias in favor of conservative causes and the Republican Party.