Opposing

washington -- Mitt Romney twice emphasized his unique business background when he and eight other Republican presidential candidates faced off in a debate last week in Iowa. "I've spent the last, as I've told you, 25 years in the private sector," former Massachusetts Gov. Romney declared at one point. "I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I've done business in 20 countries."

Another shoe drop, another shock wave. The NFL dropped the hammer on the New Orleans Saints again Wednesday, punishing four players for their role in the bounty scandal, including a full-season suspension of linebacker and defensive captain Jonathan Vilma. Defensive linemen Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith got eight- and four-game suspensions, respectively, and linebacker Scott Fujita was suspended for three games. Hargrove now plays for Green Bay and Fujita for Cleveland.

The opposition party keeps saying to President Clinton, "No, No No, No, NO, NO." Just like it did to Presidents Reagan and Bush. That's politics, Billy. JOHN JAEGER Irvine

Kevin James, if you haven't already heard, is running for mayor of Los Angeles. If you're out there thinking, "Sure, why not try a comedian/actor," I'm sorry to disappoint, but this is not the guy who played "Paul Blart: Mall Cop. " This Kevin James is an attorney and former federal prosecutor who used to host a radio talk show. I met him a year ago and asked what would happen to his show if by some strange happenstance he got elected, and James said he'd work himself to the point of near-collapse all week, correcting the horrific mistakes of his predecessors.

I live right down the street from Soka University and my experience with the people there has been nothing but pleasant. However, I'm opposed to expanding the current facility to accommodate 5,000 or more students. I think it would cause a tremendous impact on the environment of the area, which is still one of the nicest rural areas in close proximity to the Los Angeles basin. ROBERT SCAPA Calabasas

Her real speaking voice falls somewhere between the hard Midwestern of her Jessica on HBO's "Hung" and the cool sophisticate, Samantha, she plays in the new film "Spread." Which only makes sense; Anne Heche is from Ohio but has navigated the palms of Hollywood for more than 20 years now since playing good and evil twins on "Another World." Now, at 40, her two current roles are akin to playing two sides of the same woman again. "I thought it was an incredibly sexual role and a challenge to be an 'older woman' in the film," she says of acting opposite Ashton Kutcher in "Spread."

I hope the people complaining of high energy bills aren't the same ones opposing tax cuts. BERNARD PETERS Placentia

Why is it that all the people opposing projects that will create jobs already have jobs of their own? WILLIAM H. DEAVER Mojave

Regarding the controversy over opposing pro quarterbacks having dinner together before a game: So what? They're probably discussing common interests and common problems. When I will worry is if a quarterback takes the opposing defensive players out to dinner. JERRY M. MOORE Los Angeles

'To be an owner doesn't necessarily mean you've got class.' Kevin Garnett, Minnesota forward, on Dallas owner Mark Cuban's e-mail campaign opposing Garnett's All-Star selection

WASHINGTON - Add cyber-security to the list of tough problems Washington can't agree on how to tackle. A bipartisan bill whose chief sponsors are the chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee has run into trouble, including opposition from leading privacy groups and the White House. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rep.C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), passed the Republican-controlled House on Thursday night.

The American public is divided about whether to eliminate federal subsidies for any form of energy and is giving less support to nuclear power and U.S. funding of renewable energy, a new poll has found. Fifty-four percent of respondents opposed doing away with subsidies for oil, gas, coal, nuclear or renewable energy, while 47% favored the idea. Support for building more nuclear power plants has fallen dramatically, to 42% from 61% in 2008. The Yale-George Mason University poll being released Thursday found that 76% of Americans support regulating carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas pollutant and that two-thirds believe the U.S. should pursue policies to reduce its carbon footprint.

WASHINGTON - For a brief moment, it looked as though Congress might be able to reach agreement on two popular pieces of legislation without a fight, but it didn't take long for Washington's partisan ways to prevail over any spirit of compromise. President Obama and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill are pressing to maintain the current low rate of interest for student loans and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Republicans were reluctant to be seen as blocking initiatives that appeal to middle-class voters, especially women.

The New Orleans Saints could be facing an explosive new scandal, one that has nothing to do with bounties. According to ESPN, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis had a device in his Superdome suite that allowed him to listen in on the game-day communications of opposing coaching staffs and did so in his first three seasons in New Orleans - 2002-04 - before the device was dismantled in 2005. The Saints have denied that they eavesdropped, with spokesman Greg Bensel saying the report is "1,000% false.

The New Orleans Saints, already reeling from the bounty scandal, were confronted Monday with a different type of explosive allegation. According to ESPN, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis had a device in his Superdome suite that allowed him to listen in on the game-day communications of opposing coaching staffs and did so in his first three seasons in New Orleans, from 2002 through 2004, before the device was dismantled in 2005. Loomis is suspended through the first eight games of next season for his role in another debacle, the club's improper pay-for-performance program and cover-up, in which players were offered cash bonuses for injuring opponents.

SACRAMENTO — As the sun set behind Monterey Bay on a cool night last year, dozens of the state's top lawmakers and lobbyists ambled onto the 17th fairway at Pebble Beach for a round of glow-in-the-dark golf. With luminescent balls soaring into the sky, the annual fundraiser known as the Speaker's Cup was in full swing. Lawmakers, labor-union champions and lobbyists gather each year at the storied course to schmooze, show their skill on the links and rejuvenate at a 22,000-square-foot spa. The affair, which typically raises more than $1 million for California Democrats, has been sponsored for more than a decade by telecommunications giant AT&T.

"I hear it all the time too. They call me 'Danielle.' That's OK. I'll just keep kickin' butt." Danny Fortson, Seattle SuperSonic forward, on opposing fans' getting on him for wearing pigtails.

If the Los Angeles Dickersons tried handing the ball off to some other back once, they just might fool the opposing defense. HOWARD B. ANDREEN Camarillo

Setting the stage for a battle with city employees and fellow elected officials, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Friday for the elimination of 669 city jobs - 231 through layoffs - even as he also sought to add police officers and restore some Fire Department services. The bulk of the job cuts proposed in the mayor's new $7.2-billion budget would affect civilian employees at the Los Angeles Police Department, where 159 clerks, secretaries and other administrators would be put out of work.

SACRAMENTO — Members of the California Public Utilities Commission are criticizing a bill that would strip their agency of authority to regulate basic telephone services. Meeting Thursday in San Francisco, the five-member board expressed doubts about proposed legislation backed by AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. The measure, SB 1161, would ensure that state agencies have "no regulatory jurisdiction or control" over telephone calls that involve sending voice signals over the Internet.