Schiff raises concerns about IRS investigations into church activities

Rep. Adam Schiff met with IRS Commissioner Mark Everson Wednesday to express his concerns about the agency's investigation of houses of worship, in particular All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. The IRS threatened to take away the church's tax-exempt status after the Rev. George Regas gave an anti-war sermon in the fall of 2004.

Schiff told Everson he was concerned that the IRS investigations may have a chilling effect on 1st Amendment rights of the clergy, and that while the federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations like churches from intervening in political campaigns and elections, faith communities have "every right" to express themselves on the major issues of the day.

Schiff has requested a formal Government Accountability Office investigation of IRS.

Sierra club supports local candidate

The Sierra Club of California has endorsed La Cañada Flintridge Mayor Anthony Portantino as a Democratic candidate for the 44th Assembly District.

The 44th Assembly District includes Pasadena, Altadena, Eagle Rock, Duarte, South Pasadena, Temple City and La Cañada Flintridge as well as portions of Arcadia, Monrovia, Mt. Washington and Glassell Park.

Don Bremner, chairman of the Sierra Club-Pasadena Group, said California would benefit from having a legislator like Portantino in Sacramento.

He has had a long record supporting the environment, including many years of service with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Bremner said.

Portantino welcomed the endorsement, adding that he shared the club's goal of passing on a healthy environment with clean air, clean water, parks and open spaces to the younger generation.

Job survey reform in the works

A call from Rep. David Dreier for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to more accurately reflect the modern job market by changing the way it conducts its job surveys, has been answered.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics instructed its Federal Economics Statistics Advisory Committee to review the methods used in compiling the Current Employment Statistics and the Current Population Series survey, and its findings have been put in a report.

The report highlights the difficulties in measuring job creation in a modern economy, using surveys that were established 65 years ago, Dreier said.