For residents in Big Sur, this is a trying time. Fire fighters are trying their best to save structures and have excelled at saving lives. Nevertheless, nature is calling the shots right now. Big Sur residents are used to helping each other. All the same, they can use extra help sometimes.

Here is the best website for very current info about the fires and their progress:

http://xasauantoday.wordpress.com/ (then click on Fire News)

This is the community's website organizing help and volunteers, matching them with people needing the same:

http://www.surfire2008.org/

How you can help:

It's becoming apparent that one thing we can do from here is to deliver flattened cardboard boxes of sizes suitable for packing household items. Residents are especially looking for used boxes from movers, but also strong, clean, flattened cardboard boxes of any size will be useful. They can be dropped off at Carmel Middle School at the Red Cross Center there and will be delivered south from there.

John Laird has issued a statement on the fires:

"Governor Schwarzenegger’s visit to Big Sur today is a significant indicator of the impact the Basin Complex fire is having on the people of the Central Coast and California. The people and businesses of the Big Sur community have shown courage, resourcefulness and generosity as this difficult fire has unfolded.

After months of breathless debate about the Democratic primary, the spotlight is now on gas prices. During a telephone town hall last week, the price of gas was one of the top issues. So I’d like to share the three-prong plan I’m pursuing in Congress.

First, immediate action. Nothing should be taken off the table, and we should be considering emergency measures including price caps and a price freeze.

Second, address the inflated oil company profits. A bill introduced by Dennis Kucinish, the Gas Price Spike Act, would impose a windfall profit tax on oil companies, offer tax credits for fuel-efficient vehicles and authorize grants for mass transit systems. These are the types of solutions that will see results.

Finally, a long-term plan. Congress is already using its power to debate and pass laws to address the root causes of gas price instability. We forced the president to temporarily suspend sending more oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and there are more bills in the pipeline.

The GOP response? More drilling!

I have two responses. First, the Republican dream of drilling in ANWR will save us exactly one penny per gallon, and we won't see those savings for 20 years. Doesn't sound so practical to me. Second, drilling has already increased by about 66 percent since 2000, and much of the 68 million acres of federal land opened for drilling isn’t being tapped.

One thing is certain: American consumers can’t continue paying more and more for gas while oil companies keep racking up record profits.

Like me, you've probably had someone forward you an email making totally baseless, even offensive charges about Barack Obama. Republicans are counting on this strategy to try and win the election this fall - they have no other way to appeal to an electorate that has rejected them and their ideology. So instead of trying to campaign on the issues, they are going to try and smear their way to victory - just as in 2004, where John Kerry was "swiftboated" - made the target of untruthful smears.

If you've received these emails, you knew they were false, and wanted to respond with that, but perhaps you didn't know the exact details you need to refute the charge. The Obama campaign has stepped in to help. This week they launched a new site, Fight the Smears. It works the same way the Mythbusters TV show works - a common lie about Obama is proved to be false. It's a useful resource that will help average Democrats take a leading role in fighting these smears and shift the campaign to the issues that really matter for Americans - the economy, health care, the war in Iraq.

We had a deal, and now we're honoring it. Way back when the presidential campaign was just getting started, Shawn decided Hillary Clinton was the best choice, and Vinz decided on Barack Obama. Each of us threw himself into organizing for his candidate, joining many other volunteers on the Central Coast in working with one of the national campaigns.

This meant that throughout the primaries we would be opponents - working for the success of one candidate inevitably meant working for the defeat of the other. But at the same time, we would be working closely together on the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee. Furthermore, we were friends.

What to do? Was it possible to be opponents and allies at the same time?

Absolutely it was. Early on, we came to an agreement, with these terms:

* By far the most important objective was to elect a Democrat for president. Especially at this point in US history, any other outcome was unthinkable.

* And so we agreed that throughout the primaries we would compete vigorously but never destructively.

* And when it was all over, whoever was the nominee would have our full and enthusiastic support.

After a competitive race in District 4, we have four new and returning members for the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee. They are:

• Kris Edmunds
• Allan Groves
• Annalisa Mitchell
• Levonne Stone

Congratulations to all! And BTW, everyone is welcome to attend our monthly Central Committee meetings. Check our events calendar for details.

Morning Update 7:41am With all precincts reporting, Jane Parker has the lead in the 4th District with 4,364 to Ila's 4,075. We don't know how many late absentee and provisional votes there are to be counted, however.

Bill Monning has won the Democratic nomination in the 27th Assembly district by a wide margin - 51% to Emily Reilly's 24% and Barbara Sprenger's 22%. Congratulations to Bill Monning, who is likely to win the November election and be our next representative in the Assembly!

Some other local races: Pacific Grove's Measure U, a 1% sales tax increase, passed by a 2-1 margin. Tom Wills is likely to face Mark Hood in a runoff for the open Superior Court seat. As expected, the Denham recall did not pass, but it received its strongest support here in Monterey County, with nearly 40% of voters choosing to recall their state senator. In the 15th State Senate District, over 3,500 write-in votes have been cast, but we do not know how many were cast in Monterey County, nor do we know if they went to Dennis Morris, the Democrat, or Abel Maldonado, the Republican masquerading as a Democrat in the write-in vote (to block Morris). We hope to have final information for that and all other races soon.

Update 12:02am Votes continue to trickle in around AD-27, and Bill Monning maintains a sizeable lead with 52% to Emily Reilly's 24% and Barbara Sprenger's 20%. As with the District 4 race we are not likely to know the final results until the morning - and on that note, I'm out for the night. Thanks for reading!