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Sheryl WuDunn, who appeared on "The Colbert Report" last year, is the guest speaker at Saturday's Roe v. Wade event.

​A Roe V. Wade commemoration will be held Saturday evening in Newport Beach and--guess what?--it's a celebration of the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
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John Gilhooley / OC Weekly

Lance MacLean: Okay, NOW mayor no more.

​Update, 5:01 p.m.: The final results for the election are out. MacLean has been recalled by a vote of 50.1% to 49.9%, with a 19 vote difference between the two sides. Dave Leckness will replace him. Full results here.

Update, 10:50 a.m.: Niyaz Pirani at the Register is reporting that there are still 1,140 ballots to be counted. With only 118 votes separating the "yes to recall" and "no to recall" sides last night, that could make a big difference. The OC Registrar's website says the next update will come in about five hours.

Well, this is a mixed-bag for everyone. The Registrar of Voters reports that with 100% of precincts counted, Mission Viejo voters on Tuesday decided to boot Mayor Lance MacLean from office--and replace him with David "Dave" Leckness, an apparent ally of MacLean's.

With a 22.1% voter turnout, the results as of just past midnight, Feb. 3, are as follows: 50.4% s in favor of recalling MacLean, with 54.3% in favor of candidate Leckness over challenger Dale Tyler. [Note 5:01 p.m.: These numbers have changed, get the new ones here]

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UPDATED WITH PROTEST PLANS . . .

Goo-goo.

​Abortion remained safe and legal during his presidency, but for George W. Bush's opposition to embryonic stem cell research, executive order barring federal funds from being used for abortion related projects abroad, appointment of two pro-life Supreme Court Justices, rule protecting federally funded health employees from taking part in abortion and, enacting--in one of his last acts--National Sanctity of Human Life Day, he's getting an award at a hush-hush Catholic summit at the St. Regis in Dana Point in February on Thursday.
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Ed Piskor / OC Weekly

​Voters today are heading to the polls in Mission Viejo to decide whether or not to recall Mayor Lance MacLean.

You'd know that fact already, many times over, if you'd been at last night's Mission Viejo city council meeting.

For years, the council's public comments portion of the meeting has seen the same group of activists--the group now behind the recall--getting up and berating the council.

Last night, though, you'd have seen a different group.

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Spencer Kornhaber / OCW

Recall proponents Joe Holtzman and Larry Gilbert, campaigning while infringing on our copyright.

​Exactly one year ago tomorrow, a group of 50 or so citizens announced their intention to try and recall then-Mayor Pro Tem Lance MacLean from elected office in Mission Viejo.

Tomorrow, voters will decide whether they're successful.

The campaign has seen vicious verbal back and forth between a tight-knit group of city activists (who say MacLean is a wasteful, violent traitor) and MacLean's supporters (who accuse the recall proponents of hypocrisy and self-interest).

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​A complaint filed today alleges a lawyer who is arguing in favor of California's Prop 8 and is also a state Assembly candidate illegally used taxpayer resources in a successful campaign against same-sex marriage a decade ago.

Fair Oaks Republican Andy Pugno misused public funds in violation of the state Political Reform Act while a staffer for State Sen. Pete Knight in support of a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage, which was eventually approved as Proposition 22 in November 2000, alleges the complaint filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and state Attorney General's office.

"The new and troubling disclosures appear to demonstrate willful disrespect for the laws and rules governing the conduct of public servants," says Rick Jacobs, chairman of the pro-marriage equality Courage Campaign that filed the complaint. "If he broke California law, how can he expect to be elected to office to make California law? Andy Pugno needs to be investigated and any appropriate consequences levied for his actions."
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Trevor Keen / OC Weekly

​It's an exciting time to be a minion of Orly Taitz.

Sure, you might think, "It's a terrible time to be a minion of Orly Taitz." Her lawsuit in a Santa Ana federal courtroom? Dead. Her attempt to sue President Obama on behalf of military officers in Georgia? Dead. Her support from other leaders in the "birther" movement? Dead, dead and dead.

But all those things simply mean that this is a time of rebirth and renewal. Just as the president has opened his second year in office with a slew of new legislative proposals and a slight change in tone, Laguna Niguel's premier dentist-litigator seems to be planting new seeds into 2010.

Before we go any further, here's one fact that might help explain why we keep writing about Dr. Taitz.: A recent study reveals that one in three California voters are either unsure that Obama was born in America or simply believe that he wasn't.

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​Controversial conservative legal scholar John Eastman, who brought his buddy and Bush torture memo author John Yoo to Orange County to teach law last year, is stepping down as dean of Chapman University's law school to run for California attorney general.

That makes Eastman the second Orange County Republican to officially seek the post, as state Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) has also thrown his hat in the ring for AG.

"John has been a very important dean in the history of our School of Law," Chapman Chancellor Danielle Struppa states in a statement issued by the private Orange university. "In the last three years, he has significantly strengthened the scholarly output of the school, as well as the profile of its students."

She wished Eastman "well in the forthcoming race, I know we will all miss his leadership and his energy."

Eastman goes into his reasons for stepping down in the email to students and alumni after the jump . . .
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Alfredo Amezcua, attorney and mayor hopeful.

​From kindergarten through community college, the public education system in Santa Ana has been decimated by budget cuts.

And yet, Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, who was born and raised in the city and was formerly a Rancho Santiago Community College District board of trustees member and the college district's attorney, is optimistic about the future.

In an interview with the Weekly, Amezcua says things can only get better. Having recently met with Santa Ana College (SAC) students concerned about reduced funding, he also shared his ideas about aiding secondary education to preserve the opportunity for everyone to attain a college degree.
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​Army Lieutenant, Westpoint grad, Arabic translator and Tustin native Dan Choi made headlines when he came out as gay on the Rachel Maddow Show--and was then kicked out of the military for doing so. In the time since then, he's been the face of the movement to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy" that effectively bans gays from the military. 

So you'd think he'd be psyched that President Obama said during his State of the Union address that he would work in the coming year to repeal that policy.

In a message circulated by Courage Campaign, Choi makes clear that's not the case:

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