Finally, a major California institution has offered Californians the kind of advertising campaign we need to hear: “Believe in Something Bigger,” it asks us, and we should. Instead of the stale, small debate about California’s future, evidenced again this month with the release of the revised budget, we should be thinking about a bigger, better California, and how to build the new governance system, infrastructure, and human connections to make it possible.

Unfortunately, “Believe in Something Bigger” is the slogan of the California lottery.

Southern California recently captured the world’s attention with the landing of Caltech’s and JPL’s Mars Rover, the launching of SpaceX’s Dragon Rocket, and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour over the region’s historic landmarks and locales. These events projected an image that Angelenos all know to be true – Southern California remains home to a large share of the world’s creative and innovative talent.

These milestones became reality because of strong research and development programs and a collaborative work environment that brought together motivated and skilled people from diverse backgrounds. Wouldn’t it be great if all Angelenos got the government they deserved, one that is as creative and innovative when it came to developing and implementing policies that foster economic and income growth, and the creation of quality jobs?  

I was once an Industrial Relations and Safety Manager.  My job included  handling all the regulations pertaining to hazardous chemicals used at our facility.  In California, every business is required to have on hand a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each and every product with any ingredient listed as hazardous under Prop. 65.

Proposition 65, passed by voters in 1986, was meant to protect citizens from exposure to harmful chemicals via a system of warning notices, and penalties for dangerous exposures and unauthorized releases.  Today, that list includes over 800 chemicals and the list grows each and every year. 

As May Budget Revisions go, this one was different.

In past years, the annual May Budget Revision  has reflected the need for spending adjustments, usually reductions.  The final budget normally reflects which programs will survive. Important decisions, to be sure, but the same type of rhetoric each year.

This year, Governor Brown made it much more than just a budget revision. He made it about the way California makes decisions. The concept of true governance reform permeated today’s Budget Revision, and Governor Brown was pushing it. The theme you heard is that Sacramento may not know best. More on that in a moment.

The Obama Administration is running a campaign to convince us gullible citizens that a 2% sequester cut will curtail critical services and therefore taxes must be increased.  In the latest stunt, California Pacific Airlines has been notified by the FAA that, due to the “sequester”, they had no staff to continue processing their application to begin commercial service at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California.

Jonathan Horn, in a May 8^th  U-T San Diego article, www.utsandiego.com, says that the new airline has been trying for 3 years to get certification to begin service.  “The new holdup comes less than a month after the proposed airline and the FAA worked out what the federal agency had called major issues with its initial application to operate.”

The legislature seems intent on fast tracking a cigarette tax increase, passing it through two senate committees on the same day last week despite economic and criminal consequences that could arise if the tax becomes law. Testifying against SB 768 authored by Senator Kevin De Leon, California Retailers Association president Bill Dombrowski warned passing the 230% tax increase on a pack of cigarettes (from $ 0.87 to $2.87) would cost jobs and increase the sale of cigarettes through the black market.

He’s right on both counts.

Last week, I watched a Zócalo/KCRW debate between Los Angeles mayoral candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, and a clear winner emerged: Warren Olney, the moderator. I’m not saying that Olney’s fine grilling made the experience worthwhile, though, because nothing could. The California political debate is dead. When was the last time you heard one with an argument that convinced you of anything? Heck, when was the last time you heard an argument made in any political debate anywhere? The exercise is merely an exchange of tired sound bites and attacks—especially in our state, with its endless, expensive campaigns and frequent runoff elections between candidates who agree on all but the smallest points of contention.

When the Business Journal endorsed Eric Garcetti for Los Angeles mayor in last week’s issue, it believed that the two candidates are much alike, except for the “unsettling” amount of financial support from labor unions that Wendy Greuel has received during the campaign.

“It creates the expectation that Greuel would not – could not – act as an effective brake on the runaway power of unions in Los Angeles,” the endorsement states.

It’s telling that the strongest argument for Garcetti is just a result of a failure on Garcetti’s part to impress the very parties his candidate is being vilified for. Media reports have shared records of members-only sessions where Garcetti and Greuel both courted the Service Employees International Union but it has decided to stand behind Greuel.

First exposed by the LA Times, the recent revelation, that the rules for awarding the first construction bid contract for the California High Speed Rail project were changed in the middle of the process, needs a full blown investigation.

The Authority CEO, Jeff Morales seems to be immersed in a world of his own imagination. His numerous in print statements that the rule changes were “thoughtful and transparent” is completely unbelievable.  How can he make these statements when the rules which were changed by him, were unannounced to the public or the media?  The rule changes are embedded in an Addendum of 150 pages, and involved deleting a couple of sentences. 

In 1998, the California Legislature designated the second full week in May each year to honor the important contributions of citizens who serve on juries, making citizens’ right to trial by jury possible. This year marks the 16th Anniversary of Juror Appreciation Week. For those of you who have served on a jury, CALA would like to applaud you.

Jury service contributes to our American system of justice and is an important form of service to local communities. Today, we express our appreciation for you: thank you to the millions of citizens in California and the United States for making our country a symbol of justice.