This marks the eight annual version of the California Office Pool. It was inspired by the late, great New York Times columnist William Safire, who made a habit of writing an annual column he called Office Pool. In it, Safire offered, multiple-choice style, a series of possible news events that could take place in the new year. At the column’s end, he let you know which ones he thought would occur.
Safire’s focus was Washington; ours is California. My picks are at the end.
In 2016, I got a few things right. I California approved an initiative extending the Prop 30 taxes at least in park. Uber didn’t go public, the HSR persevered, with construction underway, and Apple kept a market cap higher than that of the Google parent, Alphabet.
But I was wrong on the biggest story of 2016: I predicted Donald Trump would be out of the race before the June California primary. I also thought Marissa Mayer would have lost her job at Yahoo by now. I wasn’t optimistic enough about falling unemployment in California, I got best picture wrong at the Oscars (I thought The Martian, the voters chose Spotlight), and I didn’t think the Rams would come to L.A., which they did. (If only I’d been right!) I was right about Kamala Harris’ winning, but thought incorrectly that a Republican would advance with her in the top two.
Below are the 2017 questions. Be sure to make your predictions, and clip n’ save (or bookmark and save) so we can see how we did at the end of next year.
- How many trips will President Trump make to California in 2017?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4
F. 5 or more
- The biggest California political story of 2017 will be:
A. The 2018 governor’s race
B. State leaders’ confrontations with Trump
C. The retirement of Dianne Feinstein
D. The return of budget deficits
E. Response to an earthquake or other natural disaster
F. None of the above
- True or False: Uber will become a public company in 2017.
- True or False: The market cap of Google’s parent, Alphabet, will be greater than that of Apple by December 2017.
- By December 2016, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
A. Will have appeared on at least one magazine cover as the anti-Trump
B. Will be running for governor
C. Will be running for U.S. Senate
D. Will be running for re-election as A.G.
E. Will have quit and left his hometown of Sacramento, complaining about the traffic on 80.
- By the end of 2017, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris
A. Will have made news with attacks on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
B. Will be absent from the news and irrelevant, as the member of the minority party in DC
C. Will have made The Hill’s list of the Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill
D. Will be wishing she was as well-known as Xavier Becerra
- The Academy Award for Best Picture will go to:
A. Damien Chazelle’s throwback musical La La Land
B. Barry Jenkins’ coming of age Miami tale Moonlight
C. Kenneth Lonergan’s bleak Manchester by the Sea
D. Mel Gibson’s war film Hacksaw Ridge
E. Denzel Washington’s drama Fences
F. None of the above
- In 2017, the California almond crop will:
A. Break 2016’s record crop of 2.05 billion pounds as additional acreage and efficiencies show their impact
B. Decline from 2016’s record as drought and consolidation reduce acreage
C. See a recovery in prices, after the fall in recent years from $4 to $2.50 a pound.
- Which California leader will be the first to lose a post in 2017?
A. Angels manager Mike Scioscia
B. Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes
C. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
D. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
- At the end of 2017, the California Fix – the twin tunnels project under the Delta, will be…,
A. Near death as political and legal opposition proves insurmountable and water districts abandon it
B. abandoned, as a single-tunnel alternative wins support.
C. Pointless, as a major earthquake breaks levees and turns the Delta to salt.
- The Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to be NBA champs. Which California team is likely to join them and win a championship?
A. The San Francisco Giants
B. The San Jose Sharks
C. The L.A. Dodgers
D. The Oakland Raiders - During the 2017 NFL season, which pro football teams will be playing their home games in Los Angeles County? (Choose as many as apply)
A. The Rams
B. The Rams and Chargers
C. The Rams and Raiders - True or False: California Democrats will still have supermajorities in both houses at the end of the year.
- True or False: The state legislature and governor will approve a plan in 2017 to launch California’s own satellite to collect climate change data
Predictions. 1. E (We won’t be able to get rid of Trump) 2. B (confrontations with Trump). 3. False (Uber stays private). 4. True (Google overtakes Apple). 5. D. (Becerra runs for a.g.). 6. A, C and D. (Harris will be busy). 7. B (Moonlight is best picture). 8. B. (Almond crop declines) 9. C (Jack Dorsey is ousted at Twitter). 10. B (Single Tunnel replaces twin tunnels). 11. C (The Dodgers win the World Series). 12. A (just the Rams) 13. True. 14. False