Criticize the Candidates for Voting
News item: Republican gubernatorial wannabes Neel Kashkari and Tim Donnelly have come under criticism for not voting in a number of elections over the past decade. After Gov. Brown’s spokesman leveled criticism, it was pointed out that Gov. Brown had missed two elections as well. Reaction: These candidates should be criticized – but not for […]
Moving ‘The Tonight Show’ to New York Robs Our State of Its Biggest Stage
It’s dangerous for a people to declare one man their enemy and hunt him down. It’s unwise for a state to scapegoat one man for its problems. Nevertheless, I think California should make an exception and declare war on Jimmy Fallon. Yes, I know. The comedian who is taking over The Tonight Show next week […]
A California Victory Over Texas Worth Celebrating
For all the big Texas talk about the lures of the Lone Star state, even Texans know the advantages of California. One testament to our virtues came recently from an unlikely source: the mayor of Houston. The leader of the largest city in Texas came to Palm Springs, Calif., for the biggest day of her […]
What a New Report on the L.A.’s Apathy Gets Wrong
When your city’s civic leaders issue a big report called “A Time for Truth,” it’s natural to wonder if they’re admitting that everything they’ve told you in the past is bull. And if they’re actually leveling with you now. The city of Los Angeles—where examples of the weakness of civic life are outnumbered only by […]
Wanted: A Rationale for Kashkari
Neel Kashkari would seem to have it all, save two things: hair on top of his head, and a rationale for his candidacy. The first is probably forgivable, though, if you ask this writerly middle-aged man with a full head of terrific hair, going bald diminishes one easy advantage he might claim over the balding […]
Why Roy Choi Is Our State’s New Steve Jobs
Californians have fallen in love with the recipes of L.A. chef Roy Choi, the man best known for creating the Korean barbecue taco. But does California have a recipe to cook up more Roy Chois? It’s an urgent question. Choi probably comes closer than any living Californian to embodying the skills needed by our state […]
I Weep for Northern California
It is hard, just hard – forgive me, I’m struggling to keep it together here – when one sees injustice. It’s doubly hard when a whole class of people suffer a loss of democracy, the extinguishing of their voice, because of where they live. The people of the Bay Area, I have now been informed, […]
Gov. Responds to Me in State of State
For the record, Governor Brown, please let me say thank you. I’m beginning to think I’ve been too tough on you. Especially now that you’re being so very generous to me. I deeply appreciated the beginning of last week’s State of the State address, and the direct mention of a story I’d written two weeks […]
California Needs More Than One Minimum Wage
California does not have one state economy. It is a collection of very different regional economies. So why should it have one minimum wage? I’m not arguing with the concept of a minimum wage per se. Governments can and should set floors, even for labor markets. And I’m not sure the policy deserves all the […]
CA Public Policy — Too Many Words, Not Enough Diagrams
To be an engaged, informed citizen in California is to be hopelessly behind in your reading. We’re told that we need to follow the big issues in California, that we need to be informed about policy debates, and that policymakers want our feedback on major proposals. It all sounds reasonable enough, until you see the […]