Memories of November 22, 1963 and Beyond

The principal of my combined high school/junior high school in Massachusetts came on the school intercom the last school period to inform us President Kennedy had been shot. I was in the school library. Shortly thereafter walking to the bus to go home, I came across a student I can only brand the “class clown” […]

Election Surprise – What It Means for Prop 13 Bills in Legislature

Republican Susan Shelley has come within a whisper of pulling a major upset in the Special Election for Assembly District 45. With final absentee and provisional votes yet to be verified, as of early this morning, Shelley is just 173 votes behind Democrat Matt Dababneh out of more than 26,000 votes cast. As I pointed […]

Schwarzenegger Institute Discussion: Making Government Work

According to noted California historian Kevin Starr, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s greatest achievement as governor was political reform. The theme of a USC Schwarzenegger Institute event last week featuring the former governor, MSNBC political commentator Chris Mathews and Starr was fixing dysfunctional government – whether in Washington or Sacramento. Starr suggested that Schwarzenegger had important accomplishments as […]

Prop 13’s High Profile in Assembly Special Election

Thirty-five years after it passed, property tax reform Proposition 13 has taken a central role in one candidate’s attempt to win an assembly seat in what many consider the birthplace of the measure, Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Republican candidate Susan Shelley running in tomorrow’s special election for the 45th Assembly district is promoting herself […]

The Calderon Affair

The Calderon affair just got messier – and the spotlight on state government just got harsher – but lost in the drama could be the promise of innocent until proven otherwise. Senator Ron Calderon is now accusing the FBI of seeking revenge against him for allegedly not cooperating in an investigation of the state senate […]

Climbing to the Top of the Economic Summit

Observing the California Economic Summit meeting last week, I couldn’t help think of the six state commissions I’ve served on. Commission members worked diligently and produced proposals to improve state governance in the areas of taxes and finance, transportation, initiative reform and even constitutional restructuring. The end result from all that work – nothing. The […]

Honoring Our Veterans

To honor our veterans this Veteran’s Day, Fox and Hounds will not publish but instead urge everyone to consider doing something in support of our veterans. On past Veteran’s Days I have written about this country’s political conflicts and the messy democracy that our veterans defend. For this Veteran’s Day, I note some statistics featured […]

FBI Sting Might Trip Up Film Credit Expansion

The fight to increase the state’s film and TV credit for California based productions has become entangled in the FBI sting on state Senator Ron Calderon. The effort pushed by Hollywood and the business community to enlarge the credit might suffer if legislators don’t want to touch the issue because of the investigation. Recall that […]

“Government” is not a Bad Word Says Captain Justice

The state in a criminal case in Tennessee as represented by an assistant district attorney general did not want to be referred to as “the government.” Why? Because the prosecutor thought repeating the use of the term “the government” in pursuing the case against a burglary suspect would prejudice the case with the jury because […]

Property Taxes and Pensions

As pension obligations faced by local governments continue to put the squeeze on budgets in California a cautionary tale is playing out in Illinois – a reminder of Proposition13’s value to California taxpayers. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a speech last week if state lawmakers do not pass pension reform the city’s next budget […]