The Happiest Place on Earth is Turning Grumpy—With Good Reason

Disneyland, if personified as a member of the seven dwarfs, has thought of itself as Happy, (The Happiest Place on Earth), but lately it’s been more like another of the seven dwarfs, Grumpy, for reasons tied to the pandemic and California government’s response.  With California restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus so tight that […]

Yeah for Yee

It’s tough during times of the typical contentious political give and take for a recognizable member of a political party to make a stand that faithful party members think adverse to the party’s interest. It’s even more difficult in these polarizing times. Yet, State Controller Betty Yee, a Democrat, told fellow Democrat Secretary of State […]

Will Voters Jump on the Politicians’ Diversity Bandwagon?

This coming election will indicate whether the governor and California legislature are way out in front of the electorate on a high-profile issue of the moment—diversity in the form of affirmative action.  Recently, Governor Newsom signed AB 979 that requires businesses with corporate headquarters in the state to have board members of underrepresented communities defined […]

AB 5, Proposition 22 and the Future of Employment

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi conducted by editorial board member Allysia Finley centering on California’s AB 5 and Uber’s response, Proposition 22. Toward the end of the interview Khosrowshahi talked about self-driving cars role in the debate and this look into the future raised additional […]

Donors Play Prominent Role in LA DA Debate

After a summer of protests aimed at police and justice reform, the voters will finally get a chance to register their feelings on those issues in the high-profile Los Angeles District Attorney race. Squaring off in a debate this weekend the two candidates carrying the banners for more liberal reforms versus traditional reforms prominently dueled […]

Will Bail Bondsmen Go the Way of the Blacksmith?

The bail bond business is trying to avoid demise by overturning a state law to eliminate money bail with a referendum, Proposition 25.  Voters will have to decide if what replaces the money bail system is effective and keeps communities safe from crime. First, a little background. In 2018, the California Legislature passed SB 10 […]

California Finally Makes an Appearance at the Presidential Debate

California should have had a more prominent role in the presidential debate. President Donald Trump has been using California as an example of all the things that would go work for the country if Joe Biden is elected. Biden’s argument is that following California policies is the way to improve what is wrong under Trump. […]

No New Gas-Powered Cars? Hello Vehicle Mileage Tax

California officials have been toying with the idea of a Vehicle Mileage Traveled Tax (VMT) for some time but due to Governor Newsom’s executive order that only zero-emission cars must be sold starting in 2035 you can bet that the VMT will become a reality. If Californians switch to electric vehicles under the executive order, […]

Can One Individual Tell Us What We Can Drive?

An immediate reaction to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that all new cars sold in California by 2035 must be zero-emission is how can one individual in a state of 40 million tell us what we all can drive? Isn’t this a republican form of government in which the people speak through their representatives or […]

Time to Get Back to a Better “California Adventure”

Imagine a California theme park like Disney’s California Adventure based on the state’s current predicaments. Unlike the adventure park in Anaheim themed after the history and culture of the Golden State, a California adventure park for today would be a dystopian place of fires, Covid disease and deaths, closed schools, overwhelming homelessness and near economic […]