In school superintendent race, it’s Democratic reformer vs. union ally

The 2018 race for state superintendent of public instruction may not have an incumbent but is likely to feel like an encore of the 2014 race, pitting a Democrat aligned with the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers against a Democrat who backs reforms opposed by the unions. In 2014, Tom Torlakson – […]

Reports Offer Contrary Views On CA, Business

The new Economic Freedom of North America report evaluating the 92 states and provinces in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for how many obstacles they place on businesses says only one American state — New York — has more such obstacles than California. The report, assembled by scholars at the Fraser Institute in Toronto, examines the 50 […]

Jerry Brown For President? Two Interesting Angles

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters observed in a column last Friday that Gov. Jerry Brown might still have the White House itch: Does the three-time White House hopeful read about Hillary Clinton’s slide and left-winger Bernie Sanders’ surge in their presidential duel and wonder whether party leaders might, in desperation, turn to a popular, seasoned big-state governor […]

New Fee Would Push S.F. Housing Costs Even Higher

The cost of housing in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has been a national news story throughout 2015. On Wednesday, for example, USA Today reported that teachers could no longer afford to live in San Francisco. This has prompted hand-wringing from San Franciscans who worry that their city is well on its way to being a global symbol of […]

Reformers Get Help In Fight Over School Funding Law

Education reformers and advocates for poor communities have a new tool in the fight over implementation of a 2013 law that was supposed to provide extra help to millions of struggling California students. The Local Control Funding Formula — championed by Gov. Jerry Brown as “truly revolutionary” at its signing ceremony — was supposed to […]

Black Caucus Brings Its Clout To CA School Funding Fight

The Local Control Funding Formula, enacted in 2013, is supposed to make sure more education dollars are used in ways that specifically help struggling students. Gov. Jerry Brown pushed for the education funding change because he said it was crucial to making millions of mostly minority students into productive citizens helping the California economy. Reformers […]

Villaraigosa Record has Pluses for Senate Bid – and Landmines

The signs are growing that state and national Democrats’ attempts to clear the U.S. Senate field in 2016 for California Attorney General Kamala Harris aren’t working. Several well-known Democrats are seriously considering challenging Harris, and at least a couple seem likely to run — starting with former Assembly Speaker and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. […]

Fracking Safety — NY Times vs LA Times, Yet Again

The fracking revolution continues to unfold in a half-dozen states around the nation, with enormous benefits to all Americans. A New York Times analysis Friday laid out the particulars: The steepening drop in gasoline prices in recent weeks — spurred by soaring domestic energy production and Saudi discounts for crude oil at a time of faltering global […]

De Leon ‘Green Jobs’ Vow Didn’t Pan Out For Obama, Brown

New Senate President Kevin De Leon’s announcement Friday that creating a broad swath of “green jobs” would be a priority will be greeted with applause by greens in West L.A. and the Bay Area and on campus, but it will elicit disbelief among economists. Nearly a decade ago, the respected McKinsey consulting group said there […]

Anti-Fracking Fervor Builds In CA Even As It Lifts U.S. Economy, Stature

Anti-fracking sentiment in California continues to build, and we’re likely to see a spate of local moratoriums aimed at blocking the oil-drilling process in many cities and counties. This is happening even in places not normally associated with petroleum production, as this Orange County Register story makes clear. In Brea, residents started researching fracking, gathering […]