CA & USA: Tied in Knots Over Race

America’s latest racial conflict is playing out on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, but everyone knows this could happen anywhere at any time. Few California cities are immune from such potential explosions. One over-zealous cop, a George Zimmerman-like vigilante or any number of criminal acts with a racial element and our streets could be enflamed […]

Attacks on CA Biz Climate Off-Base

Ever since I moved to California in 1989, there has been a steady drumbeat about how California is anti-business and that the demise of the Golden State is upon us. We’ve all heard the refrain. Taxes are exorbitant. Mindless regulations stifle innovation and strangle small business. Organized labor has too much power. As a result, […]

Looking from the Inside Out as Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Speechwriter

During the 30 years I worked for newspapers, I twice had the opportunity to spend time inside one of the institutions reporters cover from the outside looking in. In 2001, I took a year leave of absence from the Sacramento Bee and was allowed to be a fly on the wall inside the Sacramento District […]