Now it begins—the California Trucking Association (CTA) is opening what likely will become an avalanche of lawsuits, new legislation or just plain protests and complaints to get out from under the restrictions of AB 5 limiting the role of independent contractors.  The Trucking Association, to borrow a well-worn phrase especially popular in the 1960s, wants […]

The chatter from many presidential candidates and local politicians is that corporations and businesses are corrupting government and buying the government they want. While there is no denying that corporations do their best to influence and direct politicians, businesses are not the only ones playing that game and are often the target of spending interests […]

Two historical events anniversaries recognized the last few days both played a large role in neutering the California Republican Party. While many media outlets highlighted the political ramifications of Republican support for Proposition 187 twenty-five years ago, which was designed to limit benefits for many immigrants, the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago […]

I’m not sure who plays which role but Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas are attacking the California crisis of homelessness like the team of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson using what Steinberg called a “deductive” approach to the problem. The co-chairs of the Governor’s Homelessness Task Force want to […]

Today’s vote in San Francisco will not merely fill the District Attorney position but provide insight on where California stands in the national movement to change the criminal justice system. That effort, spurred on by progressives, will extend to Los Angeles next year when the county’s voters will likely decide between two candidates who will […]

Once again California set the pace on a policy issue that is influencing national debate when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) declared its intention to find a way for college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name or likeness.  The NCAA’s turn of mind is sure to confirm for many California […]

The price for California’s plague of wildfires could be political or could be monetary, but political history dictates that someone pays a price for disaster. Anger and frustration is palpable around the state over endless fires threatening lives and property. The people of California know that something has gone wrong and want answers. The trouble […]

Perhaps the most telling comment in response to the California State Auditor’s report on the financial health of the state’s cities came from a League of Cities official who complained that the auditor was working off old figures because cities have approved new taxes and other measures to improve finances. The crux of the matter […]