Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye
With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages.
Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down.
Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.
On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.
F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!). We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.
Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey. The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.
Has California’s Greatest Filmmaker Lost His Focus?
Has Hollywood’s foremost interpreter of California lost his touch?
That may seem a strange question to ask now that said interpreter—the writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson—is up for a screenwriting Oscar at this Sunday’s Academy Awards. But Anderson’s work often poses strange questions.
Anderson matters because, at age 44, he’s already the greatest California filmmaker ever. That’s a claim based not just on the ambition of his films (famous for their fascinatingly flawed characters and long, tension-filled scenes), or the awards and critical acclaim he’s won, or the fact that two of his movies—Boogie Nights (a portrait of the porn business starring Mark Wahlberg) and There Will Be Blood (a portrait of the oil business starring Daniel Day-Lewis)—are already considered classics. (more…)
L.A. DWP’s $40 Million Fiasco
The trust and confidence of the ratepayers and voters in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the City Council has dipped to new lows.
Jack Dolan of the Los Angeles Times revealed that IBEW Union Boss d’Arcy has denied Controller Ron Galperin and City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana “unfettered access” to the books and records of the Joint Safety and Training Institutes in connection their audit about what happened to $40 million of ratepayer money that was funneled to these two less than transparent nonprofit trusts.
Naturally, ratepayers are asking, “What is IBEW Union Boss d’Arcy trying to hide?” (more…)
Initiative Chess-like Moves
Much has be written about the potential cascade of initiatives headed for the November 2016 ballot because of the lower total of signatures needed to qualify ballot measures. But, those who study the initiative landscape see as much maneuvering as you would find in a chess match before all the pieces fall into place and we have a clear picture what the voters will be deciding. As I already commented, there could be a tax blitzkrieg headed for the ballot. We’ll concentrate on those measures.
The internal debates and potential deals among allies are heating up because decision time is not too far off. While the conventional wisdom for filing an initiative is to do so one year before the election, the Secretary of State website suggests much earlier kick-off dates. If a full check of signatures is needed to see if a measure qualifies for the November 8, 2016 election, the recommended date to file is July 7, 2015. (more…)
Renewing the Debate on the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)
“It’s déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra
As has been reported in these pages and elsewhere, Senators Kevin de León and Mark Leno earlier this month introduced Senate Bill (SB) 350, otherwise known as the “Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.” The authors developed SB 350 ostensibly to help create jobs in California, grow the state’s economy, and improve public health by mandating that the state achieve three specific targets by 2030. Specifically, SB 350 requires that California reduce the gasoline usage for transportation by 50 percent, increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings by 50 percent, and obtain 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar power and wind. (more…)
Entrepreneurs Fret Over CA Business Climate
Although California’s economy is finally picking up after seven years of recessionary blues, many small business owners continue to feel government is hurting more than helping them. That was one of the messages from entrepreneurs at a Feb. 11 hearing by the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.
Regarding the economy, there “is an optimism from small business that hasn’t existed in the past,” said Scott Hauge, president and founder of Small Business California. That’s shown in a comparison of SBC’s 2014 survey of California small business owners with preliminary results from the 2015 survey: (more…)
Is Proposition 30 Reducing Inequality in California?
A recent item in the New York Times pointed out an important fact: for all the talk of economic inequality as a growing problem, it is also true that inequality has not risen since the Great Recession.
That is not to say we should be crying for the very rich. Only to point out that, while inequality remains at or near its highest levels than at any time since before the Great Depression, it is also true that recent government policy may be taking the edge off – if only a little bit.
That seems to be the case in California, where voters approved higher tax rates on the highest income earners by passing Proposition 30 in 2012. (more…)