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.
Prop. 26 Shows Teeth, Kills San Diego Hotel Tax Hike
One of the few recent big triumphs of the small-government, low-tax movement in California came in 2010, when state voters approved Proposition 26. The constitutional amendment cleared up loopholes that allowed governing bodies to pass tax hikes on simple majority votes if they asserted the taxes were actually fees. Here is part of the ballot argument for it:
Proposition 26 requires politicians to meet the same vote requirements to pass these Hidden Taxes as they must to raise other taxes, protecting California taxpayers and consumers by requiring these Hidden Taxes to be passed by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and, at the local level, by public vote. (more…)
Summit Releases How-To Guide On Proposed New Infrastructure Financing Tools
Long before water pipes began bursting in Los Angeles and dams started cracking in the Sierra foothills, the California Economic Summit has been exploring ways the state can make needed investments in California’s aging infrastructure.
With less than a month remaining in this year’s legislative session, the Summit sent a letter to the Governor and Legislative leaders this week urging lawmakers to move forward with one promising option—a proposal to create new local infrastructure development tools known as “Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts” (EIFDs).
Accompanying the letter is a How-to Guide created by the Summit detailing how local and regional agencies could use this new authority to invest in everything from sidewalk repair and water infrastructure (including, yes, next-generation water systems) to the implementation of sustainable communities plans. (more…)
Water Bond Realities
There are two realities with the current $11.1 billion water bond currently scheduled to appear on the November ballot as Proposition 43. One, the bond is too big and filled with pork. Two, even so, if it appeared on the ballot as is, it likely would pass.
Legislators are debating the size and content of the bond with time running out to replace the $11.1 billion measure that has already been removed from ballots twice before in 2010 and 2012. Given the state’s water situation there must be no more delays.
However, the battle over content continues. In a letter — posted interestingly on the his campaign website – Gov. Jerry Brown said he is concerned with too much debt and that his $6 billion water bond proposal would provide “for water use efficiency and recycling, effective groundwater management and added storage.”
Legislators have discussed water bonds in the $8 to $10 billion range. They battle over how much reservoir water storage, water movement and environmental protections should be included in the bond. (more…)
California and Mexico are Essential Partners
Gov. Jerry Brown’s Trade Mission to Mexico last week sent the right message to business leaders in Mexico and California. Mexico is California’s largest export market and businesses know how important it is to take care of your largest customers. Gov. Brown and his 130-member delegation were warmly received by Mexican elected officials and business leaders at every event during the four-day visit.
The governor’s trade mission coincided with the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAFTA eliminated most of the tariffs and barriers to trade between the U.S. and Mexico and has contributed to a dramatic increase in economic trade between our two nations. Business and government leaders from Mexico voiced their strong support for NAFTA throughout the trade mission.
Recognizing that the majority of trade between California and Mexico is transported by truck, Gov. Brown expressed his concern about the long delays at the border crossings. He pledged to work with U.S. and Mexican officials to reduce the delays to make trade more efficient and less expensive to the ultimate customer. (more…)
If California Cows Could Talk
I am a California dairy cow. Mmmm—oo.
Surprised to hear from me? In normal times, I wouldn’t be inclined to cooperate with the anthropomorphic scheme of a writer desperate for a mid-summer column.
But today so much is being said about agriculture here in the Central Valley, and dairies in particular, that I felt the need to—if you’ll pardon the pun—milk the moment. Too many of you city slickers have the wrong impression of the cows you pass along the 5 or the 99.
In the stories and headlines, we cows are usually invoked as symbols of the past, the epitome of a traditional way of life. And so the stories say we’re threatened by whatever is the news or preoccupation of the day—climate change, labor costs, taxes, regulations, cheap food, the environment. Sometimes cows and dairies are portrayed as victims, unable to flee this dysfunctional state for greener pastures, like other businesses have. Or we cows are seen as victimizers, part of a water-guzzling agricultural industry that is getting its comeuppance with this drought. (more…)
How to Ensure California’s Water Sustainability on Program at Economic Summit’s Capitol Day
The Legislature is back in session, it will be months before the rainy season begins, and, like everyone else in California, we’re thinking about water—and what the state will have to do to prosper in an even drier future.
The expanding drought emergency will be the focus of an important conversation on August 12 at the Economic Summit’s Capitol Day, where more than 200 civic leaders will join policymakers grappling with one of the state’s most complex issues: How to ensure this year’s investments in water infrastructure put California on a path to water sustainability?
Four Summit action teams have been working this year on answering this difficult question, sending the governor and legislative leaders 11 recommendations for responding to the drought emergency by providing relief where it is needed most—while also ensuring all of the state’s regions have a safe, reliable source of water for years to come. (more…)