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.

2018 Will Be No Better for Reed/DeMaio Pension Measures

In their decision this week to abandon their 2016 ballot measures designed to slash retirement security for teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public workers, former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio predicted that their chances would be better in 2018.

Their thinking? It’s an off-year election, more communities will be facing increases in their pension payments, and because of the pending Supreme Court case, unions won’t be able to compete with the out-of-state funding that Texas Enron billionaire John Arnold might put in their pockets for a pension measure.

They’re wrong. (more…)

Californians Are Still “Meh” About the Economic Recovery

This Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown is set to make his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the State Assembly and State Senate. If last year’s is any measure of what to expect, Brown will likely tout the continued economic recovery California is experiencing.

And he has good reason to do so. Since taking office in January 2011, California’s U3 unemployment rate is down 6 points, almost 1.8 million more people are employed, and real GDP per capita has grown by about 4%. But Brown should also be careful that he doesn’t over celebrate this progress. While the state has been experiencing a slow-but-steady recovery, it has been very uneven across the state. For instance, while Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley boasts an unemployment rate of 3.8%, those in the Central Valley and Inland Empire still are experiencing double-digits rates. In fact, if you were to remove the Silicon Valley-Bay Area from California, it would reduce employment growth since 2009 from 7.5% to 5.7%. (more…)

Budget Rollercoaster and the Oil Severance Tax

Californians have ridden the down side of the budget rollercoaster in the recent past because of heavy reliance on upper income taxpayers taking a hit during recessionary times. The state budget could face that again considering the steep drop in the stock market of late. Is this a precursor of budget woes to come? A similar scenario is playing out in other states because of a type of tax that some California environmentalists and legislators want to implement in this state—an oil severance tax.

Discussion about placing an oil severance tax on the ballot has faded a bit because of louder chatter supporting income tax and property tax measures. That’s despite the advocacy of Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmental activist, who has voiced support for such a severance tax measure. But before anyone jumps on that bandwagon as a way to bring big revenue to the state, take a look at the new statistics put out by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a part of the United States Department of Energy. (more…)

The Apprentice Returns

apprenticeshipThis week, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges will be asked to approve more than $16 million in California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) projects to expand apprenticeship presence and enrollment in California. The CAI is part of the broader California investment in expanding apprenticeships, the largest state investment in the nation. It is timely to ask: Why have apprenticeships not had wider use in California over the past four decades? What might be expected from the new CAI?

The apprenticeship concept is a popular one, across the political spectrum. It evokes images of a pre-industrial economy, in which workers learn on the job, while producing goods that are needed (real work). It calls forth Walt Whitman’s celebration of America singing in work: the carpenter, the mason, the boatman, the shoemaker. (more…)

Finally Prop 1 Funds Are Being Spent but Not a Dime For Storage

Last week, the first projects that will be funded by Proposition 1 were announced by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In the 23rd Assembly District, River Partners was awarded more than $2 million for “Invasive Species Management” along the San Joaquin River. This project requires the removal of weeds along the river, the re-planting of new native species and the installation of sprinklers to water those new plants for three years. Spending money for sprinklers on the San Joaquin River doesn’t get us any new water.

Equally concerning is the $500,000 that will be spent in the Sierra National Forest for a “Meadows Restoration Project” by a group called Trout Unlimited. (more…)

Legislature Plans To Close Entrance To Public, Provide Lobbyists Special Access

Though it brands itself as “the people’s house,” the California State Capitol will soon become less accessible to the public, while continuing to provide lobbyists with “special access.”

Beginning February 1, the California state Legislature intends to convert its east entrance from public to “employee and lobbyist only,” according to an internal security memo from the Joint Rules Committee obtained by CalWatchdog.com.

“The East door to the Capitol will be designated an ’employee and lobbyist only (with ID)’entrance,” the January 14 memo from the Joint Rules Committee states. “Entry into the Capitol from the North and South doors will still be available, however, only the East door will provide an expedited entry.” (more…)