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.

CalPERS “Myths vs. Facts” Propaganda Will Not Change Reality

California’s largest state/local government employee pension system, CalPERS, has posted a page on their website called “Myths vs. Facts.” Included among their many rather debatable “facts” is the following assertion, “Pension costs represent about 3.4 percent of total state spending.”

This depends, of course, on what year you’re considering, and what you consider to be direct cost overhead for the state as opposed to pass-throughs from the state to cities and counties. But CalPERS overlooks the fact that most of California’s government workers who collect pensions do not work for the state, they work for cities and counties and school districts. As can be seen on the “view CalPERS employers” page on Transparent California, there are 3,329 distinct employer retirement pension plans administered by CalPERS, and the vast majority of these are not state agencies paid from the state budget, but local agencies. (more…)

A Busy Week in California Politics—Ballots, Business & Strategy

Threat to the Secret Ballot?

Assemblyman Marc Levine’s idea to allow selfies of voters’ ballots could lead down a path of upending the secret ballot.

Perhaps an overwrought notion but consider:

Levine argues in a press release that, “California law should encourage voter pride, political speech, and civic engagement through social media.” Current law prohibits anyone from showing his or her marked ballot. Levine argues this is a violation of free speech. (more…)

Bringing Film And Television Production Home – Tax Credits Kick In!

California is on its way to reclaiming its position as the film and television capital of the world, thanks in large part to the enhanced tax credit program approved by the legislature last year to curb runaway production.

Although the stepped-up program was launched just a few months ago, the results are already impressive.  A Los Angeles Times article indicates a jump of 54% in the number of days television shows were shot in the region, according to FilmL.A. On location television dramas experienced a 24% increase, sit-coms 26% and pilots 32%.  As an example of the economic impact, one 22- episode TV show sustains 840 jobs and generates $9 million in local and state tax revenues.  (more…)

California’s High Speed Rail Should Look Like Germany’s

Will California’s high-speed rail system be German enough?

That question is not a joke, as I learned last month while riding Germany’s popular high-speed rail. In fact, it’s a more important question than the ones Californians have been myopically asking for years about the costs, funding, and construction deadlines of the state’s controversial project.

The value of high-speed rail does not lie in the cost or speed of trains, but rather in the ability of such projects to anchor deep connections—between transportation hubs, between cultural attractions, between cities, between job sites. And German high-speed rail, while far from perfect, excels at creating fast and efficient connections. (more…)

High-Speed Rail is Failing. California Must Have the Courage to Change

The liberals in Sacramento have blinders on. Their tunnel vision focus on completing this high-speed rail project in California regardless of the cost, delays, and lack of ridership interest puts California taxpayers at big risk for little, if any, gain.

The evidence keeps coming in that Sacramento has broken its promise to the people of California with this rail project. Most recently, the Los Angeles Times reported that that cost estimates for the train are going up, and the rail authority only revealed that fact when pressed by lawmakers.  In fact, the authority only recently revealed to the public that the projected cost of the first phase of the train had risen by 31 percent—a fact they had known since October 2013. (more…)

Jerry Brown Biography on its Way

Jim Newton, former long time Los Angeles Times editor and columnist and noted biographer of Earl Warren, Dwight Eisenhower and Leon Panetta, is writing a biography of Jerry Brown. The governor is cooperating with Newton.

“My hope is to tell the story of modern California — its transformation into the nation’s largest, most prosperous and most divided state — through the story of its longest-serving governor, Jerry Brown,” Newton told me.

Scheduled to be published by Little Brown in 2019, after Brown ends his fourth term as governor, Newton is looking for background stories to help flesh out his history. (more…)