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.
Drought Watch: Priorities for Cities and Farms
A spate of recent news articles have reinforced what most Californians already know: the state is locked in a grim drought, with unusually warm temperatures and near-record low snowpack. Since this is the fourth consecutive dry year, reserves are low and water scarcity will be acute in some farming regions and watersheds.
In our new report, Policy Priorities for Managing Drought, we highlight four areas that need reform to reduce the economic, social, and environmental harm from drought in California: 1) improving water use information; 2) setting clear goals and priorities for public health and the environment; 3) promoting water conservation and more resilient water supplies; and 4) strengthening environmental management. (more…)
Winners Emerge in Senate District 7 Special Election
Steve Glazer and Susan Bonilla are the big winners in last night’s Senate District 7 special election. The two top vote getters will square off in a May runoff to join the Senate just in time for budget deliberations.
But who were the winners and losers among the groups that collectively spent north of $3.4 million?
Those with Glazer – Just shy of 10 months ago, an alliance of the business community, led by the California Chamber of Commerce’s Jobs Pac, and education reform groups suffered a bitterly disappointing defeat when Glazer fell short in his bid to proceed to the November runoff for the 16th Assembly District.
Now that same general coalition joined forces with LA businessman Bill Bloomfield to successfully push Glazer to the top of the election results. Bloomfield; who was also the key component in funding the effort that elected Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) over Sandra Fluke, last year; spent at least $600k on Glazer, largely providing balance to the massive labor funded campaign against the former Jerry Brown advisor. (more…)
Senator de Leon’s Green Vision Has Valley Seeing Red
Senator Kevin de Leon, the same Los Angeles State Senator who proclaimed that “no one lives out there in the tumbleweeds” when referring to the Central Valley, has proven that he still doesn’t understand the realities faced by hardworking people who live here.
His recent op-ed in the Fresno Bee pitching Senate Bill 350 was an unconvincing argument for an economy-stifling nightmare that might excite people living in San Francisco or Newport Beach but would actually be a burden to people living in the Central Valley. This irresponsible mandate includes plans to force cuts to gas and diesel use by 50 percent, as well as increase renewable energy 50 percent in the next 15 years. Many people in the Central Valley, like thousands of farm workers who Senator de León says he is trying to help, have no choice but to gas up and drive long distances to and from work. Any small improvements to the environment would be overshadowed by the strangulation of the oil and gas industry, not to mention the financial impacts on every driver in this state as the cost of filling up cars, trucks or tractors skyrockets. (more…)
Fixing the Legislative Process
Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor in the 19th Century, never visited California. But he could have had the state Legislature in mind when he said, “Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made.”
Observers on all sides of the political spectrum agree the legislative process in the Golden State is cumbersome and not too rational. To make things a little less unwieldy, Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen has introduced several reform proposals. She said:
“Every time you read the paper, there is another story about bills being passed in the dead of night, politicians in scandal, or ridiculous bills that do nothing to make California a better place to live. We want to restore our constituents’ faith in this institution. That’s why we have introduced a legislative package to modernize state government and make it work for the people.” (more…)
To Vote, or Not to Vote
Voter turnout in California is low. Just three weeks ago, the election held in Los Angeles saw an embarrassing 10 percent turnout. And, of course, the statewide turnout just last November was almost as bad.
Irrespective of political affiliation, the immediate reaction among those of us who are politically engaged is that low voter turnout is not good for democracy. But perhaps we should challenge that bit of conventional wisdom. Is voting for voting’s sake really a good thing?
Members of the self-serving political class, made up of politicians and the special interests that support them, complain about the lack of voter participation because they believe they should be seen as patriotically promoting the democratic process. But their faux sincerity is based entirely on whether or not they see a greater political advantage to a higher voter turnout. If they believe that a higher turnout will drive more low information voters, who can be easily persuaded by glossy mailers, they are all for more voters. (At one point it was suggested that Los Angeles should increase turnout by providing those who vote a chance to win cash through a lottery system.) If they don’t think that the additional votes are likely to help them, they will do nothing substantive to actually encourage greater participation. (more…)
Chavez Bill Echoes Schwarzenegger Education Reform Effort
Among the package of education reform bills introduced by Republican assembly members two weeks ago was AB 1248 by Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside) designed to stiffen requirements before teachers receive tenure. The bill is similar to what former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted with one of the four initiatives he backed in the 2005 special election.
A decade later the issue is back and this time may have momentum given the much publicized Vergara vs. California Superior Court decision last year which repudiated current California teacher protection standards as bad for students. (more…)