HJTA files suit against the High Speed Rail Authority over missing Prop 1A Business Plan
Yesterday, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit against the California High Speed Rail Authority for a very simple reason: Under the plain language of Prop 1A, which was placed on the ballot by Assembly Bill 3034, the Authority was required to prepare a business plan by September 1st. That plan is more than five weeks late, leaving voters and policy leaders without the critical information they need to make an informed decision on Proposition 1A.
It is really hard to imagine a more clear violation of law. The very first provision of AB 3034 states:
“The authority shall prepare, publish, and submit to the Legislature, not later than September 1, 2008, a revised business plan that identifies all of the following: the type of service it anticipates it will develop, such as local, express, commuter, regional, or interregional; a description of the primary benefits the system will provide; a forecast of the anticipated patronage, operating costs, and capital costs for the system; an estimate and description of the total anticipated federal, state, local, and other funds the authority intends to access to fund the construction and operation of the system; . . . . The revised business plan shall also include a discussion of all reasonably foreseeable risks the project may encounter, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the project’s finances, patronage, construction, equipment, and technology, and other risks associated with the project’s development. The plan shall describe the authority’s strategies, processes, or other actions it intends to utilize to manage those risks.”
A Third Political Party?
A majority of Californians feel that the current political parties fail to do a good job and these voters are open to the idea of a third political party. That was the result of one of the questions in the latest Public Policy Institute poll that received little attention.
By a 52% to 41% margin, Californians liked the idea of supporting a third party because the Democratic and Republican parties do not do an adequate job. As you would expect, it was the Independents who really grabbed onto the idea of a third party by 62% to 35%. But registered Democrats and Republicans apparently don’t think the third party suggestion is so crazy. Democrats said that current parties do an adequate job of representing the people by a only a narrow margin 48% to 44%, while Republicans actually were in favor of the third party idea 49% to 44%.
Poll results on the independent voters is significant because independents, or as they are known in California, Decline to State voters, are growing in number. In September, the Secretary of State revealed that Decline to State voters make up nearly 20% of California’s registered voters. That’s compared to 32.5% Republicans and 43.7% Democrats.
Palin Power?
I was challenged several weeks ago to look at the record of Sarah Palin and John McCain and compare that to the alternative to see who would be best for California businesses and families.
I own a technology company with my husband that deals with custom software in the health care and life science industries. I’ve been on the front lines dealing with issues like workplace flexibility as an advocate for jobs and competitiveness.
I wanted to get past the “fad” and Rock Star appeal. What is “Palin Power”? Is she really a “Barracuda”? Will she help working women as “Sarah the Riveter”? Or, is she just “Caribou Barbie”?
Unless you are “Hilary”, “Oprah”, “Angelina” or “Madonna”, it’s uncommon to be known by your first name and receive immediate name ID. But in a short 35 days since her selection to the Republican ticket, “Sarah” has become a phenomenon – the glasses, the Tina Fey jokes, those fabulous boots she wore to her first appearance in Silicon Valley this past Sunday. “Rock star” is an understatement.
Start Making Sense on Housing
If you’re really itching to hear someone say “duh,” just tell them with a straight face that houses are too expensive in Los Angeles.
Lots of companies put housing affordability near the top of their concerns about doing business here. Sure, middle-class workers can find acceptable family homes that are kind of affordable, but those houses may be so far inland they face commute times that could be measured by a calendar.
Everybody knows it’s a problem. The big question: What to do?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week announced a huge plan – as in $5 billion – to create more affordable housing in the city.
Now, I’m not going to quibble about the particulars of how the plan will work. Let’s leave that for another time. And I’m certainly not going to question his desire or motive. The impulse to do something to help this dire situation is understandable, commendable even.
The part I don’t understand is this: Isn’t this the same city government that’s actively tried to make homes more expensive?