The Special Election was Act One
The Special Election was Act One of a three-act drama that will play out over the next year and a half. When the curtain falls on the final act — the 2010 general election — California will set a new course for its fiscal future.
In Act One, the voters rejected the budget proposals put up by the governor and legislature. Act Two will consist of how the governor and legislature respond.
Those who see this as a chance to finally get California’s fiscal house in order with a more conservative fiscal plan are right. But they must act fast.
Reforms must be presented, implemented, and show some results before the voters make decisions on the November 2010 ballot. That ballot will likely contain a myriad of opportunities to alter direction, or to cement changes that could come out of the newly reinstituted budget negotiations. Of course, new leadership will be offered in the governor’s race. A new group of legislators will be elected. And, undoubtedly, voters will be presented with a number of options to change the way we conduct business in California.
So If We Take Your Terrorists…
President Obama has a problem. He’s promised to close the detainee facility at Guantanamo, Cuba, but is finding it hard to find a place to put them. States all over the union are saying not in my backyard.
California has a problem. It needs federal loan guarantees for its short-term cash flow borrowing. But President Obama and members of Congress are saying – at least right now – that such assistance isn’t forthcoming. The other 49 states, after all, don’t want to bail out California.
Are these two completely unrelated problems?
Or a match made in heaven?
Here’s the deal, modestly proposed: President Obama, we’ll solve your problem if you’ll solve ours.
Trashing Chevron in Amazon Court
Chevron’s global headquarters is just a couple of miles down the road from where my family and I live. I pass it several times a week when driving through San Ramon.
Chevron is an important part of San Ramon, the 680 corridor, and the Bay Area community. From their refinery in Richmond to their headquarters in San Ramon, they employ many of my neighbors and give millions of dollars through corporate philanthropy to the needy and underprivileged each year. They are a well-respected corporate citizen and a good neighbor.
Not surprisingly, because they are a successful company, they are also a target for trial lawyers seeking to line their pockets through endless litigation.