An Initiative War is Looming
Powerful interests are making last minute decisions on which initiatives to put forward to achieve their goals. At the same time they are practicing a bit of brinkmanship, determining which measures their opponents truly back, while deciding which ones their side will file if opponents put up an initiative they abhor.
Call it MAD – a case of Mutually Assured Destruction. The old Cold War term has been defined as a doctrine that “assumes that each side has enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the other side and that either side, if attacked for any reason by the other, would retaliate with equal or greater force.”
Over the next three weeks or so, initiatives will be filed in hopes of qualifying for the November 2010 ballot. Some initiatives would prompt counter moves setting off a true initiative war. There are, of course, a number of initiatives that have already emerged from the Attorney General’s Office but we’re looking for the measures that expect to receive big money support.
Garamendi, Newsom Both Get Clinton Help
Well, that was an endorsement.
Former President Bill Clinton was at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco Tuesday afternoon, giving an effusive blessing to Lt. Gov. John Garamendi’s run for Congress.
Clinton gave a long and personal salute to Garamendi, citing his years of work on health care and the environment.
“We need people in Congress like John Garamendi has been, not just in this campaign, but all his life,” Clinton said.
The former president’s ode to Garamendi stood in contrast to the rather more perfunctory public endorsement he gave to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in Los Angeles Monday.
Arguing Property Taxes – A Century Before Prop 13
For a forthcoming book
with my New America colleague Mark Paul, I’ve been studying the constitutional
history of California. I recently read the transcript of the 1878-79
constitutional convention, the last such convention in the state.
One
argument that took place among the delegates on Feb. 10, 1879, had to do with
adding a limit on property taxes. Excerpts of the debate follow. It began with
the following proposed amendment:
"The
State tax on property, exclusive of such tax as may be necessary to pay the
existing State debt, shall not exceed forty cents on each one hundred dollars
for any one year."
Transforming a Community at the Waterfront
Green growth is finally becoming a reality at our region’s ports. Just last week, the Clean Truck program celebrated its first anniversary. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced federal grant funding for cleaner cargo-moving equipment at the Port of Los Angeles. And after nearly a decade of planning and debate, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved a $1.2-billion project to transform the San Pedro waterfront into a vibrant commercial and outdoor promenade expected to attract thousands of residents and tourist each year.
The San Pedro Waterfront Redevelopment project is a port makeover which will bring a needed economic boost to our region, along with a green and open waterfront for residents and visitors to enjoy. The 27-acre project will deliver an eight mile promenade packed with a 75,000-square-foot conference center, 300,000 square feet of commercial space, new arts and cultural attractions, a trolley car line, bike trails and walking paths and a vastly upgraded recreational marina – all built to the highest environmental standards.