The Black Bart Award: Californian of the Year
Black Bart was a notorious outlaw from California’s frontier days. But he was known as a gentleman outlaw. While robbing 26 California stagecoaches from 1875 to 1883, he never shot a gun (although he was shot in the course of a robbery), never cussed, and was polite to his victims. Another thing: he believed himself a bit of an artist leaving poetry at the scene of some of his holdups, signing at least one poem: Black Bart the po8.
We thought, since those of us who practice in the political world are considered scoundrels, that Black Bart would make a good symbol for saluting the Californian of the Year. After all, the winner could be a gentle soul but still is involved in the dark arts of political give and take. And, all of us Californians are artists in our own worlds—at least most of us have an unproduced or half-written screenplay.
Therefore, Fox and Hounds Daily proudly announces its first annual Californian of the Year, affectionately known as the Fox and Hounds Daily Black Bart Award.
California’s Person of the Year
Time magazine likes to pick a person of the year, usually a news figure who transformed our world, usually for the better (though not always).
What if we were to pick such a person in California?
It’s been such a rotten year, and California’s civic climate seems so stuck, that it’s hard to choose anyone. As I thought about whom to nominate, I considered the entrepreneur (next frontier: space) Richard Branson. I pondered whether to nominate Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, who is making history with climate change regulation. The cynical political observer in me thought about offering up Abel Maldonado, who showed just how much a state legislator can accomplish for himself with one vote.
My runner-up is California Supreme Court Justice Ronald George, who effectively reversed his 2008 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage and reaffirmed the supremacy of voters by upholding Prop 8 (even when the voters are wrong, as in the case of Prop 8). George also bravely and appropriately spoke out about the need for constitutional reform in California.
Cortines Challenges Teachers in L.A.
When L.A. schools Superintendent Ramon Cortines said last week that he wants to weed out ineffective teachers because “we do not owe poor performers a job,” it sent a ray of hope to educators across California.
Hey, if it can happen in the huge, sprawling Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the lowest performing urban districts in the state, it can happen anywhere.
Now it’s up to Cortines to make his pledge more than a one-time sound bite.
Cortines make the comment in advance of a Los Angeles Times story Sunday that showed just how lousy a job the district does in evaluating beginning teachers, often giving them tenure – the ticket to a virtual lifetime job – without ensuring that those rookie instructors know what they’re doing in the classroom.
California Off the Rails
Polls constantly indicate voters believe California is on the wrong track. Here are a few recent items that indicate the state is not merely on the wrong track; it is running off the rails …
BYOP—Bring Your Own Pen
I served a day on jury duty last week. In the telephone recording preparing prospective jurors for their service, jurors were advised because of the state budget crisis we had to bring our own black-ink pen to the courthouse. The government could no longer provide pens to fill out forms.
Unhappy Californians
California ranks lower than its sister states in a number of categories and here’s another one: Happiness. According to a poll by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Golden State ranks 46th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia. A number of criteria lead to the conclusion by the economists who did the study including commuting issues, availability of public land, local taxes and quality of life issues. Ironically, the top states in the survey were in the sunshine belt, but California, known for its great weather, fell way down the list. At least we topped New York, which finished last. Read about the study in USA Today.
What happens when California defaults?
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office recently reported that the State faces a $21 billion shortfall in the current as well as the next fiscal year. That’s a problem, a really big problem. My young son would say it was a ginormous problem. In fact, it may be an insurmountable problem.
Our governor and legislature used every trick in their books when they created the most recent budget. They even resorted to mandatory interest-free loans from the taxpayers. Now, they have no idea where to go. The Democrats have declared that they will not allow budget cuts. The Republicans will not allow tax increases. They have probably run out of smoke and mirrors, although their ability to engage in budget gimmickry is enough to make an Enron accountant blush. No one is considering raising revenues by increasing economic activity.
In my opinion, California is now more likely to default than it is to not default. It is not a certainty, but it is a possibility that is increasingly likely.
Then what?