Solyndra: Its singing robots bedazzle state officials
Cross-posted at LA Observed. Were they deliberately fooled or just foolish? Three months ago, LA Observed has learned, California state officials toured the Solyndra, Inc. plant in Fremont to see what miracles were being wrought by the state’s investment in Solyndra, widely touted as a green energy model. The official turistas later gushingly reported: "Staff […]
Legislature Lets Rich Guys Win Again
Once again, the California Legislature has shown it slavishly follows the Golden Rule: He’s who’s got the gold, makes the rules. And there aren’t many with more gold than Phil Anschutz, number 34 on the Forbes magazine list of the richest Americans. Anschutz and his Anschutz Entertainment Group held lawmakers hostage last week and they […]
Moving the Ball Down the Field
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has consistently rallied our members and legislators to support regulatory reform in California — a cause made all the more urgent by the Great Recession and the continued slump of the California economy. It was exciting last week to watch members of the state Legislature respond to that […]
Today’s Solyndra Hearing and the Future for Its Workforce
We have much more to learn about the abrupt closing of Solyndra, the solar cell manufacturer in Fremont and its layoff of 1100 workers. The story so far incorporates major themes of both the California economy and the U.S. economy, circa 2011: the impacts of globalization on the job structure in general and particularly in […]