Is CEQA Reform Possible?
Will California’s business environment finally get a shot in the arm by updating the 42-year-old California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)? The business community is hopeful and indications are that powerful legislative leaders want to see this through. But there are potential roadblocks to the reforms that are desperately needed. The environmental community is digging in […]
What’s Next? A Crime Prevention Fee?
A fire tax bill is coming soon to a mailbox near you. It’s not fair; it’s not constitutional, but thanks to Governor Jerry Brown and the Legislature, the bills are coming all the same. On August 13, the State of California began mailing the first of more than 825,000 “Fire Prevention Fee” bills to Californians […]
Race, Intermarriage and “The Fire Next Time” in California
God gave Noah the rainbow sign No more water, the fire next time African American spiritual, “Mary Don’t You Weep” What is the relevance of an essay on race relations published 50 years ago for today’s California government and society? A few weeks ago in Fox & Hounds, we noted that this August 2012 was […]
California Is Not Quite as Bad as Greece, But It Certainly Is Special
Governor Jerry Brown recently took offense with Governor Mitt Romney’s comment recently, jokingly comparing California’s economic condition to that of the debt-burdened European countries of Greece, Spain or Italy. In an effort to protect his image and work, Brown immediately put on his rose-colored glasses and went into damage control. “Just silly,” Brown said during […]