Should Voting on Initiatives Be Like Voting on Foreign Film Oscars?
Should you be able to vote on legislation or constitutional amendments you haven’t read or studied? In California, our answer to this question is: absolutely yes. Voters routinely cast ballots on measures about which they know little more than what they’ve seen in TV ads and on ballot title and summaries. How does this make […]
California Must Get Serious About its Business Climate
Crossposted on Sacramento Bee Last week was a very bad week for California’s and Sacramento’s economies. Unfortunately, it was just the latest evidence that a serious problem exists and must be addressed. Comcast is closing all of its California call centers, with a loss of 300 jobs from its Natomas site alone. Vision Service Plan […]
31st Congressional District Is Petri Dish for Reforms
Two “reforms” –the top-two primary and redistricting by commission–have created a whole new ballgame for legislative and Congressional district elections in California. Proponents of these electoral changes were aiming to make races more competitive and to provide more opportunity for centrist candidates. It will probably take another four or five election cycles to begin to […]
HJTA Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Fire Tax
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed a class action lawsuit to provide relief to nearly one million California property owners who received bills from the State for a new “fire prevention fee” which the lawsuit claims is illegal. The class action complaint, filed today in Superior Court in Sacramento, seeks to overturn the fire fee, […]
Minority Communities Are Disproportionally Affected By Lawsuit Abuse
During Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, it is important to recognize that lawsuit abuse hurts us all – not just the business sued or the employees whose hours may be cut to help pay the costs of the lawsuit, but everyone in the community. As the owner of a successful media company who has traveled, done […]