Legislation Would Reduce Access to Justice
California’s courts are struggling to accommodate years of budget cuts. The judiciary has absorbed ongoing reductions of more than a half-billion dollars. More than $1 billion in construction projects for courthouses has been diverted to the General Fund to balance the state budget. The consequence of these reductions are reduced access to justice: closing courthouses, […]
Pension Reform Goes Off-Track
Few pension reformers will blame Governor Jerry Brown for agreeing to support the federal government’s demand to temporarily exempt union transit workers from the pension reforms he championed. The standoff between the governor and the Obama Administration’s Labor Department over transit funds and pension reform was spelled out by the State Budget Solution’s Bob Williams […]
A Map Of America’s Future: Where Growth Will Be Over The Next Decade
The world’s biggest and most dynamic economy derives its strength and resilience from its geographic diversity. Economically, at least, America is not a single country. It is a collection of seven nations and three quasi-independent city-states, each with its own tastes, proclivities, resources and problems. These nations compete with one another – the Great Lakes […]
Secession for Siskiyou: Supervisors Vote to Withdraw from California
The official flag for the State of Jefferson features two prominent gold Xs, forming a “Double Cross” which symbolizes the region’s sense of abandonment by state leaders. At Tuesday’s Siskiyou Board of Supervisors meeting, this feeling of “Double Cross” undeniably permeated the room. Exceeding maximum occupancy, the Supervisors allowed the doors to the chambers to […]
A Jolt of Higher Rates
Electricity and other energy rates in California are going up. That much we know. How much are they going up? Ahh, that’s what we don’t know. In fact, we have no idea. The California Energy Commission has projected electricity will cost 26 percent to 42 percent more by 2020. But it could go much higher. […]