Early Look at Campaign 2014: Part 3 – State Assembly
We are one year away from the November 2014 General Election, and the California Target Book, which I publish, just distributed its fall edition to subscribers, analyzing and handicapping the upcoming races in California for congress and the state legislature. Earlier, I reported on the key races for Congress (Part 1) and state Senate (Part […]
Fiscal Good Times Make Brown’s Job Harder
It isn’t that Gov. Jerry Brown isn’t happy to hear Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor say such nice things about California’s financial future, but he would like it better if the state’s top bean counter wasn’t so darned enthusiastic about the good news. A remarkably upbeat report issued Wednesday projected a state awash in black ink, […]
State Revenue Boom Means Time for a Rainy Reserve
The state budget hasn’t been very newsworthy for the past year, which is good news. A big voter-approved tax increase plus a stingy Governor plus a modest economic recovery has put what was a perennial fiscal crisis in the rear view mirror. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor yesterday confirmed this trend – and then some. Citing […]
Three Words: Cal Poly Sacramento
We Californians need to help Sacramento. Before you start hyperventilating, I’m not talking about our state government. I’m talking about the city and county, the capital region. With little notice or comment, this Sacramento has become one of the most economically distressed places in California. The housing bust and all those state budget cuts hammered […]