Intriguing California Politics for the New Year
2014 could prove to be a wild and wooly year politically in California with many changes in the way the state does business. Or it could see many big changes thwarted. It’s an election year, after all, and legislators may be skittish when it comes to backing a big change and then facing voters. Of […]
Pension Initiative Will Remove Roadblocks to Reform
During the last decade, the annual cost of public employee retirement benefits in California has skyrocketed from $3 billion to $17 billion per year. In too many cities, retirement costs are approaching or exceeding 20 percent of the entire General Fund. And the costs keep rising. As a result, governments across the state are struggling […]
Three Strikes for Reed’s Pension Measure?
December has been the cruelest month for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and his ballot measure designed to slash the retirement benefits of firefighters, teachers, police officers and other public employees. The first hit was a long-awaited assessment of the measure by the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office (LAO). As expected, the LAO noted that there […]
The Case of the Smoking Congresswoman
I guess in my excitement to put out the CALA 2013 Legal Turkey Awards I overlooked one case in particular that should have been on the list. The case is that of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Before becoming a Congresswoman, Carolyn McCarthy was a nurse for 30 years and reportedly a heavy smoker for 40 […]