Grading Politicians
Last week the Los Angeles Times offered report card like grades for Los Angeles City’s mayor, city attorney, controller, and council president. Grading politicians is not a bad idea and Times publisher Austin Beutner said the newspaper intends to expand the practice to offer grades for county supervisors and state officials. Wouldn’t be a bad idea […]
How Government Can Work Even Better—-A Bipartisan View
“There are many issues and problems in California that can be dealt with successfully if we work together in a nonpartisan way.” Those words from former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed help explain why he is participating in a series of bipartisan conversations across California with Pete Peterson, executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership […]
More Local Decisions Usurped By Ideological Regulators
In hip, and even not-so-hip, circles, markets, restaurants and cultural festivals across the country, local is in. Many embrace this ideal as an economic development tool, an environmental win and a form of resistance to ever-greater centralized big business control. Yet when it comes to areas being able to choose their urban form and for […]
New Fee Would Push S.F. Housing Costs Even Higher
The cost of housing in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has been a national news story throughout 2015. On Wednesday, for example, USA Today reported that teachers could no longer afford to live in San Francisco. This has prompted hand-wringing from San Franciscans who worry that their city is well on its way to being a global symbol of […]