Voters Are Wising Up – Local Politics Is a Waste of Time
The L.A. Times a couple of weeks ago wrote a hand-wringing story about a new poll showing that fewer California voters see local politics as worthwhile. The poll noted that local politics used to have a bit of a halo—people famously hated what they saw in Washington or Sacramento, but liked their own local officials […]
Should’ve Left Markets Alone
Who’s to blame for the Haggen grocery disaster? Haggen last week announced it was pulling out of California, Arizona and Nevada, abandoning most of the 146 Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions groceries it bought early this year. Haggen blames Albertsons and has sued it. Plenty of others blame Haggen, saying the small chain had no business […]
Tea Party Domination and the Presidential Election
Speaker John Boehner’s capitulation to the militant conservative wing of his party commanded by Tea Party loyalists whose principal goal is not to govern but to thwart every effort to do so by those who disagree with them does not auger well for a Congress in near total disarray or for a troubled nation. His […]
Governor Brown Revives Redevelopment Agencies
Redevelopment is back in California. Four years after Governor Jerry Brown led the effort to eliminate redevelopment agencies, the governor has changed his mind, signing legislation to restore the controversial institutions and their power to use eminent domain. Earlier this month, Gov. Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2, which grants local governments the power to create […]