North-South Rivalry Alive Over Brown’s Big Projects
California’s historic north/south rivalry appears to be writing a new chapter over Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed big legacy projects: the bullet train and delta tunnels. The rivalry is sure to heat up over both a report that the California High-Speed Rail Authority is reconsidering running the bullet train route north to San Jose before heading […]
Quit the Legislature, Pay to Elect Your Successor
C’mon, Henry, pay up. Assemblyman Henry Perea’s decision to quit the legislature early to take a presumably higher-paying job has sparked ideas about what to do in such situations. No one likes the costly, low-turnout special elections currently required. Some say the governor or the legislature itself should fill such positions. I believe it’s an […]
Gas Taxes and Roads
There’s an interesting debate in Sacramento right now about how to pay for needed highway repairs. It’s universally agreed upon that our roads are not in great shape. Anyone who has driven to Reno from Sacramento knows when they cross into The Silver State, not by the “Welcome to Nevada” sign, but rather the condition […]
In Southern California, It Takes An Assortment Of Villages
Among urban historians, Southern California has often had a poor reputation, perennially seen as “anti-cities” or “19 suburbs in search of a metropolis.” The great urban thinker Jane Jacobs wrote off our region as “a vast blind-eyed reservation.” The Pavlovian response from many local planners, developers and politicians is to respond to this criticism by […]