Two-thirds Vote Still an Issue for Some Budget Matters
California has a state budget. True it’s a record setter at $122.5 billion, 6% higher than last year’s general fund budget, and the budget didn’t take on major debt liabilities created in great part by public employee health and retirement costs. Republicans noted all this in voting no on the budget. That’s about all they […]
The Alternative to Crony Capitalism and Phony Shortages
The modern history of the Silicon Valley arguably began in 1957, when eight young PhD graduates left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories to launch the first high-volume chip manufacturer, Fairchild Semiconductor. Fairchild and its spinoffs, including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), were the early participants in what became the most fervid ecosystem of fiercely competitive innovators the […]
The Neurodiversity Movement Finds a Friend in Microsoft, But Tough Questions About Employment Lie Ahead
The neurodiversity in employment movement came to our state last week. On the morning of June 6, over 200 neurodiversity advocates from around the country gathered at the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, for the “Neurodiversity in the High Tech Workforce” conference. The event demonstrated the growing heft of the movement, while also indicating some […]
Why TV Moved Its Crime Bosses to Modesto and Oceanside
At first glance, the setting for Hollywood’s newest gangland drama might be jarring: northern San Diego County, in the small city of Oceanside. But you really shouldn’t be surprised, at least by the location, if you decide to check out the Turner Network Television’s Animal Kingdom, about a violent crime family headed by a very […]
Sacramento Democrats Target Munger Transparency Measure
Bay Area billionaire and moderate Republican mega-donor Charles Munger, Jr. has proposed a transparency measure, the California Legislative Transparency Act, likely to qualify for the ballot this November. However, Democrats in Sacramento may try to stop it first. Munger’s measure would require that proposed legislation be published in its final form and available to the public at […]