Happy Holidays!
Fox and Hounds would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season. Thank you for your continued support. We will be taking our yearly break and will return in the New Year on January 2, 2018.
Black Bart Award for 2017: Kevin de León
With so many issues and political personalities circling around California government and politics this year it was not easy tabbing a clear winner of our annual Black Bart Award as the Californian of the year in the political world. However, our writers considered two individuals more than once, yet only one was actually nominated for […]
CA Treasury May Gain from Federal Tax Cut
The federal tax cut bill could enrich the California treasury initially. Yes, this is the bill that Jerry Brown called a monstrosity. Yes, this is the bill that the recent UC Berkeley IGS poll found California voters opposed by 51% to 30%. Yet, as Brown’s Department of Finance works to put together a budget for […]
Office Pool 2018
This marks the ninth annual version of the California Office Pool. It was inspired by the late, great New York Times columnist William Safire, who made a habit of writing an annual column he called Office Pool. In it, Safire offered, multiple-choice style, a series of possible news events that could take place in the […]
Black Bart Award Nominee: Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown, California’s 79-year-old governor, is as clear an example as you’d like to prove that yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. And that’s why he’s my choice as Californian of the Year. Sure, Brown has been involved with the environmental movement for decades, signing the coastal protection act in 1976, leading […]
Keeping Calm and Carrying On
Two weeks in London underscored how much—apart from a 40-degree temperature difference—Southern Californians have in common with our British cousins. Housing shortages and affordability, traffic gridlock, deteriorating infrastructure and mounting sexual harassment scandals beset both Los Angeles and London. Brexit—the UK’s decision to leave the European Union—mirrors our country’s schisms over trade and immigration. London, […]
Why State Efforts to Preclude Arbitration Usually Violate Federal Law
The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) provides that agreements to arbitrate “shall be valid, irrevocable and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” (see 9 USC Section 2) How has the U.S. Supreme Court viewed the reach of the FAA and state efforts to limit […]
Spinning to Explain Away Increase in Crime Rates
Imagine the reaction if, after a loan officer told an applicant they would not receive a loan because of too much debt, the applicant asked “How about we just disregard 25% of my debt?” As illogical as this sounds, it was the approach recently articulated by a group seeking to downplay the crime rate increases […]
Black Bart Award Nominee: Kevin de León
It is tempting to nominate the We Said Enough movement confronting sexual harassment and the women behind the crusade as my Black Bart Award nominee for 2017. The undertaking has changed the culture in the state capitol and changed the politics as well leading to the resignation from office of two state assembly members and who […]
Racial Politics of Today Took Root in LA Mayoral Contests Decades Ago
He seemingly came out of nowhere, a populist of uncertain ideology who promised justice for communities that had long been marginalized by elites who ran the city. He had an eye for the media and an instinct for the jugular. His name was Sam Yorty, and he may have invented the racialized politics that we […]