Harris v. Garcetti
Does California politics have a new top rivalry? Sure, all the hype right now is about Gavin Newsom v. Antonio Villaraigosa, and the already-well-underway contest for the governorship. Less remarked upon has been a rivalry with a longer horizon (2020) but with higher stakes: U.S. Senator Kamala Harris vs. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. They are […]
Would Republicans Have Been Better off Without the Recall?
Among the Donald Trump faithful, he can do no wrong. The stalwarts did not mind the departure of Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer, who were seen as Establishment Republicans, presumably committed, but insufficiently, to Draining the Swamp. That swamp, candidate Trump implied, was full of the status quo, cronies from both major political parties who […]
‘Rain tax’ is back, and L.A. County residents could get soaked
In a stealth maneuver seven weeks ago, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors persuaded Assemblymember Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, to “gut and amend” Assembly Bill 1180, originally designed to reduce contamination from tires, to instead give them more authority to raise taxes on private property. Publicly, the purpose is to use the new taxes to make our water supply […]
Flavored Tobacco Ordinance Sure to Backfire
If San Francisco ultimately implements its recently adopted ordinance to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, it will do more harm than good, serving to increase rates of tobacco-related addiction, illness and death across the city. There are two major issues with this ordinance. The first is the ease with which persons who want […]