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 […]