Celebrating Amazing Trades Professionals During “Careers in Construction Month”
California is in a building boom right now, with state and local leaders working around-the-clock to ensure we are providing safe, affordable housing, commercial development, and infrastructure work for the disadvantaged – to California’s communities. But all too often we focus on the “Big Wigs” involved in that effort, and not the everyday Californians, notably […]
TRUMPIFORNIA, Here They Come
The Republican State Central Committee convened in Anaheim last weekend and gave every appearance of settling into a long-term tenure as a minor party in California. The lack of enthusiasm among the GOP rank-and-file for Republican party prospects in the Golden State was palpable. Although Donald Trump was trounced in California by Hillary Clinton, the […]
Bannon Speech Surprises, Delights Typically Moderate California Republican Party
Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon’s address at the California Republican Party convention on Friday in Anaheim was remarkable – not just for its content, but for the reaction it elicited from the audience. “Steve Bannon’s speech was the one that really fired up this convention,” said State Senator Joel Anderson (R-Alpine). “It’s easy as a California […]
Partisan Gerrymandering and the Role of Social Science in the Courts
The US Supreme Court is considering a high-profile case that could change the way legislative maps are drawn and reshape elections. The court has invited social science to play an unusually significant role in its decision. On October 3, the court heard oral arguments in Gill v Whitford, a Wisconsin case that could result in the first constitutional constraints […]
Four Democratic candidates want more spending, but not more taxes?
The San Francisco Chronicle assembled the four Democratic candidates for governor Tuesday to talk about the “state’s big issues” and whether they “have the ideas and resolve to meet them.” After 75 minutes of back and forth, moderated by Chronicle editorial page editor John Diaz, it was clear that the four mostly believe that dealing […]
Would California benefit from becoming a right-to-work state?
The California Association of Psychiatric Technicians is raising money to fight Donald Trump. The union that represents 6,200 state mental health workers has decided to charge members $6.50 per month to pay for extra political activities. The new political action fee will be collected from January 1, 2018, until December 31, 2020. Why? Union leaders […]
Panel: What Government is Looking For? More Taxes.
The legislature passed a gas tax and a document tax to fund housing for the homeless and other fees this last session but taxes will be on the agenda when they meet again, according to a panel at the Valley Industry and Commerce Association’s (VICA) annual business forecast conference held last week. CALMatters columnist Dan […]
Now Is the Time to Create More Seats for People to Run For
You may have heard about efforts like “Run For Something,” which encourage younger folks – mostly Democrats – to stop complaining and start running for office. Because we need new blood in politics in these very difficult times. That’s a good point. But in California, the Run for Something idea faces a practical problem. There […]
California’s Play Book…Lessons To Be Learned
A look back at how California took incremental actions over five decades to protect our environment and confront climate change, while at the same time growing the economy, should be a required exercise for our President, his advisors and Congress who are wrestling, often ineptly, with major issues impacting our state, nation and the world […]