California’s vulnerabilities to petroleum price hikes
The following comments were shared with the California Energy Commission’s Petroleum Market Advisory Committee for the Wednesday September 13, 2017meeting regarding the upcoming report to the Energy Commission on California’s vulnerabilities to petroleum price hikes: California already has numerous reasons for their cost of fuels being higher the rest of the country, such as: California fuel […]
Preparing For The Next Drought…New Proposal To Boost Water Supplies Gains Traction
Legislation – AB 1180 (Holden) – pending in Sacramento will open the door for voters in Los Angeles County to consider a ballot measure proposal that will better prepare Southern California for the next drought and the impact of climate change on our supply of water. This proposal will boost water supplies and advance compliance […]
Time to Play Ball with CEQA Reform
SB 798, the bill to give CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) exceptions to a proposed L.A. Clippers sports arena in Inglewood and transportation projects tied to L.A.’s 2028 Olympics, was put aside by the legislature. Too bad—but not for reasons you might think. Had the bill passed, it would have been another in a long […]
Senate Bill 10 Puts a Target on Crime Victims
As violent crimes steadily rise, State Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) have introduced Senate Bill 10 to end California’s bail system. The measure is a full, frontal assault on Marsy’s Law and California’s Victim Bill of Rights that protect victims by providing a constitutional right for victims of heinous crimes […]
A California residency program for the undocumented
MEMO To: Acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke and Attorney General Jeff Sessions From: The Golden (and Still Sovereign!) State Re: An alternative to your mass deportation of Californians This is a legal proposal, so let’s start with a stipulation. You are monsters. You are engaged in deportation of undocumented Californians, who are […]
Accountability depends on transparency, which is under siege
If we – the California public – are to hold politicians and other government officials accountable, we must first know what they are doing or not doing. Thus, the first point of conflict is always access to records of official action or inaction. The current legislative session is the first one affected by a 2016 ballot […]
The Reality And The Politics Of DACA
The Trump decision to eliminate DACA will not lead to massive deportations of so-called Dreamers; in fact it is likely to have little effect at all. The 800,000 DACA immigrants were in this country before DACA was enacted in 2012; they are likely to be here long after it ends, if it does end. That’s […]
Put the Local Races on the Top of the Ballot
Anthony Portantino, the state senator from the western San Gabriel Valley, is advancing a smart idea that deserves immediate attention: putting local races at the top of the ballot. Portantino, in a news release, attributed the idea to Glendale’s city clerk, Ardy Kassakhian, who clearly has good sense. California has undertaken significant changes to local […]
Why California’s jobs engine has remained resilient for 50 years
Labor Day 2017 finds California in the midst of an employment boom that has lasted more than seven years. Since February 2010, the state has gained nearly 2.6 million jobs. How long will this boom last? As we look over the ups and downs of employment in our state since World War II, we find […]