California Democrats Should Retract Praise for Trump’s Fraudulent Infrastructure ‘Plan’
Among the supposedly wise folks of Sacramento, there has been much tut-tutting about the fervent anti-Trump opposition of so many Californians. Don’t you understand, they have said, that the president is merely transactional? Don’t you see the great opportunity to get federal money through him to repair and modernize California’s depleted infrastructure? Even Gov. Jerry […]
Will punitive damages no longer be deductible in California?
The California State Senate passed Senate Bill 66, which would disallow a deduction for the payment of punitive damages. SB 66 was introduced on January 5 of this year and passed the Senate last week along party lines, garnering the bare minimum 2/3 vote of 27 senators, with all Democrats voting aye and all Republicans voting no. […]
What Will It Take For California Voters To Change Their Minds?
In Malcolm Gladwell’s famous book, The Tipping Point his central thesis is how events collate together to form a “tipping point,” that changes individuals, companies, governments and society. Has California reached a tipping point? Seemingly it has, then why do voters keep electing the same Democrats, and allow the Republican Party to fade away into oblivion? Moreover, apathetic voters don’t […]
Small Business Day and Disgruntled Small Businesses
The annual Small Business Day event hits Sacramento today with elected officials recognizing small businesses from their districts. All small business people are not alike in attitude and reaction to government requirements but you can take the temperature of small business attitudes when owners of small businesses gather together. So it was when I dropped […]
California’s Local Elected Officials Divided on Top Political & Policy Issues — Except One
It’s no secret the country is more polarized than ever – and polling of local elected officials shows it’s no different among our state’s mayors and councilmembers. As part of our 10th anniversary at CaliforniaCityNews.org, we partnered with the Prime Group, an opinion research firm with offices in Los Angeles and D.C., to conduct a […]
In CA Festival Bubble, Bet on Garlic Over Gaga
You heard it here first: The next bubble to burst in California, perhaps even before Silicon Valley and real estate, just might be the festival bubble. The festival economy is growing so fast that it runs the risk of overheating. Even after expanding from one weekend to two in 2012, and increasing capacity this past […]
The Best Small and Medium-Size Cities For Jobs 2017
Much of the U.S. media tends to see smaller cities as backwaters, inevitably left behind as the “best and brightest” head to the country’s mega-regions. The new economy, insists the Washington Post, favors large cities for start-ups and new businesses. Richard Florida has posited the emergence of a “winner take all urbanism” that tends to favor the richest cities, such […]
How Popular is the Governor with GOP Voters?
In this solid blue state Gov. Jerry Brown is often referred to the “adult in the room” and the check on a spendthrift Democratically controlled legislature. Does that make him appealing to Republicans? In the new Public Policy Institute of California poll, Brown gets a 24% approval rating from Republicans. Brown’s score may be considered fair […]
Business and Trump’s Paris Climate Agreement Decision
The issue of how business will fare, respond or be affected by President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement received much attention after Trump’s announcement yesterday. Responses to the move in California often highlighted the business issue in both supporting and opposing the president’ move. Trump argued that his […]