Nepotism Wave At UC Merced Fits A Wider Pattern
It’s hard to say what’s more troubling: an audit showing systematic nepotism, sham recruitments and falsifying of records among mid-level managers at the University of California’s newest campus or top administrators choosing to release the findings long after the fact and buried in an innocuous-sounding webinar. The discovery of years of nepotism, abuse and dishonesty […]
CA Public Employee Unions Push Bill to Block Public From Negotiations
Democrats advanced legislation supported by public employee unions this week that would block the public from seeing collective bargaining negotiations between labor and government until they are complete. Assembly Bill 1455, introduced by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima), passed the State Assembly Judiciary Committee on a party line 8-3 vote. According to the floor analysis, AB 1455 “[e]xempts from […]
What Exactly is the “Rule of Law”?
Part of the difficulty in finding common ground on the immigration debate in California is a different understanding of a basic governmental concept: the “rule of law.” California officials have readily used the phrase when it comes to resisting the Trump Administration’s immigration policy. Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, admonished the […]
Dyad School Demonstrates Charters’ Excellence
Are the children learning? Is the school safe? Those are two criteria I’ve always used when judging charter schools. I’ve been writing about these innovative learning environments since they first started in California 25 years ago. Charters are public schools but work outside most of the education bureaucracy’s red tape. With charters back in the […]
CDA CMA CNA CHA CTA SEIU CCPOA: Gibberish to you but not to candidates for CA governor.
Ask the average Californian what those acronyms stand for and you’ll draw a blank stare. Ask a candidate for governor and they’ll snap to attention. Those acronyms are associations (see * below) representing the largest recipients of state spending and the beneficiaries of state laws shielding them from accountability or competition. The health, safety and teaching […]
New Microloan Program is Open for Business to Help Entrepreneurs in Low-Wealth Communities
(Editor’s Note: The following press release on the Jump Start program was received from California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank) Today the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) Executive Director, Teveia Barnes, announced a new microloan program is open for business in low-wealth communities. The Jump Start Loan Program (Jump Start) helps small businesses […]
The California 7
The political question facing the seven California congressional Republicans who are holding vulnerable seats is why did they jump aboard the American Health Care Act when up to the last day a number of them were undecided or leaning against the bill? First, let’s please agree that reaction of both Democrats and Republicans to the […]
The Verdict Is In—California’s Dickensian Courts Are Failing Us
Dig deep enough into any of California’s biggest problems, and you’ll eventually hit upon a common villain: our court system. California’s housing shortage, its poverty, its poor business climate, and its failing infrastructure all are explained in no small part by the failure of our underfunded, delay-prone courts to provide anything resembling timely justice. But […]
Driving Alone Hits High, Transit Hits Low In “Post-Car” City Of Los Angeles
According to The New York Times, the car used to be “king” in the city (municipality) of Los Angeles. “’A Different Los Angeles’, The City Moves to Alter its Sprawling Image,” was another story that seeks to portray the nation’s second largest municipality as having fundamentally changed. Following this now popular meme, a Slate story in 2016 referred […]