Trump v California—the OC Battleground
Donald Trump’s war with California is raging on all fronts—health care, climate change, environmental regulation, taxes, land use and, of course, immigration. Nowhere are the battles fiercer or the stakes higher than in Orange County, the one-time bastion of conservative Republican politics that has morphed from solid red to purple. Hillary Clinton carried Orange County […]
Sustained Environmental Improvement Requires Total Stakeholder Engagement
As we marked the 48th Earth Day, it is with the knowledge that tremendous progress has been made to address many of our most serious and chronic environmental challenges. While we celebrated this progress, we know that there is more we can do while still sustaining the economy, creating jobs, and expanding economic opportunity to diverse […]
California Save the Queen!
MEMO To: Queen Elizabeth II From: Joe Mathews Re: Mutual respect Your Majesty, I don’t mean to rush someone who just turned 92. But it’s high time that you showed California some appreciation—by making our entire state an honorary member of the British royal family. Perhaps that seems a bit much, but ask yourself, Ma’am: […]
The Dimensions of California’s Pension Crisis
California’s public employee pension systems have immense gaps – called “unfunded liabilities” – between what they have in assets and what they will need to meet their obligations to retirees. The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the nation’s largest pension trust fund, and other state and local systems are desperately trying to close those […]