UC Strikers Don’t See Full Budget Picture
I get the impression the University of California workers who went on strike May 7 don’t know the half of the financial problems of which the UC system suffers. According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 20,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees “walked off their jobs,” including “custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse […]
George Deukmejian: The Anti-Trump
The passing of former Governor George Deukmejian is a reminder of how much has changed in our political environment, particularly on the GOP side of the aisle. In virtually every way, Governor Deukmejian was the opposite of Donald Trump. A thoroughly decent man, Deukmejian displayed less ego than almost any politician you can think of. The Trumpian “politics of […]
A Fundamentally Unfair Debate
The last California gubernatorial debate was fundamentally and indisputably unfair. For starters, the Bay Area got 50 percent more debate than the rest of us. That’s right. If you lived in the Bay Area, Tuesday’s debate ran for 90 minutes on television, starting at 630p and running through 8p. But those of us in Southern […]
Lead Paint Makers Balk at Huge Bill for Toxic Cleanup—Instead They Want You to Pick up the Tab
Three companies found to have sold toxic lead paint for decades—despite knowing it posed health hazards for children—are waging a major battle to avoid paying the several hundred million dollars in liability that California courts have slapped on them. And they’re asking you, the California voter, to help them get their way. After losing an […]