Picasso Lawmaking: SB 820
The art of lawmaking would be better displayed than the example of SB 820, an omnibus education bill. This so-called budget trailer bill is like a Picasso painting with all weird shapes and sizes of legislation gathered together on one canvas. How can a lawmaker study the details and decide with a simply yes or […]
Blackouts And Fires: California’s Summer Attractions
In the soft warmth of spring the swallows famously return to Capistrano, but in recent years they are followed by what seems inevitable summer power outages and fires. This is not as pleasant an experience for Californians as the return of our favored feathered companions. Every summer, usually around this time of year, we get […]
When Approving a $7 Billion Bond Proposal, Did the LAUSD Board Violate the Brown Act?
As reported in the Beverly Press and elsewhere, the “the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to place a $7 billion school construction bond issue on the November ballot which would allow the LAUSD to continue its multi-year effort to upgrade school facilities.” Writing for CityWatch on August 6, Jack Humphreville […]
Republicans Pick on California and Other Tales
We look at Donald Trump’s efforts to put a smiley face on the Republican National Convention, but he and his team found it hard to do. The convention previewed Trump’s attacks on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the coming campaign. And we explain why the Republicans picked California as their symbol of what’s wrong […]