Look Behind the Curtain on Certain Bills
Despite rhetoric on policy, there is often a more strident, hidden agenda behind a number of bills that are vying for passage the last week of the session. Take two examples: AB 484 to change school testing and AB 711, a statewide ban on lead bullets. The school bill would eliminate the test used to […]
Waiting for Hertzberg?
Speculation by Capitol insiders that Bob Hertzberg, one time Assembly Speaker, now running for a San Fernando Valley state senate seat, is already in the mix to be the next president pro tem of the senate, may intensify given recent political moves. Hertzberg’s endorsement list is beginning to look like a small telephone book in […]
Pension Reform Goes Off-Track
Few pension reformers will blame Governor Jerry Brown for agreeing to support the federal government’s demand to temporarily exempt union transit workers from the pension reforms he championed. The standoff between the governor and the Obama Administration’s Labor Department over transit funds and pension reform was spelled out by the State Budget Solution’s Bob Williams […]
Following Prop. 30’s Trail to Nevada
Anecdotal, yes, but a news report indicates that warnings made during the Prop 30 campaign last year are playing out – higher taxes are sending some Californians across the state line to Nevada. Under the headline, California Rich Seek Nevada Tax Haven, in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the article says that Californians accounted for 43 percent […]
CEQA Fixes Piece by Piece Doesn’t Cut It
It seems the battle over CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) reform to reduce wait time for development and discourage lawsuits is finding some success — that is if you have friends in high places with projects to champion. Say you want a downtown basketball arena in Sacramento and the president pro tem of the senate […]
Of Political Blogs and Libraries
Given the consideration the Fair Political Practices Commission is giving blogs and the fact that pay walls are being constructed around newspaper articles (there’s a pay wall around the article linked to in this paragraph), it’s clear political blogs are gaining attention and will undoubtedly play a bigger role in political debates. That’s not a […]
Steinberg Objection Shows Gov’s Prison Plan Needed Now
Contained in Senator Darrell Steinberg’s criticism of Gov. Jerry Brown’s request for more money to deal with prison overcrowding is actually the reason why the governor’s plan should be implemented. Concerned that the prisoner problem will grow with the increase in the state’s population, Steinberg said in a press release, “For every ten prisoners finishing […]
Could Fires Influence Tax Decision?
Firefighters are battling the Rim Fire near Yosemite, one of the largest fires in California history — but that’s not all. According to Cal Fire, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection site that monitors fires in the state, as I write this column, 8300 firefighters are battling a dozen California wildfires. The tongues of […]
Monterey Shale and the Future of California
As the debate over the practice of hydraulic fracturing to reach deeply embedded oil heats up, listening to a discussion on the topic sponsored by Los Angeles’ BizFed Institute last week, I have the feeling we will see it happen. Or should I say continue to happen since fracking, as it is called, has been […]
Eric Garcetti’s First Stand
While some individuals are known for their grandest and often last battle that establishes their reputation, newly elected Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, might be at his reputation establishing moment in his first stand as mayor – fighting both the city council and the union at the Department of Water and Power over a new […]