Housing Shortage to End Soon. Maybe.
The housing shortage. We’ve been hearing a great deal about that problem lately. It’s driving prices up and supposedly scaring away workers from our area. But the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valley areas may get real relief in coming years. Why? Because the long-suffering Newhall Ranch project recently won an important approval. In […]
Let’s Party Till (Almost) Dawn
The San Fernando Valley area is great. In the entire Los Angeles area, it’s among the very best places to live and to work. But one thing it is not: party central. Be honest. If a visitor asks you for directions to the nearest hot spot, you’re likely to point toward Las Vegas. Now I […]
Why State Tax Deduction Will Stand
Articles and accounts about the possibility of federal tax reform typically conclude with this: Californians appear poised to get thumped. More than anyone else in the country. Indeed, if you’ve read such accounts about looming tax changes, you probably sighed and sorrowfully agreed that it seems logical, inevitable, close to absolute certitude that Californians, and […]
PAGA: Funny Name, Dire Results
If you do business in the San Fernando Valley area, you don’t have to look far to see some of the horror stories created by PAGA. PAGA is the California law that stands for the Private Attorney General Act. It allows private citizens to sue companies for labor code violations – the kinds of suits […]
Disney’s ESPN Has Fallen and Can’t Get Up
The biggest company in the San Fernando Valley – in fact, in the entire Los Angeles area – is the Walt Disney Co. So it’s increasingly alarming to see the company continue to fumble with ESPN, which is the biggest chunk of Disney’s biggest division. The sports channel accounted for the deeply disappointing portion of […]
The New Assault on Part-Time Jobs
A new proposal in Sacramento could beat up companies that depend on part-time workers. Called AB 5, the proposed bill is a roundhouse punch to all but very small companies because it pushes employers to transform part-time workers into full-time employees. It would make employers offer more hours to their part-time workers before hiring anyone […]
Nestle’s Move Hard to Swallow
It’s been a month since Nestle USA announced it was moving out of Glendale, and still it bothers me. Why? It occurred to me that Nestle’s publicly announced reason for moving to the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. – to be nearer its vendors, factories and the like – doesn’t ring quite right. Oh, sure, […]
Why California’s Dams are Breaking
Here’s a study you may find interesting: Among all states, California spends the lowest percent of its budget on infrastructure, according to a report last year from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The Golden State invested only 3.3 percent of its budget in 2013 on infrastructure, one of only three states that spent […]
Those Proliferating Pensions
California is enjoying a remarkable economic turnaround. Job creation is up, the unemployment rate is down and elected officials are getting raw hands from all the back patting they’re doing. But there’s one problem a lot of folks are overlooking: Generous public-sector pensions up and down the state remain hugely underfunded. It’s an immense and […]
Breaking Up: Is it Really That Hard to Do?
In the past, whenever I came across an article in which someone boosted the notion of secession, it elicited a chuckle from me. Boy, that’s out there, I thought. But now, I’m not sure a majority of Californians would vote to stay in a country led by Donald Trump. In fact, a nascent petition drive […]