Lawyer-Doctor Punch Out Begins; Beware the Wild Card
With the submission of over 800,000 initiative petition signatures yesterday by Consumer Watchdog, it appears that the expensive battle between doctors and lawyers over non-economic compensation in health care cases will be thrown to the people. With rich assets on both sides, expect to hear a whole lot about greedy lawyers and irresponsible doctors. In […]
The Business of the Sec. of State’s Office is (also) Business
To start a business in California – register the business in Nevada. That doesn’t make sense but that is what some business people did because it took time to start a small business in the Golden State. They registered their business in Nevada or some other state just so they can open a bank account and get […]
Let’s Tell the Whole Story about Taxes and Reforms
As reported in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, Governor Jerry Brown speaking to a labor group in Sacramento “reached back in time to criticize GOP lawmakers for blocking his proposal to extend a temporary sales tax in 2011 to help mend the state’s ailing finances.” Ironic that he should choose the labor forum to make that […]
Condoleezza Rice’s Political Future
California Republicans are definitely in need of big name star power to help bring attention to the party, and that was on display when former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed the state Republican convention this weekend. So, why is she not running for office? The Stanford professor says she is not interested […]
Friday Shorts: Newspaper Political Ads; MICRA & DUI Irony; and Would the Guv Go “Between Two Ferns”
Political ads in newspapers have pretty much gone the way of the Dodo Bird. It was interesting, therefore, to hear a comment by Aaron Kushner, owner of the Orange County Register and the soon to launch (April 16) Los Angeles Register, at the Zocalo Public Square discussion Monday on the newspaper business (moderated by F&H […]
Setting Salaries is a Tricky Business
The State Citizens Compensation Commission meets today to begin considering whether to increase the salaries of elected state officials. Whether the current salaries should go up, down or stay the same is not up to me – I had a chance to decide on state salaries and let it pass. In the early 1990s, I […]
Fracking Debate Dilemma for Democrats
The hydraulic fracturing issue got the most attention at this weekend’s state Democratic convention with protestors haranguing Governor Jerry Brown during his address. The issue presents pitfalls for Democrats when you consider the number one issue for voters is jobs and the economy, and at the same time many Democrats want to spend more on […]
A Non-Partisan Secretary of State Not the Answer for Ballot Summaries
I can’t remember when the office of Secretary of State got so much attention, aside from scandal, that is. On the heels of a debate in the hotly contested Secretary of State race featuring six candidates at the beginning of the week, Assemblyman Jeff Gorell held a press conference yesterday introducing a constitutional amendment to make […]
Same Old Story with a New Chapter
Recently, I wrote about a story we’ve all heard before: another lawmaker proposing an oil severance tax. It’s a tax that will be ultimately passed on to consumers through higher gas prices as well as higher costs for any other goods or services. It would also result in the loss of thousands of jobs. Now a […]
Secretary of State Debate Kicks off Election Season
Candidate registration hasn’t closed yet but the first debate in the highly contested Secretary of State race took place yesterday in Los Angeles. It was a relatively genteel affair with candidates agreeing on the need to get more voters to participate in elections and improving technology to advance the state’s democracy – but some political […]