Car-Loving California Deals with Climate Change

The dirty little secret is out: We are degrading our planet at an accelerating pace and the reasons are not primarily celestial as a dwindling group of skeptics would have us believe. Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions go together, so says a mounting body of evidence coming from the vast majority of eminent scientists […]

California’s Next Governor

Neel Kashkari, a self-styled Republican with some impressive credentials, is not going to be elected California’s next governor, but give him credit for trying. His recent debate with Governor Jerry Brown made for good theater even though neither scored any knockout punches. In the end, however, Kashkari will be looking back on a race that […]

The Future for Indian Casinos in California

Casino gambling may be foundering in Atlantic City where four casinos are closing their doors this month but it is flourishing in California because of gaming on Indian land. Now voters will be asked whether to extend Indian casinos away from Reservations when they consider Proposition 48 on the November ballot. In California, those with […]

The Draper Dream Would Be Our Nightmare

California has launched more than a few inventions considered utopian that were eventually adopted throughout the nation. Some of the more famous are Sour Dough Bread, Barbie Dolls, Pet Rocks, Hula Hoops, wetsuits, theme parks, the computer mouse, and—yes—even the Martini! But no state has ever put forth a plan to completely replace itself—until now. […]

Jerry Brown And Barack Obama Going In Opposite Directions

The mid- term report card is out for Governor Jerry Brown and it shows him getting higher marks than fellow Democrat, President Obama, whose troubled tenure is winding down. A generation apart, Brown is receiving very favorable grades while Obama’s popularity is steadily eroding. The reasons for the disparity are many and complex. But the […]

Can Latino Voters Change The Political Landscape?

It is February 12, 2028 and the President of the United States is standing at the podium of the U.S. House of Representatives, about to give his maiden State of the Union Address to the joint session of Congress—much of it in Spanish. Is such a scenario plausible? Quite possibly, if Congressional reforms are adopted […]

The Aging of the Political Class

We are in an era when we recycle politicians. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s previous governor, told a highly credible source recently he may hit the comeback trail. It was not clear when. The macho muscle builder and cinema action-hero is a boyish 66. According to the same source, Jerry Brown, the state’s current irrepressible chief executive […]