To Reform DWP, LA Should Learn From Other Cities

The Los Angeles City Council is preparing to vote on new water and power rate ordinances that will raise DWP rates annually for the next five years. If Mayor Eric Garcetti signs the ordinances, they will start jacking up your bills within months. The city has received over 2,000 angry letters of protest about the […]

Porter Ranch Homes Built On Foundation Of Campaign Money

Here’s a question for you: Does campaign money affect the actions of government officials? You may be laughing, but it’s a deadly serious question. About 2,500 families have been relocated from their homes in Porter Ranch and over 1,400 more have asked to be moved. They have been sickened by the catastrophic natural gas leak […]

Latest Idea To Curb Second Amendment Gun Rights Won’t Fly

It’s a great idea to ban terrorists and suspected terrorists from buying firearms, but the U.S. government’s “No Fly List” can’t be used to do it. The problem is that the no-fly list is secret. The government won’t say who’s on it, or how they got on it, or how they can get off it. […]

For Californians, Dec. 7 A Reminder That The Coast Is Never Quite Clear

“Could it happen here?” That’s the question that was asked in Southern California 74 years ago. Dec. 7marks the anniversary of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. naval base near Honolulu. Two hours of bombing killed more than 2,000 Americans and wounded 1,000 more. Eight battleships were damaged or destroyed, as were nearly 200 […]

Solar Energy Gives Investors A Shock

Solar energy is full of surprises. The operators of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System were recently surprised by state air quality regulators, who informed them that the $2.2 billion solar energy plant is a carbon polluter. Solar energy doesn’t emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That’s the whole point of California’s increasingly mandatory and […]

Holiday Season Sends Health Food Into Hiding

It happens every autumn. No sooner has the last goblin rappelled down the wall of Halloween candy in the supermarket than the fruits and vegetables go into the witness protection program and refuse to be seen unless covered from tip to stem in cream cheese and pecans. Other popular disguises include vanilla custard and cream […]

Cost of Regulations Will Take Your Breath Away

In 2008, the California Air Resources Board banned diesel truck engines manufactured before 2010. Over a million trucks operating in California, including 625,000 that were registered out-of-state, were suddenly illegal. Existing diesel engines could only be operated in California if they were retrofitted with a filter that could cost as much as $15,000. The regulation, […]

Clean-Air Agency Rakes in High Fees and Higher Salaries

California lost 32,000 manufacturing jobs between 2009 and 2013, and Los Angeles County lost another 4,700 over the last year. The occupations projected to have the greatest job growth in California by 2022, according to the Employment Development Department, are personal care service provider, home care aide, food preparation worker or server and office administrative […]

For Marijuana in California, Line Between Legal and Illegal Gets Hazy

California’s medical marijuana industry may soon be craving pain relief instead of selling it. The state Legislature recently passed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, a combination of three laws that together will impose a massive, multi-agency regulatory framework on the cultivation, distribution and sale of cannabis. Nate Bradley, executive director of the California […]

This Fundraising Law Puts Political Ethics On Thin Ice

Circus acts! Figure skaters! Politicians seeking unlimited donations! Welcome to today’s special edition of “Why is this even legal?” In a previous episode we looked at the California Legislature’s “spot bills,” those completely blank pieces of legislation passed by lawmakers and filled in later after backroom negotiations. What will be written on them when they […]