Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye

With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages. 

Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down. 

Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.

On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.

F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!).  We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.

Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey.  The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.

Where High Speed Rail Works, And Where It Does Not

Here’s a story of two high speed rail systems: Switzerland’s effort to build a 34-mile long tunnel right through the Alps to accommodate its planned high speed trains, at a cost of $10 billion over 20 years, and California’s joke of a high speed system now pegged at $68 billion with no beginning and no end in sight.  Why does high speed rail work in Switzerland and throughout Europe and is such a flop in America?

Two words provide the answer: “practical” and “integrated”.  Europeans use trains because they have to and they want them fast; thus the boom in high speed rail that dates to the 1970s.  European cities were laid out centuries before the automobile; their downtowns consist of narrow winding streets, with pedestrian zones and little parking, yet that’s where economic activity and the best shopping is.

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Prudent Budget Proposed by Governor

Balanced budget. No new taxes. Rainy day reserve. Debt repayment.

These are phrases rarely associated with California¹s fiscal outlook. But economics and politics have intervened to apply those phrases to today¹s circumstances.

Governor Brown proposed a fiscal plan in January that harvests the fruits of the state¹s economic recovery, and mostly reinvests right back into the state¹s balance sheet.

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LA City Council Can’t Handle the Truth

The last thing that the professional politicians on the City Council wanted to discuss on Friday was the City’s dismal finances that were outlined in “A Time for Truth,” the “lacerating” report that was a “stark reality check” on the City’s finances and economy that was issued by The Los Angeles 2020 Commission headed by former Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor and former Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner.

That is understandable as the City is facing a $250 million deficit next year despite record revenues.  This deficit is understated by “at least $400 million” according the Truth Report because the City is cooking the books by relying on an overly optimistic investment return of 7.75% on its investment portfolio.  This compares to a more realistic return of 6% as recommended by Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway fame and fortune.

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Build It, Even Though They Won’t Come

The recent decision by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman to reject as “fatally flawed” the densification plans for downtown Hollywood could shake the foundations of California’s “smart growth” planning clerisy. By dismissing Los Angeles’ Hollywood plan, the judge also assaulted the logic behind plans throughout the region to construct substantial high-rise development in “transit-oriented developments” adjacent to rail stations.

In particular, the judge excoriated the buoyant population-growth projections used to justify the plan, a rationalization for major densification elsewhere in the state. The mythology is that people are still flocking to Los Angeles, and particularly, to dense urban areas, creating a demand for high-end, high-rise housing.

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High Speed Rail Takes More Punches, is On the Ropes

If the California high speed rail project were a boxer you’d wonder how it could still be standing. It has been pounded by both left hooks and right jabs.  With the powerful governor of California in its corner it has managed to stay upright in the ring, but it may not be too long before project supporters cry, “No mas.”

Following Judge Michael P. Kenny’s ruling last November that the high speed rail funding plan does not meet the requirements demanded by the bond measure passed by voters, state Senate leader, Darrell Steinberg said that the governor’s budget spending on the proposal would be subject to debate.

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Democrats Defeat Measure to Protect Teachers and Students

Democrats who control the Senate Education Committee voted down a measure today to protect California teachers and save valuable school resources. SB 559, which I authored, would have moved the state mandated deadlines for preliminary and final teacher layoff notices so that school districts can better understand their budget revenues before sending notices to teachers.

The current process for notifying school teachers who are facing layoffs is a complicated, expensive and inhumane procedure that unnecessarily shifts money out of the classroom and causes emotional turmoil for thousands of teachers. It requires school districts to send out notices every year by March 15th. But because many districts have no idea what their budgets will look like, they typically overestimate and send out countless layoff notices to teachers who will never actually be laid off. Just one notice ends up costing over $700 according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).

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