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.
AB 109: A Rare Opportunity for Thoughtful Criminal Justice
As a 33 year veteran of California law enforcement, I watch the evolving statewide implementation, and the associated debate around AB 109 (Parole Realignment), with great interest and fascination. My career spanned 30 years in municipal law enforcement, serving in both southern and northern California. In July 2006, I was appointed the Director of the Department of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). I, like the vast majority of police leaders, understood very little about the science, research and complexities of re-entry and parole supervision. To say the subsequent seven years have been eye-opening and tremendously interesting is a vast understatement. (more…)
Sacramento Arena Bill Rushed through Last Days of Session
Strange bedfellows are camping out under the bleachers to oppose an arena in Sacramento for the Kings pro basketball team. They’re united in opposition because of the lack of public debate, the dubious numbers put out by the city and the growing public subsidy. Now they’re opposing legislation by Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, to let the stadium avoid a real environmental impact review.
A recent poll by the opposition group Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork found 78 percent of the respondents favor a public vote on taxpayer subsidies for the arena. Yet Steinberg and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA player, are forging ahead as if it’s already a done deal. (more…)
Legislation Would Reduce Access to Justice
California’s courts are struggling to accommodate years of budget cuts. The judiciary has absorbed ongoing reductions of more than a half-billion dollars. More than $1 billion in construction projects for courthouses has been diverted to the General Fund to balance the state budget.
The consequence of these reductions are reduced access to justice: closing courthouses, reducing hours and shuttering self-help centers.
Even as the economy begins its recovery, relief for the judiciary is not in sight. The Governor has urged the courts to “control and manage their costs,” and has dampened expectations that there will be more general revenues provided to the judicial branch. (more…)
Pension Reform Goes Off-Track
Few pension reformers will blame Governor Jerry Brown for agreeing to support the federal government’s demand to temporarily exempt union transit workers from the pension reforms he championed. The standoff between the governor and the Obama Administration’s Labor Department over transit funds and pension reform was spelled out by the State Budget Solution’s Bob Williams last week in F&H. The bottom line for the state: Lose billions of dollars in transit funds or pull back on the requirements that transit workers donate to their pensions and that new hires work longer before retirement.
While Brown will take the money, he also will take his fight to court against the half-century old law that the Obama Administration is relying on to force the issue.
Another thing he should test in that court battle is the strength of federalism. (more…)
A Map Of America’s Future: Where Growth Will Be Over The Next Decade
The world’s biggest and most dynamic economy derives its strength and resilience from its geographic diversity. Economically, at least, America is not a single country. It is a collection of seven nations and three quasi-independent city-states, each with its own tastes, proclivities, resources and problems. These nations compete with one another – the Great Lakes loses factories to the Southeast, and talent flees the brutal winters and high taxes of the city-state New York for gentler climes – but, more important, they develop synergies, albeit unintentionally. Wealth generated in the humid South or icy northern plains benefits the rest of the country; energy flows from the Dakotas and the Third Coast of Texas and Louisiana; and even as people leave the Northeast, the brightest American children, as well as those of other nations, continue to migrate to this great education mecca. (more…)
Secession for Siskiyou: Supervisors Vote to Withdraw from California
The official flag for the State of Jefferson features two prominent gold Xs, forming a “Double Cross” which symbolizes the region’s sense of abandonment by state leaders. At Tuesday’s Siskiyou Board of Supervisors meeting, this feeling of “Double Cross” undeniably permeated the room.
Exceeding maximum occupancy, the Supervisors allowed the doors to the chambers to remain open so the over 100 members of the crowd could spill into the hallway.
Residents and members of the audience made impassioned pleas for over an hour. (more…)