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.
Meeting Transportation Challenges…Priorities to be Set
Mahatma Gandhi once said “Action expresses priorities”. Importantly, Governor Brown has taken just such an action by directing the new California Transportation Agency to work this year with stakeholders to determine the highest priorities for transportation spending as well as identifying long term funding options to achieve those priorities, determining what level of government can best deliver these investments and providing recommendations on what performance measures should be applied to the investments that are made to ensure that taxpayers are getting the best bang for the buck. (more…)
Unbridled? Coast Firms Try to Head Off Galloping Regulators
It might sound like a technical change: allow the state Coastal Commission to impose and collect fines without the court approval that’s required now.
But just ask Brian Boudreau, the owner of a horse ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains north of Malibu.
Boudreau battled the commission as he was trying to rebuild his Malibu Valley Farms ranch after a 1996 brush fire. At one point, officials threatened to fine him $28 million for alleged violations. But because the commission needed court approval to collect the fines, commissioners allowed him to get retroactive permits instead. Otherwise, his horse ranch would have been put out to pasture. (more…)
Pledge to Hold Line on Taxes Tested by 66 Bills to Raise Taxes $11 Billion
Following the November 2012 election in which two major tax increases passed (Proposition 30 and 39), Governor Jerry Brown and the leaders of the California legislature pledged to hold the line on taxes. Apparently, the message did get to the rank and file. According to a report by the California Taxpayers Association, the legislature considered or is considering a total of 66 bills that combined would increase taxes and/or fees $11 billion if they all became law.
While California still faces what the governor calls a “Wall of Debt” and the state has unfunded liabilities, the annual budget enjoys a surplus. That hasn’t stopped legislators from seeking revenue increases for programs unrelated to the outstanding liabilities. (more…)
BART Compensation Levels Remain Higher Than Rest of Transit Sector
California Common Sense (CACS) released a brief report (and accompanying data) analyzing the impact of rising personnel costs on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system’s budget since 1999-00. The report found that though BART’s compensation levels have declined as a portion of its operating budget since 2000, they have remained above those of most California public transit systems. While rising compensation levels have strained the system’s operating budget, rising retiree health costs, in particular, account for the greatest growth among the system’s personnel spending.
We must recognize that higher compensation levels ultimately impact everyone – workers, retirees, the system, and riders. Retirement costs have already started to consume greater portions of the system’s budget. If collective bargaining drives up costs further, the natural outcome will be a decline in the quality of services BART riders have come to expect, increase in rider fees, or both. (more…)
BART Train Wreck Averted by Gov. Jerry Brown
California Governor Jerry Brown has called for a 7-day pause to avert another major strike of Bay Area Rapid Transit workers. The Governor stepped in late Sunday night, just hours before the scheduled 12:01 Monday walkout.
Brown’s order also gives a three-person board one week to investigate the current state of affairs in the negotiations. The board will consider what each side has offered, how committed they’ve been to finding a solution, and whether a longer pause would help. This isn’t the first delay in contract negotiations. After a strike last month, the two unions representing BART workers agreed to a 30-day contract extension, but that stopgap measure expired at midnight on Sunday. If the pause is to be successful, it will need to help both sides bridge the big difference on pay and benefits. Read the rest in Bloomberg Businessweek here. (more…)
California’s Blue-on-blue Battle
Perhaps nothing more illustrates the evolving inner class conflict within the progressive political movement than the recent embrace of California as a role model for the rest of the country. The Golden State, maintains John Judis of the New Republic, should provide the game plan for the Obama administration as it seeks a path back to relevance.
As an old-style, and increasingly marginal, Democrat, my response is “say what?” After all, even by the standards of the tepid national recovery, California, for all the celebration, still lags. The state has consistently suffered among the highest unemployment rates in the country – now ranking around sixth at 8.5 percent – and now, according to the U.S. Census, the highest rate of poverty in the country. (more…)