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.
What’s Behind Marin Republicans Support of Gay Marriage?
The gay marriage debate has played out on Capitol Hill, at the 2012 Republican Convention Platform Committee, and last month at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Last week, Marin County Republicans in California decided to buck the national party platform by expressing tolerance of same sex marriage.
Let me lend a little background on the move, which took place in my neighboring county.
Living in the California Bay Area is quite a lonely experience if you’re a Republican. I was new to California when I was asked to run the Bush-Cheney campaign back in 2000. I didn’t realize that running the Bay Area campaign meant presiding over the most liberal bastions of the USA, including San Francisco and Berkeley.
America’s Engineering Hubs: The Cities With The Greatest Capacity For Innovation
America has always been a nation of tinkerers. Our Founding Fathers, notes author Alec Foege, were innovators in areas ranging from agriculture (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson) and electricity (Benjamin Franklin) to the swivel chair (Jefferson).
Engineering advances drove America’s quest for industrial supremacy in the 19th century, many of them borrowed (sometimes illegally) from the then very resourceful British Isles. By the early 19th century, the U.S. was producing its own major inventions, including the steamboat and cotton gin. By the end of that century, the U.S. was clearly on the way to industrial preeminence. The growth of engineering schools — MIT, the Case Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology, as well as departments at the great land grant universities — generated a steady supply of engineers. For much of the last 70 years, America, has been the world’s leading center of engineering excellence, dominating markets from steel and cars to energy and aerospace.
Cost May Change Attitudes Found in Environment Poll
Californians appeared to show their strong environmental side in the Public Policy Institute of California poll released yesterday, yet there is a thorn buried in those roses — the issue of cost.
Most glaringly, the cost factor was revealed when PPIC pollsters asked respondents if they favored the state law in which one-third of the state’s energy must come from renewable sources by 2020. Likely voters resoundingly said, “Yes” at 75%.
However, when the pollsters followed up by asking those likely voters who favored the law would they still support it if they knew it means their electricity bill would increase, support dropped to 48%. (more…)
In California, Holding Young People Back Is Almost State Policy
There’s a nasty California disease spreading so fast that even our baseball teams have caught it.
Last year, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim kept their best player, then-20-year-old Mike Trout, in the minor leagues for the first month of the Major League Baseball season. This year, the L.A. Dodgers held down their most talented player, 21-year-old Yasiel Puig, for the first two months. Both teams felt their player was too young and needed more seasoning, and both teams paid a heavy price. The Angels fell into such a deep hole in that first month that even Trout, who had a record-setting season once he was brought up to the majors, couldn’t dig them out. The Dodgers fell into last place without Puig. Since his arrival, they’ve rebounded into first place, but those early-season, Puig-less losses could come back to haunt them. (more…)
California Infrastructure—the Next California Budget Challenge?
Drive over the state’s bumpy roads, think about how old our bridges are, and take a look at the condition of your neighborhood school’s buildings. Try to get an internet connection while you’re at it.
What does all this have in common?
It’s all part of California’s infrastructure—the vital, long-neglected backbone of the state’s economy, which many of us think has been overlooked for too long.
Infrastructure could very well be the state’s next big budget challenge. To meet the needs of a growing population, California must invest more than $750 billion in public works over the next ten years. (more…)
Getting to Yes on New Jobs
Even though they have been seated for less than a month, it is already clear that the “new” Los Angeles City Council has a spirit and energy that is focused on the economy and finding a way to get to “Yes.” This means yes to job creation, yes to economic growth that provides more tax revenue for city services, yes to businesses large and small to help them invest in Los Angeles, and yes to policy and development decisions based on sound economic data, not political calculations.
The most tangible sign of this new direction is the recent affirmative action in favor of the Millennium Hollywood project. This major redevelopment project, which is a priority of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, will create thousands of new jobs and pump hundreds of millions into the economy. With a vote of 13-0 the City Council, led by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, approved the cutting edge transit oriented, mixed use development in the heart of Hollywood. (more…)