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.
Uplifting Political Debate – I’ll Drink to That
Modern political debate has all the nuance of a street fight. Canned talking points serve for wisdom, and empathy for an opposing view is considered weak, if not apostasy.
You can’t remove the rough-and-tumble from politics, but how about some gracious acknowledgement of the other side?
Even in the bad old segregated South we can learn from the pros. Savor this gem surfaced by Rod Dreher at The American Conservative – a 1952 speech given by Noah “Soggy” Sweat, a Mississippi state representative, at a banquet while the legislature was considering easing prohibition in the very Baptist state. (more…)
The Rapidly Evolving Internet-Based Job Training in California
Just as other education websites on the internet are rapidly evolving, there is rapid evolution in job training websites.
In her position as director of the NOVA Workforce Investment Board in Silicon Valley, Ms. Kris Stadelman sees this evolution up close. She is contacted regularly by firms, selling new variations of internet-based job placement assistance and job training.
Most of the activity, according to Kris, is in the online job search assistance area. Hundreds of firms are emerging, offering online instruction in locating job openings, developing resumes, interviewing, and following up after the interview. Some of these firms, such as Interview Stream and Burning Glass, have gotten a foothold with the workforce system. Others are still in start-up stage. (more…)
Wage and Hour Lawsuits – Be Warned!
It is summer and I am always searching for new and interesting issues to talk about. One issue that has come to my attention is the abuse of wage and hour lawsuits and California is a hotbed for them.
A recent article in Corporate Counsel confirms just how popular they are with plaintiffs’ lawyers. For the fifth year in a row, U.S. employers have seen an increase in the number of wage and hour lawsuits filed against them in federal court, according to calculations by the Federal Judicial Center. Plaintiffs brought 7,764 suits between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, which is about a 10 percent increase from the prior year. According to the article, ten years ago these lawsuits were described as the flavor of the month, but they are here to stay. The first major spike in the number of federal cases occurred in 2003, when the number of these suits nearly doubled from 2,035 to 4,055. By 2007 they had increased to 6,786. (more…)
48-Hour Harris
When I’m up against a deadline, I want Kamala Harris on my side.
California’s attorney general showed again she knows how to get things moving in a tough situation. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8, it appeared that there could be a 25-day wait for the Ninth Circuit to lift a stay and let couples marry. Or things could have been worse. I was worried that there could be more litigation that could delay the happy moment for couples.
But Harris wouldn’t allow that to happen. She pushed, publicly and privately, and couples were being married by Friday afternoon. Prop 8 supporters cried foul, but so what? She got it done. (more…)
Can We Clear the Confusion around the ACA and Make it Work for Small Business?
For all the words written, for all the speeches given, and for all the votes taken, you’d think we’d know more about the Affordable Care Act, how it works and what it requires of small business owners, larger employers, employees and individuals.
Sadly, in talking to my members around the state, there’s still much confusion about the ACA, terms of the law and what small business owners must do to comply. And, there’s reason for that — many specifics, such as who will offer insurance through the state’s Small Business Health Options Program and just how much that will cost — have yet to be announced. (more…)
High Time for Bipartisan Regulatory Reform
Sometimes, I think of our state and federal government as a bad boss: each barks an order, gives you an unrealistic deadline and doesn’t have a clue how you’ll make it happen, but if things aren’t absolutely perfect, there’ll be heck to pay.
That’s why I want to commend U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus for co-sponsoring the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013. Officially known as H.R. 2542, the bipartisan measure would make federal agencies stop and think before imposing rules that affect America’s job creators, its small businesses. (more…)