Republicans Pick on California and Other Tales
We look at Donald Trump’s efforts to put a smiley face on the Republican National Convention, but he and his team found it hard to do. The convention previewed Trump’s attacks on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the coming campaign. And we explain why the Republicans picked California as their symbol of what’s wrong […]
Is There Still a Place for the Death Penalty in California?
A couple of recent headlines and news reports raise the death penalty issue again, which never seems to be put to rest in California. This week the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty verdict for Scott Peterson in the well-known 2004 killing of his pregnant wife. Previously, the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, was […]
George Gascón’s History of Hiding Evidence and Silencing Whistleblowers
In response to a Public Records Act request for George Gascón’s disciplinary records, the LAPD, rather than indicating that no such records exist, has instead stated that “records responsive to your request remain privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure. “Gascón, who has publicly advocated for transparency in the criminal justice system, apparently draws the line […]
A Major Victory for California Taxpayers
Last Thursday, the Fair Political Practices Commission imposed one of the largest fines ever against Los Angeles County for using taxpayer funds for political ads touting Measure H, a sales tax increase on the ballot in 2017. The action by the FPPC was precipitated by a complaint filed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The […]
California COVID-19 workers’ comp claims soar
Early in the pandemic, José Guzman said he asked his managers at the Farmer John meat packing plant in Vernon, just south of Los Angeles, for a mask and hand sanitizer. “They said they were not responsible. They could not give us masks because they had no masks,” said Guzman, a 61-year-old from San Bernardino […]
Devastating Fires Could Boost Proposition 19
Californians across the state are living through, watching and reading about the devastation caused by the fires roaring throughout the state, already consuming about 1.5 million acres with still months to go before the usual fire season is over. Typically, major disasters trigger political responses in one form or another and the fires in the […]
Fantastical Claims about Public Transit are Slowing Us Down
The publication of two articles this past week prompted the composition of this essay. The first was the LA Times Editorial Board, “COVID’S Toll on Public Transit.” (August 16). The second appeared in Fox&Hounds, “California’s Search for Equitable, Sustainable and Safe Transportation Choices,” by Karen Philbrick of the San Jose State University Mineta Transportation Center. […]
Don’t Trust Kamala, Trust the California that Made Her
Kamala will be fine. She’s a Californian. Lord knows, you shouldn’t trust Kamala Harris—she is both a politician and a lawyer, two professions that have earned your skepticism. But you should trust the Golden State that made her—as a classroom for learning how to navigate the endless complications of 21st century leadership. Is there any […]
Governor Newsom, Just Say No to Prop 15
I’m a chef, not a political hack, and I’ve had the good fortune of practicing my craft in Sacramento. Every night my employees and I have a hundred of our “friends” over for dinner. We help celebrate the much deserved weeknight out, birthdays and weddings, anniversaries, and the occasional political fundraiser. I may own my […]
Hollywood Shakes
To learn about an earthquake fault underneath you in Hollywood, you can ask a land developer, a city planner or a state geologist who has spent a career studying the subject. You’ll get a somewhat different answer from each one, illustrating the confusion that has helped make regulating land development in Los Angeles such a […]