Will San Diego County be the New Rhode Island?
When I first looked at the county rankings under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four tier standards to open the economy safely, I had to wonder if in Southern California San Diego County would become the new Rhode Island. You will recall that Rhode Island put up barriers to travelers from other states that were labeled Covid-19 […]
A Few Words About Assembly Bill 3088 – The Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020
Just before the end of this year’s Legislative Session, the Governor’s office and several top state Legislators put together a proposal purportedly to assist both property owners and tenants. The piece of legislation is now known as Assembly Bill 3088 or the “The Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020.” This […]
Over 100 exemptions to AB 5 make the case for Prop 22
AB 5 is a hot mess. Mere months after it took effect, the same politicians who forced AB 5 on California’s workforce are adding more exemptions to the law—bringing the total number of exemptions to over 100. They are all listed below. There’s a reason they have to keep adding fixes to the shoddily crafted […]
It could be the Most Significant Election in the Nation’s History
What can you say about a party that has vanquished its own former leadership, thrown out the rules that guided it to glory in earlier years and has opted to pay reverence to an undisciplined, law-adverse showman who has spat on the policies and principles which have driven its success? Golden State connections abound but […]
Picasso Lawmaking: SB 820
The art of lawmaking would be better displayed than the example of SB 820, an omnibus education bill. This so-called budget trailer bill is like a Picasso painting with all weird shapes and sizes of legislation gathered together on one canvas. How can a lawmaker study the details and decide with a simply yes or […]
Blackouts And Fires: California’s Summer Attractions
In the soft warmth of spring the swallows famously return to Capistrano, but in recent years they are followed by what seems inevitable summer power outages and fires. This is not as pleasant an experience for Californians as the return of our favored feathered companions. Every summer, usually around this time of year, we get […]
When Approving a $7 Billion Bond Proposal, Did the LAUSD Board Violate the Brown Act?
As reported in the Beverly Press and elsewhere, the “the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to place a $7 billion school construction bond issue on the November ballot which would allow the LAUSD to continue its multi-year effort to upgrade school facilities.” Writing for CityWatch on August 6, Jack Humphreville […]
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 […]