Paying Union Wages Kills Housing Affordability
Here’s a shocker for you: the building trades opposed a housing production bill this session. In fact, they opposed two production bills. Mind you, the association representing unionized subcontractors and their employees did this in the middle of a combined job drought and housing crisis – defying reality. AB 2580 (Eggman) and AB 3155 (Rivas) […]
The Protests: Our takes
Bill and Sherry debate the pace and reality of change demanded by protesters in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police. They also discuss one of the most significant developments in American politics, the emergence of a strong new generation of African American women mayors. And they look at the controversy over […]
For Californians, It’s All about Covid-19 and the Economy
The latest Public Policy Institute of California poll clearly shows that Californians are focused on the health threat of Covid-19 and its obvious destructive effects on jobs and the economy. Likely voters ranked the Covid-19 issue as the most important issue facing the state at 35%; jobs and the economy was second at 25% and […]
Is Employer Liability Relief Possible in this Pandemic?
At both the federal and state levels, elected officials are considering proposals to relieve businesses of possible legal liability in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it applies to their workplaces. California is unique because state law allows private litigants to enforce state labor laws and collect legal fees and expenses. Enacted in 2003, California’s […]
Newsom’s Tyranny of Numbers
As the California State Legislature enters the final two weeks of getting their 2020-21 budget to Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature, there is still some confusion as to the size of the financial hole Californians are current under. Is it $18 billion or $54.4 billion? And why the large disparity in numbers? California Governor […]
Is now the time to bring back affirmative action in California?
Depending on your viewpoint, now is either exactly the right time or precisely the wrong time to take up a proposed change to the state constitution that seems certain to reignite a heated debate about race and justice in California. At issue: a measure pending in the Legislature that seeks to reinstate affirmative action policies […]
A Dangerous Second Mulholland Moment to Create Freshwater for LA
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has a water-supply plan for fresh water that would endanger city growth and city residents while risking man-made seismic activity in the San Fernando Valley. Some Angelenos may recall videos of Mayor Garcetti enthusiastically dumping a few of the 96 million bobbing black “shade balls” deployed August 2015 at a […]
Beware the Temporary Tax Fix
During these difficult times, with politicians scrambling for answers to the economic woes brought on by the pandemic, expect to hear about temporary solutions to address problems often in the form of a tax increase. If history teaches anything, temporary government solutions often become permanent. We already have one temporary tax proposed, AB 398, “The […]
With a Heavy Heart, We Must Move Forward
I write today with a heavy heart. The tragic events in Minneapolis couldn’t help but bring to mind another video, taken right here in the San Fernando Valley, nearly 30 years ago. From the looks of it, nothing has changed since Rodney King was beaten nearly to death by men who had sworn to protect […]
The role of California’s National Guard in protests
As Californians continue to protest the death of George Floyd and what it signifies about broader racism, thus far the mayors of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Sacramento have requested — and received from Gov. Gavin Newsom — a contingent of National Guard troops. But that seemed insufficient to satisfy President Donald Trump, who denounced […]