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 […]
Did Ballot Harvesting Impact March 3 Bond and Tax Proposals?
According to the current elections code, mailed in ballots are counted as long as they are postmarked by election day, and arrive up to three days later. In practice, this translates into final results in close elections being delayed for several weeks. California’s election code also permits so-called “ballot harvesting,” which is alleged to swing […]
A New Crisis Rages On Top of the Pandemic
We are once again grappling with national outrage as well as lamentable and inexcusable violence ignited by the video-captured killing of a black man in Minneapolis over the passing of a $20 bad check. In Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland Sacramento and cities across the nation, black, brown, white people, young […]
Fixing the Business-to-Business Exemption in AB 5
Last year’s AB 5 (Gonzalez) codified and expanded the reach of the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision. One of the categories of exemptions to the ABC Test set forth in AB 5 is for bona fide business-to-business contracting relationships. As can be seen below in the law’s actual language, this exemption is actually quite difficult […]
California Kids, Use Your Power
Dear California Kids, Don’t let us adults destroy your futures! This moment gives you unprecedented power to fix what’s wrong with how California treats kids. I am begging you to use it. Before COVID-19, California was shortchanging its 9.1 million children in education and health. Now in crisis, the state’s adults are conspiring to make […]
L.A. Program May Violate Privacy
Whether it’s the 405 Freeway from the San Fernando Valley past LAX continuing down to Long Beach, the 5 Freeway through Burbank and into the heart of Los Angeles, or any other traffic corridor connecting the Valley to the surrounding centers of commerce, normally you’re guaranteed to face some of the worst traffic congestion in […]