April: The Cruelest Month
April is the cruelest month, and April 2020 will be the cruelest April in decades. Sometime this April the Covid 19 pandemic will possibly explode; with luck it will crest and the “curve flatten”, but no one knows for sure when. Americans have been through terrible Aprils before, but this will be one of the […]
Look Out Californians: We Could Be Next!
The rolling surge of new COVID-19 infections will soon hit Californians as surely as the tides washing up daily on our shores. You can take it to the bank! There is no escape from its deadly onslaught which observes no boundaries. The belated arrival at Los Angeles harbor of the 1,000-bed naval hospital ship “Mercy” […]
Restaurants Rely On Consumers, But What About The Suppliers Who Rely On Restaurants?
People drink wine in times of joy and in times of stress (hello, quarantine) and although we’ve seen a lot of coverage online and social media highlighting the libations people are stocking up on, the smaller, craft, high-quality wineries, distilleries and breweries you don’t find in massive retail chains, are screwed. Really screwed. Boutique wine […]
Here’s What Small Business Owners and Government Must Do Now to Survive the COVID-19 Crisis and Rebound
The COVID-19 outbreak is decimating the global economy with company shutdowns and soaring unemployment. But in its aftermath, the world must be ready to rebound quickly. Small business and government can jumpstart this recovery by taking strong measures now to limit the damage and establish a strong foundation for regrowth. The recommendations below can ensure […]
School Grades in the Time of Crisis
The front page story in the Los Angeles Times Sunday dealt with problems of issuing fair school grades in the time of the COVID-19 emergency. For those of us who were in college during the Vietnam War, the question of appropriate grading policy at a time of closed classrooms due to an external crisis is […]
Digital Petitions Now
Here is one democratic advance that COVID-19 should demand. The introduction of digital processes for collecting signatures on ballot measure petitions, effective immediately. The coronavirus crisis has hit as petition circulators work towards an unofficial mid-April deadline to gather enough signatures to get various measures on this November’s ballot. But as Politico has shown, the […]
Intrusions on Our Liberties Cannot End Soon Enough
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had a message for people who gathered in groups over the weekend at beaches and parks. “We know who you are,” he said. What? What does that mean? Is the city conducting surveillance of residents by capturing the location data from cell phones? Is the mayor demanding records from phone […]
Drumbeats About Cuomo for President. What About Newsom?
John Fund, one time California legislative staffer before he started a distinguished journalism career, asked in his recent National Review column if a Draft Cuomo movement could supplant Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president to take on Donald Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting like positive notices for his performance during the coronavirus […]
Californians Must Make Up Missed School days
Not one day. Our kids should not lose one day of school, not a single day of instruction, to the coronavirus. Or to anything else. Let me be clear: I’m not arguing against closing schools in the midst of the pandemic. Flattening the curve of infections comes first. But the coronavirus must not be an […]