Tim Anaya
Blog
House Covid Bill More About Politics Than Immediate Covid Relief
Late Friday, the House took its first vote to pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the first step toward their goal of enacting the plan into law before a March 14 deadline when some unemployment benefits will expire. Much of last week’s media coverage of the plan centered around ...
Blog
‘And Now, The Rest of the Story’ on Controversial Voter Outreach Sweetheart Deal
No one who is younger than 40 will remember the late legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey. Every afternoon, he would begin his daily radio program by promising to tell us “the rest of the story.” Thanks to a provision slipped into a budget trailer bill last week, Californians now know ...
Blog
Cheers to Giving Restaurants Freedom to Sell To-Go Cocktails with Dinner
If you’re a foodie like me, one of the worst parts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been not being able to go out to a great restaurant for lunch or dinner. It’s been sad to see many of my favorite restaurants here in Sacramento – including Biba, 33rd Street Bistro, ...
Blog
Should California Legislative Staff Be Unionized?
California is struggling with its Covid-19 recovery efforts. More than 941,000 people are still waiting for their Covid unemployment benefit claims to be processed. A recent San Francisco Chronicle headline proclaimed, “Newsom’s $2 billion plan to reopen California schools fizzles.” California now ranks dead last in vaccine distribution according to ...
Blog
New Senate Majority Means Blue State Bailout on Horizon
While Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, and Democrats across America were cheering their party’s victories in the Georgia senate runoffs, no one was probably cheering louder than Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow blue state governors (plus scores of Democratic mayors). Once the two new senators are sworn in and Californian ...
Blog
Get Ready for Redistricting Dominoes to Fall
With the beginning of the new year, work now begins on the drawing of California’s new legislative and congressional lines. Several years back, voters enacted a ballot measure to give the power to draw district lines to an independent citizen’s commission. They will produce final maps by fall 2021, which ...
Blog
Stockton Voters Reject Mayor Who Pushed Basic Income, Yet Liberal State Lawmakers Embrace Plan
One of the more surprising results from November’s election was the surprise defeat of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs in his bid for re-election to a Republican upstart Kevin Lincoln, a pastor and former George W. Bush administration official who is both black and Latino. Tubbs won national attention for his ...
Blog
Memo to Newsom and Garcetti: Try Leveling with Californians for a Change
Last week, local and state officials announced new, severe restrictions as officials grapple with rising cases of Covid-19 and rapidly-filling hospital emergency rooms nearing capacity. Especially during a public health crisis like this one, it is very important for government officials to be very clear in the information they are ...
Blog
Californians Finally Think State and Local Taxes Are Too High Thanks to SALT Deduction Cap
A recently-released UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) poll generated headlines before Thanksgiving for its finding that, if it came up for a vote again, California would again vote to approve the landmark property tax relief measure Proposition 13 by a 53 to 19 percent margin. Generating less media ...
Blog
California’s Unexpected Surplus Further Proof Bailout for States Unnecessary
Last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office (LAO) released its fiscal outlook for 2021, which is traditionally the start of the debate over next year’s state budget. Unexpectedly, California finds itself sitting on a $26 billion windfall according to the LAO, attributed to “results from revisions in prior- and current-year ...
House Covid Bill More About Politics Than Immediate Covid Relief
Late Friday, the House took its first vote to pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the first step toward their goal of enacting the plan into law before a March 14 deadline when some unemployment benefits will expire. Much of last week’s media coverage of the plan centered around ...
‘And Now, The Rest of the Story’ on Controversial Voter Outreach Sweetheart Deal
No one who is younger than 40 will remember the late legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey. Every afternoon, he would begin his daily radio program by promising to tell us “the rest of the story.” Thanks to a provision slipped into a budget trailer bill last week, Californians now know ...
Cheers to Giving Restaurants Freedom to Sell To-Go Cocktails with Dinner
If you’re a foodie like me, one of the worst parts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been not being able to go out to a great restaurant for lunch or dinner. It’s been sad to see many of my favorite restaurants here in Sacramento – including Biba, 33rd Street Bistro, ...
Should California Legislative Staff Be Unionized?
California is struggling with its Covid-19 recovery efforts. More than 941,000 people are still waiting for their Covid unemployment benefit claims to be processed. A recent San Francisco Chronicle headline proclaimed, “Newsom’s $2 billion plan to reopen California schools fizzles.” California now ranks dead last in vaccine distribution according to ...
New Senate Majority Means Blue State Bailout on Horizon
While Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, and Democrats across America were cheering their party’s victories in the Georgia senate runoffs, no one was probably cheering louder than Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow blue state governors (plus scores of Democratic mayors). Once the two new senators are sworn in and Californian ...
Get Ready for Redistricting Dominoes to Fall
With the beginning of the new year, work now begins on the drawing of California’s new legislative and congressional lines. Several years back, voters enacted a ballot measure to give the power to draw district lines to an independent citizen’s commission. They will produce final maps by fall 2021, which ...
Stockton Voters Reject Mayor Who Pushed Basic Income, Yet Liberal State Lawmakers Embrace Plan
One of the more surprising results from November’s election was the surprise defeat of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs in his bid for re-election to a Republican upstart Kevin Lincoln, a pastor and former George W. Bush administration official who is both black and Latino. Tubbs won national attention for his ...
Memo to Newsom and Garcetti: Try Leveling with Californians for a Change
Last week, local and state officials announced new, severe restrictions as officials grapple with rising cases of Covid-19 and rapidly-filling hospital emergency rooms nearing capacity. Especially during a public health crisis like this one, it is very important for government officials to be very clear in the information they are ...
Californians Finally Think State and Local Taxes Are Too High Thanks to SALT Deduction Cap
A recently-released UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) poll generated headlines before Thanksgiving for its finding that, if it came up for a vote again, California would again vote to approve the landmark property tax relief measure Proposition 13 by a 53 to 19 percent margin. Generating less media ...
California’s Unexpected Surplus Further Proof Bailout for States Unnecessary
Last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office (LAO) released its fiscal outlook for 2021, which is traditionally the start of the debate over next year’s state budget. Unexpectedly, California finds itself sitting on a $26 billion windfall according to the LAO, attributed to “results from revisions in prior- and current-year ...
