Tim Anaya
Blog
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Tim Anaya
May 2, 2022
Blog
Don’t Spend Your Gas Tax Rebate Yet . . .
Not much progress has been made in the effort to enact a gas tax rebate or gas tax holiday since lawmakers and Gov. Newsom released competing proposals last month. Californians have been waiting for Sacramento to take action to provide relief from gas prices that, even though may have dipped ...
Tim Anaya
April 27, 2022
Agriculture
More Talk, Less Action as Dry, Hot Summer Approaches
On Tuesday, Gov. Newsom travelled to Butte County where, according to a press release from his office, he discussed “impacts of the climate driven drought, including on hydropower production by state facilities, and the state’s response.” It’s part of the Governor’s campaign to promote his so-called “Save Our Water” campaign, ...
Tim Anaya
April 20, 2022
Blog
Despite Jones Act, Gas Prices Are Even Lower in High-Cost Hawaii Compared to California
Recently, I enjoyed a week-long vacation in Hawaii. One of the highlights of my trip was a circle island tour across Oahu. When driving through Waimanalo on our way to the Pali Lookout, I noticed a gas station selling regular unleaded for $5.08 per gallon. In fact, Hawaii’s price was ...
Tim Anaya
April 14, 2022
Blog
What’s Next for CEQA Reform After Berkeley Vote?
Responding to the public outrage, California lawmakers took unusually swift action in passing CEQA reform legislation this week. Senate Bill 118 responds to a CEQA lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group challenging a housing and classroom project under construction on the UC Berkeley campus. Earlier this month, the California Supreme ...
Tim Anaya
March 18, 2022
Blog
Will Newsom’s CARE Court plan help get “perilous trifecta” off the streets and into treatment?
In advance of last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Newsom visited a San Jose mental health treatment center last Thursday to unveil his proposal for a “CARE Court”. According to a fact sheet from the Governor’s Office, “Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a new framework ...
Tim Anaya
March 17, 2022
Blog
What Do Project Price Hikes Say About How Federal Infrastructure Dollars Will Be Spent?
The price tags for two major California transportation infrastructure projects are going up again. A few weeks back, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released its updated business plan, projecting that costs have gone up another $5 billion. It will now cost $105 billion to finish construction of the rail project ...
Tim Anaya
February 24, 2022
Blog
Californians Are Growing Increasingly Concerned About Crime. What’s Behind the Change in Attitude?
Anecdotes of rising incidents of crime across California are too numerous to mention these days. While California had a regimen of tough-on-crime public safety laws on the books as late as a decade ago, the past decade has ushered in a dramatic shift in criminal justice policy that led to ...
Tim Anaya
February 16, 2022
Blog
Will 2028 Olympic Games Be a Good Deal for Los Angeles?
While Americans are celebrating the recent gold medal victories of celebrated U.S. athletes like Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim, interest in the Olympics has dropped significantly. According to the Washington Post, “the TV ratings for the Winter Olympics in Beijing aren’t just bad – they’re historically terrible.” In a recent ...
Tim Anaya
February 15, 2022
Blog
Mixed Messaging by Public Officials Cloud COVID Return to Normal
Mixed messaging by elected officials and government health experts have continued to cloud efforts to finally “turn the corner” on the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, Californians were supposed to wear masks in their offices when around colleagues, in grocery stores and restaurants except when eating, and at theaters. Yet, tens ...
Tim Anaya
February 10, 2022
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Don’t Spend Your Gas Tax Rebate Yet . . .
Not much progress has been made in the effort to enact a gas tax rebate or gas tax holiday since lawmakers and Gov. Newsom released competing proposals last month. Californians have been waiting for Sacramento to take action to provide relief from gas prices that, even though may have dipped ...
More Talk, Less Action as Dry, Hot Summer Approaches
On Tuesday, Gov. Newsom travelled to Butte County where, according to a press release from his office, he discussed “impacts of the climate driven drought, including on hydropower production by state facilities, and the state’s response.” It’s part of the Governor’s campaign to promote his so-called “Save Our Water” campaign, ...
Despite Jones Act, Gas Prices Are Even Lower in High-Cost Hawaii Compared to California
Recently, I enjoyed a week-long vacation in Hawaii. One of the highlights of my trip was a circle island tour across Oahu. When driving through Waimanalo on our way to the Pali Lookout, I noticed a gas station selling regular unleaded for $5.08 per gallon. In fact, Hawaii’s price was ...
What’s Next for CEQA Reform After Berkeley Vote?
Responding to the public outrage, California lawmakers took unusually swift action in passing CEQA reform legislation this week. Senate Bill 118 responds to a CEQA lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group challenging a housing and classroom project under construction on the UC Berkeley campus. Earlier this month, the California Supreme ...
Will Newsom’s CARE Court plan help get “perilous trifecta” off the streets and into treatment?
In advance of last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Newsom visited a San Jose mental health treatment center last Thursday to unveil his proposal for a “CARE Court”. According to a fact sheet from the Governor’s Office, “Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a new framework ...
What Do Project Price Hikes Say About How Federal Infrastructure Dollars Will Be Spent?
The price tags for two major California transportation infrastructure projects are going up again. A few weeks back, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released its updated business plan, projecting that costs have gone up another $5 billion. It will now cost $105 billion to finish construction of the rail project ...
Californians Are Growing Increasingly Concerned About Crime. What’s Behind the Change in Attitude?
Anecdotes of rising incidents of crime across California are too numerous to mention these days. While California had a regimen of tough-on-crime public safety laws on the books as late as a decade ago, the past decade has ushered in a dramatic shift in criminal justice policy that led to ...
Will 2028 Olympic Games Be a Good Deal for Los Angeles?
While Americans are celebrating the recent gold medal victories of celebrated U.S. athletes like Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim, interest in the Olympics has dropped significantly. According to the Washington Post, “the TV ratings for the Winter Olympics in Beijing aren’t just bad – they’re historically terrible.” In a recent ...
Mixed Messaging by Public Officials Cloud COVID Return to Normal
Mixed messaging by elected officials and government health experts have continued to cloud efforts to finally “turn the corner” on the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, Californians were supposed to wear masks in their offices when around colleagues, in grocery stores and restaurants except when eating, and at theaters. Yet, tens ...