California
California
Villaraigosa’s Whistle Stop
Offering up what appeared to be a campaign speech, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa addressed the Sacramento Press Club today, repeatedly blasting the Tea Party and Republicans, and even went after Californias Proposition 13 with a vengeance. What was interesting is that Villaraigosa spent an inordinate amount of time talking ...
California
State Legislature fights evil unfitted sheets
The Legislative Goofball of The Session Award goes to Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, for Senate Bill 432, which mandates that hotels use fitted sheets rather than unfitted sheets on mattresses. Other legislators have promoted more damaging and far-reaching bills, but de León’s ban on unfitted sheets and mandates ...
Business & Economics
Removing Politics from Politics
An investigation last month by CalWatchDog.com, which I edit, revealed that at least one of the 14 commissioners in charge of drawing new district lines for California’s elected representatives had made multiple political campaign contributions to Democratic candidates—contributions that were previously undisclosed to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commissioner, ...
Business & Economics
California’s sprawling welfare system carded, but not reformed
Last year, a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that California welfare “clients” were using their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to spend millions at casinos and on cruise ships to hardship destinations such as Rio de Janeiro. Californians will be interested to know what the state did to counter this ...
Business & Economics
Left Wins Redistricting
As someone who chronicles the political goings-on in California, I rarely offer encouraging news for those who believe in the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual freedom. Nevertheless, readers frequently implore me to offer some good news. The truth isn’t enough. These folks want to read something positive. ...
California
Grading Jerry Brown’s charter school
In the State Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
California
The New Watchdogs
Are newspaper reporters still necessary? When the Los Angeles Times broke the story of corruption in Bell, California, where the city manager was collecting $1.5 million in annual compensation, it felt like vindication for the institutional press and its traditional role. Before Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives filed their stories, ...
Business & Economics
California Welfare Gets Carded but Not Reformed
Last year a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that California welfare “clients” were using their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to spend millions at Las Vegas casinos and on cruise ships to hardship destinations such as Rio de Janeiro. Working Californians will be interested to know what the state did ...
Commentary
Why Don’t Health Insurance Exchanges Work?
A previous entry reported and discussed the lackluster basically non-existent results of the Utah Health Exchange, and promised to explain why unsubsidized exchanges are unlikely to attract significant numbers of beneficiaries from the small-group market. The answer, I believe, is pretty straightforward: The administrative costs of operating an ...
Business & Economics
Court pick echoes Jerry Brown’s worldview
Gov. Jerry Browns decision to nominate Berkeley Law Professor Goodwin Liu to Californias Supreme Court is a highly partisan poke in the eye at Republicans, given that GOP congressional criticisms led Liu, in May, to withdraw his name from contention for a slot on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. ...
Villaraigosa’s Whistle Stop
Offering up what appeared to be a campaign speech, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa addressed the Sacramento Press Club today, repeatedly blasting the Tea Party and Republicans, and even went after Californias Proposition 13 with a vengeance. What was interesting is that Villaraigosa spent an inordinate amount of time talking ...
State Legislature fights evil unfitted sheets
The Legislative Goofball of The Session Award goes to Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, for Senate Bill 432, which mandates that hotels use fitted sheets rather than unfitted sheets on mattresses. Other legislators have promoted more damaging and far-reaching bills, but de León’s ban on unfitted sheets and mandates ...
Removing Politics from Politics
An investigation last month by CalWatchDog.com, which I edit, revealed that at least one of the 14 commissioners in charge of drawing new district lines for California’s elected representatives had made multiple political campaign contributions to Democratic candidates—contributions that were previously undisclosed to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commissioner, ...
California’s sprawling welfare system carded, but not reformed
Last year, a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that California welfare “clients” were using their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to spend millions at casinos and on cruise ships to hardship destinations such as Rio de Janeiro. Californians will be interested to know what the state did to counter this ...
Left Wins Redistricting
As someone who chronicles the political goings-on in California, I rarely offer encouraging news for those who believe in the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual freedom. Nevertheless, readers frequently implore me to offer some good news. The truth isn’t enough. These folks want to read something positive. ...
Grading Jerry Brown’s charter school
In the State Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
The New Watchdogs
Are newspaper reporters still necessary? When the Los Angeles Times broke the story of corruption in Bell, California, where the city manager was collecting $1.5 million in annual compensation, it felt like vindication for the institutional press and its traditional role. Before Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives filed their stories, ...
California Welfare Gets Carded but Not Reformed
Last year a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that California welfare “clients” were using their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to spend millions at Las Vegas casinos and on cruise ships to hardship destinations such as Rio de Janeiro. Working Californians will be interested to know what the state did ...
Why Don’t Health Insurance Exchanges Work?
A previous entry reported and discussed the lackluster basically non-existent results of the Utah Health Exchange, and promised to explain why unsubsidized exchanges are unlikely to attract significant numbers of beneficiaries from the small-group market. The answer, I believe, is pretty straightforward: The administrative costs of operating an ...
Court pick echoes Jerry Brown’s worldview
Gov. Jerry Browns decision to nominate Berkeley Law Professor Goodwin Liu to Californias Supreme Court is a highly partisan poke in the eye at Republicans, given that GOP congressional criticisms led Liu, in May, to withdraw his name from contention for a slot on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. ...
