Blog
Blog
The Coronavirus Aftermath: Debt and Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas Layin’ in the sun, Talkin’ ’bout the things They woulda coulda shoulda done… –Shel Silverstein As of this writing, the Trump Administration has pledged to spend more than a trillion dollars to save the lives and livelihoods of Americans as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. We’re ...
Rowena Itchon
March 24, 2020
Blog
What Governments Are Doing to Try and Salvage the Economy
Until recently, terms like social distancing and even the coronavirus were nonexistent. Now these terms could come to define the beginning of a pending global recession the likes of which have yet to test modern economic markets. As parts of California shelter in place and millions engage in the largest ...
Evan Harris
March 23, 2020
Blog
What We’re Watching – Stay at Home Edition
Tim Anaya – Week to Week Political Roundtable on Coronavirus In case you missed it, last night I joined the Commonwealth Club’s Week to Week Political Roundtable. Due to the shelter in place orders in Sacramento and San Francisco – it was a livestreamed event and I joined the panel ...
Pacific Research Institute
March 20, 2020
Blog
Legislative Analyst Offers First Hint of Impact of Coronavirus on State Budget
The coronavirus and the massive economic shutdown that has accompanied it as large parts of California are sheltering in place is significantly complicating work on the May Revise of the Gov. Newsom’s budget, due in just weeks. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek on Wednesday released his first assessment of ...
Tim Anaya
March 19, 2020
Blog
The Train That’s Still Going Nowhere
The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently issued its Review of the Draft 2020 High-Speed Rail Business Plan. It’s not a ringing endorsement of the project. Three of the report’s five key oversight issues confirm what’s been known all along. California’s bullet train is a troubled enterprise. First, says the LAO, “we ...
Kerry Jackson
March 18, 2020
Blog
Torpedoing a Successful Charter School
While the statewide assault on charter schools by politicians in Sacramento has garnered headlines, it is the effort to undermine specific successful local charter schools that really pulls at one’s heartstrings. Take, for example, Willow Creek Academy charter school in Sausalito in Marin County. Willow Creek is a K-8 school ...
Lance Izumi
March 17, 2020
Blog
Will State Budget Be Victim of Coronavirus?
The uncertainty over the coronavirus has negatively impacted the financial markets. Hit the hardest in the short term have been the travel and hospitality industries – with much talk of layoffs, bankruptcies, and industry bailouts. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq have entered bear territory, falling more than 20 percent in ...
Tim Anaya
March 16, 2020
Blog
What We’re Watching – March 13
Tim Anaya – Making the Perfect Irish Soda Bread With all the talk of coronavirus frightening us these days, I think we should focus on things that bring a smile to our faces this weekend, like St. Patrick’s Day. Even though the parades are cancelled, this doesn’t mean that corned ...
Pacific Research Institute
March 13, 2020
Blog
California Assembly Bill 5: An Update
Nearly three dozen bills intended to revise or repeal Assembly Bill 5, which restricts workers’ freedom and could potentially kill the burgeoning gig economy, have been introduced in Sacramento. Here is some of the latest, and most important, news about efforts to smooth over the malign effects of the law: ...
Kerry Jackson
March 12, 2020
Blog
California’s Self-Inflicted Election Day Chaos
If there was one constant in the national media coverage of Super Tuesday, it was criticism of California’s election system. More than one observer commented on the fact that California’s heavy use of vote-by-mail ballots meant that hundreds of thousands of ballots were cast for candidates who had dropped out ...
Tim Anaya
March 11, 2020
The Coronavirus Aftermath: Debt and Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas Layin’ in the sun, Talkin’ ’bout the things They woulda coulda shoulda done… –Shel Silverstein As of this writing, the Trump Administration has pledged to spend more than a trillion dollars to save the lives and livelihoods of Americans as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. We’re ...
What Governments Are Doing to Try and Salvage the Economy
Until recently, terms like social distancing and even the coronavirus were nonexistent. Now these terms could come to define the beginning of a pending global recession the likes of which have yet to test modern economic markets. As parts of California shelter in place and millions engage in the largest ...
What We’re Watching – Stay at Home Edition
Tim Anaya – Week to Week Political Roundtable on Coronavirus In case you missed it, last night I joined the Commonwealth Club’s Week to Week Political Roundtable. Due to the shelter in place orders in Sacramento and San Francisco – it was a livestreamed event and I joined the panel ...
Legislative Analyst Offers First Hint of Impact of Coronavirus on State Budget
The coronavirus and the massive economic shutdown that has accompanied it as large parts of California are sheltering in place is significantly complicating work on the May Revise of the Gov. Newsom’s budget, due in just weeks. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek on Wednesday released his first assessment of ...
The Train That’s Still Going Nowhere
The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently issued its Review of the Draft 2020 High-Speed Rail Business Plan. It’s not a ringing endorsement of the project. Three of the report’s five key oversight issues confirm what’s been known all along. California’s bullet train is a troubled enterprise. First, says the LAO, “we ...
Torpedoing a Successful Charter School
While the statewide assault on charter schools by politicians in Sacramento has garnered headlines, it is the effort to undermine specific successful local charter schools that really pulls at one’s heartstrings. Take, for example, Willow Creek Academy charter school in Sausalito in Marin County. Willow Creek is a K-8 school ...
Will State Budget Be Victim of Coronavirus?
The uncertainty over the coronavirus has negatively impacted the financial markets. Hit the hardest in the short term have been the travel and hospitality industries – with much talk of layoffs, bankruptcies, and industry bailouts. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq have entered bear territory, falling more than 20 percent in ...
What We’re Watching – March 13
Tim Anaya – Making the Perfect Irish Soda Bread With all the talk of coronavirus frightening us these days, I think we should focus on things that bring a smile to our faces this weekend, like St. Patrick’s Day. Even though the parades are cancelled, this doesn’t mean that corned ...
California Assembly Bill 5: An Update
Nearly three dozen bills intended to revise or repeal Assembly Bill 5, which restricts workers’ freedom and could potentially kill the burgeoning gig economy, have been introduced in Sacramento. Here is some of the latest, and most important, news about efforts to smooth over the malign effects of the law: ...
California’s Self-Inflicted Election Day Chaos
If there was one constant in the national media coverage of Super Tuesday, it was criticism of California’s election system. More than one observer commented on the fact that California’s heavy use of vote-by-mail ballots meant that hundreds of thousands of ballots were cast for candidates who had dropped out ...