Blog
Blog
The Fight for Greater Transparency in Public Schools
One of the big fallouts of the COVID pandemic has been the revelation of what is being taught in the regular public schools. Some of the most publicized revelations have occurred in California. Last year, it came to light that the Santa Clara Office of Education had conducted a series ...
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 ...
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 ...
Blog
Can Newsom’s Project Homekey End Homelessness?
In 2001 due to a job change, I moved from Baltimore to San Francisco. It was the Dot.com Boom, and like everyone else who was moving to the City by the Bay, I was desperately hunting for an apartment. Back then, it was common for two dozen people to be ...
Blog
Transparency as a Political Principle
In the Declaration of Independence, sandwiched between the bold announcement of regime-change and an affirmation of natural rights, Thomas Jefferson penned an often-overlooked phrase, “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” To justify separation from England, ...
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 ...
Blog
No More Games – Return the Surplus to CA Taxpayers
Last year, I got a kick out of playing CalMatters’ Spend the Surplus Game. This year, not so much. CalMatters created a clever online game that lets you decide how California should spend its surplus. This year, it’s projected to be $45.7 billion. Of that amount however, I only get ...
Blog
The Cost Of Going Green Keeps Going Up
About that transition to all-renewables energy sources by 2045: Californians who are already punished by record-high electricity prices should be prepared to pay more than ever over the next two decades. Either that, or leave, a choice that many have already made and many more will. Recently published research by ...
Agriculture
Practical Life Skills Answer to Food Waste Woes
Inflation across the United States is still surging (up 7% from a year ago). Rising food costs are of concern as well: a 6.5% increase across the board – with a 16% increase for meat and dairy and a whopping 25% for red meat. Despite rising grocery bills, the U.S. ...
Blog
How Will Expanded COVID-19 Sick Leave Mandate Impact California Employers?
On Monday, the Assembly Budget Committee will consider a package of COVID-19-related budget legislation proposed by Gov. Newsom including a recently-announced deal between Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders “to ensure employees continue to have access to COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave through September 30, 2022.” The Senate is expected ...
The Fight for Greater Transparency in Public Schools
One of the big fallouts of the COVID pandemic has been the revelation of what is being taught in the regular public schools. Some of the most publicized revelations have occurred in California. Last year, it came to light that the Santa Clara Office of Education had conducted a series ...
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 ...
Can Newsom’s Project Homekey End Homelessness?
In 2001 due to a job change, I moved from Baltimore to San Francisco. It was the Dot.com Boom, and like everyone else who was moving to the City by the Bay, I was desperately hunting for an apartment. Back then, it was common for two dozen people to be ...
Transparency as a Political Principle
In the Declaration of Independence, sandwiched between the bold announcement of regime-change and an affirmation of natural rights, Thomas Jefferson penned an often-overlooked phrase, “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” To justify separation from England, ...
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 ...
No More Games – Return the Surplus to CA Taxpayers
Last year, I got a kick out of playing CalMatters’ Spend the Surplus Game. This year, not so much. CalMatters created a clever online game that lets you decide how California should spend its surplus. This year, it’s projected to be $45.7 billion. Of that amount however, I only get ...
The Cost Of Going Green Keeps Going Up
About that transition to all-renewables energy sources by 2045: Californians who are already punished by record-high electricity prices should be prepared to pay more than ever over the next two decades. Either that, or leave, a choice that many have already made and many more will. Recently published research by ...
Practical Life Skills Answer to Food Waste Woes
Inflation across the United States is still surging (up 7% from a year ago). Rising food costs are of concern as well: a 6.5% increase across the board – with a 16% increase for meat and dairy and a whopping 25% for red meat. Despite rising grocery bills, the U.S. ...
How Will Expanded COVID-19 Sick Leave Mandate Impact California Employers?
On Monday, the Assembly Budget Committee will consider a package of COVID-19-related budget legislation proposed by Gov. Newsom including a recently-announced deal between Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders “to ensure employees continue to have access to COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave through September 30, 2022.” The Senate is expected ...
