Blog
Blog
Could Earmarks End Congress’ Partisan Gridlock?
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has told House Democrats that earmarks are coming back in 2021. According to Punchbowl News, which originally broke the scoop on earmarks, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patrick Leahy – Congress’ lead appropriators – are preparing to bring back “member-directed spending” for next fiscal year’s ...
Blackouts
Power Outages: California, Texas, next the U.S?
California was the object of ridicule last year when residents experienced widespread power outages due to high temperatures and wildfires. Now, during an historic cold spell, Texas is under fire for an energy infrastructure that left much of the state without power. The finger pointing will go on for months ...
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
Solutions For The Homelessness Crisis – A Handbook For Policymakers
Does anyone recall that one year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom devoted his entire State of the State address to solving homelessness, declaring that “we must do everything we can to ensure no Californian is homeless,” pledging to “reduce street homelessness quickly and humanely through emergency actions,” and promising to “be ...
Blog
Winners and Losers – February 19
Tim Anaya, Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Baseball Fans – With all the awful news we are bombarded with these days, baseball fans were cheered by pitchers and catchers reporting this week to Arizona or Florida for spring training. Now, if we can only actually watch ...
Blog
Groundhog Day for Minimum Wage
At first, we were relieved to find that Pres. Biden’s proposal to include a $15 minimum wage hike in the COVID-19 relief package was just a bad nightmare. But when Californians woke up the other day, the idea was back on track. Unlike Bill Murray, who thanks to the magic ...
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
Lessons from New Mexico Show How Fracking Moratorium Could Harm California’s Economy
During the heated Vice-Presidential Debate, Vice President Mike Pence charged that a Biden-Harris Administration planned to ban the practice of fracking altogether. Then-Senator Kamala Harris said in response that no such plans existed. At stake were thousands of key votes of gas and oil workers from the heartland and key ...
Blog
How About A Train Check?
It’s a myth that Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini made the trains run on time. It’s no exaggeration, though, to say California can’t even make its bullet train run at all. The California high-speed rail has been delayed again. The first section, 119 miles through the Central Valley between Bakersfield ...
Blog
Winners and Losers – February 12
Tim Anaya, Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Sacramento Diners – Fans of the Sacramento restaurant Biba, which closed last spring amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and following the death of Biba Caggiano, its legendary chef and proprietor, cheered this week’s news that its former executive chef and ...
Could Earmarks End Congress’ Partisan Gridlock?
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has told House Democrats that earmarks are coming back in 2021. According to Punchbowl News, which originally broke the scoop on earmarks, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patrick Leahy – Congress’ lead appropriators – are preparing to bring back “member-directed spending” for next fiscal year’s ...
Power Outages: California, Texas, next the U.S?
California was the object of ridicule last year when residents experienced widespread power outages due to high temperatures and wildfires. Now, during an historic cold spell, Texas is under fire for an energy infrastructure that left much of the state without power. The finger pointing will go on for months ...
‘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 ...
Solutions For The Homelessness Crisis – A Handbook For Policymakers
Does anyone recall that one year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom devoted his entire State of the State address to solving homelessness, declaring that “we must do everything we can to ensure no Californian is homeless,” pledging to “reduce street homelessness quickly and humanely through emergency actions,” and promising to “be ...
Winners and Losers – February 19
Tim Anaya, Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Baseball Fans – With all the awful news we are bombarded with these days, baseball fans were cheered by pitchers and catchers reporting this week to Arizona or Florida for spring training. Now, if we can only actually watch ...
Groundhog Day for Minimum Wage
At first, we were relieved to find that Pres. Biden’s proposal to include a $15 minimum wage hike in the COVID-19 relief package was just a bad nightmare. But when Californians woke up the other day, the idea was back on track. Unlike Bill Murray, who thanks to the magic ...
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, ...
Lessons from New Mexico Show How Fracking Moratorium Could Harm California’s Economy
During the heated Vice-Presidential Debate, Vice President Mike Pence charged that a Biden-Harris Administration planned to ban the practice of fracking altogether. Then-Senator Kamala Harris said in response that no such plans existed. At stake were thousands of key votes of gas and oil workers from the heartland and key ...
How About A Train Check?
It’s a myth that Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini made the trains run on time. It’s no exaggeration, though, to say California can’t even make its bullet train run at all. The California high-speed rail has been delayed again. The first section, 119 miles through the Central Valley between Bakersfield ...
Winners and Losers – February 12
Tim Anaya, Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office Winner: Sacramento Diners – Fans of the Sacramento restaurant Biba, which closed last spring amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and following the death of Biba Caggiano, its legendary chef and proprietor, cheered this week’s news that its former executive chef and ...
