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Back to homepageU.S.-Calif. Stuck in Stagnation Spiral
JULY 26, 2011 BY JOHN SEILER Welcome to the desert of economic and jobs growth. I keep reminding people that California actually still is part of the United States of America. That we are not the “eighth largest world economy,”
Read MoreTreasure Isle: Greed, Gold, Toxic Waste
Yo ho ho and and a pot of redevelopment gold. For 15 years San Francisco has tried to transform Treasure Island from a sandy former Naval base into a gold and jobs-generating new urban community with 40-story skyscrapers interspersed by
Read MoreJeanne Raya Failed to Reveal Donations
JULY 25, 2011 By JOHN HRABE A second member of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, Jeanne Raya, failed to disclose financial contributions made within the past 18 months to a state political campaign committee, according to documents reviewed by CalWatchDog.com. Ten days ago,
Read MoreRutten's Amazon Attack Ignores Reality
JULY 25, 2011 By JOHN SEILER L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten continues his tax obsession in “Amazon’s shameful California tax dodge.” He just has it in for Amazon.com. He makes a weird comparison: At the turn of the last century,
Read MoreS.F. Subway Derails Into Boondoggle
JULY 22, 2011 By KATY GRIMES The California High-Speed Rail Authority isn’t the state’s only massive choo-choo boondoggle. San Francisco boasts the Central Subway project, a wasteful train system all its own. Fortunately, citizen volunteers, transportation and rail experts and local writers
Read MoreWhy would Sacto tap a failed leader?
Commentary JULY 22, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT The Sacramento Bee reported today that John Shirey, executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, is the top candidate to be Sacramento’s next city manager. This choice only confirms the small-town mentality of
Read MoreDespite Gain, CalPERS Still Underfunded
JULY 22, 2100 By LANNY EBENSTEIN The recent announcement that the investment return of CalPERS for the 2010-11 fiscal year was 20.7 percent does not indicate that it, or other public sector pension funds, are now financially solvent. Indeed, the
Read MoreZombie Recovery: CA Jobless Rate Jumps
JULY 22, 2011 By JOHN SEILER California is suffering what I call a “Zombie Recovery.” The state economy is walking, but dead. Today the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new numbers for June 2011 showing that California’s unemployment rose
Read MoreChart Shows Aguirre Conflicts of Interest
JULY 22, 2011 By JOHN HRABE The following chart demonstrates the conflicts of interest for Dr. Gabino T. Aguirre, a commissioner for the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. The conflicts are detailed in my articles for CalWatchDog.com: Part 1: Gabino Aguirre’s Secret
Read MoreRedevelopment Partners In Slime
Katy Grimes: Trying to fill the thrice-vacant City Manager position, Sacramento’s City Council made a job offer to a candidate yesterday. But the politically incestuous connection local politicians have with John Shirey, the candidate and current head of the California Redevelopment
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