Cap and ‘Train’ Leaves the Station
JAN. 31, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Gov. Jerry Brown just proposed a new idea for financing California’s $100 billion high-speed rail project: Use the fees from the state’s Cap and Trade emission taxation program to fund it. This new hybrid
Read MoreWater Wars Flood L.A. Central Basin
JAN. 30, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Remember “Chinatown,” the murky 1974 movie about the water wars in the Los Angeles Basin in the 1930s, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway? A January 18 California appeals court water rights case is
Read MoreWill Enviros Bend on CEQA Reform?
Jan. 28, 2012 CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, has long been the third rail of politics here in theGoldenState. If a politician dare touch it, he or she is dead to the state’s powerful environmental lobby. Gov. Jerry Brown
Read MoreCA Politicians Pander on Foreclosures
JAN. 27, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI On the eve of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, 16 California House Democrats pleaded for more relief for homeowners in foreclosure. It was all show and no go, however. It was all
Read MoreRoot Canal For Single-Payer Health Bill
JAN. 26, 2012 By KATY GRIMES Despite warnings that tooth decay in children can lead to a life in prison, the latest attempt at a single-payer health care bill in California failed to pass the Senate Thursday. Surprising many supporters,
Read MoreNo Silver Bullet For Rail Plan
JAN. 25, 2012 By KATY GRIMES Like Dracula rising from the grave, High-Speed Rail just won’t die. Even with the latest in a long line of damning reports blasting the growing rail monster, the reports have had the impact of a Nerf gun.
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Hollywood-Style Rail Pander
Katy Grimes: In the OMG category, I caught a 30 second commercial tonight on a local Sacramento television channel that asked, “Wanna go to the Grammys? Get your creative juices flowing and create a 30 second commercial about the excitement
Read MoreCA Boasts 2/3 of U.S. Shale Oil Reserves
JAN. 24, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Back on Dec. 21, 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown said at a Jewish Menorah-lighting ceremony, “Today’s miracle is not to find more oil, but to utilize the sun.” Brown was touting solar energy projects. But
Read MoreSMUD’s Creative Rate Increase Lingo
Katy Grimes: The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is changing some of its rate terminology in order to charge higher rates. The utility company claims that it really is “an effort to better define for customers what they are paying for and
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