Brown's Address: Egypt on the Pacific?

JAN. 31, 2O11 By JOHN SEILER In his State-of-the-State address today, Gov. Jerry Brown compared Republican legislators’ refusal (so far) to put taxes  on a special election ballot in June to the longstanding thwarting of democracy in Egypt. Apparently he

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Nestande's Hilarious Hypocrisy

Steven Greenhut: Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, released a statement following the governor’s State of the State speech that left me with a pain in my side from laughter: “I look forward to working with the Governor to pass honest

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Brown's Full-Court Tax Hike Press

JAN. 31, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State speech Monday night was pretty much what anyone should have expected, as the new governor championed his “tough choices” budget and pushed hard for its centerpiece: a

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Union Ally Paul Cook Eyes Senate

Steven Greenhut: The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported today that Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, is running for state Senate, which perhaps explains why Cook was seen last week at a union rally where left-wing unionistas decried budget cuts. Cook was there

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Earth to Brown: Ed Spending Is Up

Steven Greenhut: Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan spares education because of the supposedly severe cuts that the state’s public education system has endured in recent years, but this is utter nonsense. A new study released today at a Sacramento press

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What State Budget Deficit?

Katy Grimes: Isn’t California supposed to be overwhelmed right now with an historical budget deficit of $25.4 billion dollars? The word “deficit” usually means that it’s time to make substantial budget cuts. Yet last week Caltrans representatives asked an Assembly

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Redevelopment Is Redistribution

JAN. 31, 2011 The future of the state is surely bleak when the mayors of its largest cities actually think that jobs are created by the government, and economic stimulus originates in redevelopment agencies. Nine of California’s big-city mayors met

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Previewing Gov. Brown's State Address

JAN. 31, 2011 By KATY GRIMES With Californians poised to hear Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State address this evening, many of them want more details about his recent budget proposals. Brown set the stage with a recent state

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End Redevelopment 'Luxury'?

JAN. 31, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI We live in a virtual age of images that sometimes doesn’t reflect reality. Redevelopment agencies across the state are blitzing newspapers with online images of a group of elderly persons in a senior citizen

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Don't say no to bankruptcy option

JAN. 31, 2011 Congressional Republicans “should be ashamed of themselves for even suggesting” bankruptcy as an option for California and other debt-plagued states, according to Sacramento Bee Capitol columnist Dan Walters. Unlike municipalities, states aren’t allowed to go bankrupt, but

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