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Back to homepageTough Talk Can't Hide Tax/Spend Budget
JAN. 11, 2011 By JOHN SEILER In his Jan. 3 Inaugural Address, Gov. Jerry Brown promised us a respite from the “smoke and mirrors” budgets of recent years, especially those of ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. So the budget he unveiled Monday,
Read MoreBrown Wisely Takes On Corporate Welfare
JAN. 10, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT The Sacramento Bee’s coverage of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies reads like something out of a California Redevelopment Association press release: “Old Sacramento was revived with the help of public
Read MoreRecalling Honig, A Man Of 'Conviction'
JAN. 10, 2010 By K. LLOYD BILLINGSLEY Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Bill Honig to the State Board of Education, explaining, “I think people can be confident that he has a contribution to make.” That may be doubted, but Mr.
Read MorePort of Call for CA’s Crippled Commerce
JAN. 10, 2010 By LAER PEARCE If Gov. Jerry Brown has any chance of draining California’s budget swamp of red ink, he’s going to need more than aggressive spending cuts and votes for more taxes, as he proposes. He’s also
Read MoreBrown's Budget Shifts Much To Localities
JAN. 10, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget fix is a topic of statewide social conversation but often misreported in the media. Re: Jerry Brown Wants to Tame Budget with Tax Extensions, Deep Cuts, LA Times Anatomy of
Read MoreBrown's Status-Quo Choices
JAN. 10, 2010 By JOHN SEILER “Personnel is policy” is a saying I heard often when I was a journalist in Washington, D.C. in the 1980s during the Reagan administration. The meaning was that, in large, complex modern organizations such
Read MorePulling Back CalPERS' Ethics Curtain
JAN. 7, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The Securities and Exchange Commission has exposed the self-righteous CalPERS, the California Public Employees Retirement System, as no longer the self-anointed ethical wizards of pension funds. L. Frank Baum wrote that when he started
Read MoreConway's Discipline Problem
JAN. 7, 2011 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO State Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway has a real discipline problem. Not with her family, or her staff, but with her Republican caucus, and the ruthless arithmetic that governs it. Of the 80 members
Read MoreSenate Committee Rosters Late!
Katy Grimes: It’s January 7, 2011 and the Senate President Pro Tem just announced the legislative committee assignments. The Assembly committee assignments have been done since early December. As I shared this information with colleagues, everyone wanted to know what
Read MoreValley Legislators Bring New Verve
JAN. 6, 2011 By KATY GRIMES It only took one brief legislative session before newly elected Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) asked, “Are the people of California ready for a part time legislature? And we should meet every two years. We
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