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Back to homepageJohn Chiang Blazes Future of CA Politics
JUNE 27, 2011 By JOHN SEILER As they said in old-school physics, nature abhors a vacuum. Passed last November, Proposition 25 marginalized California Republicans by dropping from two-thirds to a majority the threshold for passing a state budget. That left the
Read MoreVictims Program Needs Major Overhaul
JUNE 27, 2011 By RICHARD TRAINOR The California State Victims of Crime Program (VCP) is a neat little boutique agency designed to assist crime victims. It’s officially known as the Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board, or colloquially as the
Read MoreCalifornia's Mess Not Texas' Fault
June 27, 2011 As California’s budget battle continues, Republicans and Democrats have engaged in a rhetorical battle regarding the relative merits and demerits of our lovely state and one of the nation’s other megastates, Texas. This debate started after a
Read MoreCA Overdue For Part-Time Legislature
JUNE 27, 2011 The latest budget drama shows how California needs a part-time Legislature. It hasn’t had one since the late 1960s. Since then, few budgets have been balanced while meeting the June 15 constitutional deadline. In the past 24
Read MoreCity Privatization Sabotaged?
Katy Grimes: When employees who mow grass for the city of Sacramento are paid $60,000 annually, medical benefits and a nice pension, you know that the inmates are running the asylum. Unskilled labor jobs, which in the real world are
Read MoreCoastal Commission Holds Sacto Lovefest
JUNE 24, 2011 California Coastal Commission boss, and supporters, lobby for more money and power By LLOYD BILLINGSLEY A conference on the California Coastal Commission here Thursday, sponsored by Capitol Weekly, provided a forum for longtime CCC boss Peter Douglas.
Read MoreReally, CA legislators are brain trusts!
JUNE 24, 2011 By ALI MEYER California legislators can’t seem to get a balanced budget passed or fix the state government’s ongoing problems. They are known for passing ridiculous legislation and taxing things you didn’t even know existed, so you
Read MoreAnaheim Gives Pass To Pervert Cop
Steven Greenhut: Increasingly, we have become a two-tier society where those who enforce the laws are held to a much lower standard than the rest of us, which is the marking of an authoritarian society rather than a democratic one.
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Why the Leg Will Pass a Budget Soon
John Seiler: California Legislators’ pay is suspended until they pass a budget. But they’ll do that soon. The Beatles explain what their spouses are telling them: June 24, 2011
Read MoreForecast: California Economy Stagnating
JUNE 23, 2011 By JOHN SEILER California’s economy is growing at a slower pace even than the stagnating U.S. Economy. California jobs creation is sharply lower than U.S. jobs creation. The state, basically, has missed the modest recovery of the
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