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Bakersfield drops high-speed rail lawsuit
As 2015 approaches, California’s high-speed rail project keeps barreling down the track. On Dec. 19, the city of Bakersfield dropped its lawsuit against construction. The city’s settlement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority stipulated, among other things: “The city has met with
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Tax credit could cost taxpayers $1 billion
California now is considering a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit. That comes just in time for Jan. 27, the IRS’ EITC Awareness Day. (I am not making this up.) According to a study by the Legislative Analyst, requested by the
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Are millennials being priced out of California?
Are millennials being priced out of California? A recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau analyzing statistics from the latest American Community Survey showed the Millennial Generation is struggling to find full-time employment, obtain affordable housing and reach financial independence. The problems
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CA media finds de Leon guilty of not being Steinberg
There has been steady turnover in the leadership of the state Assembly every few years, so there is plenty of evidence that most new speakers get the equivalent of a honeymoon. Certainly that’s been true of current Speaker Toni Atkins,
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Drought mostly over, govt. water takeover isn’t
It looks like the drought is receding, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Thursday: In summary, a wet December (to date) has provided California a foothold for drought recovery, but 3 straight winters of subnormal precipitation will take time (possibly
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CA data does not compute
California remains the global epicenter of computers and the Internet. Then why do so many of its state-government systems not compute? The latest critique comes in a new report, “Data Reliability,” by State Auditor Elaine M. Howle. Subtitle: “State Agencies’
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CA lobbyists celebrate banner year
It’s got a bad reputation, even in some parts of Washington, D.C. But lobbying is a way of life in California, where the practice shows no signs of letting up. In a string of news events and reports, the many
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New tax would hit services
Tax reform is in the air. One proposal is by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, also a former speaker of the Assembly. Senate Bill 8, the Upward Mobility Act, would raise $10 billion in sales and use taxes
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Coal ban would boost tax cost of pensions
California public pensions already have a big problem with adequate funding. The nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst pegs the pensions’ unfunded liabilities at $340 billion. It should be obvious what the investment strategy should be for the California Public Employees System,
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