Chris Reed, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From Chris Reed

Chris Reed

Chris Reed is a regular contributor to Cal Watchdog. Reed is an editorial writer for U-T San Diego. Before joining the U-T in July 2005, he was the opinion-page columns editor and wrote the featured weekly Unspin column for The Orange County Register. Reed was on the national board of the Association of Opinion Page Editors from 2003-2005. From 2000 to 2005, Reed made more than 100 appearances as a featured news analyst on Los Angeles-area National Public Radio affiliate KPCC-FM. From 1990 to 1998, Reed was an editor, metro columnist and film critic at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario. Reed has a political science degree from the University of Hawaii (Hilo campus), where he edited the student newspaper, the Vulcan News, his senior year. He is on Twitter: @chrisreed99.

New laws require more storing, reporting of rape kits – but not more testing

Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of three bills relating to rape kits – the physical evidence gathered from individuals in lengthy examinations after reports of sexual – was hailed by women’s rights groups as a major step forward in bringing justice to rape

Eric Garcetti – like Kamala Harris – may have White House on mind

Chris Reed October 23, 2017

California Sen. Kamala Harris’ splashy first year in Washington has made her a fixture on lists of potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates – and not as an interesting long shot but as someone with a strong chance. While the California Legislature’s

Northern California fires may hammer tourism, add to housing crisis

Chris Reed October 16, 2017

The deadly and massively destructive wildfires now in their second week of ravaging Northern California’s wine country are likely to have lengthy negative effects on the region’s economy. But it could also exacerbate perhaps its most pressing social problem – housing

Internal ‘chaos’ adds to rough year for bullet-train agency

Chris Reed October 16, 2017

The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s rough year continues with the departure of another top executive at the agency overseeing the state’s $64 billion bullet-train project. Jon Tapping, the agency’s director of risk management since 2012, is leaving, the Los Angeles

CalPERS critic makes runoff for CalPERS board

Chris Reed October 10, 2017

The underfunded California Public Employees’ Retirement System faces daunting challenges in coming years, with local governments increasingly vocal about not being able to afford the ever-growing cost of their CalPERS-managed pension programs, as CalWatchdog reported July 20. The nation’s largest

Homelessness surging among California college students

Chris Reed October 2, 2017

Reporting from across California indicates that more college students are homeless than at any point in state history. While hard statistics are in short supply, surveys suggest the problem is so severe that the Golden State has far more than

California attorney general rebuked for stacking deck against fuel tax repeal

Chris Reed October 1, 2017

Continuing a longstanding bipartisan tradition, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra came under fire in July for ballot measure language considered to be grossly prejudicial by the measure’s proponents. And it didn’t take long for a state judge to agree with

Brown’s water tunnels plan still alive, but obstacles are many

Chris Reed September 28, 2017

With a seeming vote of confidence from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the giant agency that supplies water to about half the state’s 38 million residents – Gov. Jerry Brown appears set to soldier ahead with his $17 billion

Bold criminal justice reforms go nowhere in California Legislature

Chris Reed September 27, 2017

The 2017 session of the California Legislature may be remembered as when the criminal justice reform movement in America’s largest state lost its momentum. The movement entered the session with a head of steam after winning majority support from the

Bill to keep Trump off 2020 ballot could trigger copycat measures

Chris Reed September 25, 2017

A bill the California Legislature sent to Gov. Jerry Brown that’s intended to keep President Donald Trump off the 2020 California ballot could instead end up ushering in an aggressive new era of scorched-earth national politics – if it survives lawsuits.