Posts From Chris Reed
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Gov. Brown’s legal strategy to prop up bullet train faltering
Last week’s decision from a state appeals court to issue a summary judgment denying the Brown administration’s unusual request to block a second trial in which Kings County and other plaintiffs challenge California’s high-speed rail project bodes terribly for the
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Trash train fiasco illustrates private vs. public double standard
This story in the Orange County Register illustrates a common CalWatchdog theme: In the private sector, incompetence leads to companies failing and people getting fired. But in government, all too often incompetence comes without consequence: “The Sanitation Districts of Los
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On energy resources, will CA ignore lessons of North Dakota?
It was just less than two years ago that City Journal had the first high-profile story laying out the enormous economic potential of certain of California’s natural resources: “The biggest onshore story is the potential of the Monterey Formation (also
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LAT: All hail ‘economic stability,’ surpluses achieved by Gov. Brown
The ability of Gov. Jerry Brown to convince the state press corps that he has righted California’s listing ship continues to amaze. The Golden State has by far the highest poverty rate in the nation. One in six adults can’t
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Santa Ana considers taxing … free Skype calls! Oh, the insanity
California is known as the world leader in lots of things — pop culture, technology and wacky lifestyles. Now the Santa Ana City Council is helping the Golden State be seen as the world leader in Maniacally Stupid, Excessive Taxation.
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L.A. County ground zero for invasive state surveillance
“Enemy of the State,” the 1998 movie about government using technology to track everyone, feels less like sci-fi all the time, especially if you live in Los Angeles County. This is from the scoop by the Center for Investigative Reporting:
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This is an ‘expedited’ review? Nerve-wracking times on bullet-train front
Nine weeks ago, the news seemed promising on the bullet-train follies front. Now the picture looks a bit murkier. On Jan. 24, Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris asked the California Supreme Court to conduct an expedited appeals
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“Captain America” sequel: The first libertarian popcorn movie
The stars and heroes of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” may be government employees, but the messages of the movie amount to entry-level libertarian thinking — messages with massive resonance for current policy and political debates. Among them: 1) Don’t
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Why CalSTRS fix is impossible: It would force cut in teacher take-home pay
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is terribly underfunded. The last official report put its shortfall at $74 billion. State officials say it needs an infusion of $4 billion more money a year for decades to come. This week, as
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CA media: GOP dysfunction bigger topic than mass poverty
The Los Angeles Times’ news analysis about how recent controversies are likely to hurt California Republicans with two constituencies they are trying to woo — Latinos and women — isn’t loaded or biased. It’s likely true. Here’s a bit of
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