Steven Greenhut, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From Steven Greenhut

Steven Greenhut

Steven Greenhut is CalWatchdog’s contributing editor. Greenhut was deputy editor and columnist for The Orange County Register for 11 years. He is author of the new book, “Plunder! How Public Employee Unions are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation.”

LAPD struggles to find way to deal with homeless camps

According to a report filed with the city’s police commission late last year, 38 Los Angeles Police Department officers who work for the Homeless Outreach Partnership Endeavor “contacted” 12,300 homeless people over a nine-month period. But the police can’t tell

Gov. Brown’s budget sets spending records, but warns of recession

Steven Greenhut January 16, 2018

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown’s annual budgets have become familiar affairs. During his last two terms in office, Brown routinely offered a budget plan that broke spending records, but also was designed to limit the creation of new programs while

New Year welcomes legal pot in California, but rules are not yet clear

Steven Greenhut December 31, 2017

SACRAMENTO – In November, 2016, California voters approved an initiative (Proposition 64) legalizing recreational uses of marijuana, with legal sales beginning on Monday, Jan. 1. But with all major legal changes, the rules are somewhat unclear as a mish-mash of

Realtors’ initiative could boost home sales, limit property taxes

Steven Greenhut December 2, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Property-tax-limiting Proposition 13 has long been viewed as the “third rail” of California politics given its continued popularity among the home-owning electorate. Public-sector unions occasionally talk about sponsoring an initiative to eliminate its tax limits for commercial properties,

Nepotism scandal embroils recently gutted state tax board

Steven Greenhut November 22, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The California Board of Equalization was stripped of most of its powers over the summer, after a series of audits and news reports exposed myriad spending, accounting and management problems. But the renamed, and greatly diminished, tax agency continues

Will new sexual harassment rules turn corner on abuse scandal?

Steven Greenhut November 15, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Will a newly announced set of Senate rules for handling sexual harassment claims help change a Capitol culture that some blame for fostering the current sexual harassment scandal? Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, announced

California pension funds pushed by politicians to divest from gun industry

Steven Greenhut November 8, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California’s two major pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), control more than $500 billion in total assets, making them two of Wall Street’s most influential investors. They

Report: Crime rates stable after state’s passage of sentencing reforms

Steven Greenhut November 1, 2017

SACRAMENTO – To deal with federal court orders demanding a reduction in prison populations, California officials – and state voters, via initiative – passed a series of sentencing reforms over the past seven years that have reduced overcrowding from 181

Gavin Newsom announces new plan calling for housing boom

Steven Greenhut October 25, 2017

SACRAMENTO – If the past is any guide, California’s Legislature will declare its recently passed housing-affordability package a success and move on to the many other priorities that dominate Capitol discussions once lawmakers return in January. But the housing package

Gov. Brown vetoes few bills – latest ones get conservative praise

Steven Greenhut October 20, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed only 118 of the 957 bills that came before his desk in the recently concluded legislative session, but some of his final vetoes earned a great deal of attention and praise – even