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.”

California high court says public records are public, even on a private email

SACRAMENTO – Earlier this month, the California Supreme Court unanimously overturned an appeals court decision that had provided a large loophole in the state’s public-records act. The case, City of San Jose v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, revolves around

DMV truck-test backlog sparks bipartisan privatization bill

Steven Greenhut March 1, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California state officials are worried about a shortage of certified truck drivers to meet the state’s growing transportation needs, yet a reported testing backlog at the California Department of Motor Vehicles is undermining efforts to get more truckers on

State watchdog agency points to flaws in bond oversight

Steven Greenhut February 22, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The Oroville Dam’s near disaster has ignited a long-overdue debate about the condition of California’s infrastructure, and the need for additional investments in its creaky system of dams, levees, freeways, bridges and schools. Democrats and Republicans agree on

With old warnings unheeded, Oroville Dam problems threaten valley

Steven Greenhut February 14, 2017

SACRAMENTO – A Sacramento Bee story published Monday succinctly described the disaster unfolding at the nation’s tallest dam, where flaws in the Oroville Dam’s concrete spillway are forcing water onto the earthen emergency spillway. Threats of a spillway collapse

Is lack of competition leading to costly electricity glut?

Steven Greenhut February 7, 2017

SACRAMENTO – A top California utility official once quipped that he was one of the few executives in the country who earned a profit merely by remodeling his office. He was referring to the way the state’s regulated utility system

California high court gives insurance commissioner vast new powers

Steven Greenhut January 31, 2017

SACRAMENTO – President Donald Trump’s spate of executive orders has jump-started a national debate about the wisdom of executive edicts, especially those that stray into the area of lawmaking. While presidential orders grab the spotlight, the issues of administrative overreach

GOP tax plan could boost prices for Californians’ insurance

Steven Greenhut January 25, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Donald Trump has only been president since Friday, so it’s too early to know what his “America first” policies will mean economically. But an ongoing debate from the world of property insurance could provide hints as to what

New report: CA high-speed rail faces 50 percent cost overruns

Steven Greenhut January 17, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California’s ongoing “high-speed rail” project connecting Los Angeles with San Francisco continues to run up against the same, recurring problem since voters gave the plan initial bond funding in a 2008 statewide initiative. There’s a growing chasm between

Scientists rebuke Coastal Commission over desalination

Steven Greenhut January 10, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The Coastal Commission’s stated concern that a proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant’s intake pipes pose a threat to small and microscopic plankton has been rebutted in a letter from three prominent California marine biologists. Anthony Koslow, Eric Miller

California cities facing growing pension costs in new year

Steven Greenhut January 4, 2017

SACRAMENTO – After two years of miniscule investment returns, the nation’s largest state pension fund – the California Public Employees’ Retirement System – has once again lowered its expected rates of return. Even some CalPERS officials and consultants argue the