Blog

Amtrak, CA high-speed rail cancel joint train agreement

It’s another blow to California’s high-speed rail project. AP reported: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority said Friday that they canceled a joint agreement seeking companies to build high-speed trains for them, a proposal billed as a way

Brown vs. Kashkari debate

John Seiler June 21, 2014

Let’s hope Gov. Jerry Brown accepts the invitation to debate Neel Kashkari issued by the consortium that hosted Brown’s debate in 2010 with Meg Whitman. The Orange County Register and KABC also have reached out to Brown for a debate they

Green hypocrisy: ‘The problem is it’s going to be visible’

Chris Reed June 21, 2014

For years, the hypocrisy of environmentalists has been on display with the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, near Cape Cod, Mass. The project has finally begun construction but only after a 13-year campaign by rich liberals to block the

Chapman Forecast: Steady CA growth

John Seiler June 20, 2014

Chapman University’s new economic forecast projects steady but not spectacular economic growth for California and the nation. Real U.S. GDP growth could continue at about 2 percent a year. That’s not as good as the 5 percent or more during

Auditor blasts illegal sterilization of inmates

John Seiler June 19, 2014

It’s hard to think of anything more dehumanizing that illegally sterilizing someone. It takes away their right to reproduce. But that’s what happened in California prisons from 2005 to 2013. An audit released today by the California Auditor looked into

What CA can learn from North Dakota’s stunning boom

Chris Reed June 19, 2014

The boom that North Dakota’s enjoyed because of fracking is usually depicted in newspaper stories and network reports as being about housing shortages and a flood of in-migration driven by job hunters. Rarely do accounts offer stark statistics that illustrate

Chart warns of possible stock crash

John Seiler June 18, 2014

We can’t predict the future. But we prudently can make preparations for unfortunate events. That’s why the California government and local governments should make sure they have budget surpluses. Check out the following chart. It shows that the current DJIA stock

Dem strategist (albeit a paid one) rips Nanny State push

Chris Reed June 18, 2014

A classic Nanny State bill failed in committee Tuesday within hours after a leading Democratic strategist warned California lawmakers that they shouldn’t count on flattering headlines if it kept advancing. Details on the bill’s demise from the LAT: “A proposal

State auditor dings CPUC on passenger carriers

John Seiler June 17, 2014

The California Public Utilities Commission is supposed to look out for consumers. But the California Auditor just found they have done a bad job regulating “passenger carriers” — such as limousines. The CPUC does this through its Transformation Enforcement Branch.

Only in CA: Costly edicts depicted as jobs programs

Chris Reed June 17, 2014

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 32 into law in 2006, he did so after first demanding that the measure include a provision that would allow a governor to suspend it if there was evidence the law was hurting the