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Higher tuition hikes — for what purpose?

Last week, on a post-election panel presented by Capitol Weekly, I raised the issue of potential tax increases being contemplated by public unions and other groups in the next election and said that one of the reasons more revenue

Questions Post-Election

Joel Fox November 10, 2014

Votes are still being counted in the California election, but the results so far raise some thoughts and questions. Labor or Business — and the winner is? Both sides can point to victories — and defeats. Business-supported candidate Catharine

Gov. Brown faces high-speed rail hurdles

Kathy Hamilton November 10, 2014

Republicans’ triumph last week in the U.S. Congress already is rippling across the country. Does that bother Gov. Jerry Brown and his push for getting more federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project? So far, Congress allocated only $3.5 billion

VIDEO: Is the pot legalization movement more important than the Tea Party?

CalWatchdog Staff November 10, 2014

California led the way on many fronts, including the legalization of marijuana. Is it time to give pot to needy Californians now? Reason Magazine’s Editor Matt Welch joins CalWatchdog’s James Poulos to talk about the weird world of legalization culture

$Voters affirm CA fracking$

Voters affirm CA fracking

James Poulos November 7, 2014

After a lot of spending and acrimony, little has changed from California’s high-profile ballot measures to ban hydraulic fracturing, which injects a mix of substances into shale rock to free up oil for extraction. In two counties with little to no

L.A. city spat pits Wall Street against unions

James Poulos November 6, 2014

The latest twist in Los Angeles city politics has shed light on an important new trend in fiscal politics. With new urgency, a coalition of public workers unions has demanded Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city leaders scuttle longstanding financial

Democrats lose super-majority in CA Assembly

John November 5, 2014

Republicans, who have already blocked a Democratic super-majority in the California Senate, have also succeeded in defeating a Democratic super-majority in the Assembly. The only question remaining: How many seats will Democrats lose in the lower house? Buoyed by low voter turnout

Uber shows CA cool still beats regulators

James Poulos November 5, 2014

This has been a big year for Uber. The ride-for-hire app became a mainstream phenomenon, but attracted more than its fair share of criticism and legal scrutiny. And the Uber saga is just getting started. A fresh wave of initiatives —

Water issue re-elects GOP Sen. Vidak in Dem district

Wayne Lusvardi November 5, 2014

You knew Democrats were in the deep end of the pool over water issues in California back on May 14. That’s when they asked Republican state Sen. Andy Vidak of Hanford to read out loud Joint Resolution 25 in the state Senate. It

Early Returns: Democrats could lose super-majority in State Assembly

John November 4, 2014

It’s going to be a very long night for California political observers. Just eight months after corruption scandals cost California Democrats their super-majority in the State Senate, a combination of low voter turnout and an anemic gubernatorial campaign effort could