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Bill targets ‘shakedown’ lawsuits

Proposition 65, “The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986,” has morphed into “The Unsafe Doing Business in California and Toxic Lawsuit Act of 1986-2013.” It was intended to keep chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects out

Assessing Gov. Brown before next year’s election

Katy Grimes August 2, 2013

As he lays the groundwork for a likely re-election bid next year, Gov. Jerry Brown is upbeat. “California is back,” he and his supporters insist. Maybe it is in some areas. But overall, tremendous problems remain unresolved. According to a

TX anti-drought plan is SWIFT; CA’s is SLOW

Wayne Lusvardi August 2, 2013

In Texas they call their emergency drought alleviation plan SWIFT, short for State Water Improvement Fund for Texas. In California, they might as well call our bundle of water projects SLOW, for the “State that Left Out Water” from

Senator under FBI investigation traveled to Cuba with lobbyist

John Hrabe August 1, 2013

State Senator Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, whose offices were raided by FBI agents in June, traveled to Cuba during the legislature’s spring break with Sacramento’s “best connected” lobbyist, state campaign finance disclosure reports have revealed. Calderon was one of eight state

Covered CA Director abruptly resigns

Katy Grimes August 1, 2013

Only 24 hours after meeting with small business owners at an early morning coffee arranged by state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, Covered California’s Sales Director Michael Lujan resigned. Insurance agents liked him because he was responsive to industry questions and

Investigating the CA Delta

John Seiler July 31, 2013

Before attending an event for the Pacific Research Institute, CalWatchdog.com’s parent think tank, earlier this month I drove around two areas of California I had not been to: the Delta and Silicon Valley. California is such a vast state that

Social Security is healthy compared to public-sector pensions

Ed Ring July 31, 2013

Last week yet another missive on the lessons to be learned from Detroit’s bankruptcy was published, this time in Forbes Magazine by Jeffrey Dorfman, an economist at the University of Georgia. Dorfman’s article, “Detroit’s Bankruptcy Should Be A Warning To