If it moves, the state wants to license it

July 20, 2012 By Joseph Perkins I’m not a pet guy. I have no personal stake in legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, which would create a “voluntary” certification program for California’s pet grooming industry. Yet, I’m

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Tax collectors bite taco trucks

July 16, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO — We all would laugh at a man who, sinking in millions of dollars in house payments, car loans and credit card bills, decided to fix his cash-flow problem by looking for nickels,

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‘Eureka!’ California stinks!

July 16, 2012 By Katy Grimes I write this with a heavy heart, under duress, and with a longing for what once was, in my home state… “The land of milk and honey” has curdled and soured. “The Golden State”

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Bill would protect cell phone privacy

July 13, 2012 By Joseph Perkins Is one of every 186 cell phone users a criminal suspect? One might think so in the wake of the revelation this week, in a congressional report,  that law enforcement requested data last year

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Trophy train project, legacy for lawmakers

July 9, 2012 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO — After listening to two days last week of floor debate in the California Assembly and Senate, it became painfully obvious that the vote on the state’s high-speed train was nothing more than

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Bad news for CA housing recovery

July 9, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO — Just as the housing industry is showing signs of recovery, California’s Democratic officials have concocted a “solution” that adds regulations and higher costs to the foreclosure process. These are the same officials

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Court backs cities on prevailing wage

July 6, 2012 By Joseph Perkins The California Supreme Court ruled this week that the state’s prevailing wage law does not apply to public works projects financed entirely by taxpayers residing in one of the state’s 121 chartered cities. The

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Fairness prevails in union-dues ruling

July 2, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO — For people who truly are interested in a just and fair society, there’s one easy test for sorting through some seemingly complex issues: Turn the tables. For instance, while considering a controversial

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Jerry Brown: An Enlightened Despot?

July 2, 2012 By Katy Grimes It is becoming rather difficult to distinguish California as part of a Representative Republic, when the Democratic party is able to hold budget “negotiations” without any Republican input, and the Governor attempts to manipulate

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Bid to reform teacher firing process thwarted

June 29, 2012 By Joseph Perkins After passage in the state Senate by a 33-4 bipartisan majority, the Assembly Education Committee bowed this week to the state’s all-too-powerful teachers unions, rejecting a bill authored by Padilla, D-Van Nuys, that would

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