Columns

Brownley's Bill Bashing Bad Bags

MARCH 2 Sometimes, writing about state government is too easy. No matter how dire the current budget crisis, or low public opinion of the Legislature can get, our elected officials continue to perpetuate The Nanny State. Yes, I put it

Sacramento's Identity Crisis

Katy Grimes February 28, 2011

FEB. 28, 2011 For several years Sacramento has waged a debate over whether our NBA team, The Sacramento Kings, will leave town for greener pastures and deeper pockets. As a Sacramento native, I remember very well the fanfare surrounding the

Can California Mimic Wisconsin?

Steven Greenhut February 28, 2011

FEB. 28, 2011 If a real union reform battle can take place in Wisconsin and spread to other liberal rust-belt, union-dominated states, then it could perhaps happen in California —- although it might take some time, given the political dynamic

CARB Dumps On Dump Truck Industry

Anthony Pignataro February 23, 2011

FEB. 23, 2011 For Lee Brown, who’s run a dump truck company in Upland for the last 20 years, business is as bad as it has ever been. The construction industry in California is half of what it was three

Cities Go On Wild Spending Spree

Steven Greenhut February 19, 2011

FEB. 19, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown has been caught flat-footed in his plan to shutter the state’s redevelopment agencies as cities across California continue to squander their redevelopment cash, tying up hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term spending on

Disarming the Parent Trigger

Katy Grimes February 16, 2011

FEB. 16, 2011 Last week Gov. Jerry Brown’s new appointments to the state Board of Education disarmed the “parent trigger” law that went into effect only in January 2010. The parent trigger gives a majority of parents at a public

The Cost Of Fighting Bullet Trains

Anthony Pignataro February 16, 2011

FEB. 16, 2011 Sixty-five billion dollars. That’s the newest estimate of how much money it will take to run bullet trains across California. Though not an official figure – the California High-Speed Rail Authority still insists that they can pay

Californians need to suffer more!

Steven Greenhut February 13, 2011

FEB. 13, 2011 People increasingly want answers for how California can solve its fiscal problems, but I rarely have good news to offer. Last week, I wrote about three Assembly Republicans who attended a “no more cuts” rally sponsored by

Will Executions In California Ever Resume?

Anthony Pignataro February 10, 2011

FEB. 10, 2011 As I write this on Feb. 8, San Jose federal Judge Jeremy Fogel is preparing to tour San Quentin State Prison’s new death chamber, which reportedly cost nearly a million dollars. It was Fogel who, after a

Who Regulates Air Resources Agency?

Katy Grimes February 8, 2011

FEB. 7, 2011 Despite a recent legal ruling halting implementation of California’s climate change law, the California Air Resources Board, a seemingly rogue agency with intimidating regulatory power, appears to be operating with a “business as usual” attitude. But many