Columns

Rally Exposes GOP Weak Links

Steven Greenhut February 7, 2011

FEB. 7, 2011 After Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State address Monday pushing for the Legislature to place a series of tax-extension measures on the ballot, Republicans countered by emphasizing their continuing opposition to higher taxes. For instance, Assemblyman

Brown Says Lots, But What Will He Do?

Anthony Pignataro February 1, 2011

FEB. 1, 2011 This year, they actually showed Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State address at the elegant Esquire Grill in downtown Sacramento with the sound on. They usually show the speech on the bar’s sole flat-screen, but not

Redevelopment Is Redistribution

Katy Grimes January 31, 2011

JAN. 31, 2011 The future of the state is surely bleak when the mayors of its largest cities actually think that jobs are created by the government, and economic stimulus originates in redevelopment agencies. Nine of California’s big-city mayors met

Don't say no to bankruptcy option

Steven Greenhut January 31, 2011

JAN. 31, 2011 Congressional Republicans “should be ashamed of themselves for even suggesting” bankruptcy as an option for California and other debt-plagued states, according to Sacramento Bee Capitol columnist Dan Walters. Unlike municipalities, states aren’t allowed to go bankrupt, but

Are Coastal Cops Coming Soon?

Anthony Pignataro January 27, 2011

JAN. 27, 2010 It was most interesting to read that Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is calling for regulatory reform. “I always think that good policy makes for good politics,” he says in the Jan. 21 Sacramento Bee.

Is Brown Dodging Pension Reform?

Steven Greenhut January 24, 2011

JAN. 24, 2011 At a League of California Cities event in Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown promised local officials struggling under the weight of pay and benefit costs that he would, indeed, put forward pension-reform proposals in the coming weeks. Yet

State Officials Ignore Ed Alternatives

Katy Grimes January 24, 2011

JAN. 24, 2011 The news is not good for college students in California, or at least that’s what lawmakers want everyone to believe. Earlier this week a legislative committee held a formal hearing at the Capitol to discuss the governor’s

Attack Of The Hair Resources Board

Anthony Pignataro January 19, 2011

JAN. 19, 2011 The California Air Resources Board (CARB) can be a scary place. Failing to file a diesel emissions facility report can earn a company $30,000 in fines. Selling a motorcycle that doesn’t meet state air regulations – even

Brown Targets Corporate Welfare

Steven Greenhut January 17, 2011

JAN. 17, 2011 This really could be the beginning of the end for the state’s redevelopment agencies, those noxious, corporate-welfare-enabling entities that have wreaked havoc on property rights in California since the 1950s. The new governor’s budget plan would eliminate

Denying The Untouchables

Katy Grimes January 13, 2011

JAN. 13, 2011 As California grapples with substantial proposed budget cuts, many are asking if the cuts can actually save the state. Instead of addressing the need for comprehensive reform of the historically untouchable public employee unions, and welfare and