Inside Government

Discovered: a new way unions manipulate CA status quo

Californians who don’t belong to a public employee union have every right to feel as if the state is rigged against them. Because districting is based on population, not number of citizens, Democrats do better in Sacramento from the get-go

CA Dems: Are they following the pattern of another one-party state?

Chris Reed March 12, 2014

After I got out of college in the 1980s, I spend a fun few months working as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Kauai. The chairman of the County Council was an affable young Democrat in his late 20s

Another reminder of Jerry Brown’s, Mac Taylor’s irresponsibility

Chris Reed March 7, 2014

This Los Angeles Times story should infuriate anyone familiar with Gov. Jerry Brown’s claims that the state is on firm ground financially — and absolutely appall anyone who knows that alleged watchdog Mac Taylor of the Legislative Anayst’s Office gave

Amid Capitol’s gift extravagance, Gatto sets standard for ethics

John March 7, 2014

Mike Gatto’s life is an open book. Last January, his daughter, Evangelina, received a $50 gift certificate from a family friend. During the summer recess, he enjoyed dinner with a star of CSI: Miami. In October, one stock in his investment

Contra Costa case a template for Prop. 26 abuse

Chris Reed March 6, 2014

In recent California history, small-government advocates have no more significant victory than the triumph of Proposition 26 in 2010. Here’s an explanation of its main thrust from an analysis by the League of California Cities: “Prop. 26 is divided into

Dan Walters figures out Gov. Brown wants bullet train dead

Chris Reed March 4, 2014

For a few months, Cal Watchdog has been the only outlet in the media underlining how fundamentally strange and self-defeating the actions of the state government have been in defending the bullet train. After an August court ruling from Sacramento

California’s culture could slow rush toward e-cig bans

James Poulos March 3, 2014

In the biggest “blue state” cities, administrative and regulatory action against e-cigarettes has been swift and fierce. California officeholders — from the city council level all the way up to the U.S. Senate — are poised to follow suit. But

Immigration amnesty not nearly as popular in CA as gay rights

Chris Reed March 3, 2014

There really has been a genuine change in American views of gay rights. The longer the Republican Party sees its members look at this new world and then act out in the fashion of the Arizona legislature, the harder it

Another court embarrassment for state AG Kamala Harris

Chris Reed February 28, 2014

Fresh off her odd handling of the bullet train’s legal issues, Attorney General Kamala Harris is at it again. Per the coverage of the San Francisco Chronicle, incompetence followed by posturing is what this looks like: “Attorney General Kamala Harris

Lawsuit: Assemblyman forced staffers to work for his law firm

John February 27, 2014

A former employee of Assemblyman Steve Fox alleges that the Democrat lawmaker forced employees in his taxpayer-funded state office to work for his private law practice. The allegations are contained in a lengthy complaint filed last Friday in Los Angeles