Inside Government

Hey Sacramento — publicly-funded arenas are bad for business

While running record deficits, Sacramento’s Mayor Kevin Johnson and city officials approved a $447.7 million arena deal at the Downtown Plaza in March, claiming a public-private partnership – only the private contributions amount to about one-third. Sacramento’s publicly funded arena deal

Obama killed Pontiac

John Seiler October 27, 2013

Remember all the blather last year from the Obama campaign about how he “saved” GM? It turns out President Obama killed the great Pontiac marque of cars, and even wanted to kill Buick and GMC. That cost tens of thousands

CA’s economic funk: ‘Regulators gone wild’ take their toll

Chris Reed October 27, 2013

For Sunday’s U-T San Diego, I did an essay about how California went from being the world pioneer in sensible efforts to clean up air pollution and coastal waters to a laboratory for fanatics who want to go ever farther

Prof. Dr. Antonio Villaraigosa, M.A., M.S., Ph.D., M.D., D.D., and B.S.

John Seiler October 26, 2013

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa brought Los Angeles to the brink of bankruptcy, as warned another former mayor, Richard Riordan. The next recession still could see L.A. go BK. Also on Villaraigosa’s watch, the city’s schools continued to underperform,

L.A. Times, Sac Bee: Political process success=real progress. Groan.

Chris Reed October 25, 2013

What defines the success of a state: the welfare and happiness of its people or its ability to pass a budget on time? This is the maddening question that should hang over all the stories depicting Jerry Brown as some

Court filing: Uber doesn't want to be regulated by state PUC

Chris Reed October 24, 2013

There's a broader front in the Uber war than the battle in Los Angeles, where common sense is for now prevailing. AllThingsD has the details: buy glasses online “Remember when tech startups like Lyft, Sidecar and Uber fought California regulators

A Tale of Two States, CA and NV: Part II

Adam O'Neal October 23, 2013

This is Part II in a series of stories about Nevada’s economic strategy. To read the first installment, click here. In September, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval delivered the Republican Party’s weekly address. In the video, which lasted less than six

Kamala Harris let Filner escape without 'sex offender' designation

Chris Reed October 23, 2013

Anger over a criminal-justice system in which the affluent and well- connected seem much more able to avoid severe consequences for their lawbreaking is common across the ideological spectrum, but it is probably most intense among the “social justice” Dems

Tweaking the Sept. jobs report

Katy Grimes October 23, 2013

I'm no mathematician, but I understand economics. It doesn't take a professional to see the “jobs, jobs, jobs” campaign rallying cries seem to be falling on deaf ears. Unemployment may have dropped a driblet, but it remains historically high. And