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Is bringing back redevelopment a good idea?
The Urban Land Institute seeks to rebuild redevelopment in California. The essence of the proposal is that redevelopment should be good to go again if just some technical tweaks are made. But we’ve been there before. California’s redevelopment law was
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Condors thriving before new CA lead ammo ban
The California Condor is flying back. This majestic giant, with a wingspan stretching nearly 10 feet, had been nearing extinction as recently as two decades ago. But the recent report from the U.S. Department of the Interior found that the
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Video: Mike Rowe on the hidden cost of compliance
There are a lot of dirty jobs few people want to do, but which are essential to keep society going. Mike Rowe features them in his Discovery Channel show, “Dirty Jobs.” Another aspect of dirty jobs is that those who
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An open letter to bullet-train board Chairman Dan Richard
Dan Richard was at it again in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times. LAT’s Ralph Vartabedian did a good job painting a downbeat picture of the bullet train’s prospects after negative legal and regulatory rulings. But he didn’t ask the question that blows
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Mexico to join shale/fracking revolution; will media keep CA out?
This spring, I did a two-week series for Cal Watchdog on the many nations around the world that are pursuing fracking in oil and gas exploration after witnessing its immense success in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Here’s
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Will San Francisco take a big gulp of soda tax?
There have been a number of efforts to increase the tax on sugary beverages in California in recent years, with little to show for it so far. But the next battle in the soda tax war, in San Francisco
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ALRB’s Shiroma Backs AB 32
As part of CalWatchdog’s ongoing series reporting about the California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board, it is interesting to note some of the political activities of ALRB Chairwoman Genevieve A. Shiroma, who has been politically active throughout her career. My interview with
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Can we repeal AB 32 now?
AB 32 is the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. It is cutting state greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 to prevent further global warming. Along the way it’s killing manufacturing jobs in this state — the kind of
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Bullet train: Denial is a river in Sacramento
The meeting Thursday of the board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority was a laugh riot, with authority officials dismissing state and federal setbacks as much ado about nothing. This is from the Mercury-News: “SACRAMENTO — Critics and many political
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Morro Bay Power Plant shutdown saves fish, kills birds
Power plants keep closing in California. Earlier this year, Southern California Edison announced it permanently would shut down its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Then Dynergy Energy announced last month it would decommission the Morro Bay Power Plant whose three tall smokestacks
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