Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

Sen. de Leon defends kingly swearing-in ceremony

Being king means never having to say you’re sorry. That’s sure the attitude of new California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles. He’s still defending the lavish swearing-in ceremony, paid for with private funds (from those hoping to

Meet the Mother Jones staffer who thinks the bullet train is nuts

Chris Reed December 9, 2014

There are bullet-train apostates among California Democrats, starting with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and bullet-train fans among state GOPers, starting with Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin. But by and large, the bullet-train debate in the Golden State is a partisan affair.

Are Democrats still relevant?

John Seiler December 8, 2014

Ronald Reagan became a lame duck after his 1984 election landslide. His Republican Party, thanks to the incompetent leadership of Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, even lost control of the U.S. Senate in 1986, leaving Democrats in charge of both houses of

Lawmaker rejects per diem, tax-funded car

John December 8, 2014

A newly-elected Bay Area lawmaker isn’t reveling in the perks of public office. She’s forgoing two of the best bonuses afforded to members of the California Legislature. As her first act in office, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Pleasanton, has declined per diem

If CA can’t build bridge, what about bullet train through mountains?

Chris Reed December 8, 2014

If the state of California can’t build a bridge, how can it handle the huge technological and engineering challenge of building a bullet train through two mountain ranges laced with seismic faults? Such questions are inevitable after the latest Sacramento Bee

Gov. Brown, CalPERS face off in 2015

James Poulos December 5, 2014

A piece of this year’s politics moving into 2015 is Gov. Jerry Brown’s tiff with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. In particular, Brown remains steamed over CalPERS’ use of temporary pay to pad pensions. In a letter to CalPERS, he said