Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

Ruling that CA high court upheld hardly favorable to bullet train

I talked to a couple of insider types Thursday who asked me to explain my take on Wednesday’s California Supreme Court announcement on the bullet train. After all that’s gone down, they couldn’t believe that the justices would clear the

Big-bucks party inaugurates de Leon

John Seiler October 16, 2014

Government in America increasingly resembles the 1978 comedy, “Animal House.” In this instance, it’s the scene where the Delta frat rats are thrown out of the school and respond with — Road trip! California’s poverty rate is the highest of

CA Supreme Court ‘all aboard’ for high-speed rail

John Seiler October 15, 2014

All aboooooard! In what probably is the last train stop of opposition to California’s high-speed rail project, today the California Supreme Court refused to hear a case that could have stopped it. The case, by Kings County and two local landowners

Lack of mental health accounting ‘sheer craziness’

Dave Roberts October 13, 2014

In 2004 California voters passed Proposition 63, based on the promise it would tax the rich to help the state’s mentally ill population. But 10 years later, while it’s been successful in taking about $10 billion from top earners,

Cartoon: Medi-Cal lines

John Seiler October 13, 2014

AB 32 revenue: Some for bullet train, some for pork, none for poor

Chris Reed September 27, 2014

Before and after AB 32’s passage in 2006, a whole lot of promises and guarantees were made. Some are remembered. Many aren’t. One of those was the pledge to use a portion of cap-and-trade funds to directly help poor people

Gov. Brown backs Cap and Trade at U.N.

John Seiler September 26, 2014

In his speech to the United Nations’ “climate change” shindig this week, Gov. Jerry Brown boasted of California’s record on Cap and Trade for carbon credits. He said: California has adopted a cap-and-trade system under the former governor, Governor Schwarzenegger.

Toxic cleanup agency under fire from legislators

Dave Roberts September 25, 2014

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is in charge of cleaning up the state’s hazardous waste sites. But lately, the agency has had to focus on cleaning up its own image after a recent audit criticized DTSC’s 27

Absurd Prop 2 provision shows extent of teacher unions’ clout

Chris Reed September 17, 2014

If you want an example of just how powerful the teachers unions are in Sacramento, consider Proposition 2. The measure was placed on the November ballot by the Legislature at the urging of Gov. Jerry Brown, who depicts it with

Bankruptcy could cut San Bernardino fire pensions

Wayne Lusvardi September 15, 2014

It was a hot 102 degrees last Thursday in San Bernardino — perfect weather for a city bankruptcy “cramdown.” Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Jury ruled the city, as Reuters reported, “may impose cuts to its firefighters’ overtime and pension benefits in a bid