Search Results for "wayne lusvardi"
Back to homepageWould another Burns-Porter Act resolve the Delta revuelta?
June 4, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Mark Twain wrote, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” California is replaying its original political power struggle for passage of the State Water Project that had to be resolved by the Burns-Porter
Read MoreVictorville bond bust brings SEC lawsuit
May 31, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi A recent lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Victorville city officials and bond underwriters defrauded bondholders of $13.3 million in 2008 due to failure to disclose actions and risks of “inflated property
Read MoreCities could be stuck with ‘aesthetic’ impacts of High Speed Rail
May 30, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Like a train horn, controversy is blaring over efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act. One issue is whether the state’s environmental law is anti-business — or, conversely, does not go far enough to fight global
Read MoreProperty rights score victory in Alameda County
May 29, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts once observed that it was virtually impossible for any landowner to win a regulatory property takings case against local government. This was because the case
Read MoreCA anti-sprawl laws fail, TX low-zoning works
May 28, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Californians are fleeing the center of their big cities while suburbs are suffering from slow growth. If it were not for international in-migration, California’s older big cities would be suffering from population decline the
Read MoreCap and trade could tax cities for out-of-state pollution
May 24, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Utility companies reportedly bought most of the $280 million in total pollution permits, about $162 million worth, at last week’s statewide cap-and-trade auction. It was the third auction held since last November. Several city-run municipal power
Read MoreDavid Crane’s budget ideas spark debate
Commentary May 22, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi David Crane has come up with a tax reform proposal, “Jerry Brown’s Last Chance to Save California.” A Democrat, he was an economic adviser to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, especially on pensions. Crane wants to
Read MoreNo Prop. 13 tax dodge by Dell if Miramar Hotel had net lease
May 20, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi The last thing billionaire Michael Dell would have done if he wanted to avoid paying property taxes on his purchase of the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica in 2005 was to buy a share
Read MoreBoxer’s Delta levee bill is real estate pork barrel
May 17, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi “I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,” go the famous lyrics to singer Don McClean’s 1971 hit song, “American Pie.” The California Dream of home ownership and speculative riches in
Read MoreCA governments need caution on fracking investments
May 16, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Being the home of Hollywood and Disneyland, news in California always has an element of political theater and Fantasyland. This is certainly so for all the contradictory headlines about fracking — the hydraulic fracturing
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