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Are special interests blocking housing reforms? Or is public opposition?

The belief that California has a profound housing crisis took hold in the state’s media and political establishments in recent years after Census Bureau statistics showed the Golden State had the highest effective rate of poverty once cost of living

Poll shows heavy support for local control over housing

Chris Reed October 29, 2018

In January 2017, state lawmakers returned to the Capitol determined to make a difference on the state housing crisis. Dozens of bills were touted – including Senate Bill 35, by state Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, which ended up as the

California’s Legislative Analyst claims NIMBYism driving state’s housing crisis

Chris Reed March 10, 2017

When Gov. Jerry Brown’s aggressive proposal to jump-start housing construction by sharply streamlining the approvals process for urban housing projects that met certain conditions died quietly in September, the general consensus was that it was a victim of powerful factions

State may face $29-43 billion budget deficit in 2020

Dave Roberts January 26, 2016

In Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address last week, he noted that California’s budget has repeatedly failed to prepare for recession, resulting in “painful and unplanned-for cuts” to schools, child care, courts, social services and other programs. He

LAO report could spur school facilities reform

John Seiler February 20, 2015

A new report by California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor puts school facilities funding at the head of the class. Among other points, “The 2015-16 Budget: Rethinking How the State Funds School Facilities” pushes the idea that facilities funding should more closely follow

Entrepreneurs fret over CA business climate

Dave Roberts February 17, 2015

Although California’s economy is finally picking up after seven years of recessionary blues, many small business owners continue to feel government is hurting more than helping them. That was one of the messages from entrepreneurs at a Feb. 11 hearing

Alleged CA budget renaissance: Yet another hole in narrative

Chris Reed April 30, 2014

The readiness of the Sacramento and East Coast media to accept the narrative that Gov. Jerry Brown is a genius who has solved California’s previously immense budget problems is everywhere. An accountant — as opposed to a journalist or a

Another reminder of Jerry Brown’s, Mac Taylor’s irresponsibility

Chris Reed March 7, 2014

This Los Angeles Times story should infuriate anyone familiar with Gov. Jerry Brown’s claims that the state is on firm ground financially — and absolutely appall anyone who knows that alleged watchdog Mac Taylor of the Legislative Anayst’s Office gave

CalSTRS hearing underscores Mac Taylor’s destructive happy talk

Chris Reed February 20, 2014

An Assembly committee hearing Wednesday on the immense underfunding problems facing the California State Teachers’ Retirement System also illuminated another strange problem in Sacramento: the emergence of Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor as a civic arsonist. As John Myers reported, one

State finances: LAO’s own report on CalSTRS demolishes LAO’s happy talk

Chris Reed December 4, 2013

I’m still struggling to make sense of Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor’s bizarrely upbeat report last month on state finances that predicted budget surpluses for years to come — but barely mentioned the state’s huge unfunded liabilities for retiree pensions and