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BART strike is a teachable moment
Reactions from the press and public to the BART strikes this year have been overwhelmingly negative. In one of the safest Democratic strongholds in the U.S., there is serious talk of outlawing future BART strikes. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle
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Could 12,000 lawmakers fix what ails California?
The one thing m how to get your ex back ost Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is that special interests have too much influence in politics. The little guy is feeling less and less relevant — especially at
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Union power prevents public-sector union reform
“Public employees have a private interest in taking more and more of the taxpayer-generated revenue for themselves. In other words, public employees have a private interest in diverting public funds from public services to their wages and pensions. In this
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Sacramento's arena deal has a new player
A new coalition has emerged in Sacramento's battle of the publicly subsidized sports arena. But this new player is on behalf of the taxpayers and citizens of Sacramento. On the steps of Sacramento City Hall Tuesday afternoon, I witnessed members of
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Do union activists work for Gov. Brown, farm board?
SACRAMENTO — The revolving door among political consultants, community organizers and state government revolves right into the governor’s office and the Agriculture Labor Relations Board. In 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Martha Guzman-Aceves deputy legislative secretary for agriculture, environment and natural resources. Before
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Gov. Brown signs SB 7 to neuter Charter Cities
Despite the California Constitution section which guarantees California's 121 charter cities the authority over their municipal business, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 7, which will deprive these cities of state funding and financial assistance for projects if they do not pay the
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Farm workers fight UFW unionization
The United Farm Workers labor union and the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board have found themselves on the brink of ruination and even irrelevance. The labor union boasted 50,000 members by the end of the 1970s. But according to the UFW’s
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Domestic workers’ bill recipients received Obamacare grants
SACRAMENTO — With the Republican Party at such a low ebb, the supermajority Democratic Party is advancing connections everywhere. In particular, there’s cross-pollination between groups pushing for overtime for domestic workers — and groups receiving Obamacare money. In some cases,
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Sacto arena bill signed, but not over yet
I hate “I told ya so” moments. Gov. Jerry Brown just signed SB 743, “easing environmental regulations for developments in California cities, including a new basketball arena in downtown Sacramento,” the Los Angeles Times said. In March I predicted Senate President Pro
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CA Obamacare implementation registers Dem voters
This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 is here. As I explained in Part 1 of this series, one of the biggest features of Covered California, the state’s new health benefit exchange, is how it was set
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