Tag "Wayne Lusvardi"
Back to homepageNorth/South CA intensify water war
June 13, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi A North/South California water war has been waging since William Mulholland took a civilian militia of shotgun-wielding soldiers to Owens Valley in 1927 to guard the Los Angeles Aqueduct from further bombings by local
Read MoreNew bill would short-circuit Hoover call for green power ‘timeout’
June 11, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi State Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez, D-Coachella, has proposed an ambitious new bill that would increase the mandate for green power in California from 33 percent to 51 percent by the end of 2030. This
Read MoreSan Bernardino facing ‘quick judgment’ on bankruptcy
June 6, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi At a hearing yesterday in federal bankruptcy court, Judge Meredith Jury sounded like she was ready to rule that the insolvent city of San Bernardino could file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection — despite
Read MoreMeredith Whitney doubts CA recovery
June 5, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi California comeback? Maybe not. Municipal bond expert Meredith Whitney was interviewed on June 4 by Steve Forbes in Forbes.com about her new book, “The Fate of the States: A New Geography of American Prosperity.”
Read MoreWould 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 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
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