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Caltrans Bay Bridge Delays Shun Private Solutions
The Caltrans Bay Bridge debacle is worse than just a case of embarrassment for government infrastructure projects. The bridge is unsafe, according to engineering experts across the country, after the discovery that a third of the of the 96 massive, high-strength steel rods, installed for seismic safety, cracked under pressure when the nuts affixed to the [...]
High-Speed Rail Needs Investigation
First exposed by the Los Angeles Times, the recent revelation, that the rules for awarding the first construction bid contract for the California High Speed Rail project were changed in the middle of the process, needs a full blown investigation. The Authority CEO, Jeff Morales seems to be immersed in a world of his own imagination. [...]
California’s powerful teachers’ union condemns Democratic reformers
If not for the activism of the California Democratic Party’s most prominent special-interest group, the state party convention last month would have been a humdrum affair. The party’s top officials, including governor Jerry Brown and attorney general Kamala Harris, took to the podium to urge action on their pet issues, including gun control and property-tax “reform.” Not [...]
Los Angeles is B-R-O-K-E
Even the most casual observer knows the City is cooking the books. We are all familiar with the angst associated with the annual budget. But this year is a cake walk as General Fund revenues are projected to increase by $325 million, accompanied by unanticipated pension savings of over $50 million. But the Mayor’s budget [...]
Boxer Dishes Real Estate Pork Barrel in Delta Levee Bill
“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 land development died in 2008 in Natomas, the last undeveloped area of Sacramento. It died not due to the concurrent bursting of the [...]
CPR Blog
Yet another evil of the income tax
When the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified 100 years ago, there was no concern that IRS abuses would extend to 501c4 applications for nonprofit status from groups “unfriendly” to the administration in power. Such MEGO tax code proliferations were never anticipated. Careful observers of the income tax from the perspective of American ideals and history, such as Frank [...]
CEOs Say CA is Dead Last
If I were trying to grow a state’s economy, I would probably listen to someone who knows how to create jobs and is making decisions on behalf of shareholders, investors and employees. I think the time has come to take seriously all these various surveys that come out and rank California at the bottom or [...]
Statewide Taxpayer Group Partners to Join Campaign & Launch Initiative Opposing Sacramento Arena Deal
Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods PAC has joined with Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP) to announce the first phase of a campaign to end the financially irresponsible diversion of over $250 million in public funds to build a new downtown basketball arena. Armed with the financial and political resources necessary, the group will be launching [...]
Publisher’s Corner
Utah Congressman: Obama Impeachment “Not Off the Table”
Congressman Jason Chaffetz is considered a smart, if brash, Republican member of Congress who was elected a few years ago by opposing an entrenched establishment conservative who had lost touch with party faithful in the Beehive State. A former place-kicker for the BYU Cougars, Chaffetz has excelled as Congressman and has built strong credibility with [...]
Cali-Culture
Pay $10 to see a Ferrari in Las Vegas?! Just visit Newport Beach on any given Saturday!
The iconic Ferrari sports car is one of the most recognizable, expensive and sought after sports cars in the world, but production of the Italian speedster is now being further limited from the sales in 2012, reportedly to maintain the exclusivity of the brand. For the first nine months of 2012, Ferrari delivered just 5,267 [...]
Trending News
‘Maldonado for governor’ off to a bad start
From LA Times: It seemed like a fairly good idea at the time — the idea of Abel Maldonado running for governor. He wasn’t going to win. But neither would he be a Republican embarrassment. There was no Republican in sight with even a faint chance of beating Gov. Jerry Brown next year. (Read Full Article)
California oil tax push would direct new funds to schools
From Sac Bee: Just months after California voters passed Proposition 30 to stave off education cuts, a push is under way to ensure that the next stream of higher education funding flows out of the ground. The idea of an oil severance tax has been bubbling for years, but proponents have been unable to surmount [...]
Great hall at LAX’s new Bradley terminal to be named for Antonio Villaraigosa
From LA Daily News: The new international terminal championed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won’t be finished by the time he leaves office next month, but it will carry his name in a prominent place. The airport plans to call the great hall of the Tom Bradley International Terminal the Antonio R. Villaraigosa Pavilion [...]
The White House Scandal No One Noticed
From New Republic: For those of us who have long wondered why the Justice Department never investigated Wall Street, the Associated Press subpoena scandal illustrates a key point: The Justice Department sets priorities based on what it hears from the White House. When the White House wanted to identify and prosecute leakers of classified information, [...]
Extraordinary measures become standard as US hits debt limit again
From The Hill: The United States bumped up against its borrowing limit Sunday, forcing the Treasury Department to employ “extraordinary measures” to make sure the government keeps paying its bills. After a brief hiatus, the nation’s debt limit has returned as a major hurdle for Washington to overcome, and one that will play a central [...]
