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Is Gavin Newsom California’s Denier-in-Chief?
California’s newly elected governor, Gavin Newsom, gave his first “state of the state” address on February 12, and it was a speech more noteworthy for what he didn’t than for what he did mention. Were Newsom’s sins of omission the conscious choice of a seasoned politician, or is he in denial, like so many of […]
Despite Budget Crisis, Oakland Teachers Demand 12 Percent Raise
With 95 percent of Oakland Unified teachers already having approved a strike that appears likely to begin Tuesday, the school district could face weeks of turmoil – unless, like Los Angeles Unified leaders did last month, Oakland Unified agrees to give substantial raises to teachers. But there are outside experts that think the district can’t afford to […]
Modest Strike Settlement Nonetheless Puts LAUSD in Even Worse Financial Shape
One of the grievances expressed by the union during their recent strike against Los Angeles Unified School District was that, according to them, charter schools are draining funds from public schools. This assertion, repeated uncritically by major news reports on the strike, does not stand up to reason. Public schools in California receive government funding based on […]
Gavin Newsom Cuts Jerry Brown’s Twin Tunnels to One
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday in his first “State of the State” address that he would be cutting the California WaterFix, also known as the “Twin Tunnels,” from two tunnels to one. It was the second major blow to the legacy of his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, after Newsom announced just moments before that he was canceling […]
Gov. Newsom Downgrades Bullet Train and Delta Tunnel Plans
When Gavin Newsom was running for governor last year, he adopted “courage for a change” as his slogan. It could be – and was – interpreted two ways: that he wanted to change the direction of California, or that he was disparaging outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown’s reluctance to confront the state’s pithiest issues. Newsom seemingly […]
CPR Blog
Could You Pass the Citizenship Test?
Quickly now – name one of the authors of The Federalist Papers, and don’t you dare go to Google. Do you know the pseudonym used by the authors to hide their true identities? Do you know why the Federalist Papers were written? If you have difficulty with any of the above be thankful that you’re not […]
Is Anything Off-Limits for California’s Police Unions?
A few weeks ago the Costa Mesa Police Association (read: Police Union) and their former law firm agreed to pay $607,000 to settle a lawsuit after their scheme against two Costa Mesa city councilmen came to light. As I wrote in my book, this settlement represents a small but important victory in the broader philosophical war between California’s […]
Towards a Grand Bargain on California Water Policy
When it comes to water policy in California, perhaps the people are more savvy than the special interests. Because the people, or more precisely, the voters, by huge majorities, have approved nine water bonds in the past 25 years, totaling $27.1 billion. It is likely they’re going to approve another one this November for another […]
Publisher’s Corner
Thank you CPR readers, for another great year!
The editors and writers at California Political Review join me in thanking you, our readers, for making this another successful year of our service to you. In 2018, California Political Review saw record participation since creation of this on-line presence in 2011. In 2018, we enjoyed over 1,600,000 “Page views” from readers like you, and […]
Cali-Culture
The West Coast Jazz Revival
Every 50 years or so, California makes a claim for jazz preeminence — and then loses its way. Will it work out better this time? Don’t believe anyone who tells you that jazz originated on the West Coast. It’s just the word for jazz that started out in California. But it could have been so much more. […]
Trending News
California’s Supreme Court has thrown cities—and citizens—into chaos over local taxes
The California Supreme Court has some explaining to do. Late last year, the city of Oakland put a new land parcel tax on the books, after 62 percent of voters turned out to boost funding for public education. Now a local business group is suing the city, arguing that the new tax needed two-thirds of the vote […]
Will ‘basic income’ become the California norm?
After months of planning, Stockton is sending debit cards loaded with $500 to a select group of residents starting Friday as part of a closely watched experiment in universal basic income, the first led by a U.S. city. Stockton, once dubbed “America’s foreclosure capital,” was the largest city to seek bankruptcy protection before Detroit’s 2013 filing. During the […]
Trump demands $3.5 billion back from ‘disaster’ high-speed rail project
President Donald Trump is demanding California return billions of dollars to the federal government following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to scale down the state’s costly high-speed rail project. In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump called the project a “’green disaster.’” California has been forced to cancel the massive bullet train project after having spent and […]
California to pull plug on billion-dollar bullet train
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday he is pulling the plug on the state’s massive high-speed rail project from Los Angeles to San Francisco that was more than a decade behind schedule and billions in the red. “Let’s be real,” Newsom said in his first State of the State address. “The current project, as planned, […]
Gov. Newsom to Reduce National Guard Presence at Border
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to pull several hundred National Guard troops from the state’s border with Mexico on Monday in an apparent rebuff to President Donald Trump’s characterization of the region being under siege by Central American refugees and migrants, according to reports. The move comes despite his predecessor’s agreement – along with other past and […]
