Featured Articles
Top Stories
LAUSD’s Punishing Parcel Tax Proposal
America’s most dysfunctional school district has stepped in it again. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), apparently coming to the shocking realization that there was no way they could pay for the horrible deal they just cut with the unions, has hurriedly placed on the ballot for June a new property tax that leaves […]
The Vast Attempt to Undo the 2016 Election Has Failed
Well, I am going to miss the full-bore SWAT-team raids at dawn against aging political factota like Roger Stone and Paul Manafort. It was really very courteous of CNN to have been parked outside the homes of those hapless victims so that television audiences all across the country could all be edified by these exhibitions […]
Threat of Sacramento Teacher Strike Spurs Criticism
Teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District have authorized a strike, hoping to follow in the footsteps of teachers in Los Angeles Unified and Oakland Unified and secure substantial raises after a brief walkout. But in key ways, the dynamics appear different. In Los Angeles and Oakland, the public and the local media were clearly sympathetic. Teachers had not […]
Proposed Homeless Shelter in the Heart of San Francisco Sparks Community Outrage
The prospect of a 225-bed homeless shelter on the Embarcadero, one of San Francisco’s most scenic and economically vital areas, took residents by surprise. Only eight days earlier, the proposal had been unveiled to turn what is now a parking lot — Seawall Lot 330 — into the largest homeless shelter of its type in […]
Your One-Party Government at Work
Here’s what one-party government looks like in California: the voters make decisions at the ballot box and the majority party elected officials shrug and move forward to overturn those decisions not fearing a rebuke when up for re-election. We’ve seen such moves twice in the last week initially on the death penalty then on rent […]
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
Half of Americans call Mueller Investigation a “Witch Hunt” – USA Today poll
WASHINGTON – Amid signs that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference may be near its conclusion, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that trust in Mueller has eroded and half of Americans agree with President Donald Trump’s contention that he has been the victim of a “witch hunt.” Support for the House of Representatives to […]
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 Voters Could Be Asked To Impose An Estate Tax
California voters would consider a state-mandated tax on the assets of wealthy residents, one that could generate as much as $1 billion a year for low-income families, under legislation introduced in the state Legislature on Tuesday. The bill would ask voters next year to impose an estate tax of a size equal to what was […]
Who keeps buying California’s scarce water? Saudi Arabia
Four hours east of Los Angeles, in a drought-stricken area of a drought-afflicted state, is a small town called Blythe where alfalfa is king. More than half of the town’s 94,000 acres are bushy blue-green fields growing the crop. Massive industrial storehouses line the southern end of town, packed with thousands upon thousands of stacks […]
Proposed legislation would redirect federal funds away from California high-speed rail
Two House bills introduced this month by Republicans from California seek to redirect federal funds from the state’s high-speed rail project and use the money for other purposes. The Trump administration in February demanded funds back from the controversial project, which has been plagued by cost overruns and delays. A bill introduced by House Minority […]
Gov. Newsom has a $500 million plan for homelessness
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and a dozen other California mayors asked Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday to allocate more state money for homelessness than what the governor has proposed. Newsom’s proposed budget includes $500 million for homelessness — the same amount that was included in the state’s 2018-19 budget. The mayors did not say how […]
California Gov. Newsom offers rare praise for Trump
President Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have been at odds long before the latter took office in Sacramento earlier this year – lambasting each other in speeches and on social media over issues ranging from immigration to high speed rail projects. So it probably came as a shock to many when Newsom on Monday offered […]
