January, 2010State’s health-mandate miasmaSunday, January 31st, 2010 Feb. 2, 2010 By JOHN SEILER The victory of Scott Brown in Massachusetts prevents Democrats from enacting a universal health-care reform bill. Something likely will be enacted. But the lack of universality means the states will continue to play a crucial role in their citizens’ health cho... Nature violates Clean Water ActThursday, January 28th, 2010 Jan. 27, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently issued a stop order to the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority in Southern California delaying construction of a water treatment facility to clean up contamination from the local groundwater b... California Jobs Gap GrowsFriday, January 22nd, 2010 Jan. 25, 2010 By JOHN SEILER In an earlier article I introduced a new measure of economic vitality: the Jobs Gap. It measures the difference between unemployment in California and the rest of the country. It thus factors out the national economic climate, which is affected mainly by polici... CalPERS blames rating agenciesThursday, January 21st, 2010 Jan. 21, 2010 By TROY ANDERSON In recent congressional hearings, inaccurate credit ratings were described as a major contributing factor in bringing the nation to the “brink of financial collapse.” In September, California Attorney General Jerry Brown opened an investigation into th... Pols resist mail-only votingTuesday, January 19th, 2010 Jan. 19, 2010 By JT LONG In the absence of legislation allowing local jurisdictions the power to decide how to most efficiently conduct elections, counties pay the high price of democracy. Although California’s neighbors to the north have tested the vote-by-mail-only waters and found ... Official state records are disappearingWednesday, January 13th, 2010 Jan. 13, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO If there’s one thing our state government does exceptionally well, it’s the production of records. Every month, dozens of state agencies and departments -- to say nothing of the Legislature itself -- churns out thousands of pages of reports, studies, an... California’s jobs gapSunday, January 10th, 2010 Jan. 11, 2010 By JOHN SEILER California continues to stagger under unemployment levels higher than the national average. The latest figures, released on Dec. 18, 2009, show that the state suffered 12.3 percent unemployment compared to the national average of 10 percent. Call it a “Jobs Gap... |