March 31, 2010 By JOHN SEILER A new study by the U.S. Census Bureau found that the tax receipts of the California state government dropped 13.9 percent. That was fifth highest of the states, with the higher states being: Alaska 41.2 percent drop in revenue, Arizona 17.9 percent, South Carolina...
March, 2010State tax receipts down sharplyWednesday, March 31st, 2010Is Public Transit Bankrupt?Wednesday, March 31st, 2010March 31, 2010 By KATY GRIMES With the announcement this week by Sacramento Regional Transit that it is reducing bus and train service by 22 percent, it’s never too late to address the problems faced by the chronic deficit-plagued transit systems in the state. The American Public Transp... Public financing on ballotMonday, March 29th, 2010March 29, 2010 By JOHN SEILER With California’s politics messed up seemingly beyond repair, it’s not surprising two reform initiatives are on the June 8 ballot. I earlier wrote about Proposition 14, the “Top Two Primaries Act.” The other initiative is Proposition 15, which would est... Vallejo avoids tough pension fightsMonday, March 29th, 2010March 29, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT (Originally printed in the Wall Street Journal) In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. Now, as it... State touts ‘green’ progressMonday, March 29th, 2010March 29, 2010 By KATY GRIMES In 2005 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered all state buildings to be 20 percent more energy efficient by 2015 and “encouraged” the private sector to do the same. And now, the Department of General Services (DGS) has issued a “Green” Progress Report (dat... Eastin defends nutrition boondoggleFriday, March 26th, 2010March 26, 2010 By K. LLOYD BILLINGSLEY The current issue of The Atlantic features a letter from Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction. Her letter does not include any episodes from her tenure in that post, every bit as interesting as her current tangle. East... Hearing details massive state wasteThursday, March 25th, 2010March 25, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Sometimes the most informative legislative hearings are the informational hearings. No vote is taken, there is an abundance of tough talk by legislators, mea maxima culps uttered by egregious state agency heads, and everyone goes home until the next hearing. Ye... Reform group wants higher taxesWednesday, March 24th, 2010March 24, 2010 By KATY GRIMES At a hearing Tuesday in the Improving the State Committee, the new “bipartisan” group, California Forward, made another heartfelt appeal to legislators for support of what is supposed to be something everyone can believe in: Higher taxes and abolishment of the... Legal pot plan faces strong oppositionMonday, March 22nd, 2010March 22, 2010 By DAVE ROBERTS Arnold Schwarzenegger takes a long puff on a joint, throws his head back and smiles as he slowly exhales. The scene is from “Pumping Iron,” the documentary on the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, which starred the future governor of California. Although he’s been ... Homeschools Get Out of DetentionFriday, March 19th, 2010Mar. 19, 2010 By JOHN SEILER In California, 2010 is the year homeschools got out of detention, to use education parlance. In the previous decade, twice it looked like they might be expelled. In 2002, then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin tried to get the California Legisl... |