April, 2011Counties Still Ignore Pension TsunamiFriday, April 22nd, 2011 APRIL 22, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings. -- Aesop’s Fables. In Kern County, things evaporate. The County once had a 100-square mile seasonal body of water called Buena Vista Lake near its center that dried up when Lake... Guards’ ‘Sweetheart Deal’ Hits TaxpayersThursday, April 21st, 2011 APRIL 21, 2011 By JOHN SEILER In the midst of trying to convince Californians to boost their own taxes by $12 billion, Gov. Jerry Brown showed where his true priorities lie. As the Los Angeles Times reported on the deal he just worked out with the prison guards' union: The guards...would be a... CA’s Bond Rating Equals F-Minus GradeThursday, April 21st, 2011 APRIL 21, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Why is there such a large discrepancy between California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s assurances that the state is not broke and has plenty of money to pay off its bonds and the state’s effective bond rating of F-minus? Lockyer says California isn’t ... Bad Bill Mill, Part DeuxWednesday, April 20th, 2011 APRIL 21, 2011 By KATY GRIMES With 79 full-time Assembly members and 40 Senators pumping out more than 2,000 bills each year, the bad bills just keep coming. And as with any group of 120 different persons, there will be some exceptional product produced, some mediocre work and some real dr... Will Gov. Brown Suspend AB 32?Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 APRIL 20, 2011 By JOHN SEILER In negotiating, each party are expected at some point to put forth a "good-faith effort" to show that it is serious -- that it will give something in return for gaining something. So far in the state's budget negotiations, Gov. Jerry Brown has shown no good-faith ... The Bad Bill Mill, Part ITuesday, April 19th, 2011 APRIL 19, 2011 By KATY GRIMES Talking about bad bills churning out of the state Capitol may seem as silly as critiquing the dining selections at a Denny's. But it is a realistic discussion. California is experiencing a horrific financial crisis. The state doesn't have the time or luxury right... Arnold’s Back — Crass as EverTuesday, April 19th, 2011 APRIL 19, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Since he left office in disgrace on January 3, we haven't heard much from ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger-Kennedy Shriver. After spending seven years in office wrecking the state, he's mostly kept to himself. Despite his avowed environmental mania, he's been burning... Green Catch-23 Hurts Hydro PowerTuesday, April 19th, 2011 APRIL 19, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI If a Catch-22 is a choice between two equally undesirable alternatives, California’s mandate to purchase green power must be one more than a Catch-22 – it must be a Catch-23. This is because California’s new green-power law, mandating 33 perc... PPIC Downplays Bad CA Biz ClimateMonday, April 18th, 2011 APRIL 18, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI You can’t eat California’s mild weather, but you can tax it. That seems to be the consensus online opinion of the average Joe and Jane about a study released last week that concluded that California’s weather assets offset the many negative ratings abou... Audience Didn’t Shrug At Atlas ScreeningFriday, April 15th, 2011APRIL 16, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT SAN FRANCISCO -- The packed audience at the San Francisco premiere of the movie version of Ayn Rand’s classic 1957 novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” seemed thrilled with the result, despite the low-budget nature of the flick and the fact that this was only p... |