June, 2011Brown Signs Punitive Amazon TaxThursday, June 30th, 2011 (This is an updated Washington Examiner story from June 29.) JUNE 30, 2011 By KATY GRIMES With the California legislature having just passed a flawed budget full of accounting tricks, budget gimmicks and money grabs, one area of small business is about to be taxed right out of business -- j... Pension Iceberg Will Sink State BudgetThursday, June 30th, 2011 JUNE 30, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Imagine you’re a passenger on the ill-fated RMS Titanic luxury liner on its 1912 maiden voyage. But the Titanic had no warning of an iceberg lurking below the ocean surface -- unlike the Pirate Ship California that can detect with modern sonar a huge iceberg o... Brown Upholds Farm Worker Secret BallotThursday, June 30th, 2011JUNE 30, 2011 By KATY GRIMES After months of protests, lobbying and speeches, on March 31, César Chávez Day, the California Senate passed SB 104 to eliminate secret ballot elections for farm workers voting on unionization. And Tuesday night, in a move that surprised many, Gov. Jerry Brow... Budget Ignores Public Employee ReformWednesday, June 29th, 2011 JUNE 29, 2010 Commentary By LANNY EBENSTEIN The state budget approved on Tuesday is the wrong way forward for the state of California. Though this budget does not rely upon new or extended general taxes, it would cut many vital services. This is neither desirable nor sustainable. The... Democrats Pass Hinky BudgetWednesday, June 29th, 2011 JUNE 29, 2011 By KATY GRIMES With a surprising lack of debate between parties, the California Legislature passed the budget late last evening, and only with a majority vote, attempting to close what began the year as a $26.6 billion deficit using a great deal of hope for increased state revenu... Brown, Leg Conjure Up Phantom BudgetTuesday, June 28th, 2011 JUNE 28, 2011 By KATY GRIMES In the shadow of the 2009 tax increases set to expire this Friday July 1, Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrat party leadership announced Monday that a majority-vote budget deal had been reached. There was no Republican involvement or support. Based largely on the ... July 1 Tax Cut Will Boost CA EconomyTuesday, June 28th, 2011 NOTE: This article first appeared yesterday in Flashreport.org. JUNE 28, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Assuming Republicans in the Legislature stand solid, Californians could get an early Independence Day gift this year: tax cuts. And that gift will provide a needed boost to the state economy. On ... Little Hoover Critiques Community CollegesMonday, June 27th, 2011 JUNE 28, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS If California's educational system were a student, it would be made to sit on a stool in the corner with a dunce cap on its head. Nearly one in four Californians is functionally illiterate, about a third of high school students drop out and 70-80 percent of the... John Chiang Blazes Future of CA PoliticsMonday, June 27th, 2011 JUNE 27, 2011 By JOHN SEILER As they said in old-school physics, nature abhors a vacuum. Passed last November, Proposition 25 marginalized California Republicans by dropping from two-thirds to a majority the threshold for passing a state budget. That left the Democratic majority in the Legisl... Coastal Commission Holds Sacto LovefestFriday, June 24th, 2011JUNE 24, 2011 California Coastal Commission boss, and supporters, lobby for more money and power By LLOYD BILLINGSLEY A conference on the California Coastal Commission here Thursday, sponsored by Capitol Weekly, provided a forum for longtime CCC boss Peter Douglas. He enjoyed considera... |