July, 2011Redistricting commissars evade tough Q&AFriday, July 29th, 2011 JULY 29, 2011 By CALWATCHDOG STAFF During its press conference Friday announcing the release of redistricting maps, the Citizens Redistricting Commission evaded tough questions and refused to explain why one commissioner, Michael Ward of Fullerton, voted earlier in the day against moving all o... Markets ‘Crush’ Brown’s Windmill FantasyFriday, July 29th, 2011 JULY 29, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI With the swagger of a boxer before a match, on July 24 Gov. Jerry Brown said he would “crush” any efforts to block renewable energy projects in California. Brown apparently was referring to efforts by environmentalists to stop a planned gargantuan 968 Meg... Series Exposed Redistricting ShamFriday, July 29th, 2011 JULY 29, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Yesterday the California Citizens Redistricting Commission released its final maps, which already are generating lawsuits to overturn them. In recent weeks, CalWatchDog.com ran an exclusive series of articles, by John Hrabe, exposing the process. He documented h... New Charges Slam Redistricting CommishThursday, July 28th, 2011 JULY 28, 2011 By KATY GRIMES It has turned into the Commission that Couldn't Redistrict Right. New accusations charge that the California Citizens Redistricting Commission isn’t the non-partisan, citizen-run organization as has been promoted statewide. Earlier CalWatchDog.com news stori... Goodwin Liu Mangles the ConstitutionThursday, July 28th, 2011 JULY 28, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Gov. Jerry Brown's Tuesday appointment of Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court will continue the state's lurch to the Left. Liu clearly believes in a highly activist judiciary for which the U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution are as malleable a... ‘Mary Kay Tax’ Mugs Small BusinessesWednesday, July 27th, 2011 JULY 27, 2011 By KATY GRIMES Call it the Mary Kay Tax. It hits small businesses -- such as Mary Kay and Avon distributors -- with heavy administrative costs, while bringing a pittance to the state treasury. It's a tax program the Legislature passed in 2009 to help balance the budget. Then i... Will Breivik Keep CA Death Penalty Alive?Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 JULY 27, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik poses a challenge to the proposed ballot initiative to end the California death penalty, regardless of the cost of executions. The initiative didn’t emerge on moral grounds from liberal religious or civil rig... When heroes become bureaucratsTuesday, July 26th, 2011JULY 26, 2011 This article first appeared in City Journal. By STEVEN GREENHUT On Memorial Day, a suicidal man waded into San Francisco Bay outside the city of Alameda and stood there for about an hour, neck-deep in chilly water, as about 75 bystanders watched. Local police and firefighters ... U.S.-Calif. Stuck in Stagnation SpiralTuesday, July 26th, 2011 JULY 26, 2011 BY JOHN SEILER Welcome to the desert of economic and jobs growth. I keep reminding people that California actually still is part of the United States of America. That we are not the "eighth largest world economy," or whatever the ranking is that state politicians always boast ... Jeanne Raya Failed to Reveal DonationsMonday, July 25th, 2011 JULY 25, 2011 By JOHN HRABE A second member of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, Jeanne Raya, failed to disclose financial contributions made within the past 18 months to a state political campaign committee, according to documents reviewed by CalWatchDog.com. Ten days... |