August, 2011California’s Water Wars Heat UpThursday, August 25th, 2011 The following first appeared in City Journal California. AUG. 25, 2011 By VICTOR DAVIS HANSON California’s water wars aren’t about scarcity. Even with 37 million people and the nation’s most irrigation-intensive agriculture, the state usually has enough water for both people and crops... Sacramento’s Redevelopment RansomWednesday, August 24th, 2011 AUG. 25, 2011 By KATY GRIMES The state of California recently successfully extracted a king's ransom from the city of Sacramento -- but it's not for the Kings, Sacramento's NBA basketball team. Last week, the Sacramento City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to pay the state $18.6 m... Calif. Gov. Guts Energy CommissionWednesday, August 24th, 2011AUG. 24, 3011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI During his 2003 campaign, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won on promises to “blow up the boxes” of bureaucracies of California state government. He failed. Now, stunningly, eight years later, a new governor of California quietly announced that his state’s E... Grocery Strike Throws Tomatoes at JoblessTuesday, August 23rd, 2011AUG. 23, 2011 By JOHN SEILER It's been less than eight years since the Southern California Supermarket Strike of 2003-04. About 70,000 United Food and Commercial Workers Union members walked off the job at Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs for four months. "Scabs" -- people willing to work -- were h... CA Unfunded Pensions Triple to $884 BilTuesday, August 23rd, 2011 AUG. 23, 2011 By CHRISS STREET The three largest California public retiree plans -- CalPERS, CalSTRS and UCRS, which administer the pensions of approximately 2.6 million California state and local public current and retired employees -- have been under tremendous scrutiny since last year’s... Probes Push For Split-Roll Property TaxMonday, August 22nd, 2011 AUG. 22, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Politicians are like generals. They probe for weaknesses. When they find one, they push their troops through. That's happening with taxes in California. Gov. Jerry Brown's attempts to extend Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's tax increases failed earlier this year. ... Why Flash is Right on RedistrictingFriday, August 19th, 2011 AUGUST 19, 2011 By JOHN SEILER As CalWatchDog.com's John Hrabe has detailed in a series of articles, the California redistricting process was corrupted from the get-go. The California "Citizens" Redistricting Commission, which was supposed to produce un-gerrymandered districts, instread was ri... League of Cities Punts on PensionsFriday, August 19th, 2011 AUGUST 19, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI A quick kick or punt in American football is a surprise kick meant to prevent a runback of the ball by the opponents. And it possibly means recovering possession of the ball by the kicking team to gain an advantageous field position or even a touchdown. Quick ... CPUC Admits ‘Culture of Complacency’Thursday, August 18th, 2011AUG. 18, 2011 By KATY GRIMES The president of California’s utilities commission, Michael Peevey, was grilled on Tuesday by Legislators -- and without the usual softball questions. At two legislative hearings this week, Peevey's admission of a culture of complacency within the utility re... |