Plastic bag ban rises from the dead

Jan. 23, 2013 By Katy Grimes The plastic bag horror movie that wouldn’t go away… It’s baaaacccckkkkk! Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, announced Monday that he is bringing back from the dead a proposal banning all plastic bags. Assembly Bill 158 would ban

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Will CA gun control also chase away businesses, jobs?

Jan. 22, 2013 By John Seiler Here’s a question: Will more gun control laws in California chase away even more businesses and jobs than our high taxes already do? I think the answer would be, Yes. A lot of people

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Regulation is the enemy of freedom

Jan. 21, 2013 By Katy Grimes The U.S. Constitution provides for certain government regulations, but actually stresses minimum involvement. Regulations are merely a way for the government to implement social change and impart control. But government intervention usually causes more

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On fracking, will Govs. Brown and Cuomo heed Ed Rendell?

Jan. 21, 2013 By Chris Reed With the op-ed in last week’s Wall Street Journal about California’s enormous potential for a fracking-driven energy boom, it’s beginning to look like how Gov. Jerry Brown deals with the issue will be a

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Being CalPERS means never having to say you’re sorry

Jan. 20, 2013 By Chris Reed So CalPERS is found to allow ridiculous, outrageous double-dipping by salaried employees that boosts their pay (and probably their pensions), and faces sharp criticism. So when the giant pension fund responds, does it do

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Tax board attack on business: Do governor’s appointees just tune him out?

Commentary Jan. 18, 2013 By Chris Reed That California is extraordinarily hostile to business is accepted as a given by just about everyone who is an executive, manager or small-business owner in the state.  But Democrats and some in the

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AB 32 has predicted effect on state manufacturing jobs

Jan. 19, 2013 By Chris Reed Trying to preserve and help create manufacturing jobs should be a primary goal of a party that bills itself as being about social justice. Manufacturing jobs often offer middle-class wages, but don’t require college

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Assemblyman Donnelly proposes school marshall plan

Jan. 19, 2013 By Katy Grimes I had a chance to talk with Assemblyman Tim Donnelly on Thursday, which is always interesting. He’s one of a handful of lawmakers who tells it like it is. And, then he puts his plans

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Gov. Brown turns attention to immigration

Jan. 18, 2013 By Joseph Perkins California is home to nearly one-quarter of the nation’s 11 million or so illegal immigrants. So it is understandable, laudable even, that Gov. Jerry Brown intends to be a player in upcoming discussions back

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Agency lauds enormous fine on business

Jan. 18, 2013 By Steven Greenhut When you talk to business owners who are considering a move out of state, their main complaint is not typically California’s sky-high tax rates or the myriad regulations they face. Their main frustration is the

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