Katy Grimes: When Gov. Jerry Brown first called for eliminating the state’s 425 redevelopment agencies, on the surface it appeared a sincere effort. But his proposal was surprisingly not supported by Republicans. And since it was proposed by Brown, a Democrat, many were suspicious of the real ...

John Seiler: Famed investor Jim Rogers has been warning for years that federal, state and local governments have been wasting way too much of the taxpayers' money. The result: massive deficits at all levels of government, especially California, and pleas by government to raise taxes even higher -...

K. Lloyd Billingsley: Capital Public Radio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Public Radio, is conducting a record drive, urging listeners to bring in -- think “donate” -- old albums, records, compact discs and so forth. These could include such items as “The Spoken Word of Ronald Reaga...

Katy Grimes: The Senate will be working all weekend on the budget... meeting, talking, debating. Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg just announced that they are scheduled for session Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. as well as Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The Assembly is on call, with a thre...

John Seiler: Wasn't Gov. Jerry Brown supposed to be the all-knowing, all-seeing wise man, the Guru of Tofu, Jerry the Magnificent? He reminds me of Carnac the Magnificent, the old Johnny Carson skit. Except Jerry the Magnificient isn't funny. He doesn't even see what's under his eyes. The s...

John Seiler: As I expected, Gov. Jerry "Tax 'Em Till They Drop" Brown is cadging enough Republican votes for his tax increases. Key quote from the L.A. Times story: He and Republicans have largely settled, however, on a core package of policy overhauls to be enacted if a tax deal can be forged s...