RegulationsLawmakers seek probe of CA refineriesFriday, November 30th, 2012 Nov. 30, 2012 By Joseph Perkins Taking time out from negotiations over the fiscal cliff, a half-dozen U.S. senators asked the Justice Department this week to investigate whether “market manipulation” by California oil refineries led to the run up in gasoline prices the Golden State’s mot... Reality show hides California realityFriday, November 23rd, 2012Nov. 23, 2012 By Joseph Perkins My wife turned me on to a new reality show, “Start-Ups: Silicon Valley.” It airs on Bravo, between installments of the cable network’s “Real Housewives” franchise, which chronicles the lives of too-well-to-do ladies in places like Beverly Hills and Or... China bashing doesn’t help CaliforniaFriday, October 26th, 2012Oct. 26, 2012 By Joseph Perkins I imagine that Jeremy Potash, executive director of the California-Asia Business Council, winced this week while watching the foreign policy debate between President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. Her group is trying to increase trade between California, the wor... Climate alarmists hate good newsFriday, October 19th, 2012 Oct. 19, 2012 By Joseph Perkins Two new pieces of climate change data caught my attention this week. One, from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (nope, I’d never heard of it before either), indicates that Antarctica is now surrounded by the greatest area of sea ice ever recorded ... Brown Admin attacks climate ‘deniers’Friday, August 17th, 2012 Aug. 17, 2012 By Joseph Perkins “Climate change,” declares the home page for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, “poses an immediate threat to California’s economy, environment, and to public health.” The Brown administration is “taking action” to avert the worst... If it moves, the state wants to license itFriday, July 20th, 2012 July 20, 2012 By Joseph Perkins I’m not a pet guy. I have no personal stake in legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, which would create a “voluntary” certification program for California’s pet grooming industry. Yet, I’m troubled that Vargas and his fellow... Tax collectors bite taco trucksMonday, July 16th, 2012 July 16, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO -- We all would laugh at a man who, sinking in millions of dollars in house payments, car loans and credit card bills, decided to fix his cash-flow problem by looking for nickels, dimes and quarters lurking underneath the sofa cushions. Likewise, ... Bad news for CA housing recoveryMonday, July 9th, 2012July 9, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO -- Just as the housing industry is showing signs of recovery, California's Democratic officials have concocted a "solution" that adds regulations and higher costs to the foreclosure process. These are the same officials who can't produce an honest bud... Latest Salvo in War on GM FoodsFriday, June 15th, 2012 June 15, 2012 By Joseph Perkins After repeatedly failing over the years to get a law passed by the California Legislature requiring the labeling of genetically modified foods, the state’s food Luddites succeeded this week in qualifying a food labeling initiative for the November ballot. T... The world according to CARBMonday, May 21st, 2012 May 18, 2012 By Katy Grimes Recently, a memo sent out by the California Air Resources Board referred to the industries CARB has identified as polluters as California’s “regulated class.” These polluters are now subject to the heavy-handed rule and regulation of the agency, and must accep... |