If a committee of legislators or U.S. senators whose most influential members were under criminal investigation ever considered raising taxes on Californians by significant amounts, protests would be non-stop and cacophonous. But with the seriously sullied state Public Utilities Commission about to raise electric rates for the bulk of this state’s residents, the silence from the public and from consumer advocates … Read More

There is no doubt dependence on the higher tuition paid by out-of-state and foreign students has become established policy at the University of California. Some believe this may be leading to the unintended consequence of an upsurge of anti-Semitism on campuses like Berkeley, Davis, UCLA and Riverside. The university says no. “I don’t think there’s any link,” maintains Dianne Klein, … Read More

Rarely has a new law been so urgently and obviously needed as the broad children’s vaccination requirement now being carried by the state Legislature’s only medical doctor, Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento.   While the measure has encountered resistance in the Legislature and even death threats to Dr. Pan, there is no factual basis for that vehement opposition, … Read More

No sooner had Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Kate Brown signed a new law automatically making a registered voter of every person who applies for or renews a driver’s license in her state than California’s top elections official jumped on the idea. Alex Padilla, the MIT engineering graduate who once was the Los Angeles City Council’s youngest president, was up-front about copying … Read More

The drumbeat from Republican politicians, governors of states like Texas and Florida, and from independent relocation consultants seems constant: California’s business climate stinks. High taxes and heavy regulation are driving businesses and jobs out of this state. These folks note that companies big and small, from Toyota and Nissan to Buck Knives, have announced they are moving corporate offices out … Read More

The strong odor surrounding California’s most powerful regulatory commission this spring stems not only from corrupt-seeming decisions but from fear. Fear that past and present members or top staffers of the state Public Utilities Commission might do jail time. Fear they could see personal fortunes decimated by legal fees while fending off state and federal criminal investigations. How bad have … Read More

Politicians have come up with myriad alleged reasons for the dismal vote turnouts seen across California in this spring’s municipal elections – not even reaching 10 percent of eligible voters in the state’s biggest city, Los Angeles. Bad timing, some suggest. Too many elections, others say. Another excuse: Not enough news coverage. Imperiling Trust? These rationalizations ignore a fundamental reality … Read More

It was supposed to be a $5 billion project, creating 6,500 jobs. That was the hype when Tesla Motors last summer orchestrated a five-state battle to host a huge “gigafactory” where it plans to build batteries for its next generation of electric cars. Anyone who has driven one knows the Tesla Model S seems to take off like a bullet … Read More

It’s a cinch Kamala Harris will have an opponent on the November 2016 ballot. Much less certain is whether her opponent will be any more threatening than Elizabeth Emken was to Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the 2012 Senate primary. One by one, potentially formidable opponents to the election of Ms. Harris, the state attorney general and previously district attorney of … Read More