By now, most Californians have read dozens of analyses from experts and partisans alike about the meaning of last Tuesday’s election. Analyzing the …
California Commentary
It’s Scary Season Again
For many the real scare this time of years is not the monsters at our doors on Halloween but the property tax bill in the mail box. Fortunately, as …
Could the High Speed Rail Ruling Imperil the Water Bond?
Proposition 1, the $7 billion water bond, has broad support from both Democrats and Republicans. Unlike the previous version of the bond – which had …
Jarvis Jesters
It’s late October and that means there are a lot of people out there wearing masks. But this isn’t about Halloween. This is about all the fake …
Legislators Tell Tales, but Grades Don’t Lie
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, an intellectual leader of the United States Senate for 24 years, often chided adversaries declaring “you are entitled to your …
Greater Transparency on Threat to Property Owners
Legislation just signed by Gov. Brown may help alert homeowners to the threat posed by per parcel property taxes. Parcel taxes have become one of the …
Beware: They Are Now Among Us
Humorist Will Rogers observed, “This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.” If Rogers …
How About an Exam for Office Seekers?
Given the horrible decisions recently being made by elected officials why don't we subject candidates for public office to a simple exam with the …
Amazing! Something Good from the California Legislature
The phone call was from a frightened older woman in the Central Valley. "I can't afford to pay my property taxes and I may lose my home by the end of …
Proposition 13 Survives Legislative Session
Two years ago when 2013-14 legislative session began things looked very dark for California homeowners. Democrats many hostile to Proposition 13 …