In a new business plan submitted to state legislators last week, the California High-Speed Rail Authority offered lower revenue projections than it had two years before, predicting that revenue will be “5 percent lower than originally projected by 2025 and
President Barack Obama can’t stop the California drought, but he is making it rain–for the Democratic Party. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Obama will return to the Bay Area in early May for two fundraisers–one at the home of Yahoo!
A Field Poll released Saturday indicates that Republican Ashley Swearengin, the mayor of Fresno, leads the race for State Controller, garnering 28% of the support of likely voters, 9% ahead of her closest rival. However, the combined total of the second-
Tesla, the electric car manufacturer that discovered a new enthusiasm for the free market when the state of New Jersey tried to block direct sales to customers, is lobbying in Sacramento to protect the large taxpayer subsidies that have helped
Ahead of the April 15 tax deadline, a record-high 60% of Californians say that they pay “much more” or “somewhat more” in taxes than they should, according to a recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) (and
My father boasts that he is the only person ever to have walked out of Disney World with his family and asked for his money back. We children have less rosy memories of the episode. We arrived at the Magic
The federal Department of Justice took the surprising decision of siding with advocates of the Mount Soledad cross, arguing that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should hear the case en banc, in front of a full 11-judge panel. A
A new Field Poll released Friday morning reveals that Republican Pete Peterson leads the field of primary candidates in the race for Secretary of State–the same office that State Sen. Leland Yee had sought prior to his arrest on corruption
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered his first “State of the City” address Thursday evening, promising to bar any rate increases for water and power, and to begin phasing out the city’s business (or gross receipts) tax. His speech, which
Democrat Bobby Shriver–nephew of John F. Kennedy, brother to Maria Shriver, and (for now) still brother-in-law to Arnold Schwarzenegger–has canceled an “exclusive” campaign evening at a Rolls-Royce dealership in Beverly Hills, blaming a lower-level staffer for scheduling the event, according
Drought-stricken California could face torrential rains next winter, according to federal meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center in Maryland, who have forecast a 2-in-3 chance of an El Niño event this year, the Contra Costa Times
In February, Secretary of Energy dedicated the Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System in southeastern California, calling it a “shining example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy” [no pun intended, apparently]. However, the project–funded by $1.6 billion
Several news sources in the Middle East are reporting that the U.S. is set to release convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in exchange for Israel releasing a final batch of convicted Palestinian terrorists, while freezing settlement construction. Pollard has been
A new Field Poll released Thursday reports that California voters now have a negative view of the state legislature, with 46% of registered voters now saying they disapprove, and only 43% saying they approve of its performance–a nine-point negative swing
Los Angeles is falling fast on a downward economic spiral, and has been for a generation. The city ranks worst in the U.S. in job creation–behind even bankrupt Detroit–and near the bottom in public pension liabilities. Longtime residents complain of
The Los Angeles Times has blamed Breitbart California, which launched Sunday evening, for what it predicts will be a Republican “slide” among women and Latino voters. The Times cited a satirical poster by street artist Sabo, depicting U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy
Daniel Mael, a senior at Brandeis University, blasted the administration’s decision to withdraw an honorary doctorate from feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali due to her past criticisms of Islam. “I am appalled by the hypocrisy of the University administration and their
A lawyer for Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, the alleged Chinatown gang boss involved in the federal case that snagged State Sen. Leland Yee, claims that his client is a victim of “unadulterated racism” by the government. The San Francisco Chronicle reports: “They
A new Field Poll of likely California voters shows incumbent Democrat Jerry Brown far ahead of any rivals in the gubernatorial election, enjoying the support of 57% of likely voters. Second place, with 17%, is Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican who enjoys
Though the administration of elections is improving in most states, according to a report by the Pew Charitable Trust’s State and Consumer Initiatives, California still ranks near the bottom, at 49th out of 50 states, ahead of Mississippi. North Dakota topped
Brandeis University has prostrated itself before radical Islam and the idol of political correctness, withdrawing an honorary degree that was to have been granted to feminist and Muslim critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali next month. The university’s excuse was that Ali
An LAPD sergeant who has been on the force for nearly 25 years is suing the city, claiming that he suffered religious discrimination for his religious beliefs, according to a news report by CBS News’ L.A. affiliate. Sgt. A.J. DeBellis
Veteran Republican political strategist and Beltway insider Karl Rove told a gathering of Sacramento business leaders that Neel Kashkari would be the party’s best choice “to lose to Jerry Brown” in the November election, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Marin County is having a good laugh–and no small bit of outrage–at Assemblyman Marc Levine’s expense, after the local Press Democrat caught Levine sending mailers to his constituents calling for a moratorium on fracking, even though he had voted to authorize
Veteran blogger and law professor Glenn Reynolds points out in his latest USA Today column that Silicon Valley has lost the trust of the American people. The problem is not just that the tech giants have become embroiled in the scandals surrounding
The strangest thing about San Francisco is that no matter what time of the day or night it is, it feels like late afternoon. The city seems to bask in the glow of that soft sunshine at all hours, in
Nathan L. Gonzales of Roll Call’s “Rothenblog” has noticed something interesting about freshman U.S. Rep. David Valadao’s self-description on the primary ballot in California: he has declined to note that he is an incumbent congressman. Instead, Gonzales notes, Valadao will
Local NBC and CBS affiliates in San Francisco reported Monday morning that several Smart cars were upended around the city on Sunday night. KCBS reported that three cars were overturned in two different neighborhoods and NBC Bay Area spoke to witnesses
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel granted the New Republic‘s Isaac Chotiner what the magazine describes as a “contentious” interview–and that’s putting it mildly. The mayor is highly combative and profane in the interview, showing a contempt for the public that is
A new Gallup poll reports that only 28 percent of Illinois residents trust their state government, by far the lowest rate of any state in the Union. The next-worst levels of trust are in Maine and Rhode Island, where only
A new Gallup poll reports that only 28 percent of Illinois residents trust their state government, by far the lowest rate of any state in the Union. The next-worst levels of trust are in Maine and Rhode Island, where only
California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is “by far the best-looking” attorney general in America, according to President Barack Obama, is now engaged to be married, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Harris, who lives in San Francisco, is engaged to Los Angeles
California’s 17th congressional district, which includes parts of Silicon Valley and the East Bay, is rated as “Safe Democrat,” but it is the subject of fierce competition and charges of foul play on all sides in the 2014 primary. Each candidate–from
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the country’s most powerful public sector unions, will file a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in San Francisco to $15 per hour (from $10.74), which would make it the highest
In 2010, your correspondent challenged incumbent Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in the 9th district of Illinois. It was an exciting campaign, a real contest between Alinskyite socialism and Tea Party conservatism. I lost by 30 points in the deep-blue district,
One of the more shocking moments of the Obama presidency was the president’s attempt to bully the Supreme Court, in full view of the entire nation, during his State of the Union address in 2010. With six of the nine
Authorities in Los Angeles report that 457 marijuana dispensaries have filed tax renewals with the city this year. That is more than three times the 135 pot shops legally allowed to operate under 2013’s Proposition D ballot initiative, and represents
A new Reason-Rupe poll to be launched Thursday morning indicates that 35% of Americans trust the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with their personal data, while only 10% trust Google and only 5% trust Facebook. In fact, while trust in the
The Drudge Report takes up a full ten percent of all web traffic from the built-in web browser in Tesla’s Model S electric sedan, according to an analysis by Quantcast, as reported by Techcrunch. Though Tesla drivers are often thought
The Los Angeles Times reports Wednesday that a UCLA study showed that “Los Angeles has gone 23 years without job growth,” losing 3.1% of the jobs it had in 1990–dead last among U.S. cities, even behind Detroit. “Among problems plaguing the