In 2009 I wrote a controversial piece about privatizing library services. Well, it was controversial for public employee librarians and their fans. But it’s not just some unproven theory — it’s been done, and done well.

Riverside County has a 35 branch system. In 1996 the county contracted out the OPERATION of the libraries to Library Systems and Services, LLC(LSSI), a private company that provides this service nationwide to public libraries. The county retained title to the buildings and grounds. At that time, the county was in financial difficulties, so it sought an alternative to its problem-plagued library system.

The county paid LSSI the same operating budget it was paying for the government run library system. The result was substantially more library hours, more programs, bigger book budgets and FAR fewer customer complaints.

While LSSI guaranteed to hire the same staff at the same salaries, it reduced the benefits package to private sector standards. Moreover, the employees were then “at will”… Read More

Yet another feminism-based bill by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, claims to “close the wage gap that women face at work.” So far, SB 358 has passed the Senate on a unanimous vote, 38-0, and now the Assembly with full Republican support. Republicans voted for this drivel. The bill also has the support of the California Chamber of Commerce.

This is a profoundly bad bill that has nothing whatsoeverto do with equal pay for equal work.

According to Jackson’s Senate website:

“Senate Bill 358, the California Fair Pay Act, would ensure that women are paid equally for work that is substantially similar to the work of their male colleagues, and do not face retaliation if they discuss or ask how much their male colleagues are paid. If signed into law, it would be the strongest equal pay law in the nation.

‘Equal pay isn’t just the right thing for women, it’s the right thing for our economy and for… Read More

The coalition seeking to put a statewide bond measure for school construction on the ballot in California in 2016 appears to have succeeded. It submitted petitions with signatures to the California Secretary of State several weeks ahead of the deadline.

The Secretary of State will soon determine if the coalition obtained enough valid signatures to qualify the bond measure for the ballot. Based on current projections, California voters will indeed get the chance in 2016 to authorize the State of California to borrow $9 billion via bond sales to help local school districts build or renovate facilities.

Three ballot measures authorizing the state to borrow a total of $35.8 billion for school construction passed easily in… Read More

Buried in our California water bills are the inflated salaries and benefits of our public water works “public servants.” The examples in the article below are instructive — and not that unusual.

It includes a chart that compares the pay of water department employees with the average pay for such work. BTW, included in that average are our government workers, which thus skews the figure higher than the true private sector average.

The superiority of government pay can be breathtaking, contrary to what the public employee labor unions tell the press. And this example doesn’t plumb the depths of the benefits disparity, which is much greater.

One of the worst disparities in this comparison is “garage attendant.” The average private sector pay is $29,175 for this unskilled position. This water department pays their attendants $68,130. Not mentioned is the difference in pensions — most private sector garage attendants get only social security — with MAYBE a modest 401k plan. A lowly 30 year government attendant will get an annual pension of $47,000 to $63,000 — after a career that included rock-solid… Read More

Democrat legislators killed a request by California Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez for an official state audit of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state, in a Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing Tuesday.

There have been recent independent investigations which found that Planned Parenthood, in violation of federal law, has engaged in the sale of human tissue (dead baby body parts) taken from abortions at Planned Parenthood.

“The illegal profits made off of human tissue from abortion procedures represents a clear financial motive, and violates federal law:

“The sale or purchase of human fetal tissue is a federal felony punishable by up… Read More

By Katy Grimes and Tom Tanton

False claims about the success of California’s green economy have been front-page headlines for several years. Green tech groups, green energy investors, stakeholders and even green tech media claim California has a “thriving clean energy economy.”

What’s missing from the news is The Rest of the Story. The political and economic impact of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), the greenhouse gas reduction mandate foisted on Californians by the Democrat-dominated Legislature, and signed into law by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hasn’t been good for the economy.

While recent newsreports show unemployment has slightly dropped, the facts show otherwise. The U.S. unemployment rate cannot possibly be 5.3 percent, nor can California’s be 6.3 percent. The only way it can be reported this way is by excluding those Americans who have given up finding a job, and are no longer participating in the workforce.

But this Legislature and governor would much rather talk about a warming climate, than the business climate or… Read More

The state Senate is expected to vote soon on AB 775, the so-called Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care and Transparency) Act. The legislation would force faith-based, pro-life pregnancy resource centers that offer alternatives to abortion, to advertise access to “immediate free or low-cost” abortion. The bill is co-sponsored by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice California and others.

Pregnancy resource centers offer services such as pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, prenatal care, referrals to health care services and information on adoption. They also often offer resources such as clothing, baby supplies and other assistance to help women who choose to keep their child. Some of the approximately 170 centers in California include licensed medical clinics, others offer resources only.

AB 775 would in effect mandate pro-life pregnancy centers to provide referrals for abortion in violation of their moral beliefs, or be faced with heavy fines.

Not only does this bill “strike at the heart” of “free association, free political and religious speech and practice,” as Assemblyman Jim… Read More

With the dozens of stories I’ve written about the bold fight of farm workers at Gerawan Farming against unionization by the United Farm Workers labor union, and the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, a couple of recent letters synopsized the shocking series of events.

The attorney for the workers, Paul Bauer, penned two letters to ALRB Regional Director Silas Shawver, outlining events, and laying out a clear case for conflicts of interest by the attorneys at the ALRB.

I’ve reported on the Gerawan workers since Spring 2013, including the November 5, 2013 decertification election. Because the Gerawan workers likely voted to decertify the UFW, Shawver and Sylvia Torres Guillen, both attorneys with the ALRB, locked up the ballots and refused to count them, claiming there was some… Read More