Thought I would “recommend” some reading to you today — a few columns you wouldn’t normally find on this site because we focus on CA politics…

REPUBLICANS AND BLACKS Thomas Sowell

Recently former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice added her voice to those who have long been urging the Republican Party to reach out to black voters. Not only is that long overdue, what is also long overdue is putting some time — and, above all, some serious… Read More

California’s High-Speed Rail Authority continues to forge ahead with the project to build the $68 billion train system, despite a court decision saying the HSRA cannot use Proposition 1A funds that were approved by the legislature.

To address this and many other controiversial decisions by the HSRA, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, has introduced AB 1501 to protect California taxpayers from a risky financial obligation by the HSRA.

“By continuing to spend federal money, the HSRA is leaving taxpayers holding a bag full of matching state bond funds that a judge has said can’t be spent,” Patterson said in an interview. “We are essentially overdrawing our bank account by spending these federal funds. We simply don’t have the matching funds required by the… Read More

It’s no secret that many California state agencies lack accountability to voters, taxpayers and the Legislature. A few recent egregious examples are a clarion call for legislative oversight.

The Department of Consumer Affairs computer upgrade recently held up nursing licenses for more than three months – a process which used to take three days to complete.

California’s new Obamacare website, Covered California, has been riddled with paperwork and significant online problems since its rollout in October.

These computer… Read More

A proposal supported by some members of the Los Angeles City Council begs the question: Just what do we pay taxes for?

Los Angeles City Officials want to increase sales taxes for which, in return, they will repair the streets. Councilmembers Mitch Englander and Joe Buscaino are promoting the plan, while Councilman Herb Wesson was quick to provide a thumbs up on the tax hike, telling a reporter, “Without a doubt … this city needs some kind of additional revenue stream for us to take care… Read More

The fire fee is a bad tax, not just because of the unnecessary burden it places on taxpayers, but because it is horribly inefficient to collect. From the beginning, the process of collecting the Fire Prevention Fee has been lengthy and expensive, proving it is a poor method for funding CAL-FIRE’s fire prevention efforts.

Unfortunately, this month the third round of Fire Prevention Fee bills began going out with the new rate of $152.33 (or $117.33 for the 97% who live in a local fire protection district). This set of bills will be for the 2013-14 fiscal year. Approximately 10,000 bills will be sent each day in alphabetical order by county. This marks the first time the BOE has sent two billings in the same fiscal year.

Remember, in order to be eligible for a refund under the lawsuit against the fire fee, property owners must protest every billing by timely filing a new Petition for Redetermination.

You can find a copy of the billing schedule at calfirefee.com/billing-schedule.

Keep up with all the latest fire fee news by following Calfirefee.com on… Read More

Next month, the Sacramento Metropolitan FireDistrict is expected tomake a pitch that 220,000 Sacramento County property owners approve a large property tax assessment on their properties.

Annual assessments on single-family homes will range up to $50 per year if the proposal is approved by property owners, according to Craig Powell, president of Eye on Sacramento, a public policy watchdog. Commercial properties and apartment complexes will be significantly higher.

The Sacramento Beepublished a story Wednesday reporting about the State Controller’s most recent report on the 1,000 highest paid publicemployees in the Sacramento region, reporting payfrom 2012.

Six different California fire districts top the list of highest paid public employees:

On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will determine whether the federal government can force family business owners to violate their religious beliefs or pay heavy fines.

In the case before the high court, arts-and-crafts retail chain Hobby Lobby and cabinet maker Conestoga Wood Specialties argue that a federal mandate under the Affordable Care Act forcing them to provide health insurance for contraceptive services including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization that they oppose on religious grounds, or pay heavy fines, violates their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and a 1993 law preserving that right. The Court’s ruling will impact businesses throughout California.

The core issue in this case is not about contraception or abortion. It is about religious freedom.

But “war on women” rhetoric is clouding the real issues in this case. False allegations are flying claiming that a win for the employers would limit women’s “access” to birth control.

The case is an attack on “freedom for women to access care,” U.S. Senator Patricia Murray (D-Wash.) recently charged on the Senate… Read More

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During a 1954 congressional hearing, U.S. Army counsel Joseph Welch famously asked Senator Joseph McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” The same question may be asked of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which featured a splashy cover photo and story on its February/March magazine that celebrated the defeat of high-performing charter schools that serve low-income, mostly minority children.

Late last year, the school board in the Silicon Valley city of Morgan Hill voted against efforts by the Navigator and Rocketship charter-school organizations to establish charter schools in the district. Charter schools are independent public schools that are granted greater regulatory and personnel flexibility in exchange for greater accountability for performance. Both charter organizations appealed to the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Rocketship ended up withdrawing its appeal, while the county board eventually voted down Navigator’s appeal earlier this year. The CFT, which had sponsored anti-charter events in the district and helped pack board meetings with charter opponents, was ecstatic.

The union worried that the appeal of the charter… Read More