For many years I have enjoyed the great work of Katy Grimes. Katy is an outstanding writer, reporter and investigative journalist. If you are a regular reader of this website you will be familiar with her work. She has from time to time posted up original pieces here — but primarily over the past four years Katy has been writing over a the Pacific Research Institute’s CalWatchDog site. Through our link aggregation service we have linked to a great many of her pieces there.

Today I am pleased to announce that Katy has joined the Flash Report team as Senior Correspondent. Her “beat” with… Read More

Part l of a series:

Bucking the highly fashionable notion that California’s air pollution is deadly, Dr. James Enstrom was one of only a few scientists willing to blow the whistle on the fraudulent science perpetrated at the California Air Resources Board.

It is often said the cover up is worse than the crime. Dr. Enstrom is living proof.

An attempt to muzzle scientific debate and academic freedomon a University of California college campus is at the root of the wrongful termination lawsuit of Dr. James Enstrom.

Enstrom challenged the scientific research that the California Air Resources Board and California Legislature used to enact policies regulating diesel fuel emissions. And then he was fired from his job of 35 years at University of California, Los Angeles.

Enstrom exposed the cover-up of “junk environmental science.” He also outed a phony… Read More

Californians who sold their home in a short sale in 2013 may be at risk of overpaying their state income taxes.

As you may recall, the Franchise Tax Board informed me late last year that Californians who had mortgage debt forgiven in a short sale are not required to pay income tax on that debt.

I’ve recently learned that some tax preparation software may not be up to date, potentially forcing affected Californians to pay taxes they don’t owe. Adding to the confusion, some tax preparers may not be aware of this problem.

If you have questions, please contact my office at 1-916-445-2181. For more information on mortgage forgiveness debt relief and short sales, go to FTB’s webpage or call FTB at 1-800-852-5711.

If you are unsure whether your tax preparation software is calculating your short sale correctly, you should contact the tax preparation software company’s customer service department for assistance.

Taxpayers should never have to pay more taxes than they owe. Be sure to look carefully before filing to avoid overpaying… Read More

Republican Kevin Faulconer won yesterday’s San Diego Mayoral special election because he was the better candidate, with a superior team, and a more compelling message.

When Democrat Bob Filner took the mayor’s office in 2012, he was the beneficiary of Barack Obama’s 22-point California landslide. In becoming mayor, he broke a long line of successive Republican mayors in America’s Finest City.

When Filner was forced to resign in the midst of scandal, electing a Republican successor was far from certain. After all, Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans within the city limits, and organized labor can access vast pools of campaign funding if the national unions chose to engage, which they did.

Yet it’s Republican Kevin Faulconer, not Democrat David Alvarez, who will be moving into the mayor’s office. How did it happen?

The Faulconer team recognized the need to build a broad and diverse coalition that went well beyond the traditional Republican base. With deep roots in the community, Faulconer succeeded in earning the support of prominent Democrats like former San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre. Faulconer succeeded in growing his… Read More

The economy is picking up steam. State, city and county employees have willingly accepted millions upon millions of dollars in cuts to their pensions. California’s largest pension fund has recouped every single investment penny it lost from the Great Recession.So I thought perhaps California police officers, teachers, firefighters, and other public employees could finally exhale. I hoped we could finally enjoy relief from daily attacks for the modest pensions we count on for retirement security. Buddy Magor, Peace Officers Research Association of California Public CEO, January 27, 2014, “Stop Blaming Public Employee Pensions for Problems”

Whether or not the economy is “picking up steam” at a rate sufficient to rescue California’s financially challenged public sector pension funds is a debate that is by no means over. But let’s consider Mr. Magor’s other point regarding the “modest pensions we count on for retirement security.”

By now everyone should be familiar with the so-called “three-at-fifty”… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this commentary from Simi V Wilk, a cute little puppy, with some keen insights into California politics, that is the pride and joy of Assemblyman Scott and Vanessa Wilk – Flash]

Governor Jerry Brown in his State of the State address made an off-the-cuff remark about his dog, Sutter, stating “Bark if you don’t like deficits!” and passed out a playing card with a picture of Sutter Brown on the front and graph on the back showing how California has gone from budget deficits to… Read More

State Office Democrats Republicans Governor Jerry Brown (incumbent) Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and Neel Kashkari Treasurer John Chiang (now Controller) None Controller Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee None Attorney General Kamala Harris (incumbent) None

The deadline to file a candidate statement for a statewide office for the June 3, 2014… Read More

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[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this original commentary from longtime FR friend Doug Lasken — Flash]

My quest these days is to craft a theoretical platform for a Republican candidate for California Governor which, while embodying traditional Republican values, would ensure that the candidate could win. Achieving this goal requires a change in the current platform of the state and national GOP. Specifically, it requires a definitive and public moving away from what are known generally as “Tea Party” positions. As I’ve written for Flashreport (“The Tea Party” is not unified“), the Tea Party is not a party, has no platform and no official candidates. Nevertheless, its perceived core positions- e.g. condemnation of homosexuality, opposition to gun control and all abortion, and endorsement of fracking are supported by far less than 50% of the electorate and are opposed so vehemently by the majority that seeming acceptance of the Tea Party, by itself, was enough to sink Mitt… Read More