The new San Diego central library is opening downtown with great fanfare. It’s a monument to learning and knowledge.

Well, that’s SUPPOSED to be what it represents. But in reality, this expensive new already-obsolete building is a monument to an era that is ending — a structure that in a few years will have little more utility value than a Pharaoh’s pyramid in Egypt. The only difference is that the library will have high operating costs — the pyramids need no such annual funding.

Almost NO ONE goes to the library to “do research” any more — except perhaps to use library computers. See my article below on how to better provide such computer access at a tiny fraction of the cost.

In a city of 1.3+ million people, maybe 5,000 people will sit down inside and use it in a month — and that figure may be high. Oh, there will be a much higher headcount, but many of these daily patrons are “library club” folks — repeat visitors who LOVE to hang around the library, read magazines and sit in plush chairs. Many others will drop by to check out books, videos, music, etc. — something… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: You CANNOT make this stuff up… Seriously. – Flash]

Happy Friday!

Yesterday I mentioned rumors that Nathan Fletcher has now officially haven taken positions AGAINST pension reform and managed competition and IN FAVOR of Project Labor Agreements and “card check,” i.e. forced unionization.

Turns out these positions were taken when Fletcher was trying to get the Labor Council endorsement a week or so ago. Moments after my email yesterday, “A Friend” sent me the questionnaire and I wanted you to be the first to see it for yourself.

I took the liberty of writing a memo to accompany the questionnaire to highlight exactly how severely his positions have changed in just 18 months. It’s incredible. Pathetic, really.

NO Republican or business person should be supporting this man. Ever. For anything.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

And yes, you may absolutely forward this email and link to others.

Have a great weekend. I will continue… Read More

UPDATE – November 5, 2013 – Horizon Planet has now filed a lawsuit against the City of Tracy challenging the approval of the Cordes Ranch project. See the lawsuit here: Horizon Planet v. City of Tracy.

As indicated in the September 3, 2013 meeting minutes of the Tracy City Council, Horizon Planet submitted CEQA objections to the Final Environmental Impact Report at the last minute during the Planning Commission’s consideration of the project (forcing staff to review new documents during a break in the meeting), subsequently refused to discuss concerns with city staff, and continued to insist that it didn’t have enough time to review the project. A city council member claimed that the Horizon Planet complaint was “more economic than environmental.”

Authorities have uncovered new evidence proving that… Read More

Like a few other industries, recyclers in California have found that our state laws can sometimes place law-abiding operators at a distinct competitive disadvantage. And it’s easy to see how. Simply put, a metal thief is not likely to take stolen material to a business operator that is going to take his picture and fingerprints, along with the other state mandates. He or she will undoubtedly take the material to a business which thumbs its nose at the state. Metal theft criminals know exactly which recyclers are willing to look the other way when it comes to making a profit. Hence, the uneven playing field.

But Governor Brown now has an opportunity to show California he is serious about reducing metal theft. While AB 841 was able to make it to his desk, it wasn’t with strong bi-partisan support. To the contrary, SB 485 made it to the Governor’s desk with only one no vote in the Assembly and without opposition in the Senate. The near unanimous approval of SB 485 did not come without concerns being expressed by industry leaders, particularly related to the cost of the enhanced inspections. However, the industry put their support behind SB 485, which will in fact help… Read More

By Larry Sand and Ed Ring

September 16, 2013

Although California is not a right-to-work state, public school teachers have the ability to receive a yearly rebate of $300 – $400 from the California Teachers Association.

Teachers have these options because the United States Supreme Court has held that a union can’t force a non-union member to pay for the union’s political and other activities unrelated to bargaining and representing workers.

A teacher’s ability to exercise these options is limited, however, and the necessary paperwork must be sent to CTA by November 15. (All teachers in LA Unified and those represented by the California Federation of Teachers have different rules and information is available on CaliforniaTeacherFreedom.com.)

First, if teachers are CTA members, they must leave the union. A generic resignation letter is available here. Teachers only have to opt out of CTA one… Read More

Not unlike it’s behemoth statewide counterparts, CalPERS and CalSTRS, the Orange County Public Employee Retirement System (OCERS) is facing an unfunded pension liability that is epic in size (for Orange County it’s approaching $6 billion, for the statewide groups its exponentially larger). In fact a study out of Stanford University pegs the aggregate unfunded liability statewide at just shy of half a trillion dollars. To illustrate the difficulty of trying to bring down these numbers, you need look no further than the very modest so-called Public Employees Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) which contained limited reforms championed in the 2012 legislative session by Governor Brown and legislative Democrats. For all of the hoopla and declarations of “meaningful pension reform” that new law addressed significantly less than… Read More

[Publisher’s Note – We are pleased to offer this column from GOP congressional candidatePat Maciariello, who argues the best way to help the poor is to grow the pie.- Flash]

We have heard a lot from the Obama administration about the growing gap between the rich and poor among us. Less discussed by the Left however, is how middle-income families have done under this administration. What is their record? The fact is that median household income has fallen by 7% since 2007, with most of the decline coming on President Obama’s watch. Liberals are quick to find villains on Wall Street and in “Benedict Arnold” corporations while ignoring how their anti-growth policies and rhetoric are making the problem worse for those struggling to reach the middle class.

The U.S. economy is not a “fixed pie” entrusted to Washington elites to slice up in the way they see fit, but is instead a dynamic and adaptive system, the likes of which the world has never seen. It is a system capable of growing quickly and lifting the prospects of all in it, if we don’t screw it up. Yet nobody in this… Read More

[Publisher’s Note – We are pleased to offer this column from Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, who explains why she has filed a lawsuit against State Senator Mark Wyland.- Flash]

Are there bounds of decency in which campaigns should be run? I think so.

Before joining the Assembly, I built a very successful 30-year career in finance. My husband of 30 years, Dan, also built his businesses, but did so independent of my career interests.

When the real estate downturn came, one of Dan’s investment firms took a hit. Many investors, who were forewarned about the risks of investing, saw their portfolios shrink as a result of the economic crisis. That’s not unusual.

A handful of investors filed suit, even though they knew the risks of investing. Unfortunately forCaliforniabusinesses, that’s not unusual either.

What is unusual is that one of my political opponents for the Board of Equalization, Mark Wyland, has taken an active interest in the plight of these plaintiffs. Why would a State… Read More