I found it to be very ironic that the news that Governor’s Schwarzenegger’s pick to replace retiring California Supreme Court Justice Ron George had officiated over a same sex marriage was tucked in a Los Angeles Times story (by Maura Dolan) with the innocuous headline, Chief Justice Nominee Avoids Hot-Button Issues. Appellate Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (pictured, right) actually, and probably unwittingly, has plowed robes-first into what a great many would consider to be California’s most high-profile “hot button issue” – gay marriage.

Californians are very polarized on this issue, which has been the subject of a couple of high-profile statewide votes. In a split decision, the very court to which Cantil-Sakauye has been nominated issued a 4-3 split decision, throwing out voter-approved Proposition 22… Read More

This just in…

Justice Cantil-Sakauye Interprets The Law, As It Is Written By Ret. Justice Joanne Parrilli Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated Tani Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice of the California Supreme Court. It is a choice that is as wise as it is groundbreaking. Justice Cantil-Sakauye is an excellent jurist and is at all times mindful of the public trust. And because of that, Flash Report readers should be clear about… Read More

Las Vegas in July. Not exactly the “coolest” place to be during the summer. But last weekend it was definitely the place to be for political Internet activists. The two biggest conferences for the Left and the Right were held on opposing sides of the Vegas Strip: the conservative RightOnline Conference at the Venetian and Netroots Nation at the Rio.

Founded five years ago, Netroots Nation heralded the Left’s investment in new and social media. Their investment paid off, with an unprecedented new/social media campaign that propelled Barack Obama’s 2008 candidacy towards victory. But conservatives weren’t too far behind and RightOnline was launched three years ago by Americans for Prosperity. In the three years it has gone head-to-head with Netroots … Read More

This is great…

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the "ghost" pages in the Sunday edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Alas, I didn’t seem to spark an interest; few others seemed to be curious that the paper claimed 136 pages, when I could only find 98.

So, let me throw out a challenge today, to readers of the actual non-online newspaper…

On page A-1 of today’s U-T, in the lower left-hand corner, the paper claims 162 pages. So, readers: find them. Count the regular pages, including the classifieds (pretty simple math, considering each section lists the page numbers in the upper corner). Go ahead and count the Real Estate advertisement section. Include Parade Magazine and the Comics in your tally. Heck, even go ahead and total the ad "sections" for Big Five, Harbor Freight Tools, and Ortho Mattress…count that as a gimme (even though they really are inserts).

No fair counting the regular advertising inserts, clearly not sections or pages of the… Read More

Many FlashReport readers that closely follow California policy are familiar with the California Budget Project. Hiding behind a rather innocent-sounding name, this group is staffed with hard-left ideologues who are passionately committed to the idea that bigger government is better government (right on their website’s splash-page is an article entitled, "Why Tax Cuts Don’t Work.").

While we respect them for being passionate ideologues, we think it is important when possible to provide counter-point to their advocacy for the modern welfare state.

Proposition 24, which will appear on the November ballot (courtesy of major funding from the California Teachers Association) seeks to undo changes in the state tax code implemented last year that, for all practical purposes, would make Californian a costlier place to do business for a good number of the state’s larger employers. While we here at FR were very unhappy about the 2009 budget deal, and its massive tax increases, these tax code changes were a positive by-product.

The No on 24 campaign released a University of Southern California study on how the passage of 24, repealing… Read More

Did you know that just a couple of weeks ago, the largest jury-granted award for damages in America took place, right here in California? The award was for $613 million in statutory damages, and $58 million in restitutionary damages (so this award doesn’t even include any punitive damages, though as you will read on, that would be a moot point).

The case was a class-action lawsuit filed by trial lawyers on behalf of wronged nursing home residents against Orange County based Skilled Healthcare, which operates nursing homes right here in the Golden State.

As a columnist who writes on a myriad of California’s public policy and political issues, I am hardly an expert when it comes to the specific issues of nursing homes and the regulations that govern their activities. I will say that like in just about every legal case I know, the plaintiff’s made accusations of wrong-doing, and the defendants staked out their ground, that they did nothing wrong. After a lengthy trial, a jury found for the plaintiffs.

My issue is not with the finding of the jury, I admit that I have not… Read More

A study released yesterday reveals that while California increased spending public schools in a five-year period, it spent less on classrooms.

“More of the funding increase went to administrators, clerks and technical staff and less to teachers, textbooks, materials and teacher aides,” according to this Associated Press article.

This is a slap in the face to teachers, students and taxpayers. But it’s not surprising.

Anyone who has dealt with public schools (which is most of us) knows that classrooms have been given the short shrift for years. School districts reward administrators with raises and job security while handing out pink slips to teachers. Furthermore, teachers must regularly dig into their own wallets to fund classroom supplies.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: California’s public education system isn’t under-appropriated; it’s misappropriated.… Read More