Fire departments are rated for the insurance industry as to their fire suppression efficiency. The lower the rating, the better. These ratings ARE important, as they are considered by the companies that issue fire insurance. Higher ratings translate into more costly fire insurance. The certifying outfit is the Insurance Services Office, and so it’s called the ISO rating.

VERY few departments get the best ISO rating — a “1.” In the entire state of California, only 10 fire departments achieve that rating. Only 97 of the 47,000 fire agencies nationwide merit a “1” rating.

In San Diego County we are fortunate to have TWO such agencies. One is the Heartland Fire Agency, which serves the communities of La Mesa, Lemon Grove and El Cajon. But the one that really surprised me was the Poway Fire Department. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jun/18/heartland-fire-top-rating/

Unlike almost all the other fire departments in San Diego County, Power deploys 3 man trucks. Well, they use the same type of fire… Read More

Just when you think things can’t get any worse in California, it gets worse. A bill was just signed into law by Governor Brown that will register maybe 6 million low information people to vote. People who go to the DMV (supposedly limited to citizens, but no one will check) for licensing or ID will be AUTOMATICALLY registered to vote unless they specifically opt out. No stinkin’ registration form needed, apparently. http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/10/3707288/breaking-california-will-automatically-register-millions-of-voters

California already has the lowest voter turnout (percent of registered voters) in the nation. This will LOWER that percentage.

The good news is that most of these new registrants will not vote. The bad news is that too many will, overwhelmingly voting Democrat and swinging more elections for the progressives. The effect will be felt a bit in 2016, but will grow in subsequent elections.

I suspect this is the edge needed to give… Read More

This is Part lll of Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions. Part ll is HERE. Part i is HERE.

In what world does a janitor get paid $48.50? In the world of California politics, driven by corrupt labor unions and greedy state agencies.

Janitorial company owner Jeff Baron is in trouble with the state of California because large general contractors who hire him as a subcontractor charge the state, the union prevailing wage rate of $48.50 per hour in their bids on public works projects, but then pay him the going rate of $10 to $15 per hour. Taxpayers are on the hook for paying $48.50 per hour for janitors on public works projects, while subcontractors like Baron’s janitorial clean up company, are paid less, and general contractors pocket the difference.

The Riverside District Attorney has had criminal charges filed against Baron for five years. They just announced they plan to bring his case to trial within… Read More

This is Part ll of Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions. Part l is HERE

Janitorial company owner Jeff Baron is in trouble with the state of California because large general contractors who hire him as a subcontractor charge the state the union prevailing wage rate of $48.50 per hour in their bids on public works projects, but then refuse to pay him that rate. Taxpayers are on the hook for paying $48.50 per hour for janitors on public works projects, but in reality, subcontractors like Baron’s janitorial clean up company, are only paid the going rate of $10 to $15 per hour, and the general contractors pocket the rest.

Some say the Riverside District Attorney is going after Baron Services because it’s easier to go after small subcontractors — low-hanging fruit.

The Destroyer

In the middle of all of Jeff Baron’s troubles is… Read More

Back in the late 1970’s something happened to the Santa Clara Valley. Increasingly it became referred to as the Silicon Valley, because the emerging silicon based semiconductor industry found its first home in plants nestled along the southern shores of the San Francisco Bay.Boasting what are among the finest universities in the United States – Stanford and Cal Berkeley – and the best weather in the world, high technology companies began choosingthe San Francisco Bay Area in the 1940’s and never looked back. Where once there wereendless orchards of Prune, Apricot and Cherry trees, a sprawling ecosystem of high tech companies and venture capital firms now attracts talent from everywhere on earth. The Silicon Valley became, and remains, the epicenter ofthe most dramatic technological advances in history.

For the first 25 years or so, certainly through the end of the 20th century, the mantra in the Silicon Valley was “better, faster, cheaper.” Entrepreneurs were creating entire new industries, as digital technology enabled “mini-computers” to replace mainframes, and “work-stations” to replace mini’s, which were in-turn replaced by PCs and… Read More

A San Bernardino janitorial contractor has always paid his employees union-approved wages. But he has been kicked off public works job sites for so-called prevailing wage violations for five years now. The kicker?

Three years ago I asked, “In what strange world do janitors get paid $45 per hour? In California, the land of the prevailing wage.” The answer today is still the same, only I will add, “In labor union-run California….” And today this janitorial prevailing wage rate is up to $48.50 per hour.

The strange and tragic case of Jeff Baron, proprietor of Baron Services, a janitorial service specializing in final clean up of big construction projects, is not complex – in fact, it’s crystal clear what’s going on. But it has become convoluted.

Another Corrupted State Agency

The crux of the issue is there is noDepartment of Industrial Relationsprevailing wage classification for this specific type of construction clean up janitorial work. Baron explained that the going rate in the private sector for a basic janitorial job is between $10 and $15 per hour. But the… Read More

Chicago, Carl Sandburg’s “City of the big shoulders,” is about to find out just how heavy a tax burden homeowners are able to bear. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has revealed his plan for a massive property tax increase to pay for unfunded pension obligations. And for taxpayers, it isn’t pretty. The mayor wants a $543 million increase in property taxes to cover police and fire pensions, as well as additional taxes and fees to close a projected $745 million budget shortfall.

How much this will cost the average homeowner is not yet clear. Emanuel is seeking approval from the Legislature to exempt those homes worth less than $250,000 from the increase, meaning more valuable properties would absorb the entire burden.

The uncertainty may also be contributing to a decline in home values in recent months, as shown by the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Buyers may not be so ready to cut a deal that will see them inheriting a massive property tax hike.

To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/its-never-enough/… Read More

CA state and local governments deem inmate brush firefighters a valuable asset that makes good sense. But the idea of forming CIVILIAN VOLUNTEER brush firefighting brigades to fight the fires and protect homes when these fires approach housing areas is somehow not safe — for union firefighters. Few people realize how big our California prisoner firefighting effort is. There are 196 inmate fire crews that perform more than 3 million hours of emergency response work annually.It’s estimated to save California $80-$100 million a year — combating CA brush and forest fires. The story below about this program is illuminating (sorry), but should result in some heated (again, my bad) debate.

In my subdivision (Scripps Ranch in San Diego) we lost 330 homes to the 2003 Cedar brush fire — mostly abandoned homes burned down by embers. Many homes were saved — by homeowners who stayed behind and put out the ember fires before they grew. The fire trucks arrivedhourslate — in large part the result of too many called-up union… Read More