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I am very pleased to announce that my long time friend and colleague in the battle for individual liberty and freedom, Steve Greenhut, will be starting a new position on July 22 as a Sacramento-based California columnist for the Union Tribune San Diego. This latest “pick up” for the UT represents an ongoing, substantial effort by San Diego’s flagship newspaper to expand the scope and depth of their political coverage and commentary.

Steve excitedly told me, “I can’t wait to spend my full days keeping a watchful eye on the Capitol and the state government in general. I’ll be producing three columns a week in the A section as well as a daily blog. U-T San Diego is a great newspaper and I’m honored to be part of the team.”

For the past few years Greenhut has served as a Vice President with the Franklin Center, an outstanding organization dedicated to ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse through strong reporting in the nation’s state capitols. While there, Greenhut continued to write prolifically for the Orange County Register (that will discontinue I’m sure), as well as for many other publications.… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, I am pleased to present this column from Ward Connerly – Flash]

It is often said that the Constitution of the United States of America is “colorblind.” While it is true that this precious document makes no reference to “race” or skin color, the institution whose mission it is to interpret the Constitution – the Supreme Court – has generally not exercised colorblindness in its constitutional interpretations over the years.

The most serious attack on the colorblind principle is what is commonly called “affirmative action.” A creation of the 1960s, this program, or concept, relies on the classification of American citizens into separate demographic groups. Once classified, some of the groups are targeted for special treatment if they are deemed “underrepresented” or viewed as potential contributors to… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, I am pleased to present this column from Jon Coupal. Coupal is the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association – Flash]

A recent front page story in theLos Angeles Timesraised the curtain on a dirty little secret that local school officials don’t want the public to know. Many school boards throughout California have indulged in a process that can best be described as “bribery and money laundering” which grossly inflates the cost of bond debt — the result of which is higher taxes on homeowners.

Here is how it works. A school board determines it wants to pass a bond that will be paid for by property owners. Because government officials are prohibited from using taxpayer dollars topromotea ballot measure, they cut a deal with a bond underwriter to fund the effort and provide expert campaign… Read More

This is an email that I recently sent to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors in opposition to a project to put in a roughly three-mile trolley system in place between the Anaheim Train Station and Disneyland at a cost to taxpayers well north of 400 million bucks. Much of it from money that could be used to widen the 405 or 91 freeways. You can’t make this stuff up. The OCTA is scheduled to vote on this boondoggle this morning — Flash

LETTER IN OPPOSITION TO “Anaheim Rapid Connection Locally Preferred Alternative” – AKA — The REALLY REALLY Expensive Taxpayer-Funded Trolley to Disneyland’s Front Door.

Dear OCTA Member:

Some of you on the OCTA Board of Directors know me, others do not. By way of introduction my name is Jon Fleischman. I am the publisher of the FlashReport.org website on California politics. I am a former Executive Director of the California Republican Party. Here in Orange County I am a long-time elected member of the Orange County GOP Central Committee, a member of the Lincoln Club, and am an activist for… Read More

Here’s another “mystery,” discussed in the BusinessWeek article below. Well, a mystery for some, at least.

California is losing businesses faster than any state in the nation — both in the number of businesses lost (no big surprise, given our size) and the RATE at which they are being lost. And this isNETlost businesses.

Salient excerpt: There were 1.3 million businesses in California at the end of 2012, 5.2 percent fewer than in the previous year (that’s about 73,000 fewer). To put that in perspective, Massachusetts lost 5,200 businesses, the second-highest amount, and Kansas had 3.1 percent fewer businesses in 2012 than in 2011, the second-highest loss rate. Nebraska added businesses at 11.9 percent, the fastest rate.

Look at those stats, and consider this:In 2012 California lost businesses at a rate 67.7% higher than the SECOND worst state (Kansas).

Oh my!… Read More

Often I like to point out that “California is the engine of prosperity — for the other 49 states.” In this SACRAMENTO BEE article, we find that such prosperity starts just across theCaliforniaborder — on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe — and took off starting in December of last year.

Nevada’s rejuvenated prosperity is directly related to the CA Prop 30 millionaires’ tax passed last November. And it’s not just prosperity — it’s BIG TIME prosperity, as California moguls flee the rich-hating “Golden State.” As one delighted Nevada real estate agent quipped,“Lake Tahoe — where the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires.“

A reminder — in November, California voters were delighted to stick it to the rich — raising their income taxes about 29%, and doing it retroactively to the first of the year. That was quite a wake up call to our state’s wealthiest residents. The increased tax revenue from 2012 rolled into Sacramento this spring, as the evil rich folks were caught flat-footed.

But now many of these… Read More

As a young child, I was fortunate to be able to live in Newport, Rhode Island, the first British colony in America to formally declare its independence, and the first state to guarantee freedom of religion.

We lived a short time in an old home in downtown Newport, which survived the Revolutionary War. Soldiers fought the Brits from the upstairs windows of our home, according to local lore.

Newport was rife with constant reminders of The American Revolution. I used to imagine what life was like in 1776 Newport, when the state repealed its allegiance to King George III of England.

Reflecting upon Independence Day, it’s so important to remember the Revolution wasn’t just a rebellion against the King of England, it was a rebellion against being ruled by a monarchy. Our forefathers and many of our ancestors gave up everything and shed their own… Read More

Only two full days into the BART worker strike, it appears the 400,000 people who usually rely on the train system to get around the San Francisco Bay Area are resourceful. And, they’ve turned to a free market solution.

While Bay Area Rapid Transit employees strike for higher pay and “safer” working conditions, their unions, the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, duke it out with government officials.

But not everyone in the Bay Area is stranded.

Avego, one of the clever startup rideshare companies, jumped into action just in time for the strike Monday morning.

Avego marketed their services “with gusto” to commuters coming from the East Bay to San Francisco. “Avego was going beyond offering an easy way to share a ride with a stranger. The… Read More