Caltrans is an agency in trouble. The most recent buffoonery involves putting California motorists at risk, with the 30 broken bolts discovered on the newly renovated San Francisco Bay Bridge. And apparently Caltrans knew about this.

A recently released report from the California League of Cities , California State Association of Counties and other transportation organizations found only 56 percent of California’s local streets and roads were deemed to be in “good” condition, and 49 of the state’s 58 counties were rated “At Risk” or in “Poor’ condition.

“By ‘streets and roads,’ the report is also referring to bridges and essential components like sidewalks, storm drains, curbs and traffic signs,” the AllGov… Read More

I grew up in Los Angeles. My parents still live in the same home in which I was raised on the Westside. I have an affinity for the city that was my home for nearly half of my life. After watching with gross fascination for eight years as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has diminished the City of the Angels, both with his embrace of liberal public policies as well his fair share of scandals, I was ready for a new mayor, one that could lead the city back from the brink.

I endorsed Republican Kevin James in his bid for Mayor, penning a full-throated column in support of him on this website. On issue after issue that matters to the fiscal well being of the second largest city in our nation, James took the strong stands for fiscal restraint, budget reform, pension reform and more. I don’t live in Los Angeles anymore, but my folks do and they voted for James. Alas, he fell far short of what he needed to make the runoff, and the candidacy of Kevin James was no more, and the hope for sanity in city government faded with his departure from the… Read More

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”

Contrary to a common misconception, it was not Charles Duell, the Commissioner of the US patent office, who said this back in 1899. According toPatentlyO.com, and a host of other debunking sources online, this line was actually part of a parody that appeared in an 1899 edition of Punch Magazine. But it was a common sentiment of that era.

Over a century later, with innovations in recent years that were entirely unimaginable back in the great era of steel and steam, we might be hesitant to think everything that can be invented has been invented. But reputable economists are on hand to diminish the potential of information technology to continue to yield advances in productivity –Robert Gordonof Northwestern University, for example, “downplays the role of computer technology in the economic growth of the latter 20th century and questions the actual productivity of such technological… Read More

[The following column, penned my yours truly, appears on the Opinion Page of the Orange County Register today. I’m reprinting it below because, as luck would have it, the column appears the first day that the Register is imposing it’s firewall for readers. Who can fault me for reprinting my own piece? Here is the link to where it resides behind the paywall – Flash]

Jon Fleischman: Orange County doesn’t need an appointed CEO O.C. actually run by 5 elected supervisors, who need more of a chief of staff.

By JON FLEISCHMAN / For the Register

The county of Orange for more than eight months has been without a county executive officer. But our county government has not been without leadership. Unlike the private sector, where a corporate CEO will often answer to a part-time board of directors, providing perhaps only the broadest of oversight, the Orange County CEO answers to a Board of … Read More

Although the official announcement won’t take place until later this week, San Diego blogSD Rostraconfirmed today that former Assemblyman and 2012 San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher is returning to the Republican Party.

Fletcher caused a stir by leaving the GOP and registering non-partisan during last year’s mayoral contest, after failing to win the party’s endorsement in the race. Many political watchers believed the move was a strategic gamble to breathe life into his campaign effort. Athough Fletcher received a flurry of notoriety as a result, it ultimately wasn’t enough as he finished third behind Bob Filner and Carl DeMaioin the June primary election.

Yet, the resulting bad blood between Fletcher and local Republican leaders makes the news of his return somewhat of a surprise, if not a complete shock.

Discussions between Fletcher and the GOP have taken place for several weeks,Rostraconfirmed. Although neither Fletcher nor San Diego Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric confirmed the information directly, they both refused to deny… Read More

[Publisher’s Note – We are pleased to offer this original commentary from longtime FR friend the Honorable Scott Mann. Mann is currently serving as Mayor of Menifee, which is located in the Inland Empire of Southern California — Flash]

The City of Menifee is on the record unanimously opposing AB 5, often called the Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act. I appreciate that homelessness is a genuine community problem across the State of California which, in public discussion, excites strong feelings on all sides.

However, even the Los Angeles Times says “While we sympathize with its (AB 5’s) spirit, we don’t support it. The solution is not to sanction the culture of homelessness or to offer blanket approval for a way of life that society generally agrees should be ended.” (1/11/13)

This bill, which even its author, Assembly Member Ammiano, concedes is “aspirational,” would impose unfunded mandates upon cities while adding homelessness to a listing of protected classes. Under the bill, “life-sustaining activities that must be carried out in… Read More

The Sacramento politicians are planning a costly attack on drivers’ wallets by changing the way some traffic violations are defined.

Generally, the public accepts the need for parking enforcement. The threat of a fine for those who overstay their allotted time helps to make sure that limited parking spaces are available to all who want to shop or do business in a commercial district. However, in many cities, like Los Angeles where parking fines have been raised 5 times in recent years and even those who park at broken meters are ticketed, the goal is revenue.

The public also tends to support fines for those whose driving puts others in danger as well as themselves. An expensive ticket for those who run a red light is intended to serve as a deterrent to those who might otherwise ignore traffic regulations. However, this system, too, can be manipulated so that driver safety takes a backseat to the primary goal, squeezing more money from the public.

Most motorists are familiar with red light cameras. A number of city councils, attracted by the potential of additional revenue, have approved these cameras using the argument that they improve… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this perspective from longtime FR reader and occasional columnist Doug Lasken. A reminder that the views expressed here are Doug’s and do not necessarily reflect anyone else’s views, including my own – Flash]

A successful political party, by one definition, is a party that is able to create viable coalitions, where a viable coalition is one that leads to sufficient votes to ensure election of enough party members to provide some hope of fulfilling the wishes of the coalition members.

The Republican Party has not acted in accordance with the above definition, but has replaced it with this: “A successful party is one that is in the right and takes the moral high ground.” Of course Democrats claim that their party is in the right and takes the moral high ground, and that the coalitions within their party reflect that. What, then, is the difference between the two parties?

The difference is that the Democrats don’t really mean it. They are anti-war, but they promote war; they are in favor helping the poor by doling out cash (with… Read More