One of the most important changes in California in the last couple years is the change of how independent contractors are treated and whether they should be W-2 employees. There is no doubt that some employers were abusing the law in California that aligned with the federal rules. The question is did we throw the baby out with the bathwater? And it is clear that was exactly what was done.

New rules were set in place by a California Supreme Court ruling in the Dynamex vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles. The ruling in short established that someone working for a company was an employee not an independent contractor. The burden of proof became the companies; they must show the person was not an employee.

Then the legislature drafted AB5 and the Governor signed this bill which codified the Supreme Court ruling with many exceptions for various different professions. A labor law mediator who is an expert on labor law in California stated that he believes the exceptions in the law has made AB5 problematic. There are more exemptions that were being put forward that are on hold because of the COVID situation. For example, the musicians were not considered in initial… Read More

As everyone knows, buying a home in California is MUCH more expensive than buying a home in almost all the other states. Generally we compare states using the “median home value.” According to Zillow, the July 2020 median home value in the U.S. is $248,857. The CA median home value is $578,857. BTW, the median home value in my San Diego County is $628,519. https://www.zillow.com/san-diego-county-ca/home-values/

When you first heard of it, it was something far away. Then it might come to our shores. It was here but was not a concern. Then it began to get serious and then it began to get scary. People were afraid to leave their homes. Some have been locked down since March. If you ventured out of the house you risked everything. The authorities instead of calming you were causing panic. But you are not the panicking type. You do everything responsible to protect yourself. Wash your hands a dozen times a day. Wear a mask around people. Keep your distance from people. Then you find out you have it. You have COVID.

You think it would be easy to know you have it. It isn’t. The authorities have you scared of anything going on with your body. You are over 50, but not in the high risk over-80 age group where most deaths are occurring, though that fact must be uncovered because it is not generally disclosed. Forty percent of deaths are still from people in nursing homes where the median life span is five months. Yet you get a sniffle or cough, or you wake up congested one morning and you run to look at the symptoms on the internet. The symptoms go away and relief returns. This time… Read More

A single event has been the catalyst to discuss our police unlike any other time we have had in this country. The reactions are on a spectrum between reasoned discussion with moderate change all the way to wholesale change in how we address the issue of police, particularly in how they interact with various communities.

It is generally accepted even by the most ardent supporters of the police (include me in that group) that there is a need to spend more effort in policing the police. If there are 800,000 police in this country and one percent are an issue, that is 8,000 cops. They may have become problematic through being worn down by the rigors of the job. Or they may have been improperly screened in the first place and gotten further than they should have.

I have asserted that a large part of the problem is the police unions protecting bad cops. There is no question that cops deserve protection because at times they are either falsely accused or they make decisions in dangerous situations within a split second as to whether they have to take extreme actions to protect themselves or others in extraordinary scenarios. Some like to “Monday morning quarterback”… Read More

For the past 27 years, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard has ruled over California’s 40th District in a seat that was held by her father, Rep. Edward Roybal, for 30 years before her. But while the father-daughter combo has enjoyed the perks of power for 60 years, it’s Roybal-Allard’s son Ricardo Olivarez who might be the biggest beneficiary of the family’s hold on power.

Olivarez heads the law firm of Olivarez Madruga LLP, through which he currently serves as the city attorney for Cudahy (which is inside his mother’s district), as well as San Fernando and El Monte. His billing for work in El Monte during the last calendar year, 2019, included a monthly retainer of nearly $60,000 a month, totaling more than a whopping $705,000 for the year.

According to a 2014 article in the Whittier Daily News the industry average for public attorneys is to charge client cities and organizations $10,000 to $20,000 per month. Thus, his billing of El Monte is staggeringly… Read More

Employment? Democrat states don’t NEED no stinkin’ employment!

You can verify this gonzo assertion by looking at the latest (June, 2020) BLS unemployment figures by state. The top (worst) ELEVEN employment states are all Democrat run. California is “only” the fifth worst state: 50th — Massachusetts — the worst 49th — New Jersey — surprised? 48th — New York — stunning, right? 47th — Nevada — now that both state houses AND gov are Democrat 46th — The Golden State — La La Land

Conversely, 11 of the 12 BEST states (lowest unemployment rates) are GOP controlled — only Maine is the exception. https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm… Read More

A wide discussion started well in advance of election day (November 3rd ) that President Trump will not accept the results of the election and vacate the White House if defeated. The question is: Who will be the people not accepting the results?

I have written previously on this subject regarding the 2016 election. I wrote of wackos in the Republican party (yes; there are some — although the majority are nestled on the LEFT) speculating before and after the 2016 election that Mr. Obama would not leave on January 20, 2017. At the time, I expressed to their faces and in writing that this was a ridiculously stupid theory and that they should never repeat it again to a live person.

The difference currently is that the theories coming from the Democrats are not coming just from the deranged Left. On June 11th, Vice-President Joe Biden stated his “single greatest concern” is President Trump “will try to steal the election.” That he is absolutely “convinced” the military will need to escort Trump from the White House if he loses the election but refuses to leave office. Notice he does not state that Trump would not leave office; he just purports… Read More

At an Executive Committee meeting on Monday evening Tony Krvaric announced a leadership team to take over when his current term ends in January, 2021.

Krvaric was first elected in 2007, taking over after Ron Nehring who was elected California Republican Party chairman. He was subsequently re-elected six times and will have served nearly 14 years as chairman.

The new leadership team will consist of Paula Whitsell as Chairman, Dustin Trotter as 1st Vice Chair, Brad Gerbel as 2nd Vice Chair, Elizabeth Spillane as Treasurer, and Andrew Skale as Secretary.

Paula is a small business owner in the South Bay. She lived and worked in Brazil for 17 years before returning to the San Diego area in 1989 with her family. She has been active with the Chula Vista Bonita Republican Women as well as the San Diego County Republican Women since 2009.

Paula currently serves as Second Vice Chair and was recently re-elected to the 80th Assembly District Caucus for the upcoming term. Having seen the effects of socialism in action while in Brazil, she is a passionate voice for Republican values.

The leadership team will stand for election in January of 2021, all… Read More