I am very pleased to report that the State Assembly’s passage of legislation to create a California Blueberry Commission, in the midst of a fiscal crisis, is continuing to bloom into a full scale controversy. Juliet Williams with the Associated Press has now published a lengthy piece, which you can read, entitled, Blueberry board more pressing than state budget? I am no expert on the rules of the State Assembly, but one of the Republicans who voted for this turkey, who perhaps can now see in retrospect it was a bad idea, should ask for reconsideration.… Read More

As the Budget Conference Committee continues to discuss the state’s $24 billion budget deficit, Senate Republican conferees Bob Dutton and Mimi Walters are calling for less talk and more action. In an effort to bring transparency to the Conference Committee process, Senators Dutton and Walters will be offering regular updates on the committee’s progress until it concludes. “We have been meeting for nearly two weeks and it’s clear to us that the Democrats are not willing to make the reductions necessary to solve this $24 billion fiscal crisis,” said Dutton. “Spending reductions of this magnitude are not easy for anyone, but they are necessary. Time is running out.” Senator Walters added, “Raising taxes is out of the question. California’s government is too large and too expensive. We have to spend less and live within our means.” Senator Dutton and Senator Walters have repeatedly reminded their colleagues on the committee that energizing California’s economy—stimulating private sector job growth—is the long-term answer to the… Read More

FR readers should be advised that in order to catch a very early flight, the main page links were pulled together between 2-3am. It’s possible that some stories were not updated on newspaper sites that early. That is certainly the case with the San Francisco Chronicle, which you may want to check for yourself.

Sorry for any inconvenience.… Read More

Quote of the Week: “I don’t know anything about cars” – Edward Whitacre, new Chairman of General Motors. Saturn: As most readers of this missive know, before losing my mind and entering politics, I was in the car dealership business for 25 years. As many of you probably don’t know, I was the first Saturn retailer (Saturn was avoiding the term "dealer") chosen by the company back in 1987. I was on the "Franchise Operations Team" that helped develop and grow the retail system that has demonstrated its success in providing high levels of customer service. I opened one of the first 25 stores in 1989 and eventually owned and operated 5 Saturn Facilities in Orange County by 1997. I sold my business to a subsidiary of General Motors in 1998 when GM (in one of their many recent mistakes) decided that they could run dealerships better than individual dealers could, and my business was their first acquisition (That experiment failed a few years later and they sold the stores back into the market). As you can imagine, I have more than a little experience with the … Read More

I’ve had more than a few contacts over the passage of AB 606 that would allow the creation of a CaliforniaBlueberry Commission. I’ve been asked why can’t all the stuff they are proposed to do be done by a private association, like the current California Blueberry Association (and sponsor of the bill)?

First, I love blueberries from California. I have strayed occasionally and eaten them from other states. Maine’s are particularly good and the do have a commission as does Oregon and Michigan other tempters of my palate.

Blueberries are great morning, noon or night. There are blueberryjams, blueberry pies, blueberry pancakes, blueberry waffles, blueberry syrups, blueberry salsas,blueberry cobblers, blueberry donuts,blueberrysalad dressings, blueberry muffins,blueberry shakes, blueberry… Read More

This was just released to the public…

June 11, 2009

An Open Letter to Elected Officials: We, the undersigned taxpayer advocates, have grave concerns about the current effort to amend the California Constitution in a manner which would allow a simultaneous or subsequent initiative calling for a Constitutional Convention. Rather than being a panacea for California’s woes, such an effort could very well result in the weakening or outright repeal of vital taxpayer protections such as Proposition 13 and Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act. At the outset, we acknowledge the good intentions of many of the individuals and organizations who have previously supported the notion of a Constitutional Convention. Notwithstanding these good intentions,… Read More

Pacific Legal Foundation announced today that it is filing a lawsuit to challenge Caltrans’ new race- and sex-based quotas projects. According to PLF, Caltrans announced in March that it would be implementing the 2009 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, which “sets a quota of having 6.75 percent of contracts go to women or members of targeted, preferred groups – African American, Asian-Pacific American, and Native American (but not Latinos or any other group).” PLF filed the lawsuit on behalf of Associated General Contractors of America, San Diego Chapter.

During a media conference call today announcing the lawsuit, PLF principal attorney Sharon Browne explained that this new program not only violates the United States Constitution’s equal protection, it violates California’s Proposition 209. In fact, Ward Connerly, the former UC Regent who led the campaign to end race-based quotas in California’s government institutions, participated in the media conference call. Connerly stated that it’s wrong to place the construction industry in the… Read More

Predictably, the public employee union bosses and various left wing groups are calling for the repeal of various tax breaks on businesses that were part of the infamous big taxes/big spending/open primary budget deal that took place last February. In return for their political support for the $14+ billion in income, sales and car taxes in that deal, and support for another $16+ billion in more taxes in funding the Yes on 1A campaign (which thankfully lost), the "business community" got tax breaks through that will save business between $1-2.5 billion. Of course, since business in California is particularly overtaxed in the "Golden" state, who can blame them? Well, okay, I can. The whole thing stunk — where the business community should have allied with taxpayer protection groups and the Republican Party against ANY new taxes, they… Read More