Issues Archive

Jun 22, 2009

Well done, San Francisco

Every now and then, our city officials get something right. At first blush, San Francisco’s new police chief looks like a fantastic choice. George Gascón, a William Bratton protégé, will have his hands full with the City’s eclectic mix of problems. Let’s hope he can deliver.

Jun 20, 2009 | 0 Comments

Focus on triple bottom line is good business

America did not become a great nation by playing the victim.
by Toby Brink

Lately, news headlines have been dominated by discouraging economic news — the mortgage crisis, toxic assets, layoffs, scandals and the financial meltdown.
Yet America did not become a great nation by playing the victim. Challenging times bring opportunity. Americans always rise to the challenge.
Americans’ [...]

Jun 09, 2009 | 2 Comments

Constitutional convention needed to fix California

Desperate times call for drastic measures.
by Don Blubaugh
In May, voters soundly rejected efforts by the governor and Legislature to balance the state budget. The state is on shaking fiscal grounds. Voters no longer trust our state leaders.
How did we get here?
For years, Sacramento politicians have responded to various interest groups each wanting its piece of [...]

May 26, 2009 | 0 Comments

California is about to take local money, again

The Prop 13 hangover never ends.
By Don Blubaugh
IN 1978, WHEN voters approved Proposition 13 they set in motion intended and unintended consequences. What was intended was a reduction in property taxes that were climbing rapidly because of the inflationary spiral on housing values. Voters approved the measure and property taxes were slashed by 57 percent. [...]

May 19, 2009 | 0 Comments

Jarvis & Reagan are Dead

The demise of California’s Republican Party is nearly complete.
by Clint Reilly
The ghosts of Ronald Reagan and Howard Jarvis are all that’s left of a dying Republican Party in California.
In 1984, I managed the initiative campaign that defeated Proposition 36, Howard Jarvis’s sequel to Proposition 13. Double-digit annual property tax increases had driven Jarvis’s citizen rebellion [...]

May 09, 2009 | 3 Comments

Bay Area an incubator for changing journalism

by Frank Holland
Senate committee hearings are rarely known for excitement. They’re usually staid affairs marked by dull policy jargon.
But when the hearings involve steroid-enhanced professional athletes or the cathartic excoriation of greedy bankers, congressional testimony becomes high drama.
I hoped for some type of dramatic exchange – or at least some new ideas – from Wednesday’s [...]

May 04, 2009 | 3 Comments

To Create Jobs, Incubate Businesses

There’s more to economic stimulation than bricks and mortar.
by Toby Brink
The federal government has recently invested nearly $800 billion to stimulate the economy. “Shovel-ready” projects are suddenly all the rage.
There is no doubt that infrastructure investment is important to our quality of life and to our global economic competitiveness. But is a massive investment in [...]

Apr 27, 2009 | 3 Comments

Newspapers: the DeLorean of the New Era

Okay. We get it. Newspapers are defunct. They never even had a viable profit model because they succeeded only by selling classified ads to support their journalism and printing costs, sort of like DeLorean selling coke to keep making his cars.
by Erik Aker
A few weeks ago San Francisco Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein was on the [...]

Apr 25, 2009 | 2 Comments

Youth are feeling Oakland’s traumas too

Fr. Jayson Landeza
Holdup robberies at East Oakland convenience stores are hardly unprecedented events, but last week’s caper was different. The two culprits demanded gum, Push Pops and the money in the register.
They were eight and 10 years old, respectively, and armed with a BB gun.
Two days later, a 16-year-old was arrested for a shooting near [...]

Apr 14, 2009 | 0 Comments

The PG&E of Newspapers

Clint Reilly
One utility company dominates Northern California. But what if one corporation controlled every daily newspaper?
Newspaper firms argue that monopolies – which streamline production and editorial costs – are the only way for financially beleaguered metropolitan dailies to survive.
The California Public Utilities Commission regulates PG&E for consumers. But who regulates a monopoly newspaper?
If large media [...]