On Local Government

Our new ballot

In February, 2009, then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (you remember him?) was looking for one more vote in the California State Senate to get a compromise budget approved. The only Republican Senator willing to talk was Abel Maldonado. His price was [...]

On Local Government: another conundrum

Six years ago, the Legal Establishment in Los Angeles County was horrified to find that someone had upset their well-planned apple cart. That year, an unknown non-practicing lawyer, Lynn Olson, decided she would stand for election to the Superior Court. [...]

On Local Government

A different Jobs plan Much ink and many electrons have been spilled following the untimely death of Steve Jobs. Much of that discourse has focused on the primary area of his business life that he was expert…leadership. I had some [...]

On Local Government

The political war over whether or not sales promulgated on the Internet should be taxed the same as those from “brick and mortar” stores has been around for a while. Main Street businesses, especially in areas such as books, find [...]

On Local Government: I liked Les Guthrie

On Local Government: I liked Les Guthrie

I liked Les Guthrie. That is not a phrase you would necessarily find emanating from the lips of elected or appointed officials in Redondo Beach. You might get a statement of respect, but not one of “liking.” The reason I [...]

On Local Government: the state of the States has become abundantly clear. It is all about service implosion.

On Local Government: the state of the States has become abundantly clear. It is all about service implosion.

Over the last few weeks, I have spent much of the time on the East Coast. From New York to Virginia, the underbelly of the state of the States has become abundantly clear. It is all about service implosion. Here [...]

On Local Government: The unrecognized immigration story

A story in the Los Angeles Times caught my eye as I was reviewing the spate of anti-immigrant bills making their way through state legislatures across the country. In it, reporter Richard Marosi documents the boredom that has entered the [...]

On local government: ten years later

It was ten years ago this week that I attended my last meeting as a Redondo Beach City Councilman and filed my first “On Local Government” column for this newspaper. The idea was that, given the paucity of turnout for [...]