tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58798461096015932612024-03-14T08:09:04.281-07:00California Focus Syndicated ColumnA twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column on California public affairs.California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.comBlogger1555125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-80256906585710682262024-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:08:21.401-07:00AT LONG LAST, ACTION POSSIBLE ON PUC CONFLICTS<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024 OR THEREAFTER<br />
<br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“AT LONG
LAST, ACTION POSSIBLE ON PUC CONFLICTS”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For more
than half a century, as California’s electric and natural gas rates rose to
some of the highest levels in America, conflicts of interest have abounded
among the state’s top utility regulators.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Former
members and presidents of the California Public Utilities Commission moved over
to become top executives of the state’s largest privately-owned electric
companies. One former president of the Southern California Edison Co., the
state’s second biggest power provider, served more than a decade as president
of the PUC – under two governors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Time and
again, the big electric companies got their way on issues from rooftop solar
and price increases to being allowed to stay in business after being convicted
of criminal negligence and manslaughter when wildfires and an explosion they
caused killed many dozens of citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Until
now, there’s been little hope of positive change. That’s because unlike the
federal government, this state has no laws preventing the kinds of conflicts
that have been so common. Commission members cannot be fired, even by the
governors who name them to six-year terms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is no ”cooling off”
period between when commissioners leave their posts and when they can be hired
by the utilities they’ve been supervising. Nothing to stop corporate bosses
from becoming top regulators, as onetime SCE President Michael Peevey did under
both Gov. Gray Davis and his successor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. No way to
tell whether their decisions are dictated by secret deals with regulated
monopoly companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This has
all been true under both Republican and Democratic governors, most of whom have
gotten huge campaign contributions from big utilities. Example: current Gov.
Gavin Newsom has received more than $10 million in donations from just one
utility, San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But now
there is hope at last. It comes in the form of Assembly Bill 2054, sponsored by
Democratic Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer Kahan of San Ramon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Given the
lobbying power of companies like Edison, PG&E and San Diego Gas &
Electric, the fate of this bill is far from certain, both in the Legislature
and at the hands of Newsom, who would have to sign off before it can become
law.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But the
bill offers a lot of positives, most prominently a 10-year waiting period
before any PUC member can accept a job at any regulated company.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Said
Bauer Kahan in a statement, “With California’s electricity rates consistently
the highest in the nation, it is crucial to safeguard against potential
conflicts of interest and undue industry influence on (regulation). AB 2054 is
a crucial step toward restoring faith in our regulatory process and ensuring
that regulators act solely in the public interest.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The bill
would clearly be a big step, but it’s still far from perfect, as it does not
prevent former PUC members from becoming lobbyists and consultants for the
companies. Those jobs can be at least as lucrative as high corporate posts, and
create similar potential conflicts of interest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Currently,
the two most recent former PUC presidents are in just such slots. Michael
Picker, PUC chief for most of ex-Gov. Jerry Brown’s last two terms, became a
partner in a consulting firm called Caliber Strategies, which lists clients
like the huge Blackstone investment and holding company and Portland General
Electric, which serves 44 percent of Oregon residents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Picker,
who led the PUC and consistently refused media interview requests during the
first years of California’s long siege of massive utility-sparked wildfires,
describes himself as an expert on how utilities should handle fire situations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
Marybel Batjer, PUC president for two years after Picker left and previously a
Newsom adviser on how to keep PG&E going through its wildfire disasters,
went to the lobbying firm California Strategies. That outfit bills itself as
“the state’s preeminent government relations, public affairs and campaign
consultancy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But just
because AB 2054 is not perfect does not mean it should be rejected. Its waiting
period would still be a vast improvement over the current scene, which
essentially sees no limits on secret deals between regulators and big
utilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So this
is a must-pass measure, and voters should carefully note whether their
legislators resist the blandishments of the big utilities trying to kill it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-17028594782700862772024-03-14T08:05:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:05:52.654-07:00RENTAL SURPRISE: BAY AREA TENANTS DO BEST<p> </p><p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024 OR THEREAFTER<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
“RENTAL SURPRISE: BAY AREA TENANTS DO BEST”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rents are higher in Silicon Valley and
the rest of the San Francisco Bay area than anywhere else in California, but
the generally higher salaries in that region nevertheless give tenants there
more disposable income than anywhere else in this state, even the far
lower-priced Central Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s the surprising conclusion of a
study by the RentCafe website, which tracks income vs. expenses for renters
everywhere in America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The survey’s surprising conclusion: If
you’re a renter, chances are you can live better in Sunnyvale, just north of
San Jose, than anywhere else in California.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even with prices for necessities like
utilities, food, health care and transportation consistently higher than just
about all other California locations, the typical Sunnyvale renter, ensconced
in the heart of Silicon Valley, spends a smaller fraction of income on the
basics than counterparts everywhere else in California.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes, rents are sky high in Sunnyvale,
once considered a very ordinary San Francisco Peninsula suburb. The typical
monthly cost of an apartment or house there is $3,013, RentCafe reports. But
the average renter’s household income tops $145,000 a year, about $35,000 more
than in San Francisco, where rents are higher, at $3,297 – or $39,200 per year.
Utilities in Sunnyvale, taken as a fairly typical Silicon Valley ‘burb, are
also lower, by about $1.000 per year than in San Francisco. But health care
costs a bit more, at an average of $516 per month in Sunnyvale, compared with
$489 in San Francisco.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Los Angeles renters could be excused for
eating their hearts out at hearing those salary and expense figures and the
disposal incomes that go with them. In fact, if the Bay Area numbers were
completely typical, it’s safe to guess there would have been no California
exodus over the last few years, as it would have been just as comfortable to
stay put.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But the typical Los Angeles renter draws annual pay about $87,000 less
than their Sunnyvale counterpart, in part because of the disparity between high
tech pay levels and those in other jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So where rent eats only about 25 percent
of the average Sunnyvale renter’s income, the typical Los Angeles rent of
$2,745, or almost $33,000 per year, takes 56 percent of the average income.
Even with utilities averaging a couple thousand dollars a year less and
healthcare and transportation costs far lower than in the Silicon Valley, the
Los Angeles renter winds up with much less disposable income than counterparts
on the Peninsula.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile, tenants in the Central
Valley, Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield stand out for having far lower average
rent, food, transportation and healthcare costs than their coastal
counterparts, but their average salaries, all in the mid-to-high 40 thousands,
are so much lower that the reduced costs don’t help much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Overall, Stockton has the lowest utility
costs among major California cities, but among the lower salary levels. Fresno
has the lowest food and transportation costs, while Los Angeles and San Diego
are at or near the top in food and transportation expenses and near the middle
in salaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Orange County city of Anaheim stands
near average in all these costs among California urban centers. With a typical
monthly rent of $2,331, or nearly $28,000 per year, and income of about
$66,000, the typical Anaheim renter should be able to handle expenses like
utilities, food, healthcare and transportation and still have some disposable
income left.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But nothing like levels enjoyed in the
Silicon Valley. Which makes it somewhat surprising that much of the population
leaving California over the last five years, with a total of about 3 million
emigrants, were from the Bay Area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That trend is now slowing, and much of
the population loss was made up for with births and legal immigration. But it’s
still a lesson that in long-distance moves, money has not been only factor
pushing people out of California, even if it is the biggest part of the
picture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With much of the exodus coming during
the peak pandemic years of 2000-2002, the bottom line is that most emigrants
were folks who began to seek more space once it became clear they could work
outside offices and not worry about having to make long commutes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">-30-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough,
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/" target="_blank">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-90938288707335801592024-03-14T08:04:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:04:20.568-07:00INFLATION: THE ENEMY IS US<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 12. 2024 OR THEREAFTER</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“INFLATION:
THE ENEMY IS US”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
it comes to the causes of the inflation that continues to plague California
households, perhaps Walt Kelly’s old comic strip swamp possum Pogo said it
best: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kelly,
of course, bowdlerized the line from War of 1812 U.S. Naval Commodore Oliver
Hazard Perry’s report to a superior after defeating the British Navy in the
Battle of Lake Erie: </span><span style="background: rgb(252, 252, 252); color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0.75pt;">“We have met the enemy and they are
ours.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(252, 252, 252); color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(252, 252, 252); color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pogo’s variation on that has proven as
telling over the decades since Kelly gave him the line describing people’s
persistent tendency to cause problems for themselves.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(252, 252, 252); color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: rgb(252, 252, 252); color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So it is today with inflation, among
other issues. Yes, the Federal Reserve tells us inflation is not as severe as a
year or so ago, when gasoline prices rose by </span><span style="color: black;">$2 per gallon over two days in February 2023.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
the price in California still hovers well above $4, in part because the state
has yet to enforce its eight-month-old law allowing it to charge penalties
against price-gouging oil companies. That’s true everywhere in California,
where prices are more than $1 dollar per gallon higher than the national
average, even though state taxes amount to far less than that.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
long as the state Energy Commission doesn’t act to reel in those companies, one
significant element of inflation will remain untouched. And virtually no one
today is pressuring the commission to act.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
are also at least partly at fault for fast-rising insurance prices, both for
vehicles and real estate. We re-elected Ricardo Lara insurance commissioner in
2022 despite his well-publicized footsie games with insurance company campaign
donations.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
another inflation element. We also elected the legislators who raised the
minimum wage to $16 an hour effective Jan. 1, with minimum hourly pay for
health care workers set to rise to $23 on June 1. We elected the governor who
signed off on those and we rejected by a large margin an effort to recall him.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
hard to see how inflation can be avoided when minimum wages constantly rise.
Some restaurants responded to their need to pay dishwashers more than before by
listing a separate “minimum wage” surcharge with each of their menu items,
letting customers know exactly why they’re now paying more than before.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
same governor appointed all five Public Utility Commission members, the folks
who continually raise electricity and natural gas rates, a tax that’s not
formally called by that name. But utility rates have all the earmarks of taxes:
We must pay up, or there will be severe consequences.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
also voted twice against propositions for statewide rent controls. One result
is that rents are staying high despite the myriad vacancies among newly-built
market-rate apartments. Meanwhile, there are waiting lists for formally
designated affordable units in many places.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even
though he had nothing to do with any of these key inflationary factors, all of
which contribute to the costs of food, fuel, entertainment tickets and just
about everything else, it’s common to blame President Biden for all of it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">If there’s one
bright spot in this, it is the likelihood that gasoline prices won’t go much
higher in the immediate future. That’s partly because of the state law allowing
penalties for gouging and also because Biden turned on the spigots of the
National Petroleum Reserve, knocking down some worldwide wholesale oil prices.
At the same time, he’s brought domestic oil production to record levels, even
while once-and-future rival Donald Trump shouts “drill, drill, drill,” from the
sidelines as he admits to wanting to be a dictator, but “only for Day 1.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The bottom line on
all this is clear. If we are suckered into blaming inflation on Biden, we will
be ignoring our own responsibility for much of it. Which would mean we are
ignoring the obvious reality that when it comes to inflation, Pogo was once
again correct that “We have met the enemy and he is us.”<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
-30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough,
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-87108175107265140032024-03-14T08:02:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:02:02.656-07:00RECALL’S REAL REASON: GOP WANTS NEWSOM OFF THE ROAD<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2024, OR THEREAFTER<br />
<br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“RECALL’S
REAL REASON: GOP WANTS NEWSOM OFF THE ROAD”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Republicans
behind the new recall drive against Gov. Gavin Newsom made a bit of a slip the
other day, revealing the real reason behind their effort:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Get
Newsom off the road, where he’s been about the most effective surrogate
President Biden has had during his reelection effort. Everywhere Newsom goes,
he picks up IOUs from local Democrats, too, non-fungible currency he will be
able to use in four years or so, if and when he makes his own run for the White
House.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes,
California Republicans realize Donald Trump is the current frontrunner in his
campaign to oust Biden and regain the White House for four more years (or more,
if he can somehow engineer an end run around the Constitution’s 22<sup>nd</sup>
Amendment and its two-term limit for presidents). But they also see that Newsom
has become enough of a thorn in Trump’s side to rate a skit on “Saturday Night
Live” and a disparaging nickname from Trump (“New-scum”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Newsom
has also advertised on his own in Republican-run states, getting sufficiently
under the skin of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to engineer the first nationally
televised debate between two governors with no known future in some other
office at stake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
Republicans are doing what they can to keep Newsom off the national road by
trying to make him the first California governor ever to face two ballot recall
drives. (Others have faced more attempts, but only two ever made a ballot).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They
haven’t been able to find anything criminal about Newsom or any moral failings
Newsom hasn’t already confessed to and apologized for (like his long-ago
marital infidelity and the infamous French<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Laundry restaurant incident, where he dined out with friends in a swank
eatery while ordering other state residents to lock down in the midst of the
Coronavirus pandemic).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Instead,
they’re going after him for policy differences: They don’t like his okay of
Medi-Cal health benefits for undocumented immigrants, they don’t like
California’s taxes and its high spending on efforts to reduce homelessness,
they didn’t like school closures during the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some of
those were among the grounds they gave for the other recall the GOP engineered
against Newsom, that one soundly beaten back in 2021, barely a year before
Newsom was due to face the voters anyhow. Many voters saw it as a colossal
waste of money, and voted “no” on those grounds alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
time, recall sponsors will need to gather 1.38 million valid voter signatures
before the end of May in order to get a recall question and a list of
alternative candidates for governor onto the November general election ballot.
That’s hundreds of thousands more signatures than are needed to qualify an
ordinary initiative or referendum for a statewide vote, making the new recall
unlikely to get a November vote. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So this
recall – if it qualifies – will likely need a special election, costing tens of
millions of dollars and coming less than two years before Newsom will be term
limited out of office anyhow. This from a party that often grouses about
excessive and pointless government spending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If it all
sounds like an unnecessary exercise in futility, that’s because it may be. And
not merely because the GOP has virtually no one ready to step up as a credible
alternate candidate, the way muscleman actor Arnold Schwarzenegger did in the
state’s only successful gubernatorial recall, against ex-Gov. Gray Davis in
2003, when he had three years left in his second term.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nevertheless,
Newsom’s team insists he won’t ignore the new recall effort. “We are taking it
seriously,” said longtime Newsom spokesman Nathan Click. “These Trump
Republicans are targeting Gov. Newsom because he’s out there defending
democracy and fighting for the reelection of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He’s
not going to be distracted from that fight. Democracy is on the ballot, and
he’s going to keep fighting.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If that
eventually helps Newsom raise money for a presidential bid of his own and makes
him the Democrats’ de facto leading spokesman should Biden lose this fall, so
much the better for him. Just like the last time, the recall advocates might
again be doing him a big favor.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span>www.californiafocus.net</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-91486823297643418412024-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:00:39.826-07:00CALEXIT’ SENTIMENT MIGHT BE RISING<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA
FOCUS</span><span lang="X-NONE"><br />
FOR RELEASE: </span>TUES<span lang="X-NONE">DAY,</span> APRIL 5,<span lang="X-NONE"> 202</span>4<span lang="X-NONE">, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“’CALEXIT’ SENTIMENT MIGHT BE RISING”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The poll results this spring were startling: fully half of
America’s Republicans now believe California is in decline and 48 percent of
them think this state “is not really American.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That translates to roughly one-fourth of all Americans
holding distinctly negative views about California. Those were the conclusions
of a survey taken for the Los Angeles Times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But most Californians simply shrug their shoulders at this,
suggests another study that quickly followed. That one, by the political
polling firm YouGov, shows the vast majority of Californians thumb their noses
at anti-California sentiment, despite years of overblown talk about “the great
California exodus.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes, the state has lost some population over the last 10
years, leading to the loss of one of its former 53 seats in the House of
Representatives. But the 52 remaining Californians in Congress still form by
far the largest state delegation, as about 12 percent of the nation’s people
continue to live here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Most of those folks, despite the reality they could
drastically cut living expenses by moving elsewhere, have no intention of
leaving. What’s more, a significant number of Californians would be perfectly
happy for their state to leave the USA, if it were possible to do that
peacefully.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The second poll, financed by the Marin County-based
Independent California Institute, also indicated that 68 percent of
Californians believe they would be better off than they are now if the state
negotiated for itself a “special autonomous status within the U.S.” and
arranged for transfer of almost all federal land and water infrastructure here
to state and local governments. More than a supermajority, then, want at least
special standing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No one should expect anything like quick action toward either
that or California seceding outright from the USA, however. For one thing, Gov.
Gavin Newsom will not hear of it. As early as 2018, during his first successful
run for governor, he said in an interview that secession is ridiculous, a
“non-starter.” That was before he became involved in presidential campaigning,
while he still denied any interest in the top national office.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the new YouGov poll, 29 percent of Californians supported
secession, almost identical to the portion of Alaskans and Texans who would
like independence for their states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But 60 percent of Californians believe the Civil War made it
impossible for either this state or any other to simply leave, even if some
presidential candidates (Donald Trump, for one) have indicated they actually
like the idea of a United States without California.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As long ago as 2017, Reuters/Ipsos and Stanford University
conducted polls that found about 30 percent of Californians supported Calexit,
one name for secession. So sentiment on that has not changed much over time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But Independent California Institute director Coyote Marin
focused on the 68 percent who said they think they’d be better off separated in
some way from the rest of America. “Those are much higher numbers than found in
polls which simply asked if California should secede,” Marin said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No one knows where such numbers might go if Trump were
elected this fall and quickly declared martial law, something he considered
attempting after his 2000 election defeat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The YouGov survey also found that Californians are not nearly
as depressed about their state as outsiders. Fully 63 percent of the 500-plus
Californians polled in carefully structured sampling said they cannot imagine
wanting to live anywhere outside California.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s in stark contrast to the 40 percent of non-California
Republicans in the LA Times poll who said they don’t think California is even a
good place to visit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There’s also the LA Times finding that half of all
Republicans nationally would be glad to vote California out of the Union, an
act that YouGov indicated would probably be welcomed by most Californians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For now, this is all sheer speculation and talk, with no real
action on the horizon. But much depends on the November election outcome, which
could sharply shift both national attitudes about California and Californians’
feelings about remaining American.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">-30-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough:
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-72871349178463098052024-03-14T07:58:00.000-07:002024-03-14T07:59:04.670-07:00BIG OIL WHINES AS IN-STATE OIL DRILLING WINDS DOWN<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024, OR THEREAFTER<br />
<br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
"BIG OIL WHINES AS IN-STATE OIL
DRILLING WINDS DOWN”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here’s
what a big corporation sounds like when it whines after posting record profits:
Chevron, in a federal financial filing during the winter, griped about “higher
U.S. upstream impairment charges mainly in California. Continued regulatory
challenges in (California have) resulted in lower than anticipated future
investment levels in…business plans.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Translation: Oil drilling is
winding down in California and has been for the last ten years, partly because
many wells are almost tapped out and Big Oil – having milked enormous profits
from California’s resources for decades – is not happy about having to pay
close-out costs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make no mistake, it’s not state regulators
who are responsible for the reduction in oil production here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> California is also not unique in
forcing oil well owners to plug or cap their wells and clean up the environment
around them when production stops. For one example, Republican-run North Dakota
– known for awhile as a fracking boom state – forces companies to cap wells
when they have not produced for a year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So what is
Chevron really whining about in its recent report to the Securities and
Exchange Commission? It will have to pay about $112,000 in capping costs for
each exhausted oil well it ceases to operate, plus a wide range of expenses for
cleaning up surface contamination that in some cases has built up over almost a
century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
company is on the hook for at least $1 billion in close-out costs for wells it
has long exploited. But let’s not feel too sorry for this corporation: It made
near-record profits on gasoline products in 2023, and set a record in the third
quarter, between July and September, when it averaged margins of about $1.03
per gallon on gas from its two huge refineries at Richmond and El Segundo.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Chevron’s
problems with well closures are not unique. Fully 3,708 California oil wells
were plugged in 2022, the last year for which numbers are yet available, of
which a bit more than one-fourth belonged to Chevron. That means other drillers
are also in line for billions in closure costs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One recent
report from the London-based think tank Carbon Tracker says Big Oil has been
looking to sell off older wells to smaller drilling operations over the last
few years, partly to fob closing costs off on them. There have been few takers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Carbon
Tracker report concludes that California’s onshore oil wells might produce as
much as $2.6 billion in revenues in their remaining lifetimes, but will cost at
least $6.3 billion to plug and clean up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Because oil companies probably
can’t be forced to pay all that, chances are taxpayers will end up paying much
of the shutdown costs, Carbon Tracker claims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But the
companies will be forced to pay a significant amount, no matter how much they
protest (all this is separate from what the companies will spend this fall on a
ballot referendum trying to kill a new law that aims to ban much drilling near
schools and other sensitive sites.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
figures on declining oil production make it clear the closure costs are not
very far off in the future, or, as Chevron put it, not very far “upstream.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since
2014, onshore oil production here has decreased by 42 percent, with production
from gas wells falling even farther. Right now, state statistics show a major
decline in new drilling, too. Where 113 new oil drilling permits were issued in
the last quarter of 2022, there were none in 2023’s final three months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Permits to rework or redrill old wells were
also down in the last months of last year, from 466 in 2022 to 28 in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
state data shows California now has more than 101,000 unplugged wells. Some
wells Chevron lists as operating produce as little as three to five barrels of
crude oil daily, about enough to fill five Ford pickups once.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">So yes, there are plenty of
closure costs in the future for Chevron and its brethren. But these costs were
known well in advance, and it’s simply not fair for any oil company to blame
California for them, trying to foist its own poor planning onto state regulators
or an allegedly unfriendly business environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">-30- <br />
Elias is author of the current book “The Burzynski
Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government's Campaign
to Squelch It,” now available in an updated third edition. His email address is
tdelias@aol.com </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-30470472102316271542024-03-11T06:59:00.000-07:002024-03-11T06:59:41.356-07:00PRIMARY RESULTS BODE ILL FOR SWING DISTRICT DEMS<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2024, OR THEREAFTER<br />
<br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
“PRIMARY RESULTS BODE ILL FOR
SWING DISTRICT DEMS”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It may
have been because Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Schiff spent big in
this month’s primary election to make sure former Major League Baseball star
Steve Garvey would be his opponent this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It may
have been because of a general lack of interest and enthusiasm among Democratic
voters in California for that election, which featured no serious contests for
President and only one statewide ballot proposition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But one
thing for sure: Democrats must do much better this fall than they did in the
California primary if they expect to take any congressional seats from
Republicans in their bid to win back control of the House of Representatives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>National
Democrats have said for months those districts are their key to winning back
the Speaker’s gavel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But in
so-called swing district after swing district, primary election results left
Democratic candidates with large amounts of ground to make up if they want to
overtake current Republican incumbents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Almost
all these districts reside in Southern California and the Central Valley, with
most of Northern California not looking up for grabs at all, not even where
longtime incumbent Democrats are about to retire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
several years, Democrats have believed they can topple Republican David Valadao
from his 22<sup>nd</sup> district seat, mostly in Tulare and Kern counties. In
the primary there, the serious contest was on the Democratic side, where former
state Assemblyman Rudy Salas fought off a bid by state Sen. Melissa Hurtado for
the right to a rematch with Valadao, who beat him two years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But Salas
starts the runoff campaign at a disadvantage. He and Hurtado combined for just
44 percent of the primary vote, while Valadao and another Republican netted 55
percent. So the Democrat will need to attract 7 percent more votes in the fall
than Democrats totaled this spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It was
worse for Democrats in the 27<sup>th</sup> District, centered on Santa Clarita,
where Republican Mike Garcia seeks a third term from a district with a
Democratic registration advantage. Garcia got 56 percent of the primary vote,
while November rival Democrat George Whitesides pulled in just 32 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
in Republican Michelle Steel’s 45<sup>th</sup> district in Orange County, she
took 56 percent of the vote to autumn Democratic rival Derek Tran’s paltry 16
percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then there’s the 47<sup>th</sup>
District seat in another part of Orange County, held for six years by Democrat
Katie Porter, a loser to Schiff and Garvey in the Senate run. Democratic Party
officials backed state Sen. Dave Min against activist Joanna Weiss in the
primary and he won a runoff slot, the two Democrats netting 45 percent of the
vote. Meanwhile, Republican Scott Baugh and the No. 2 Republican drew a
combined 47 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Put it together and in
virtually all the swing districts Democrats believe can give them control, they
start the fall season at a disadvantage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">This does not outwardly faze
Democratic officials, who mounted only a very light get-out-the-vote drive in
the primary, saving their resources for the fall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Historically, the primary
dynamic is not really predictive of general election outcomes in California,”
said Dan Gottlieb, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee. “Ultimately, there will be much more enthusiasm in the fall, when
President Biden faces off again with Donald Trump. It’s that enthusiasm factor
that brings out voters.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">He also said that because his
party expects Schiff to have an easy time against Garvey in November, money
that might otherwise have been spent on that race will wind up helping
congressional candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democrats believe that while
Schiff’s promoting Garvey in the primary to avoid facing off with Porter helped
pump up the vote for down-ticket Republicans this spring, down-ticket Democrats
expect to have far more resources later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">They will need that, plus a
lot more enthusiasm than their voters showed this fall, to make up the margins
Republicans enjoyed in those districts this spring. If they can’t summon these
up and don’t add unexpected seats elsewhere, Democrats can expect Republicans
to control the House for at least two more years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">
-30- <br />
Elias is author of the current book “The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government's Campaign to Squelch It,” now
available in an updated third edition. His email address is tdelias@aol.com </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-16731599118405605172024-03-11T06:57:00.000-07:002024-03-11T06:57:42.358-07:00THE WIDE CONSEQUENCES OF CONDONING CAMPUS ANTI-SEMITISM<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2023, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“THE WIDE
CONSEQUENCES OF CONDONING CAMPUS ANTI-SEMITISM”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
consequences of college administrators refusing for years to act against
flagrant anti-Semitism on campuses around California and America are now
becoming clear: More violent hate and more threatening hate speech. No one can
be certain where this might lead, but it won’t be anywhere nice.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
became obvious the other day with the unplanned convergence of two events
involving anti-Jewish activism in Berkeley, the de facto left-wing capital of
this country.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
the morning came a federal complaint about months-long anti-Jewish activity,
speech and displays in Berkeley public schools, much of it led by faculty.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mere
hours later, a screaming, violent crowd yelling “Kill the Jews,” among other
things, broke into a UC Berkeley building and shut down a pro-Israel speaker
whose sponsors had gotten their event fully authorized. No one was punished,
despite videos and eyewitness accounts of the event, which involved at least
one broken window and several damaged doors. Instead, campus leaders including
the chancellor merely deplored the incident, saying “We cannot allow the use or
threat of force to violate the First Amendment rights of a speaker, no matter
how much we might disagree with their views.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
another campus hate incident went unpunished, most of the 200-odd participants
continuing studies on the campus whose principles they violated.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Among
witnesses to both the actual event and televised accounts were untold numbers
of elementary and high school teachers and teachers-to-be. This was scarcely
the first such event where they had watched hatred go unpunished.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
began almost 20 years on college campuses, with many anti-Semitic outbursts
sponsored or led by professors. It’s been seen at schools from Stanford to San
Francisco State, UC Irvine to UCLA, UC Davis and Cal State Northridge.
Discipline of faculty for these things has been rare and light, nor has any
student been expelled.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
most anyone has done to stop the hate has been statements like the one from UC
Berkeley. Yet, everyone involved knows that if any other minority were
similarly attacked, punishments would be harsh.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One
probable consequence of millions of students witnessing all this became clear
in the federal complaint against the Berkeley schools, filed by two
anti-bigotry organizations.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
complaint details teacher-led demonstrations and rallies against Israel’s
invasion of Gaza starting soon after the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist
organization massacred, raped and kidnapped more than 1,400 persons on Oct. 7.
Protests against Israel’s invasion began the day after the massacre, more than
a week before the Israeli military actually moved on Gaza.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Berkeley
teachers in this classic “blame-the-victims” campaign acted without permission
of their bosses, who have not punished them. Some teachers instigated
demonstrations by children as young as second-graders, the complaint charges,
often leaving children who did not participate alone in unsupervised
classrooms.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While
a few incidents were limited to small children pasting sticky notes on
prominent walls saying “Stop Bombing Babies,” many others devolved into
bullying where other children shouted “Kill the Jews” at Jewish classmates. No
similar in-school anti-Moslem or anti-Arab incidents have been reported.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Other
public school rallies featured students yelling “F..k the Jews” and “Gas the
Jews,” which is as outright anti-Semitic as language can get, even if
teacher/leaders say they are merely anti-Israel.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>District
officials said they encourage reporting such incidents and “vigorously
investigate” them. But the complaint charges no teacher has been disciplined in
any way for all this, despite cited cases where parents informed administrators
and got no action while the episodes continued.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>How
could this happen? One likely reason is that the teachers involved had seen
similar behavior go unpunished on college campuses and correctly figured they
also would not be disciplined.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Comparable
complaints have been filed by others against school districts in San Francisco
and Oakland, where more than 30 families have asked to transfer their children
to other districts. Students at some Los Angeles Unified high schools have
walked out to protest similar bullying.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
behavior reported in all these places was reminiscent of what many Holocaust
survivors reported enduring in German public schools during the early 20<sup>th</sup>
Century. We know where that led.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which
is why action now, not mere words, is a must. For all it would take is one
demagogue to turn uncontrolled hate into something much more concrete and
widespread.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">-30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough,
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-18860629334833675012024-03-05T22:08:00.000-08:002024-03-06T06:22:35.054-08:00CAN THE POSSIBLY PASSED PROP. 1 HELP SOLVE HOMELESSNESS?<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="yiv0310637145msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA FOCUS</span><span lang="X-NONE"><br />
FOR RELEASE: </span>FRI<span lang="X-NONE">DAY,</span> MARCH 22<span lang="X-NONE">, 202</span>4<span lang="X-NONE">, OR THEREAFTER</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;">BY
THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> “CAN
THE POSSIBLY PASSED PROP. 1 HELP SOLVE HOMELESSNESS?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
possible passage of Proposition 1 raises one very basic question: Could it help
solve homelessness or merely be another financial boondoggle helping a few but
leaving the crisis in the streets essentially unsolved?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> First,
there is no doubt this measure can help some of California’s approximately
180,000 unhoused. Its $6.4 billion cost will provide more than 11,000 new
treatment beds for people with serious mental and emotional problems, reinforce
the treatment they can already get in some counties through the relatively new
and unproven Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) court system
and possibly reduce some of the homelessness now so visible on streets and
parks all around California.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> But
some informed estimates held during this winter’s campaign that it could not
solve more than 2 percent of the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Which
raises an obvious question: if this estimate is correct, is that enough of an
improvement to justify the $310 million the state’s general fund will likely
pay in each of the next 30 years to repay the bonds?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
money would be added onto the $10 billion to $13 billion now distributed each
year to counties for mental health care and drug and alcohol treatment. Roughly
one-third of that money comes from a tax on those with $1 million-plus incomes
that’s been levied for this purpose since 2005.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> That
tax would continue under Prop. 1, so there will be no substitution of bond
money for tax funds, and the new money should strictly be an add-on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> With
about 70 percent of Californians listing homelessness as California’s biggest
unsolved problem, there was plenty of reason to vote for this proposition, but
it's fate was still uncertain after Election Day. But the new bond’s proceeds
might seem like a drop in the bucket considering that about 47 percent of
today’s homeless are afflicted with mental or emotional illness, with another
150,000 others in similar difficulty now housed in prisons at a cost of about
$130,000 per year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Some
experts said during the Prop. 1 campaign that the urgency of the problem makes
every dollar coming in constructive. But maybe not, if that gives voters the
sense they’ve just done something important, causing them to become frustrated
with government when they see the bonds solving only a bit of the crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> For
sure, the mental illness problem is severe. For one measure, there’s $217
million just spent by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation
District on adding steel netting to prevent suicides by jumping from that
landmark span.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Californians
who voted for this measure were probably correct to do it, even if it couldn’t
by itself solve homelessness or mental health crises. Every dent in the problem
represents improvement in the quality of life for many who have been unhoused.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Part of the background of Prop. 1 was the
realization that one in every 20 California adults now lives with serious
mental illness and the more treatment beds available, the more likely some
progress can be made treating those who need help. At the same time, one in 13
California children of school age suffers serious emotional disturbance and one
in 10 Californians has some sort of substance abuse disorder.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> One
little publicized part of Prop. 1 speaks to this last issue, allowing a small
percentage of current mental health spending to be used against substance
abuse. Since substance abuse from alcoholism to opioid dependence can lead
straight into to mental illness, this might help with both mental illness and
drug dependency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> It
all amounts to a measure of how Californians are still paying for the single
biggest error made by Ronald Reagan, who as governor in the 1960s and '70s
engineered the closing of most of this state’s mental hospitals, which were
never replaced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Reagan
planned to set up smaller halfway houses to replace those institutions, letting
recovering mental illness patients ease back into society while still getting
treatment. Those homes never materialized and homelessness has proliferated
steadily ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> If
Prop. 1, combined with CARE courts, can solve even a small percentage of
today’s problems, it would be a positive. But if it’s too little and doesn’t
accomplish much, then – if it narrowly passes –. it will go down as a waste of
public money. The proof, as usual, would be in the performance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> -30-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough:
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/" target="_blank">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv0310637145msonormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="yiv0310637145msobodytext"><br /></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-10672098135575517812024-03-05T22:06:00.000-08:002024-03-05T22:06:47.440-08:00GARVEY SCORES RARE GOP RUNOFF SLOT<p> </p><p class="yiv7347662628msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA FOCUS</span><span lang="X-NONE"><br />
FOR RELEASE: </span>TUES<span lang="X-NONE">DAY,</span> MARCH 19,<span lang="X-NONE"> 202</span>4<span lang="X-NONE">, OR THEREAFTER</span></span></p><p class="yiv7347662628msobodytext"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;">BY
THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
“GARVEY SCORES RARE GOP RUNOFF SLOT”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Now
it will be Adam Schiff vs. Steve Garvey in what could turn into a bitter runoff
battle for the U.S, Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, a contest sure to evoke many more baseball metaphors than any
previous California campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Garvey,
the former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman and National
League most valuable player in 1974, has played the baseball card to the hilt,
even passing out autographed horsehides at many campaign stops. On Election
Night, he likened his showing to a walk-off home run.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> With
his solid second-place finish in the spring primary election, he becomes the
second Republican to make a Senate runoff election since the ultra-obscure
Elizabeth Emken ran against Feinstein in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Emken
didn’t fare so well that November, Feinstein blasting her by a 67-33 margin in
the first California Senate race run under the top two primary system, where
the two leading vote-getters in the primary go into the runoff, no matter what
the gap between them might have been in the first round.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
chasm between Feinstein and Emken was even wider in that year’s primary than in
the runoff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Garvey
won his spot on this year’s general election ballot with a phlegmatic style
that saw him tuck his chin into his shoulder and duck questions the way he once
spit on low and outside sliders on which he didn’t want to waste a swing. It
didn’t hurt that Schiff-linked committees promoted him in hopes it would give
their man an easy fall matchup.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> In
the campaign’s three debates, featuring Garvey and three Democratic members of
Congress, he ducked away from enough questions to thoroughly earn a dig tossed
at him by Irvine Rep. Katie Porter: “Once a Dodger, always a dodger.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> But
no Democrat in the primary could come close to matching Garvey’s name
identification, so he wasn’t hurt while evading questions on how he might vote
on various issues by saying things like “We the people will let me know on
that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
fact that millions of Californians knew Garvey’s name and what he did in
baseball long before he decided to run for office at age 75 allowed him to
solidify the approximately one-fourth of California voters who are registered
Republican.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> With
three major candidates splintering the Democratic vote, Garvey eased into the
runoff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> His
celebrity made him what the state GOP wanted after its long string of feeble
candidates or none at all in Senate runoffs. That drought was partly due to the
fact that no Republican since Arnold Schwarzenegger has won statewide office
here, and it is difficult for minority members of the Legislature to gain the
wide recognition needed to be a serious contender for higher office in this
huge state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Celebrities
already have that, as Schwarzenegger and now Garvey proved. They need no policy
experience, and like Garvey, can get away with saying they will learn on the
job.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> But
by the end of October, as Californians mark the mail-in ballots most now use,
Schiff’s name may be at about as recognizable as Garvey’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> He’s
led the fundraising in this campaign from the start, beginning with a fat purse
moved over from his congressional campaign account, which he previously used to
help other Democrats like Porter because his own Burbank-based seat was so
safely Democratic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Schiff
also became nationally known for leading two impeachment efforts against
ex-President Donald Trump, who also won in his own California primary, coming
near to clinching the GOP nomination for a rematch with President Biden.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> All
of which means that while Garvey could parley his sports achievements and fame
into a slot on the November ballot, that’s likely as far he can go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> He
stepped into deep gopher holes at times during the debates, one example coming
when he accused Schiff of lying about Russian aid to Trump’s 2016 presidential
run. Schiff quickly responded with a laundry list of Russian cooperation with
Trump, while Garvey stood mute in response.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The
upshot is that while it might be fun to contemplate the first professional
ballplayer in the Senate since Kentucky’s (and the Detroit Tigers’) Jim
Bunning, it’s not apt to happen here. Schiff is likely a November shoo-in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;">-30-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE"> Email Thomas
Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns,
visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/" target="_blank">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="yiv7347662628msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: large;">Suggested
pullout quote: “Schiff
led the fundraising in this campaign from the start.”</span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-49458477966224631272024-02-26T06:46:00.000-08:002024-02-26T06:46:02.354-08:00CALIFORNIA A LEADER AS GUN CONTROLS WORKING – FOR NOW<p> </p><p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA
FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024 OR THEREAFTER</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> “CALIFORNIA
A LEADER AS GUN CONTROLS WORKING – FOR NOW”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> State-by-state
standings on deaths from gunfire form a striking contrast between Republican-
and Democratic-led states as one reality becomes ever more clear: The stronger
Republican control of a particular state, the more deadly gunfire that state
will see.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> So
it's plain that onetime Californians who left for cheaper housing and more
conservative politics in states from Florida and Texas to Wyoming and Missouri
have increased their chances of dying from gunshots.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> That’s
beyond question in the state standings published by many organizations, but
never by the National Rifle Assn., whose anti-control lobbying remains as
determined as ever.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> It’s
still too early to assess the full consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court’s
mid-2023 shootdown of New York’s tough concealed carry law, but before that
decision, New York was the fifth least likely state for dying from a gunshot,
at a mere 5 such deaths per 100,000 population.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> New
York is almost as Democratic-dominated as California, which was the
eighth-safest gunfire death state at just 8.5 per 100,000.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> These
statistics come from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
better known as the CDC.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> The
CDC rankings may serve as a safety barometer for persons wanting to move. By
far the safest state, gun-wise, is Hawaii, with just 3.4 firearm deaths per
100,000, or a total of 50 such killings in 2022. With only a brief two-year
exception during which gun laws did not change, Hawaii’s governor and
legislature have been Democratic for decades.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Second-safest
has been Massachusetts, another generally ultra-blue state which has had only
occasional Republican governors since 1970, both of them moderates.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Of
the 10 safest states, all are consistently blue in presidential elections.
Meanwhile, the 10 states with the highest gun death rates (Mississippi and
Louisiana rank 1-2) all are dominated by Republicans, except No. 7 New Mexico,
at 22.7 gun deaths per 100,000.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> California
Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to focus on this during his fall debate with Florida’s
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who made unlicensed concealed carrying of guns
completely legal in his state (14.1 gun deaths per 100,000, almost double the
California toll).</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Where
California demands universal background checks before allowing gun purchases,
Florida has none. Concealed carry can legally be done only with a license in
California, while Florida has no licensing. California has among the strongest
laws against domestic violence, Florida’s are among the most lenient.
California has restrictions on high capacity gun magazines, Florida has none.
And where California funds community interventions to prevent violence, Florida
does not.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Of
DeSantis and Newsom, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, survivor of a
would-be assassin’s gunshot to her head, said this: “One governor had the
courage to stand up to the gun lobby… The other is Ron DeSantis.”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Said
Newsom, “Strong gun laws save lives. I want (people) to expect to see some
significantly increased activity on this issue this year.”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> But
no one is quite certain how far Newsom or anyone else can get in making America
safer from gun violence so long as there’s no change in the Supreme Court’s
decision in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen (the
state police superintendent).</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Lower
courts here and in a few other places have ruled that the case does not apply
in California and several other locales whose concealed carry laws are worded
differently from New York’s.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> But
all it would take is a few words from the high court’s 6-3 conservative
majority to shoot all that down.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> This
could leave the entire country in a position much like what prevails in Texas,
where Republicans have passed more than 100 pro-gun laws since 2000. That state
has virtually unfettered unlicensed concealed carry except on college campuses,
which can make their own rules. There’s also no concealed carry in Texas
elementary and high schools, but those very limited rules may also fall soon to
the reasoning of the Bruen case.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> It’s
a pessimistic situation that calls for concerted pressure on Congress to pass
federal laws and dare the Supreme Court to shoot them down. But so far, Newsom
is the only major politician ready to push for anything that big.
</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv8782317819msobodytext"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email Thomas
Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns,
visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US">www.californiafocus.net</span></a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-1624292762323583312024-02-26T06:44:00.000-08:002024-02-26T06:44:04.836-08:00IS THE CALIFORNIA EXODUS ENDING?<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2023, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“IS
THE CALIFORNIA EXODUS ENDING?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Strong
signs abound that this year will mark the end of the over-publicized “California
exodus,” which saw this state lose about 340,000 persons in 2021 and 2022, a
bit less than 1 percent of its population.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
dates alone give some idea of why this population reduction occurred: They coincide
with the nadir of the coronavirus pandemic, when thousands more Californians than
usual died and hundreds of thousands of workers were given license to operate
from home, wherever they chose to make it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some
of those factors are now reversing. The virus is now at bay, stymied by a
combination of vaccines, boosters and natural forces. No virus wants to kill
off all its hosts, thus preventing expansion. So COVID-19 has evolved into
something less serious than it was, with a lower percentage of cases than
before carrying potential dire outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Death
rates have dropped precipitously, with many hospitals converting their former
Covid wards into other functions and treatments like Pfizer’s Paxlovid knocking
symptoms back quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the same time, many employers are asking workers to return
at least part-time to offices, so distance between home and office is again a
factor in choosing where to live.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All this shows up in new Census figures. Yes, California had
the lowest in-migration rate in the nation in 2022, with out-of-staters kept
away mostly by sky-high property prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Only about 11 percent of those moving to California spots during
that last year of severe pandemic came from other states. This meant the vast
majority of residential moves were within California. That did not end the
out-migration trend, but slowed it considerably, while making the Inland Empire
region of Riverside and San Bernardino counties and the Sacramento into the
fastest growing regions in the state, even as population decreased a bit in coastal
areas around San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The big metro areas, of
course, are where home prices remain highest while the growth regions see far
lower real estate and rental prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The actual figures show that about 4 million persons moved in
2022, when the current trends began, with a pretty normal 9 percent of Californians
changing their residences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>California’s in-migration rate was among the nation’s lowest
in part because home prices remain high in its coastal areas, where most
newcomers prefer to live. But the in-state migration numbers indicate that once
they’ve been here awhile and start to yearn for home ownership, folks are quite
likely to move inland, even if the weather is often <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hotter than near the ocean.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By comparison, Texas had an even lower migration rate than
California over the last year on record, with just 11.7 percent of its moves
going out of state (California saw 44,279 persons move in from Texas, the
highest from any out-of-state location, beating out New York state by about
13,000.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All this also means that the factors behind California’s many
decades of steady growth remain in effect: Scenic coastlines, gentle and blizzard-free
climates that allow outdoor activity year-‘round, accessible mountain
activities from hiking to skiing, industries like entertainment and electronics
and many work openings in agriculture are keeping any massive population drain from
lasting long.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So the usual reporting of trends seems to have occurred: They
tend to go unnoticed until they’re almost over and beginning to reverse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s happening right now with office workers. While some of
those leaving in 2021-22 went to cheaper, more rural locations like Idaho and Montana,
that’s ending as some employers want to see more of their workers in office.
Some who moved to distant points now face the dilemma of how to move back into
California if they want to keep high-paying tech jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But new tech workers can find plenty of luxury accommodations
close to office areas because of the boom in apartment building spurred by pro-density
state laws, combined with a plethora of vacancies in those same areas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Plus, inflation-boosted pay and a likely easing of interest
rates promise soon to make California more affordable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All of which means that in the long run, the so-called
California exodus will likely turn out to be very short-lived, with 2024
promising to be the year it began to peter out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> -30-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski
Breakthrough," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more
Elias columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.californiafocus.net</span></a><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-2949680227530947022024-02-16T06:02:00.000-08:002024-02-16T06:02:42.395-08:00WILL URBAN SPRAWL AGAIN BE A BIG HOUSING ANSWER<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: </span>FRI<span lang="X-NONE">DAY,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> </span>MARCH 8<span lang="X-NONE">, 202</span>4<span lang="X-NONE">,
OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS
D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“WILL
URBAN SPRAWL AGAIN BE A BIG HOUSING ANSWER?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Urban sprawl has been anathema to California housing planners
for the last 10 years or so. As they passed law after law eliminating zoning
for single-family residences and emphasizing high rise buildings and other
infill housing near mass transit, the old California pattern of building
outward became passe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But maybe not anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Two prospective massive new developments emerged from
obscurity into the realm of distinct possibility over the last few months.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One would be in mostly rural portions of Solano County, an
often-overlooked county covering much of the ground between Sacramento and the
San Francisco Bay area and stretching south toward Stockton. The other would
extend Fresno to the southeast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Together, the two proposed developments (neither as yet has won
even a single government agency’s approval) could account for as many as 85,000
new housing units, mostly single family. That would provide a sizeable chunk of
the 1.8 million new dwelling units in one estimate of current housing need from
the state Department of Housing and Community Development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But some words of caution are advised here: Tejon Ranch.
Housing advocates rejoiced in 2021, when the big land company with huge amounts
of vacant property atop the Grapevine area between Los Angeles and Bakersfield,
got an OK from Kern County. But less than two years later, a Los Angeles County
judge sent the project back to the drawing board, and its approval process may
now drag on for many years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Still, in this era when every new law seems to seek a
knockdown for existing housing and commercial buildings in exchange for large
new apartment buildings with stores, gyms and other commerce on the lowest
floors, there’s may be broad appeal to brand new homes on what has been
agricultural land.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In Solano County, a group of Silicon Valley billionaires
including Lorraine Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple Corp. co-founder Steve Jobs,
and other venture capitalists, quietly bought up more than 55,000 acres (78 square
miles) of pastureland wind farms and other low-density development. They appear
willing to pay whatever penalties are needed for taking the land out of
agricultural use, where the state’s Williamson Act has long given much of it
preferred tax status in exchange for remaining rural.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This projected new city, which would have more than 10,000
acres of parks, could eventually become the largest town in Solano County,
where Fairfield is the county seat and other significant locales include Rio
Vista, Vacaville, Dixon and Suisun City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To change the use of so much land would require first a vote
of the entire county and then a slew of other permits from state and regional
agencies. So this is years away, but promises lots of affordable housing, plus
European-style homes for wealthier buyers. And plenty of profit for the
billionaire investors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then there’s the Southeast Development Area on the edge of
Fresno, a mostly-rural area of about 9,000 acres whose prospective developers
promise a series of “walkable” neighborhoods in what would be one of Fresno’s
most sprawling suburbs. Plans tentatively call for each neighborhood to have
its own elementary school, community garden, shops and parks. Plenty of public
transit is also proposed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This one also would need public votes and myriad government
permits before going forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In both places, local opposition has already formed. Solano
County Supervisor Monica Brown, a former schoolteacher, told one reporter that
“We’re growing food and helping people (now). Why would you stop economic growth
like that? Why would they spend $800 million and not be transparent about it?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Brown referred to the five years of secrecy investors
maintained while becoming Solano County’s largest landowners. Their spokesman
responded that secrecy was needed to prevent speculative land price increases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the same time, school officials and others worry about
“gaping holes” in infrastructure if the southeast area plan goes forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But prospective developers of both areas say they will take
care of all those concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So it will initially be up to local voters to decide: Do they
want new, but traditionally California-style developments near them, or do they
want to leave things alone and thus have the state continue stressing urban
infill? Or could these possible new suburbs be harbingers of other new
developments in California deserts and the Central Valley?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> -30-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski
Breakthrough," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more
Elias columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-19130870874904557892024-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:002024-02-16T06:00:48.972-08:00PROP. 47 CHANGES LOOK CERTAIN TO GET A NOVEMBER VOTE<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA
FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> </span><span lang="X-NONE">MARCH 5, 2024, OR THEREAFTER</span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE"> </span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“PROP. 47
CHANGES LOOK CERTAIN TO GET A NOVEMBER VOTE”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The more
time goes by since the 2014 passage of California’s Proposition 47, the more
it’s clear that voters blundered in approving the initiative’s setting an
absolute $950 floor value for a theft or burglary to be considered a felony.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
ballot measure deprived judges of the right to decide whether a crime involving
less than $950 value in merchandise or other goods might also be felonious.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One
result has been a cadre of repeat offenders who time and again take goods worth
less than $950 and then are quickly released by police even when they are
caught, because many cops and courts disdain spending time on “minor"
cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
one thing which led to repeat assaults on stores by so-called “smash-and-grab”
robbers who carefully design their crimes to involve $949 or less in store
value – per person involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These
crimes sometimes see long caravans of late-model cars and pickups descend
suddenly on stores and malls and depart with the loot almost as quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It does
not now matter how often a person is caught among those thieves; each offense
is completely separate, unlike many other crimes where repeat offenders often
get stronger sentences than first-timers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
why the currently circulating initiative now seems certain to get a vote in
November. Known as the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act,”
it aims to make possession of fentanyl a felony and allow judges to treat
repeat misdemeanor thefts as more serious crimes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
ballot will also include a measure making it far more difficult to pass local
tax initiatives, among others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The move
to toughen Prop. 47 leaves most of the original initiative intact. It does not
change the felony threshold level for most thefts, which is far lower than the
bottom limit or felonies in many other states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When it
passed, few foresaw it could spawn a new form of robbery and burglary in
California, the smash-and-grab. This gets its name from the manner in which
store windows and glass counters are smashed, with items locked inside
transparent displays often quickly grabbed, bagged and then quickly sold on the
Internet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
phenomenon has become common enough to convince mayors of many significant
cities they need to band together and promote the proposed new initiative,
which passed the 25 percent mark for needed voter signatures on Jan. 24.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Prop. 47
made most forms of drug possession a misdemeanor, as it did with many thefts.
It passed with support from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was then lieutenant
governor, Los Angeles District Atty. George Gascon, Santa Clara County D.A.
Jeff Rosen, several police chiefs who didn’t want to waste their cops’ time on
“minor” crimes, plus the American Civil Liberties Union, Roman Catholic bishops
and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The new
effort to toughen it up – even if that increases the state’s prison populace a
bit – now includes San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt
Mahan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Said
Breed, “the challenges…related to fentanyl and organized retail theft require
real changes to our state laws.” She added that she seeks to keep what works
well in Prop. 47 and only change what does not.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once this
measure qualifies for the ballot – and it has until late June to do that – it
will probably prove the most popular item this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For as
early as 2018, the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California noted
that Prop. 47 appears linked to some theft increases. That’s important in an
era when violent crimes like rape and murder are down, but car burglaries and
other forms of property theft are way up. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Newsom
has resisted calls from district attorneys, mayors and police chiefs to modify
Prop. 47, as have many voters, as reflected in the 2020 rejection of a previous
initiative to alter Prop. 47. But that was before the start of smash-and-grabs
and before the gap between violent crimes on persons and property crimes became
wide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The new
realities make it clear some change is needed, but sponsors of the current
effort have been careful not to completely gut Prop. 47. That combination makes
it more likely the new effort will succeed where the past effort did not, in
part because it took an indiscriminate wrecking ball to Prop. 47.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-57826513427066768082024-02-12T06:39:00.000-08:002024-02-12T06:39:47.809-08:00WILL RECALL ELECTIONS GET A LOT SIMPLER?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS</span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY,</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">MARCH
1, 2024, OR THEREAFTER</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 200%;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">“WILL
RECALL ELECTIONS GET A LOT SIMPLER?”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If anything seemed like a lock, a sure
thing for passage during last year’s state legislative session, it was recall
reform. The need for changes in the way voters can rid themselves of officials
they no longer want was one key takeaway from the abortive 2021 attempt to oust
Gov. Gavin Newsom.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not that the recall attempt hurt Newsom.
It gave him both a chance to campaign for an extra few months and the added
status of having crushed a movement to oust him. Traditionally, both have
strengthened candidates who survive such attacks.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But recall reform went nowhere last
year, and its fate this year is essentially unknown. Both last spring and right
now, the recall reform efforts have been spearheaded by another recall
survivor, Democratic state Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Newman was recalled in 2018, but then
won his seat back two years later. He suggested a straight-up yes-or-no vote
for recalls, with a special election to follow when the yes side wins. </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This would differ somewhat from many
local recall rules, as when voters in San Francisco in 2022 nixed then-District
Attorney Chesa Boudin, with his successor named by the city/county mayor,
London Breed. That system is unique because San Francisco is the state’s only
locale where city and county lines are nearly identical.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>His last recall reform effort having
failed, Newman is back with a new plan, focusing especially on gubernatorial
recalls, of which California has seen two in the last quarter century – Newsom
was not recalled, but in 2003, then-Gov. Gray Davis was emphatically removed,
with muscleman actor Arnold Schwarzenegger taking his place after coming in
first in a field of 135 replacement candidates.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In both the Davis and Newsom recalls,
voters faced two questions: First, did they want the incumbent removed, and
second, who should replace him, with no limit on the number of replacement
candidates.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Almost two decades later, the no side
easily won and the votes for potential replacements became largely irrelevant.
Meanwhile, leading replacement candidate Larry Elder drew 3.5 million votes, or
28 percent of the 12.8 million cast. But more than 5 million recall election
voters did not bother voting for a replacement candidate.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Seeing all this, Newman proposed a plan
last year to have ousted governors who have served less than two years replaced
by the lieutenant governor until a special election can be held. Only one
question – the recall itself – would face<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>voters
in future elections.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">It was somewhat surprising that this
planned state constitutional amendment got nowhere in the Legislature, as it
would have made lawmakers a bit more difficult to recall than they are now.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">It’s anyone’s guess what will befall
Newman’s newest measure, which quickly passed the state Senate in a 31-7 vote.
It awaits action in the Assembly, where Newman’s previous effort was killed.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Like his previous effort, the new measure
– a proposed </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">state
constitutional amendment that, if passed, would appear as a proposition on the
November ballot – would set up a system considerably more democratic than
today’s.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Under today’s system, if Newsom had lost
on the first question, the yes-or-no vote on dumping him, Elder would have
replaced him even if Elder got far less votes than the no’s recorded on
question one, which were essentially votes to keep Newsom.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Newman claims his new plan, which allows
the lieutenant governor to take over if a governor is removed, is far more
democratic. He also claims it would keep recalls personal, preventing them from
being diverted into “political opportunism and gamesmanship.”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Of course, it would also take some of
the fun out of recalls, which have featured candidates from former San Diego
Mayor Kevin Faulconer to Republican Kevin Kiley, an former state assemblyman
who used his recall candidacy to propel him into a congressional seat. There
were also gadfly entertainer Angelyne and Riverside County Supervisor Jeff
Hewitt.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv9540008344msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Removing lists of potential replacements
from recall ballots would make them far less entertaining and engaging, but
also more democratic and serious-minded. So, for sure, if Newman’s latest
proposal makes the fall ballot, future recall elections would be a lot less
flashy than the last few have been, but also far sounder.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
-30-<br />
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book,
"The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the
Government’s Campaign to Squelch It"</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-21079881739061410642024-02-12T06:37:00.000-08:002024-02-12T06:37:41.010-08:00WINTER RAINS AGAIN SHOW NEED FOR CREATIVE THINKING ON HOMELESS<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2024 OR THEREAFTER</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: black;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
</span>“WINTER RAINS AGAIN SHOW NEED FOR CREATIVE
THINKING ON HOMELESS"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">A look at what homeless
individuals suffered during the record-level intense rains of early February
demonstrated for a second consecutive year the utter inadequacy of programs to
help California’s approximately 180,000 unhoused.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">It also exposed the crying
need for original thinking, going beyond today’s paltry shelters, most of them
open only parts of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">At countless charity
facilities that distribute clothing to the very needy, lines formed during and
between downpours as thousands around the state sought shoes, plastic ponchos,
blankets, water-resistant jackets and whatever else might offer a little relief
from the seemingly relentless cold and damp that lasted almost a week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was a carbon copy of what
happened in January 2023, when harsh rains that began the wettest winter in
decades demonstrated starkly the inadequacy of this state’s many programs to
help the homeless. Yes, there were some shelter beds available, but many
required clients to leave before 8 a.m. and did not allow many back in until
after 6 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">During that interval, in both
years, thousands endured soakings seemingly without end as temperatures in most
areas did not rise above the mid-50s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">What were officials doing
during this mass drenching, while newspapers and TV showed pictures of
mudslides and other problems of the housed?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">In California’s largest
county, Los Angeles, for one, the five-woman Board of Supervisors voted to urge
the U.S. Supreme Court to let local governments criminalize occupants of
homeless encampments that have become commonplace under freeway overpasses and
along sidewalks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many local officials want the
court to alter a 2020 ruling in an Idaho case called Martin v. Boise that held
it is cruel and unusual punishment to make camping on public property a crime
when the people involved have nowhere else they can legally sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The interpretations of (that
case) have tied the hands of cities and counties in imposing common-sense time
and place restrictions on some key public spaces to keep people safe and move
those who want assistance into shelter,” said one Los Angeles supervisor. “We
have no interest or intention to criminalize homelessness. We need
clarification about what tools we have to address this crisis and keep people
safe.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So the Los Angeles board voted to
support a new appeal of a case from Oregon called Johnson v. City of Grants
Pass, which restricts local government’s ability to clear homeless encampments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sure there are problems with
encampments. No one can deny some criminals hide out in them. No one can deny
that some encampments deny the public use of parks their tax dollars built and
maintain. No one likes encampments near schools.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">But what execrable timing it
was for officials to act against encampments just when many unhoused were being
swamped while others lined up to beg for something, anything, to help them dry
out and warm up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Instead of sounding off
against the homeless (while still saying they should not criminalized), public
officials might have done better if they’d sent police cars and buses to
collect some unfortunates forced to sleep in cardboard boxes on hard sidewalks
while drenched.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The rains demonstrated just
how serious this problem remains, despite California having thrown tens of
billions of dollars at it. For sure, the state has more homeless today than
when Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature spent more than $10 billion to help
reduce the problem in the 2022-23 budget.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plus, civic efforts to create
ever more affordable housing don’t help the homeless, when supposedly
“affordable” units often rent for $1,800 per month or more, even without
parking spaces. How many of the unhoused can pay that much each month?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's one idea that could
help, a tactic that could and should have begun when last winter’s rains first
showed how desperate the need is: Use part of the huge government allocations
to buy or lease some of the hundreds of millions of square feet that remain
vacant today in office buildings, even where some companies now require white
collar workers to report to offices at least part-time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Without permanently converting
those spaces to residences, they could at least offer dry indoor spaces where
people could sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">But why would officials think
creatively when they can instead order up legal briefs seeking more power to
harass the homeless?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough," is now
available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-4402761022228327332024-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:002024-02-05T08:00:16.356-08:00WHAT GOP CALIFORNIA VOTERS COULD TELL TRUMP – BUT PROBABLY WON’T<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"WHAT GOP CALIFORNIA VOTERS COULD
TELL TRUMP – BUT PROBABLY WON’T”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">If Donald
Trump, as seems likely after the first few Republican primary elections and
caucuses, wins a third consecutive GOP nomination for president and then goes
on to a November victory, he will likely consider it a mandate for his
announced plans. That’s virtually certain, whether or not he loses the national
popular vote by millions, as happened twice before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Those
plans include revenge on any- and everyone he believes has wronged him in the
past, sending military units to police cities run by elected Democrats and
“root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that
live like vermin within the confines of our country…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
far, he has not named any names. But his declaration that “I am your
retribution” looks like a statement that he will act on the resentments of
(mostly white) Americans who feel wronged by the advancement or prosperity of
some Blacks, Latinos and immigrants.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trump
has also questioned American military aid to Ukraine in its two-year battle
against Russian invaders, but neither opposed nor supported similar aid to
Israel as it fought the Hamas terrorists who killed and kidnapped more than
1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
did not surprise anyone who watched Trump as president repeatedly kowtow to
Russian President Vladimir Putin and express admiration for other strongmen
like North Korea’s Kim Jong Il.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While
still president in early 2021, Trump openly floated the idea of unilaterally
imposing martial law on the entire nation to keep himself in office despite
losing the 2000 election. He did not actually do it then. Might he attempt this
tactic if elected now, when his second and (constitutionally) last term in the
White House expires? If so, it would be the most serious test ever for military
commanders sworn to obey only legal orders.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Never
before has any presidential candidate laid out such a specific plan for his
term. Never before has a major party nominee made revenge a major campaign
theme.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With
mail ballots for California’s March 5 primary election either already in the
hands of millions of voters, or about to arrive in their mailboxes, the fate of
Trump’s plans just might be decided by the 26 percent of California voters
registered as Republicans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trump’s
party allies here set up rules that would give him all California’s Republican
National Convention delegates if he gets even one vote more than 50 percent in
the primary tally here. By itself, that delegation would make up about 15
percent of what it would take to nominate Trump for a third time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
what if California’s GOP voters (Republican primaries are the only publicly
staged and financed elections in this state not open to all voters, but only to
party members) gave him less than 50 percent?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because
California’s vote comes relatively early in the primary season this year, there
would be time for remaining<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rival Nikki
Haley, the former South Carolina governor, to capitalize on later-voting states
like New York, Pennsylvania and many more. This could throw the GOP convention
into chaos and repeated ballots.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
it won’t happen unless California Republicans change their views on Trump, who
has long enjoyed huge polling leads here among his party mates. As the vote
neared, there were no signs this was happening on a large scale.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
that does not change with ballots in the hands of voters, the California
primary will likely end any serious GOP campaigning during the spring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
with the full California delegation in hand, along with delegates already won
in other states and even a minor share of delegates to be elected down the
line, Trump effectively would have clinched the nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
would mark the first time in two generations that a major party nomination went
to someone who refused to participate in intra-party debates. It would also be
the first time any American party nominated a person openly bent on using the
presidency to exact revenge on opponents and explicitly committed to
weaponizing the Justice Department against perceived personal enemies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
if, as polls suggest they will, California Republicans vote for Trump despite
or because of those commitments, what will that say about their views on things
like democracy, equal justice and peaceful transfers of power?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-30-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski
Breakthrough," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more
Elias columns, visit </span></span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.ca</span><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">liforniafocus.net</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-44661355600017552792024-02-05T07:29:00.000-08:002024-02-05T07:29:58.416-08:00WHY UC’S ETHNIC STUDIES MANDATE IS DELAYED<p><span style="font-size: large;"> CALIFORNIA FOCUS</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024, OR THEREAFTER</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />BY THOMAS D. ELIAS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> “WHY UC’S ETHNIC STUDIES MANDATE IS DELAYED”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> It was easy this month to understand why the University of California’s long-planned adoption of a high school ethnic studies course requirement for admission is stalled and may never materialize.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> That’s partly because of what’s happened with the state’s separate but not yet official mandate that public school districts teach a one-semester ethnic studies curriculum as a requirement for graduation. Where they exist, many such classes have become hotbeds of anti-Israel lies and half-truths that border on outright promotion of Jew hatred.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> This has occurred in some districts that jumped the gun on ethnic studies, hiring members of the Critical Ethnic Studies Association (CESA) to write programs before they’ve become a requirement. Some of those hired were among authors of two versions of the state ethnic studies curriculum that were both rejected by state education officials as anti-white, anti-Western and anti-Semitic, with rewrites ordered both times.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> So far, there are no precise statewide standards for what must be taught, letting districts and classroom teachers design their own programs. But CESA, to which many UC and California State University ethnic studies faculty members belong, specifies classes should “analyze, confront and intellectually dismantle… institutionalized forms of racism, apartheid, settler colonialism and empire in and beyond the United States.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> So when CESA members write curricula, classroom emphasis is often not on building pride and self-esteem in all children, as envisioned by legislators who enabled an ethnic studies course, but instead stresses resentments, divisions and fault-finding.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> That’s no surprise considering that some UC and Cal State academic departments use state-funded equipment and official websites to promote hatred of ethnic groups they despise and, more than any other country, the state of Israel. Within the last month, 405 non-ethnic studies faculty at UC signed a letter calling on their system’s Board of Regents to stop professors from using state-funded resources for promoting personal points of view. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> They pointed to the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz as an egregious example of using its website and classrooms to promote anti-Israel activity that all UC campus chancellors have unanimously condemned as “a direct and serious threat to the academic freedom of students and faculty.” And they noted that state-supported anti-Israel activity has stepped up since the Oct. 7 Hamas kidnap/massacre of more than 1,500 Israelis. That included encouraging students to participate in a “Shut it down for Palestine” protest rally. All this runs counter to system-wide UC policies proscribing use of public funds and facilities to push private views.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> The faculty letter noted similarly illegal misuse of websites and facilities at UC Merced and UC San Diego, among others.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> But any distortions there have been mild compared to some of the high school classroom materials now in use. This academic malpractice is nowhere more egregious than at Woodside High School and Menlo Atherton High School, both components of the Redwood City-based Sequoia Union High School District.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> As first reported in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, materials there say “Israel controls the water and electricity of Gaza.” In fact, Israel prior to Oct. 7 controlled less than 20 percent of those utilities in Gaza. There are many more anti-Israel half-truths, as when the Arabic word “Nakba,” or catastrophe, is defined as describing “when more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled…in the 1948 war that followed the formation of the state of Israel.” The materials don’t mention that war began when five Arab armies (from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Syria) invaded Israel the moment it declared independence under terms of a United Nations resolution. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Via radio broadcasts, they asked Arab residents to leave so they could operate more freely. The materials do not mention that Israel at the time told Palestinian Arabs to stay put, warning that if they left, they would not be allowed to return. Nor do the materials mention that simultaneously, more than 800,000 longtime Jewish residents were forcibly expropriated and expelled by Arab countries from north Africa to Iraq and Syria, and then immediately taken in by Israel as full citizens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> All this comprises a solid argument for delaying any statewide ethnic studies requirement until firm guidelines demanding factuality and prevention of falsehoods and propaganda are put in place.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> -30-</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-70221888895171449982024-01-29T06:51:00.000-08:002024-01-29T06:53:04.121-08:00ON DELTA TUNNEL, THE GLOATING WAS FAR TOO EARLY<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 OR THEREAFTER</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“ON
DELTA TUNNEL, THE GLOATING WAS FAR TOO EARLY”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
press release made the so-called Delta Conveyance Project seem like a sure
thing after the massive $16 billion project received its final formal state
approval early in January.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Today
marks another significant milestone in our </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">efforts to modernize state water
infrastructure and adapt to the challenges of changing precipitation patterns,”
went the statement from Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water
Resources (DWR).</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
didn’t take a genius to realize that despite such talk from Nemeth and other
state officials, this was no done deal. Bulldozers were not about to appear
overnight to start installing the project’s planned 39-foot-high culverts,
which would dwarf even the largest Hamas tunnel.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Within
minutes, opponents of the California tunnel vowed to keep fighting it in court
and anywhere else they can think of. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The first big
devil-in-the-details to appear turns out to be rather significant: Where is
that $16 billion (a figure almost certain to expand) going to come from?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
state bureaucrats’ plan was to use revenue bonds, borrowing the money and then
paying it back from fees paid by users of the approximately 500,000 acre feet
of water the giant project would send south from the delta of the San Joaquin
and Sacramento rivers via the state Water Project.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
bureaucrats (and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a huge backer of the plan) figured they
would issue bonds via a 1959 law authorizing the DWR to make changes to the
water project.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Uh-uh,
said a Sacramento judge less than two weeks after Nemeth’s almost giddy press
release. Any bonds will need approval from either the voters or the Legislature
– and possibly both, if legislators should pass them only to see them
challenged by a ballot referendum.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Superior
Court Judge Kenneth Mennemeier, appointed in 2016 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown –
long a supporter of the tunnel or something similar – said the 1959 law was too
broad and would give the state unchecked authority to build whatever it wants
wherever it wants. That’s not allowed under other laws, Mennemeier ruled.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
brought joy to outfits like Stockton-based Restore the Delta, the
conservation-minded Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
center had sued the DWR just after the Nemeth announcement, saying state
analysts did not consider how a dramatically reduced river flow would affect
wildlife like the Delta smelt, Chinook salmon and other fish.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
charged the tunnel would take away about one-third of the flow that now both
nurtures aquatic life and helps keep saltwater intrusion at bay.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The
court was right to recognize that the state’s scheme to finance the
environmentally disastrous Delta tunnel was unlawful,” said John Buse of the
Center for Biological Diversity. “Without the bonds to fund this boondoggle,
the project’s future is bleak and that’s very good news for people and wildlife
in the Delta.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
likely also good news for most voters in northern parts of the state.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
the current tunnel plan is but another iteration of an idea originally passed
by the Legislature in 1980, which initiated today’s common practice of
challenging legislative actions with ballot referenda.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
project then was called the Peripheral Canal. Rather than a tunnel, it would
have created a steep and deep 45-mile-long ditch to divert Sacramento River
water south.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Fully 93 percent
of all voters from Modesto north voted in 1980 to cancel the Peripheral Canal.
That was much more than needed to override the 60 percent approval the project
got from voters in Southern California and came as close as America has ever seen
to a Soviet-style plebiscite.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many
of 1980's voters, of course, have passed on, but there’s no reason to believe a
vote today would go any different. Because Northern California legislators know
this, there’s very little chance bonds for the more elaborate modern tunnel
project would get legislative approval.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
probably why the state never sought such approval, but tried instead to ramrod
a revenue bond issue through with little attention.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
bottom line here is that hopes have been dashed for anyone who banked on the
state’s giddy, almost gloating announcement that it had approved this old idea
at last. It may happen someday, but for now, that day remains far in the
future.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough,
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit </span><span lang="X-NONE"><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-76370866527115698212024-01-29T06:49:00.000-08:002024-01-29T06:49:41.498-08:00ENERGY COMMISSION TAKES STEP 1; LIMIT ON GAS PRICES SHOULD BE NEXT<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA
FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> </span><span lang="X-NONE">FEBRUARY 13, 2024, OR THEREAFTER</span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE"> </span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ENERGY
COMMISSION TAKES STEP 1; LIMIT ON GAS PRICES SHOULD BE NEXT”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For many
years, California drivers and Republican politicians have blamed Democrats and
high gas taxes for the huge difference in the price of gasoline here compared
to other states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It turns
out they’ve been wrong, some of them just plain self-serving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We know
this with certainty now for the first time because of a year-old state law with
the odd designation of SBX1-2, passed in an emergency legislative session after
extreme gasoline price increases during last February. In that month, pump
prices leaped more than $2 per gallon over just two days, oil refiners
explaining that they had some “unexpected” shutdowns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Gov.
Gavin Newsom called this a “fleecing” of California drivers, and oil company
profits in this state jumped to levels 70 percent above what they were
elsewhere. They’ve dropped a little since then.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So we got
a new law forcing refiners in the state to report their per-gallon profit
margins to a new division of the state Energy Commission, which must publish
them and then decide whether they constitute price gouging. If the commission
makes that ruling, it can then impose price limits.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first
reports came in late last year and received virtually no media coverage. It
turned out big California refiners like Valero, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips,
Marathon and PBF raked in an average of $1.49 per gallon in gross refining
profits during the fairly typical month of September, almost three times their
66 cent margins in January 2023. That’s after the costs of crude oil, taxes,
environmental fees and transportation are subtracted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Of
course, the 66 cent January 2023 margins were already unusually high, about
one-third more than the previously normal margins of about 50 cents the
refiners historically reaped here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Said
Jamie Court, president of the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group, “This data
proves California oil refiners profited wildly from California gas price
spikes… It is precisely why California needs to implement a strong price
gouging penalty as soon as possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He’s right. The figures prove that while
government causes some gas price inflation here, refiners actually cause most
of the price differential of more than a dollar a gallon between California and
other states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Essentially,
they are treating California like a gigantic ATM with unlimited reserves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This all
demonstrates that even though prices are down somewhat since last February,
they remain much higher than previously, with refiners not being the least bit
bashful about upping their profits whenever they please.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>September
brought such a moment, as they raised margins from $1.29 per gallon in August.
This was a 13 percent increase in a single month, when no extraordinary events
occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Court
suggests the Energy Commission, which now ought to exercise for the first time
its option of setting a “reasonable maximum” profit, should limit margins to 60
cents per gallon, just below the levels of January 2023. That would amount to a
10 percent penalty to the refiners for their gouging of the last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
consumers, this could mean a quick price drop of almost a dollar a gallon, a
welcome relief in the state with America’s second highest average cost of
living.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But so
far, the Energy Commission has not acted on its mandate, saying it is still
determining whether any of this constituted price gouging. That decision is due
by June at the latest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But the
September numbers leave no doubt of what the finding will need to be: It’s
eminently clear the refiners have gouged and are deserving of the penalty
SBX1-2 calls for.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes,
there would be bleating from oil companies about how the state is wrecking its
business environment – an environment they have exploited to the tune of
billions of dollars over the last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If they
don’t pay a price for their unfair business practices now, it’s hard to see
when one would ever be justified or imposed on any price-gouging business or
industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-34609345962979344382024-01-22T06:41:00.000-08:002024-01-22T06:41:26.879-08:00INSURANCE CRISIS EVEN WORSE IN OTHER STATES<p><span style="font-size: large;"> CALIFORNIA FOCUS </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2023, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
“INSURANCE CRISIS EVEN WORSE IN OTHER
STATES"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> So you
think California has a serious property insurance crisis, with one company
(State Farm) getting a 20 percent increase just as 2023 ended and others
demanding even higher increases as some threaten to halt new policy sales in
the state?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> As big as
this crisis is, it does not compare with what’s going on in other states like
Florida and North Carolina, where Republican-dominated legislatures may soon be
forced to take measures the GOP has long called “socialistic.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Take
Florida, whose Republican governor and former presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis
loves to seize on every difficulty that arises in California, blaming
everything from homelessness to high electric rates on Democratic dominance of
state government.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Florida
already has a state-owned and -run insurance company called Citizen Property
Insurance, which functions much like California’s Fair Plan. These agencies are
funded largely by extra-high premiums paid by homeowners who for a variety of
reasons can’t get policies from private companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> In
California, most of the problems are confined to discrete areas the insurance
companies deem subject to wildfires, either because they’ve already had some or
because their foliage, climate and terrain makes them vulnerable to everything
from a stray match to arsonists to negligence by electric companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> But in
Florida, where the biggest waves of claims stem from hurricanes, there are no
discrete boundaries, as hurricanes have hit almost all parts of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Home
insurance costs there have risen hugely without a law like California’s 1988
Proposition 103 to restrain them. The cost of home insurance in the Sunshine
State lately saw the average Florida homeowner paying more than $6,000 in 2023
and more increases on the horizon. That was an increase of more than 102
percent over the last three years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> It
doesn’t quite make up for the difference in home prices between California and
Florida, but it does make Florida real estate more expensive than prices and
rents make it appear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Enter
“socialism.” Fully 15 insurance companies have pulled out of Florida in recent
years and homeowners therefore suffer problems getting coverage. So the GOP-led
Legislature is considering a huge increase in the maximum value of homes that
can be covered by Citizen Property. The limit is now $1 million in assessed
value, but lawmakers are considering upping that by half, to $1.5 million. That
would leave very few Florida homes ineligible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> DeSantis
suggests making up for all this with decreases in property taxes, which are
much higher than California’s because Florida lacks limits like those in this
state’s 1978 Proposition 13.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Republican
legislators previously killed expansions of Citizen Property due to the
“socialism” tag, but two GOPers are lead sponsors of the current expansion
plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Things
are not quite so extreme in North Carolina, but homeowners are about to be hit
almost as hard there as in Florida and much harder than in California.
Insurance companies have not yet left North Carolina en masse, but several now
seek increases between 42 and 99 percent in annual premiums. Increases could be
even higher in the hurricane-prone eastern areas of that state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> These
levels of proposed increase would arouse huge protests in California, where the
Consumer Watchdog advocacy group – whose founder Harvey Rosenfield wrote
Proposition 103 – is now working to cut State Farm’s 20 percent rate hike,
which seems paltry compared to what’s happening elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> It’s one
case of a serious California crisis with far worse counterparts elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Yes,
California has weather-related disasters, but when they happen in Texas and
Florida, they can be even more devastating than ours. What’s more, insurance
companies have had it easier here since they leveraged their losses from the
1994 Northridge earthquake to end their obligation to write quake insurance.
Instead, the state-run California Earthquake Authority has lucked out for
almost 30 years, taking in large premiums from property owners without
experiencing any truly massive temblors since Northridge in 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> That’s
allowed its reserves to pile up more than anyone could have expected back in
the 1990s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> It’s all
just another example of why moving away from California doesn’t necessarily
lead to the problem-free existence many emigrants expect in other states.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> -30-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Email Thomas Elias at
tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising
Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now
available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></span>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-30863814132391056992024-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:002024-01-22T06:39:43.791-08:00ONE RESIGNATION, SEVEN ELECTIONS, A YEAR’S CONFUSION<p> </p><p class="yiv3980231034msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: </span><span style="color: black;">TUES</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">DAY,</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">FEBRUARY 6</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">, 202</span><span style="color: black;">4</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;">, OR THEREAFTER</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msobodytext"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> BY
THOMAS D. ELIAS</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">
“ONE RESIGNATION, SEVEN ELECTIONS, A YEAR’S CONFUSION”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> A
silly, very expensive and possibly exhausting all-year election season is
coming up this year in one corner of California mainly because of one man’s
desire to end his humiliation and embarrassment.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> That
man is Kevin McCarthy, deposed last fall as the Republican speaker of the U.S.
House of Representatives.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> When
members of Congress resign or retire, they usually stay until their terms end,
rather than leaving in the middle. Not McCarthy. Barely a month after his
fellow Republicans rejected his leadership, McCarthy in early December
announced that if he could no longer be the kingpin of the House, he would walk
out. Then he left.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> That
left without representation his 23<sup>rd</sup> Congressional district,
centered on Bakersfield, but also running north into Tulare County and east to
Ridgecrest in the high desert of Kern County. It also left Republicans with a
meager three-vote majority in the House and another speaker who could be thrown
out at any moment by his seemingly impossible to satisfy party mates.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">
Also affected are people in the overlapping 32<sup>nd</sup> California
Assembly District, who face as many as seven elections this year because of
McCarthy’s quick and selfish exit and the ambitions of his former aide, current
Assemblyman Vince Fong.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Upon
McCarthy’s departure, Fong announced he would try to replace his former boss in
Congress. Trouble was, he was already signed up to run for reelection in the
32nd Assembly District, which raised the interesting question of whether anyone
can run for two offices at once.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Inevitably,
lawsuits ensued. Strangely, they were decided in a Sacramento court, rather
than in Bakersfield, where the decision would be felt most. Superior Court
Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang ruled Fong can run for both offices
simultaneously. She said nothing about whether he can serve in both the
Legislature and Congress at the same time. Chances are that if he replaces
McCarthy this spring, Fong will resign from the Assembly, even if that’s not
required by law. Logistically, it would be almost impossible to do both jobs at
once.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> There
would be simultaneous hearings and floor votes in both capitols and Fong could
only make both if he sent a clone or a doppelganger to one or the other.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Besides,
state law is ambiguous over whether any of this is legal. “A public officer
shall not simultaneously hold two public offices that are incompatible…” goes
the law. Who’s to say if these two offices are incompatible? Maybe another
judge?</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> This
leaves the election schedule up in the air. A few things</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">are certain: Fong and others will contest
in the March 5 state</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">primary for slots in the November general
election for a full</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">two-year term in Congress and for another
two-year term in</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Sacramento That’s two votes. Then, on
March</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">19
comes a special election set by Gov. Gavin Newsom for the rest of McCarthy’s
current term. If no one wins a majority then, a runoff will follow, likely in
late April or early May.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> That
makes four likely votes, three on the congressional seat alone. If Fong wins
those races and then resigns his Assembly spot, as would be normal practice,
another special election would follow to pick new Assembly nominees for both
the rest of the current term, and possibly also for the next two-year term.
Should no one get majorities in those two possibly identical races, another
special election would follow for the seat for at least the rest of this year,
while the runoff for the next term would likely be held together with the rest
of the November election.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> That
makes a total of seven likely trips to the ballot box or the mailbox for voters
in the overlapping Assembly and Congressional districts.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> There
are, of course, costs for all this. A single special election in Tulare County
runs at least $200,000, while those in larger counties like Kern and Fresno,
each of which contains pieces of at least one of these districts, cost much
more.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">
The eventual cost to taxpayers could be well over $2
million, just because one man wanted an end to the humiliation his previously
boundless ambition brought on. What a guy!</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msonormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">-30-</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msobodytext"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"> Email Thomas
Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns,
visit </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/" target="_blank">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="yiv3980231034msobodytext"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-52321876293324389782024-01-15T06:47:00.000-08:002024-01-15T06:47:19.354-08:00DOES SUPREME COURT WANT BLOOD ON ITS HANDS?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023 OR THEREAFTER</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“DOES SUPREME COURT WANT BLOOD ON
ITS HANDS?”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here’s
an open question for the U.S. Supreme Court, which has taken a strongly
originalist stance toward gun control: Do you want blood on your hands again?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
right, again. The nation’s highest court has sometimes issued rulings that led
directly to killings, even murders. One was the infamous <em>Dred Scott</em>
ruling of 1857, which held that the Constitution did not grant citizenship or
rights to anyone of Black African descent. This led to the killing or recapture
of numerous escaped slaves who had fled to so-called “free” states prior to the
Civil War.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Or
its much more recent 2022 ruling in the <em>Bruen </em>case that ended New
York’s limits on concealed carrying of guns, the high court holding that since
there is no multi-century American history of such regulations, they are
overridden by the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now
another gun control case, called <em>U.S. vs. Rahimi </em>confronts the court
with questions of whether it’s legal to prohibit domestic violence offenders or
those under restraining orders from owning firearms.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Right
now, they can’t, under a federal law signed by former President Donald Trump.
But the U.S. 5<sup>th</sup> Circuit Court of Appeals early in 2023 sided with
gun rights supporters and held that law unconstitutional.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
did not end such laws in other appellate circuits, including the Ninth,
covering California and most of the West. Indications from the public arguments
over the Rahimi lawsuit indicate the justices might let the Trump-era law
stand.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">That would be good
for California women, now protected under a 10-year-old state law. Said state
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, “The data is clear. Domestic violence abusers should not
have firearms. When an abuser has access to a firearm, it endangers the safety
of those around them.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here’s
some of that data:</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Fully
83 percent of shooting victims in domestic violence cases are females killed or
wounded by a current or former intimate partner. In more than 68 percent of
mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed one partner or family member or
had a history of domestic violence. American women are 11 times more likely to
be killed by guns than women in other “advanced” countries. And domestic
violence calls involving firearms increased by 63 percent between 1993 and
2022. Female victims of domestic violence are five times more likely to be
killed if the male involved has access to a gun.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
that history doesn’t make a strong case for keeping guns away from persons
under domestic violence restraining orders, it’s hard to see what might.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
why current California law makes sense in requiring state-funded domestic
violence clinics to offer every victim a gun violence restraining order. Such
an order should keep guns away from people known to have assailed their wives
or partners.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
if the Supreme Court should go counter to the impression it left during its
late 2023 hearing of arguments on <em>Rahimi,</em> those protections would
disappear.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
the high court very likely would once again have serious culpability, with the
strong likelihood of a return to old gun violence habits in domestic
situations.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Such
an outcome would be almost inevitable if the current federal law were struck
down on the grounds it has no basis in 18<sup>th</sup> or 19<sup>th</sup>
Century American history. In fact, there is no such basis: domestic violence
restraining orders were unheard of in those times, with wife beating a common
event.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Evidence
abounds that human nature has not changed in such situations. The strongest
indicator is that during the pre-vaccine days of the coronavirus pandemic
between 2019 and 2021, domestic violence calls to police increased by 80
percent, as couples confined to their homes had few safety valves. That number
is even more remarkable considering the drop in such cases during the
surrounding years.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All
of which means this life-and-death issue is now completely up to Supreme Court
justices, who have the opportunity to sustain a law proven to save thousands of
lives in domestic disputes.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
they don’t, they will once again have considerable blood on their hands.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
-30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough,
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit </span><span lang="X-NONE"><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span></span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-1891579811503768082024-01-15T06:45:00.000-08:002024-01-15T06:49:46.827-08:00STATE’S PRIMARY MAJOR TEST OF LOYALTY TO TRUMP<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE">CALIFORNIA
FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2024, OR THEREAFTER</span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“STATE’S PRIMARY MAJOR TEST OF
LOYALTY TO TRUMP”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
years, ex-President Donald Trump has spoken and acted as if loyalty to him is
more important to the national well-being than loyalty to laws and the
Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So it
came as no great surprise when he threatened “big trouble” if the U.S. Supreme
Court does not overturn a Colorado state Supreme Court decision to knock his
name off that state’s primary election ballot. Oral arguments on Trump’s appeal
of that order are set for Feb. 8.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I just
hope we get fair treatment,” Trump said to a rally during the heated Iowa
caucus campaign earlier this month. “Because if we don’t, our country’s in big,
big trouble. Does everybody understand what I’m saying?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes, most
folks did understand. He clearly meant that if he doesn’t get his way with the
three U.S. Supreme Court justices he appointed and others, he might try to sic
his loyal followers on the court system or state election officials who might
follow Colorado in keeping his name off their ballots. Trump critics contend
his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 invasion of the national Capitol
building amounted to participation in an insurrection against the government
and render him ineligible to be president again, under terms of the 14<sup>th</sup>
Amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trump
also allowed to a podcaster that if returned to office, he would become a
“dictator, “but just for Day 1.” He called convicted Jan. 6 rioters “hostages,”
promising a blanket pardon for them all if he’s elected. He vocally hoped for
an economic collapse before November, on grounds it might help his election
chances, and he gloated about “killing” Roe v. Wade and abortion rights for
most women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">So far, polls indicate none of
this incendiary rhetoric dented Trump’s base of support any more than the
multiple indictments against him. The biggest test of the conventional wisdom
that all this actually helps Trump will come March 5, when he appears on the
California primary ballot. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Although
currently charged, Trump has yet to be convicted of being an insurrectionist,
so California Secretary of State Shirley Weber wasn’t ready to exclude him,
even though the 14<sup>th</sup> Amendment does not require a conviction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
14 states will join California in voting on the March 5 “Super Tuesday,” but,
like Iowa, New Hampshire and other small, early primary and caucus states, none
provides the same test as California. Republicans in states like Texas, North
Carolina and Massachusetts are less diverse than here, where voters come closer
than any others to matching the nation’s demographics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trump has
enjoyed support from well over 50 percent of the state’s Republicans in every
poll taken so far, the latest indicating nothing that's happened changed many
Republican minds here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
the California Republican Party shows no sign of deviating from its course of
trying to clinch the GOP nomination for Trump. Last spring, the state party
convention voted to give all California’s 169 GOP convention delegates to any
candidate who gets 50 percent plus one vote among party voters March 5. That
meant Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Only
registered Republicans can vote in the GOP primary, the sole California
election where party registration factors into whom a voter can choose. The
Democratic presidential primary and all others here are conducted as open
elections, with all voters eligible to back any candidate of any party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
why a drive began in early January encouraging registered Democrats to switch
to the GOP for a short while to vote against Trump. Organizers encourage votes
for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as an alternative who might deprive
Trump of many California delegates. With a 50 percent-plus vote, Trump would
most likely be assured after March 5 of having the 1,215 convention delegates
needed to win his third Republican nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
could make the California primary the most interesting of Super Tuesday and
perhaps the entire spring season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
California – which has never come close to backing Trump in a general election
– ices the nomination for him, it would also mark the first time since 1972
that any presidential primary here has counted for much.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">-30-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"> Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough:
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit <a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="X-NONE" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span lang="X-NONE"><o:p></o:p></span></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879846109601593261.post-55951700452101736252024-01-08T07:01:00.000-08:002024-01-08T07:01:30.693-08:00REEPS MAY PUT GARVEY INTO SENATE RUNOFF<p> </p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA FOCUS<br />
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2024, OR THEREAFTER<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;">BY THOMAS D. ELIAS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“REEPS MAY
PUT GARVEY INTO SENATE RUNOFF”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The three
prominent congressional Democrats in the running for the U.S. Senate seat long
held by the late and formidable Dianne Feinstein act as if they believe an
all-Democrat November runoff is inevitable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But that
may not happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>None of
the three contesting Congress members – not Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie
Porter of Irvine or Barbara Lee of Oakland – so much as acknowledges that
Republican Steve Garvey is in the running.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But polls
that startle some Democrats show Garvey now running second in this four-horse
primary race despite his lack of much television advertising and his dearth of
high-profile campaigning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s
because Garvey, formerly an all-star first baseman who helped first the Los
Angeles Dodgers and later the San Diego Padres into the World Series, possesses
more name recognition than all three Democrats combined.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes,
that’s even true for Schiff, who led two impeachment efforts against former
President Donald Trump, becoming a national Democratic hero in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Garvey’s
name recognition allows him to take advantage of the simple math that governs
many California primary elections, especially those at the statewide level like
this one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
arithmetic says almost half of all registered voters call themselves Democrats,
while about one-fourth list themselves with no party preference (NPP) and
another quarter identify as Republicans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In a
typical primary, slightly over half the NPP voters end up casting ballots for
Republicans. Because the GOP has lately included very few politicians of major
prominence, those votes have usually been splintered. But the latest surveys
show Garvey, a political neophyte at 75,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>has managed to gain support from most Republicans. So the GOP vote will
likely not be as divided as it often is in the election that begins soon, when
mail ballots arrive in most mailboxes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But the
Democrats will be as fractured as ever. A January poll conducted for Politico
and Morning Consult showed Schiff leading the field with 26 percent support to
14 percent for Porter and Lee with 12 percent. Meanwhile, Garvey snuck into
second place in this survey at 15 percent, meaning he’s getting about 60
percent of all GOP support. As the primary grows closer, Garvey figures to draw
more support away from other Republicans like the initial GOP leader, lawyer
and die-hard Donald Trump backer Eric Early.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Schiff’s
lead in the Politico/Morning Consult survey was his largest in any poll yet, as
many voters listed earlier as undecided began to make up their minds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He also
differentiated himself from the field by refusing to call for an early
cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying he agrees with Israeli politicians
who say the fighting must continue until Hamas is decimated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
Garvey has hinted at a similar stance. But he has spoken mostly in
generalities, not pretending to be a political expert.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because
most Schiff stances are congruent with those of Porter and Lee, with only a
shade of difference on the Middle East, chances are Schiff would have little
trouble consolidating former Porter and Lee supporters behind him in the
November vote, even if Garvey becomes the first Republican in 10 years to make
a California Senate runoff ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even with
millions of voters still undecided, the three Democrats combine to draw support
from more than 50 percent of likely voters today. That phenomenon figures to
turn into a majority of about 60 percent for whichever Democrat makes the
runoff, if just one does.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But if
two Democrats make it through to November, the fall race could be much tighter
than if it involves a Republican.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For that
would likely mean either Porter or Lee would be contesting Schiff, and either
figures to draw a large groundswell of support from liberal women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All of
which means this race should only grow more interesting and lively as the
primary nears and the contest then moves toward November. The eventual outcome
is easily predictable if just one Democrat makes the runoff, but very difficult
to forecast if the ultimate matchup pits two Democrats against each other in a
third consecutive California Senate race.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> -30-</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit </span><a href="http://www.californiafocus.net/">www.californiafocus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>California Focushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04519309712423264033noreply@blogger.com0