Advice for Politicians from Bob Marley

” Only a fool lean upon his own misunderstanding.”

— Lyric from ‘Forever Loving Jah’    Read more »

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New Silicon Valley Patent Office a Bigger Deal Than It Might Seem

The US government made it official July 2—the Silicon Valley will be home to one of four new satellite patent offices.

A strong bipartisan lobbying campaign has been underway for more than one year by California’s congressional delegation, state lawmakers, Gov. Jerry Brown and, in particular, Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom, to woo the Patent Office into establishing a regional presence somewhere in the Golden State.    Read more »

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Who Exactly Is Defining “Stability?”

(Lawmakers are scheduled to vote July 2 on a package of measures aimed at bringing relief to homeowners with under-water mortgages. This is the “objective” summary of one of the bills:)

” DIGEST: This bill (SB 900) makes changes to California’s non-judicial foreclosure process to provide stability to California’s statewide and regional economies and housing market by facilitating opportunities for borrowers to pursue loss mitigation options.”    Read more »

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This Fourth of July, God Bless America and the Affordable Care Act

By Daniel Zingale 

It’s the greatest legal victory for America’s health in our nation’s history.

By upholding the Affordable Care Act, the US Supreme Court paved the way for a new era in health care in this country, one that matches our aspirations to greatness, our sense of fairness and — maybe most of all — our passion for innovation.    Read more »

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Sad Day for the GOP and America: Fred Karger Presidential Campaign Ends

“After 2 ½ years of campaigning as a candidate for President of the United States I am officially ending my historic campaign today June 29, 2012. It’s been one hell of a ride, and I want to thank the thousands of people across this country who volunteered, contributed, opened their homes, came to our events and cheered me on.    Read more »

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State Parks Director Ruth Coleman, Public Relations Consultant Shelly Sullivan and Political Journalist Katy Grimes Tear It Up on “Politics on Tap”    Read more »

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Two-Day Old Budget Already Unraveling, Says GOP Lawmaker’s Press Release

Sacramento – Senator Bill Emmerson, a hemet Republican, revealed June 29  that the state budget signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on June 27  that the governor and legislative Democrats claim will “be balanced on an ongoing basis” is already starting to unravel. 

(The governor’s) Department of Finance notified the Legislature that the budget’s nearly $1 billion reserve will be at least $122 million lower than expected as a result of property tax revenues captured from redevelopment agencies coming in lower than expected.     Read more »

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Status of State Park Closures

Below is a June 20 memo from the Department of Parks and Recreation on the status of the 70 parks that were scheduled for closure on July 1. Since the date of this memo, the department has said 69 of the 70 parks will remain open July 1, the original date of closure for the parks on the list.    Read more »

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End-of-June Tally: Income and Corporate Taxes Roughly $450 Million Higher Than Expected

The state will likely end June with $450 million more in income tax collections than expected, according to the Franchise Tax Board and Employment Development Department.

Corporate taxes, which were running ahead of Brown administration estimates, could end slightly below them after a $103 million surge in refund requests logged on June 26.    Read more »

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Good News, Bad News as June Tax Collections Wind Down

Income tax revenues paid to the Franchise Tax Board are $482 million ahead of budget estimates as of June 27, according to the board’s daily tally sheet.

However a surge in refund requests has lessened the amount corporate taxes for the month were outpacing projections.

With three days left in the month, the board reports receiving nearly $4.2 billion in income tax payments and more than $218 million in refund requests.     Read more »

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