Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Romney Versus Sandy
Politics / Environment Robert Gammon — Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 5:26 PM
This video from Forecast the Facts says it all:
Monday, October 29, 2012
Fracking the Law
Politics / Environment Sharon Guynup of Blue Ridge Press — Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 11:18 AM
A growing boom in natural gas drilling near homes and schools prompted the city of Longmont, Colo., to vote last July to bar new oil and gas permits in residential neighborhoods. The state quickly overturned the ordinance: Gov. John Hickenlooper said that letting it stand would "stir-up a hornet's nest," encouraging other Colorado towns to pass their own drilling rules. Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs argued that communities have the right to restrict heavy industry in residential zones — including oil and gas drilling. The root of the regulatory breakdown lies with elected officials who take hefty campaign contributions from frackers.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Oakland Zoo Campaign Spending Tops $800,000
Politics / Business Robert Gammon — Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 5:03 PM
New public reports reveal that the private nonprofit that runs the Oakland Zoo has cut checks for more than $800,000 to its campaign in support of Measure A1, making it one of the expensive political campaigns in the East Bay this year. The reports show that the East Bay Zoological Society cut two checks in recent weeks for $200,000 and $225,000, which were in addition to the $375,000 that the nonprofit already spent on the campaign. In addition, the reports indicate that the Zoological Society is still operating its campaign headquarters at the zoo, which violates local and state laws because the property is owned by the citizens of Oakland and it’s illegal to run political campaigns on public land.
Ignacio De La Fuente, Jane Brunner, and Cops' Union Attack Rebecca Kaplan and Barbara Parker
Politics / Law Enforcement & Crime Robert Gammon — Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 1:39 PM
Oakland Councilmembers Ignacio De La Fuente and Jane Brunner and the Oakland police union have unleashed a series of vicious attack ads this week in their attempt to unseat Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan and City Attorney Barbara Parker. The flurry of glossy hit-piece mailers also contained numerous false and misleading statements that grossly distort Kaplan and Parker’s positions and their records in office. Kaplan told the Express that her campaign is preparing a mailer to fight back against the false attacks, but Parker’s campaign said it likely would not, and plans instead to continue to point to Parker’s accomplishments in office. Such positives ads can be effective, but not responding to attacks could prove to be a mistake.
What’s Up with SEIU and Berkeley’s Measure T?
Politics / Business Robert Gammon — Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 8:59 AM
It’s no secret that public-employee unions have been under siege. During the past several years, they’ve endured widespread layoffs, pay reductions, and pension cuts. And so it’s no surprise that public-worker unions typically endorse ballot measures that raise revenues for the public agencies that employ their members. It’s why numerous unions throughout California are backing Prop 30: The measure will raise revenues and result in fewer cuts to state and local government services and workers. It’s also why public employees in the City of Berkeley, who are members of the union SEIU 1021, wanted to endorse Measure T, a ballot initiative that promises to generate millions in new revenues for city government.
Yet for some reason, those Berkeley city employees were overruled by the union’s county leadership. And so SEIU 1021 may now be one of the first unions in Northern California to oppose a ballot measure that would raise funds for the public agency that employs its members — and thus help that agency, the City of Berkeley, avoid more devastating cuts to jobs, pensions, and pay.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Public Service Announcement: October 22 Was the Last Day to Register to Vote
Ellen Cushing — Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Friday, October 19, 2012
Right-Leaning Poll Shows Tight Races for Props 30 and 32
Breaking News / Politics Darwin BondGraham — Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 1:06 PM
The results of a Reason-Rupe poll released today show that support for Proposition 30 may be slipping, while Prop 32 is too close to call. The right-leaning poll also claims to measure a conservative shift in the attitudes of California voters.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Oakland Zoo Operators Violate Election Laws
Politics Robert Gammon — Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 10:53 AM
The private operators of the Oakland Zoo have broken several campaign finance laws in their effort to convince county voters to pass a parcel tax on November 6, the Express has learned. Public records also indicate that the East Bay Zoological Society, the private nonprofit that has an exclusive contract with the City of Oakland to run the zoo, appears to have used taxpayer funds to help promote it’s ballot initiative, Measure A1, in violation of local and state election laws.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Prop 37 Is Losing Support
Politics / Environment Corey Hill — Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 7:39 AM
When we first reported about "Big Organic" companies helping fund the opposition to Proposition 37, the ballot measure enjoyed a two-to-one margin of support. But since then, money from Dow and Monsanto and Big Organic and “natural food” companies like Kashi (owned by Kellogg), Cascadian Farms (owned by General Mills), and Naked Juice (owned by Pepsi) has fueled a massive advertising campaign. And the ad campaign has yielded dividends for the No on 37 team. A poll conducted by Pepperdine University School of Public Policy and the California Business Roundtable shows support for the measure has slipped to 48.3 percent in favor to 40.2 percent against.
