Last week, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for his abject failure to produce impartial ballot material related to Proposition 15, the “split roll” attack that seeks the partial repeal of Proposition 13.

What Proposition 15 does can be described simply: It raises property taxes on commercial and industrial real estate. And yet, how does Becerra describe it in the ballot title? Like this: “Increases funding sources for public schools, community colleges, and local governments by changing assessment of commercial and industrial property.”

What is missing, of course, are the words “tax increase” or “increases property taxes” or any other word or phrase that fairly characterizes what the measure does...

Southern California builders slashed construction plans as coronavirus hammered the economy.

My trusty spreadsheet, filled with federal stats tracking the building permits developers file, found steep drops in planning in Los Angeles and Orange counties and statewide in the second quarter. More modest drops occurred in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the April-to-June period.

“Stay at home” orders designed to slow the spread of the pandemic made home selling and construction tricky. At the same time the broad economic fallout from business limitations made consumers antsy and led many builders to take a cautious approach on new projects.

Builders filed 7,505 permits in the four counties during the quarter, plans for both ownership and rental properties...

In an unprecedented moment of unity in college sports history, a group of Pac-12 football players are banding together to make a series of demands ahead of the 2020 season.

In an article published in The Players’ Tribune titled “#WeAreUnited”, the players threatened to opt-out of fall camp and games in the coming months unless the conference addresses concerns the players have both about safety due to COVID-19, social justice and financial imbalances in college athletics.

“#WeAreUnited in our commitment to secure fair treatment for college athletes...

With the hashtag #WeAreUnited, a group of players from the Pac-12 football conference listed their demands in a letter published in the The Players’ Tribune explaining they will skip fall camp and games if their demands are not met, which call for safety regulations and concerns over racial justice, the reports says.

There was a lot of discussion on social media over their demands and concerns in the article, and what happens next is anyone’s guess.

FYI

PAC-10 Commissioner Larry Scott makes $5.3M. If the only reform was to make his salary $450K (still a top 1% salary), every PAC-10 football player could get an annual $5,000 stipend to help their families with rent, health care, food, etc.https://t.co/QUVaitr2lH

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 2, 2020

The article listed se...

In 1944, the US Forest Service was looking for a way to promote forest fire prevention, and decided a fictional bear named Smokey would be the perfect messenger.

“Only YOU can prevent forest fires!” Remember it? Of course you do. It was burnt into the psyche of every kid growing up in this country. Smokey became a national icon.

Now, the question is will Rocket?

The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Unified School District, and the Los Angeles Fire Department all are betting on a red headed, cartoon dog named Rocket to reach our most vulnerable, trusting population — children pre-K to 3rd grade, and older.

They may not listen to adults talk about what to do in emergency an...

How do you retain your company culture when you have a remote workforce?

Retaining who you are and what is important to the company is more challenging when you aren’t in the same physical space on a regular basis.

Yet, many companies with international teams and other remote situations have been successfully enjoying solid culture throughout their organizations for years.

How do they do it?

Intentionality.

The best companies know that culture is what makes or breaks them. Culture defines who you are as a company – your corporate identity. It sets the standard and tone for the way your workforce works together. It’s what gives people a shared identity – a team, a sense of belonging. And it’s the glue that holds people together when the going gets tough.

But when people aren’t i...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Hours before the rest of the Lakers arrived at The Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Miles Simon sat in a chair, taking notes.

He was watching the Oklahoma City Thunder blow out the Utah Jazz, the upcoming opponent of the Lakers on Monday, scouting for schemes and play calls in the fan-less environment in the NBA bubble. And it’s one way the Lakers’ preparation has changed with all games an easy 10-minute ride away: Bench coaches can now see their foes live.

It’s an extra task for the Lakers, who are without advance scout Greg St. Jean in the bubble. The scouting team on the outside is working on playoff opponents, Frank Vogel said, but having some live coaches present can help pick up what’s changed since the hiatus.

“We do some scouting ...

Five-year-old Samaiya Atkins is suing the state of California.

Samaiya is about to start kindergarten at the charter school chosen by her parents, the Rex and Margaret Fortune School of Education in Sacramento, where her sister also attends. However, a few weeks ago the governor signed Senate Bill 98, a budget trailer bill that cut off the funding for Samaiya’s education in the 2020-21 school year.

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently from the school districts that once had a monopoly on public education. Funding for public schools in California is based on average daily attendance, meaning the money from the state follows the student.

Until now.

SB98 froze the allocation of funding for the 2020-21 school year based on attendance in the 2019-20 school year...