On June 5, 2013, my life would be forever changed. On that summer night, my 21-year-old son Paul Martinez was struck by a speeding driver. I rushed to the hospital after receiving a phone call that my only son was involved in a traffic collision as a pedestrian. Paul fought...
Opinion: California Vaccine Rollout and the Failure of Government
A pundit could almost make a career out of pointing out how California routinely lands in last place or just a few spots from the bottom on various lists. From the state’s miserable business climate to its worst-in-the-country tax and regulation policies to poverty, low rankings have come to be...
Editorial: Biden Needs to Make the First Move to Revive the Iran Nuclear Deal
[aggregation-styles] The Los Angeles Times Subscription One of Donald J. Trump’s greatest blunders as president was to repudiate the 2015 international agreement in which Iran accepted significant limitations on its nuclear program — restrictions designed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Rather than pressuring Iran to accede to tougher...
Opinion: The Emperor Has No Vaccines!
Governor Newsom showed up Wednesday for a dog-and-pony show at the Fresno Fairgrounds. In his entourage was a gaggle of sycophants gathered under the twin banners of increasing vaccination and “unity.” Serving as props for the governor’s photo-op were elected leaders who took turns bemoaning the lack of vaccines and...
Opinion: Open the Economy. It’s Almost Too Late.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent decision to lift the regional stay-at-home order that kept many Californians home and businesses shuttered was a welcome relief. However, more needs to be done for small businesses, many of which are hanging on by a thread. It can’t be said enough that COVID-19 is a...
California Must Change Course to Avoid Water Shortages
[aggregation-styles] Redlands Daily Facts Californians have recently endured increasingly aggressive wildfires, rolling power outages, and smoke-filled air for days. Unless the state government changes course, we can add water shortages to this list. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, California has already suffered three droughts during this century – 2001-2002,...
Opinion: Meet the CA Police Chief Turned Yoga Teacher Prodding Wealthy Suburbanites to Civil War
[aggregation-styles] The Washington Post A common misconception to emerge from the Capitol riots is that those who stormed the building were largely militia types. Other than their overwhelming whiteness, however, even the most radicalized Trump supporters defy easy characterization. Take, for example, Alan Hostetter, an Orange County, Calif., man who...
100 Million Is Too Few. Biden Should Aim Higher on Vaccinations.
[aggregation-styles] The Washington Post What is the first thing Joe Biden should do as president? He has many competing priorities. He must deal with the pandemic, restart the economy, reestablish U.S. credibility on the world stage and compete effectively with China. It turns out there is one thing he can...
Karbassi: Keep Retail Open During COVID to Ensure Economic Recovery
Last January, California confirmed its first case of COVID-19 at a time when the state had a record low 3.9% unemployment and a booming economy, a statement that seems radically far away from our present reality. However, if January 2020 was one of blissful ignorance, January 2021 can be one...
‘MLK/FBI’ Forbids Us to Relax
[aggregation-styles] The New Yorker In the late nineteen-fifties, James Stewart was on a roll. “Vertigo” came out in 1958, as did the sly and funny “Bell, Book and Candle,” followed by “Anatomy of a Murder,” in 1959. A decorated veteran and a loyal Republican, Stewart seemed at once trusty and...