Lighting up the darkness and giving gifts to children are beloved parts of most of our winter holiday traditions. We have the opportunity to give a collective gift of clean, reliable, and affordable light and power to all the children in our country. Right now, the slow and outdated permitting...
Trump Victory Will Lead to New Battles in California’s ‘Water Wars’
California has been lately in the business of blowing up dams. So a decision to actually raise one is big news. In a deal approved by eight water agencies as well as the federal government, the San Luis Reservoir between Gilroy and Los Banos, the fifth-largest reservoir in the state,...
DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria
The proposed "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) by Donald Trump, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has sparked interest despite its misleading name. This non-governmental advisory body aims to streamline federal regulations, which span more than 180,000 pages. However, achieving significant spending cuts may prove challenging. As...
How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?
It sometimes seems that we have lost the ability to truly communicate with one another. It is not so much what we say to one another, but how we listen. Even friends can find it difficult to hear opposing views from each other. But the outcome can be rich if...
Fresno Unified Reform Is a Must. Force It With a ‘No’ on Measure H.
Voters have backed more than $1 billion in Fresno Unified construction bonds since 1995 in the belief that new and updated facilities would enhance student learning. However, the record shows this investment has not significantly improved student achievement or fulfilled the district’s goal of graduating high percentages of young men...
FUSD’s Easy Credit Recovery Classes Don’t Square With Measure H Bond Claims
When an election is just two few weeks away, one thing is certain: Political ads stuff your mailbox. The ads all follow the same playbook. They portray candidates in the best possible light, and they all make promises about what will happen should these candidates win. School districts that seek...
Does CalPERS Have No Shame? It Invests Millions in Azerbaijan, a Country as Brutal as North Korea
I remember it like yesterday: Thanksgiving, 1982, and my maternal grandfather raising a glass to honor “Duke,” George Deukmejian, California’s newly elected Armenian governor. Then, in 1986, glasses were raised in South Africa as Deukmejian directed California to reallocate its investments from South Africa due to its oppressive Apartheid system....
Poor Performing Fresno Unified Has Some Nerve Asking Us to Take on $1 Billion in New Taxes
While six of the seven Fresno Unified School Board trustees try to put a happy face on the district's new $500 million Measure H bond, voters deserve the ugly truth behind the facade. For starters, what's advertised as a $500 million bond will cost property owners more than $1 billion...
I Have No Confidence in FUSD’s Measure H Projects List: Trustee Candidate Villa
As an advocate for education, I often encounter reports containing skewed, omitted, or misrepresented data to support specific outcomes. This is why due diligence — examining protocols, correspondence, and raw data — is critical in evaluating decisions that impact our students. When data and recommendations don’t align, an independent evaluation...
A Tale of Two Districts: Why I’m Backing Clovis School Bond Measure, but Not Fresno’s
Fresno Unified School District's proposed 2024 bond measure H for $500 million is a misguided and poorly timed initiative that I cannot support. This 40-year bond would impose the highest tax increase among any school district in Fresno County, raising the rate to $238.86 per $100,000 of assessed property value....
