On January 1, 2008 California’s minimum wage will increase once again, this time from 7.50 dollars per hour to 8.00 dollars per hour. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, that translates into a 6.7 percent increase, compared to a median wage increase of 4.4 percent for the Golden State. That is bad news for Californians and the state’s economy.

The state's fire agency said Friday that sparking power lines ignited the largest of the wildfires that ravaged Southern California last month. The Witch fire, which blew into the heart of north San Diego from chaparral-covered canyons to the east, killed two people, burned nearly 200,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. Along the way, it merged with the smaller Guejito fire, which also was caused by power line sparks, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. State authorities previously blamed the Rice Canyon fire on downed power lines. It burned through 9,500 acres in a rural area near the San Diego County community of Fallbrook, destroying 206 homes and damaging avocado groves.

Want real education reform? Then Sacramento policy makers need a way around local union contracts that prevent the dismissal of ineffective teachers, the leading barrier to improved student performance. School choice is the only real answer.

A couple of months ago former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan ruffled feathers by criticizing the fiscal record of the Bush Administration.  Dick Cheney himself responded in a Wall Street Journal op ed.  Yet largely lost in the argument was Greenspan’s suggestion that we switch from a cash flow to an accrual method when measuring the federal budget deficit.  (See this interview , about 2/3 of the way down.)  In this post I explain the difference.

Television viewers who were enjoying Sunday Night Football on NBC last Sunday may have noticed that a major effort is underway at the network to ‘go-green.’ The commentary booth was under a state of ‘lights-out’ to demonstrate their commitment to green behavior, and replete with flashlights and glow sticks. This follows Sydney, Australia’s, San Francisco’s and Los Angeles’ “lights out” events to show the power of turning off lights for energy conservation, and to "help" get everybody used to the power being off.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is becoming a free agent. Among the perks is having his pick of good stadiums and good public school districts, including some in California. But just how good are those schools? As a new PRI book puts it, Not as Good as You Think.

School choice opponents demand parental responsibility but deny the parental rights necessary to fulfill it. Real parental involvement requires freedom to choose their children’s schools. Until parents can exercise that freedom, stop blaming them for the failures of schools others chose for them.