December 23, 2025
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Fracking Fantasy: Letter To The Editor:

Dear Editor, I read with both interest and some consternation the April 6 article by Thomas Elias touting the potential miracle cure of fracking to what ails the California economy.  I think a little more […]

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

Fracking: Potential Miracle And Big Challenge:

Starting with the day in January 1848 when gold flakes and nuggets first turned up at Sutter’s Mill northeast of Sacramento, California has seen plenty of economic miracles, each focused in a different part of […]

The U.S. Postal Service at 5th and Arizona will relocate at a yet to be determined date to 1653 7th Street so the property can be sold. The relocation and building sale is part of a nationwide response by USPS to “reduce costs and operate more efficiently” in the face of dramatic decreases in mail volume and revenue

Enjoy Your Local Post Office… NOW!:

I think Americans are unfairly and even wrongly apathetic about whether or not the U.S. Postal Service survives into the 21st century. Waiting in line at any of the three Santa Monica branches I frequent […]

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

GOP Revival Will Take Big Orange County Change:

For more than half a century, the Election Night fate of California Republican candidates could be foretold early in the vote count: If a Republican emerged from Orange County with a lead of 250,000 or […]

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

Making The Most Constructive Tax Changes:

From the moment it passed in 1978, there has been little doubt that Proposition 13 is unfair. On any given block, residents who bought their homes on or before the magic 1975 assessment date contained […]

Steve Stajich, Columnist

Smart vs Dumb: Who’s Winning Right Now?:

This column has often railed against those things that appeared to be organized efforts to make Americans less intellectually demanding of… well, just about everything. My personal choice for historic watermark on these efforts would […]

Thomas B. Elias, Columnist

The False Assumption That Passing Taxes Will Be Easy:

Spend more than $30 million to pass a temporary tax increase proposition. See a governor put his entire political capital on the line to pass it, including airing countless television commercials featuring that man almost […]