s
s
Sections
Sections
Sections
Sections
Subscribe

About PeteGolis

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far PeteGolis has created 115 blog entries.

State lawmakers’ latest shame

“Read this article,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted this morning, linking to a commentary by Dan Morain, senior editor of the Sacramento Bee. Morain describes a backroom attempt by Democrats to sabotage the open-primary measure on the June ballot. In effect, lawyers for the legislature and lawyers for a state employees [...]

By | March 10th, 2010|6 Comments

Brown ahead of his time on energy

As governor, Jerry Brown sought to persuade Californians of the importance of conserving energy and developing alternative sources of energy - wind, solar, geothermal, biomass. The Energy Commission, established during his time as governor, would emerge as a leader in energy conservation. For example, the commission pioneered new standards of [...]

By | March 7th, 2010|2 Comments

When government watchdog wasn’t an oxymoron

During a recent conversation about Proposition 16, PG&E’s latest effort to block hometown energy initiatives, I thought about Bill Bennett, the late Marin County pol who served on the state Public Utilities Commission and later on the state Board of Equalization.  Anytime he thought the public interest was under attack, [...]

By | March 1st, 2010|0 Comments

Will tablets, iPhones revolutionize journalism?

The video posted on Tuesday serves as a promotion for Wired magazine, but the short film also offers a glossy introduction into what could be the future of newspapers, magazines and books. Imagine reading text on a tablet or smartphone - and then tapping the screen to watch a video [...]

By | February 17th, 2010|2 Comments

Final thoughts on SMART column

Write a column, and people will let you know what they think. This week’s commentary on the mixed messages emanating from the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board generated two kinds of responses: First, people in Sonoma County who supported the 2008 SMART tax - and who have supported plans for [...]

By | February 8th, 2010|7 Comments

Last train to Cloverdale

Less than two years ago, Sonoma County voters were promised passenger rail service in return for their support for a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax. And their response was overwhelming. Almost three out of four voters supported the tax measure. It was their way of embracing the future. Now [...]

By | February 7th, 2010|3 Comments

iPad or Kindle? Call me (still) undecided.

Well, we survived another Apple product roll-out and lived to tell about it. After months of build-up, we now know that Apple’s tablet, the iPad, is pretty much what everyone said it would be. As with all things Apple, this event provoked the usual legions of admirers and detractors. When [...]

By | January 28th, 2010|4 Comments

More on Santa Rosa school budget cuts

This week’s column - here - reviews how public education in California began to decline after state government was handed the purse strings. The column focuses on the grim choices facing the Santa Rosa Board of Education - but note that Santa Rosa’s situation is anything but unique. Up and [...]

By | January 24th, 2010|2 Comments

Hey, you want to serve on the city council?

In the fractiousness of our hometown politics, no one acknowledges a simple reality: Unless you are drawn to long meetings, endless paperwork and  being on the receiving end of personal insults, serving in elective office is not many people’s idea of a good time. The job is often thankless. And [...]

By | January 11th, 2010|3 Comments

What is the real unemployment rate?

Friends shared an audio of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s speech last month at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa. In his talk, Reich noted that the official unemployment rate fails to account for people working part-time, for people who have given up hope of finding a job and for [...]

By | January 9th, 2010|6 Comments