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Katy Grimes

Sen. Pres. Kevin De Leon’s Fractured Fairytale on Climate Change

California’s Political Climate Needs to Be Cleaned of Polluted Politicians

Tuesday’s Sacramento Bee has an op ed from Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, on full attack of the Bee’s own Dan Walters for daring to point out that California is not booming economically, despite what de Leon and Gov. Jerry Brown tell us.

Fuzzy Math

De Leon claims in his op ed (‘Climate Change Policies Will Help Poorest Californians), “California’s job growth outpaced all other states in 2014 and unemployment is 5.8 percent, the lowest since October 2007.”

This is only true if like de Leon, Gov. Brown, and the Obama administration, an employed Californian is defined as a worker who performs at a job one hour a week, and therefore can be counted as “employed.”

A full time “job” used to be defined by the government and Bureau of Labor Statistics as 30 or more hours per week for an organization that provides a regular paycheck. Labor Law attorneys still consider 30+ hours of work… Read More

Katy Grimes

Gov. Brown’s Droughts, Wildfires, Water Shortage, and other Climate Change Ignis Fatuus

California Governor Jerry Brown inherited the Golden State, the land of opportunity. However, everything he touches turns Brown.

Climate change has been the top priority of his governorship… not the flailing economy, or California’s largest-in-the-country-and-growing poverty class, or the 47th in school performance issue, or the $600 Billion in unfunded public employee pension and health liability, or the desperate need for water storage, or even the illegal immigrant problem.

For Brown who has said “Latin makes you smarter than everybody,” Climate change is his ignis fatuus – his fataRead More

Katy Grimes

Ideas, Not Identity Politics Says U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Del Beccaro

Thomas Del Beccaro, a former chairman of the California Republican Party, is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated in 2016 by Democrat Barbara Boxer. The burning question most people have for Del Beccaro is WHY? The district is a Democrat stronghold, having elected and reelected Boxer since 1993.

“There are people who run for office, and people who run for ideas,” Del Beccaro said in an interview.

“California has had one-party rule in the U.S. Senate and the California legislature for most of the last twenty years,” Del Beccaro said. “The result has been a state that is number one in poverty, at the bottom in… Read More

Katy Grimes

How Jerry Brown Has Undermined The Rule of Law in California

A recent report from the FBI claims to offer proof that violent crime is down in cities throughout California. However, the FBI stats do not include the affect of Proposition 47, passed in November of 2014.

Recent local data show crime is rising in 2015 throughout the state, and particularly in large cities.

Recidivism is a huge problem with prison realignment. Yet, Liberals will likely use the FBI report to argue crime is down in California – but nothing could be further from the truth.

Let’s look at how Gov. Jerry Brown… Read More

Katy Grimes

Gov. Jerry Brown’s Non-Profit State

Talking incessantly about climate change as “the most important issue of our time,” has allowed politicians to avoid focusing on serious failures and incompetent leadership. With California Gov. Jerry Brown lobbying for and signing the controversial Senate Bill 350 – even with the gas reductions amended out – he has thrown up a huge diversion, while simultaneously helping to sink our economy even further.

“This law should be called the California Economic Cooling Act, because SB 350 puts California’seconomic recovery on ice,” said Sen. John… Read More

Katy Grimes

Prevailing Wage Scams: Easy Fix is Killed

This is Part lll of Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions. Part ll is HERE. Part i is HERE.

In what world does a janitor get paid $48.50? In the world of California politics, driven by corrupt labor unions and greedy state agencies.

Janitorial company owner Jeff Baron is in trouble with the state of California because large general contractors who hire him as a subcontractor charge the state, the union prevailing wage rate of $48.50 per hour in their bids on public works projects, but then pay him the going rate of $10 to $15 per hour. Taxpayers are on the hook for paying $48.50 per hour for janitors on public works projects, while subcontractors like Baron’s janitorial clean up company, are paid less, and general contractors pocket the difference.

The Riverside District Attorney has had criminal charges filed against Baron for five years. They just announced they plan to bring his case to trial within… Read More

Katy Grimes

Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions: The Destroyer

This is Part ll of Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions. Part l is HERE

Janitorial company owner Jeff Baron is in trouble with the state of California because large general contractors who hire him as a subcontractor charge the state the union prevailing wage rate of $48.50 per hour in their bids on public works projects, but then refuse to pay him that rate. Taxpayers are on the hook for paying $48.50 per hour for janitors on public works projects, but in reality, subcontractors like Baron’s janitorial clean up company, are only paid the going rate of $10 to $15 per hour, and the general contractors pocket the rest.

Some say the Riverside District Attorney is going after Baron Services because it’s easier to go after small subcontractors — low-hanging fruit.

The Destroyer

In the middle of all of Jeff Baron’s troubles is… Read More

Katy Grimes

Prevailing Wage Scams Between State DIR and Unions

A San Bernardino janitorial contractor has always paid his employees union-approved wages. But he has been kicked off public works job sites for so-called prevailing wage violations for five years now. The kicker?

Three years ago I asked, “In what strange world do janitors get paid $45 per hour? In California, the land of the prevailing wage.” The answer today is still the same, only I will add, “In labor union-run California….” And today this janitorial prevailing wage rate is up to $48.50 per hour.

The strange and tragic case of Jeff Baron, proprietor of Baron Services, a janitorial service specializing in final clean up of big construction projects, is not complex – in fact, it’s crystal clear what’s going on. But it has become convoluted.

Another Corrupted State Agency

The crux of the issue is there is noDepartment of Industrial Relationsprevailing wage classification for this specific type of construction clean up janitorial work. Baron explained that the going rate in the private sector for a basic janitorial job is between $10 and $15 per hour. But the… Read More

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