Op-Eds

By Bob Hertzberg

If ever there was a time to think big about water that time is now.

Remember the energy crisis of the early 2000s? That’s when dwindling energy supplies caused skyrocketing prices and Californians suffered, both in their wallets and quality of life. We got through that crisis with conservation and building a sustainable, renewable, energy system.

Whether El Niño deposits its gift this winter, we have now seen scarcity’s path. Relying on captured water won’t produce nearly as much as we’ve saved this summer through vigilance alone.

This is an exciting time for government openness. Open data policy, like making public information more accessible on department websites, has come slowly to government. However, there is a growing understanding that there's great value in improving data practices.

With the McKinsey Global Institute estimating that more than $3 trillion in economic value is locked away inside information stored by government, it is no wonder that smart data policies are beneficial to both government and the broader public. And they are being increasingly adopted around the world.

Click on the link below to hear Sen. Bob Hertzberg explain why he opposes AB 1100, which would raise the filing fees for initiatives from $200 to $2000.

Editor's note: On the eve of the recall election that swept Arnold Schwarzenegger into office seven years ago, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg penned a memo to the new governor for these pages. With Californians about to choose a new leader, he's once again offering his thoughts about getting our state back on track.

DEAR Governor-elect:

How the world has changed in seven short years. When I last wrote a new governor, Barack Obama was a little-known state senator and California's economy was larger than China's.