Free Republic

House Speaker Paul Ryan's ambitious tax overhaul relies on an import tax concept originally developed by a Berkeley economist who once advised Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Alan J. Auerbach is the director of the Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as an economic counselor to Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. He also happens to be known as the godfather of "border adjustability," the linchpin of the tax reform plan that Ryan, a conservative Wisconsin Republican, is attempting to sell to the White House and push through...

OAKLAND — A 61-year-old Orinda real estate executive and former Saint Mary's College professor pleaded guilty Friday morning to producing child pornography in a case in which he traveled to Costa Rica to have sex with a 12-year-old girl.Leonard Auerbach faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.No family members or friends attended the hearing. Auerbach, dressed in a red Alameda County Jail jumpsuit, answered the judge's questions with simple "Yes, sir," responses.In April, Auerbach fled the country after charges were initially filed. After being named a "most wanted" fugitive by U.S. Immigration...

BOSTON — Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday. He was 89.

Arnold Red Auerbach, named the greatest coach in the history of the National Basketball Association and, for more than half a century, the combative, competitive and occasionally abrasive personification of pro basketballs greatest dynasty, the Boston Celtics, has died at age 89.