Posts From James Poulos
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Now legal: To sleep in your car in L.A.
In a decision hailed as a human rights victory by homeless-rights activists, a federal court struck down a decades-old Los Angeles law prohibiting the use of vehicles as residences. The ordinance, Section 85.02 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, declared, “No person
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Feds bring immigration confusion to CA
Will they or won’t they? After forming quick — some say stealthy — plans to hand California some 300 undocumented immigrants detained in Texas, the federal government has reversed that decision, only to leave open the prospect of changing it back yet again.
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CA congressman changes GOP pot game
Faced with a choice between traditional drug attitudes and federalist political principles, 49 Republican members of the House of Representatives recently voted in favor of the latter. And a California Congressman led the way. In a result unthinkable just a
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New Senate Prez de Leon pushes agenda
State Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, has been chosen by his party colleagues to lead them in the Senate. The selection pulls the California Democratic Party further to the left. De Leon’s rise from poverty in San Diego’s rough Logan Heights
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More money, problems for CA high-speed rail
Proponents of California’s much-ballyhooed high-speed rail got a big boost in the state’s new budget. But in every other area where the struggle for its fate is playing out, the project is facing an array of daunting roadblocks. Thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown’s
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CA Legislature boosts budget up to $156 billion
Convinced that California’s fiscal crisis is effectively over, state Democrats led the state Legislature to pass a $156 billion budget. They did so after a round of negotiations that left Sacramento just six hours away from missing the state’s constitutional deadline for
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In CA, Smarter Balanced testing shapes fate of Common Core
It’s crunch time for California supporters of the new Common Core educational standards. On several fronts, key business, education and political interests have heightened their push for the changes. Although opposition remains strong, pro-Common Core groups sense that a tipping point may be
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Vergara ruling: Silicon Valley titan KOs teachers unions
In 16 pages, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu dealt California’s teachers unions an unprecedented defeat. Using unsparing, uncompromising language, Judge Treu ruled that job protections passed at these unions’ behest violated the state Constitution by denying equal educational opportunity
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CA innovators lead on tech surveillance
Some of California’s lesser-known players in tech have seized the initiative in shaping the nation’s surveillance culture. Many Americans are familiar with the Taser, a nonlethal device used by law enforcement to shock and immobilize. Fewer are aware that the Taser
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Feds funnel money to CA hydrogen cars
The hype surrounding electric cars is running out of gas — and the Department of Energy is directing funds toward hydrogen. Nearly $7 million in federal financial support is headed to five California developers working on hydrogen fuel cells, which emit only
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