Steve Miller, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From Steve Miller

Steve Miller

Teachers union dues rise along with pay

The Los Angeles Unified School District this month agreed to a 10 percent raise for teachers, creating a deficit for the district that would reach $559 million by 2016-17, according to a projection by the district. It was reportedly the first

Records of lawmakers a step closer to transparency

Steve Miller April 17, 2015

A judge has found that the records of lawmakers can be subject to open records requests, making California one of 28 states in which the records of state lawmakers are open to the public. The April 3 ruling interprets a part

State is owed millions in allegedly unpaid fees from Verizon

Steve Miller April 6, 2015

Verizon owes $11 million to a state fund to help the poor, the hearing-impaired and people in rural areas access telecommunications service, according to a draft document from the state’s Public Utility Commission. The fees are owed on service to prepaid

Study: CA ranks last in spending transparency

Steve Miller March 24, 2015

California ranked at the bottom for the second consecutive year on the annual report on state government transparency compiled by the Public Interest Research Group, an investigative and advocacy organization based in Boston. And the state’s beleaguered Department of Technology, or CalTech, can be assigned part

California’s Beltway delegation double-dips on pensions

Steve Miller March 17, 2015

They’re called double-dippers: those who take a pension payout from one government job while earning a salary doing another. Last year 19 of California’s 55 members of the U.S. Congress drew pensions from a state-backed public retirement plan, according to a CalWatchdog.com

State lawmakers’ financial interests now posted online

Steve Miller March 4, 2015

Mike McGuire made over $100,000 in 2014 as a Sonoma County supervisor and another $525 in parting gift certificates as the young Democrat left to take a $95,291-a-year job as a state senator. Richard Pan, a physician, took in just

Dock strife boosted political spending

Steve Miller February 25, 2015

The work dispute between West Coast longshore workers and the major shipping companies may be headed for peace. But the most recent chapter of acrimony between the parties included generous political spending in Washington. The labor contract between the International

LAPD hustles to post records

Steve Miller February 18, 2015

A CalWatchDog.com review of the website of the Los Angeles Police Department found it has updated its reports on discipline and use of force after criticism for posting aged data in the aftermath of federal oversight. It also now takes just one click to go

CA bag ban initiative heading toward 2016 vote

Steve Miller February 4, 2015

The effort to repeal the state’s looming prohibition on plastic grocery bags is projected to have enough valid signatures to move the initiative forward, according to a random sample of the signees compiled by the California secretary of state’s elections office. The sample