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Deaths in police custody up, half attributed to natural causes

Manuel Ornelas died as he battled Long Beach police officers who were trying to subdue him in response to a Saturday morning call for help last September. Ornelas was apparently intoxicated and bleeding. He was subdued with an “an electronic control

County payroll hikes stay ahead of population increases

Steve Miller January 30, 2016

Sierra County, tucked in the foothills once traversed by the Donner Party along the Nevada border, has seen its population dip 7 percent since 2010 to 3,000 souls. Meantime, though, the county’s payroll increased from $7 million in 2013 to

California giving needed relief on traffic fines, fees

Steve Miller January 12, 2016

Financially strapped motorists are catching a break through the state’s traffic citation amnesty law, which began in October and gives discounts of up to 80 percent on unpaid traffic tickets due before Jan. 1, 2013. In Los Angeles Superior Court,

Education sector bond spending continues to spike

Steve Miller January 5, 2016

Schools and universities from the smallest unified school district to the top-tier university systems in the state issued more bonds in 2015 than they had in any year since the boom times of 2005, before the Great Recession. The result

Boxer’s claim of 56 percent reduction in gun violence includes suicide, accidental death

Steve Miller December 14, 2015

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer made the day of conservative media outlets when, in the wake of the San Bernardino massacre, she said, “In California, since the ‘90s, we have passed a number of important gun safety laws. And over that

State Community College accreditor determined unfit after five decades

Steve Miller November 30, 2015

In deciding last week to remove the body that accredits community colleges in California, state commissioners erased five decades of authority and opened the door to a new oversight body. The move to get a new accreditation plan in place

Judiciary establishment shuns cost-cutting as alleged overspending continues

Steve Miller November 17, 2015

The state’s Judicial Council plans to shutter one of its satellite offices in 2017 but refuses to heed other cost-cutting measures urged by an audit released earlier this year that found the agency’s “questionable” spending has cut court funds. The

Lawsuits up as state implements regs to stem slave labor

Steve Miller November 5, 2015

California is becoming ground zero for lawsuits seeking class action status that allege companies are, somewhere along the line, misrepresenting their supply chain and using slave labor abroad. Plaintiffs claim the companies — which are not necessarily based in the

Cal State union considers striking; seeks 5 percent raise

Steve Miller October 19, 2015

The 25,000 members of the California State University faculty union will cast ballots in a strike-authorization vote beginning Monday. It is the fourth time the union and university have battled over wages in eight years. The union seeks a 5

When is too much enough? A look at schools, money and taxpayers

Steve Miller October 15, 2015

A proposed $9 billion state bond for school construction projects includes multimillion-dollar project requests from districts where student enrollment has declined, a CalWatchdog investigation has found. The measure, on the 2016 ballot, is supported in large part by a cadre