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CA Supreme Court to review pension case with nationwide implications

  Reigniting a perpetually smoldering debate with nationwide implications, the California State Supreme Court agreed to consider whether rules cracking down on pension boosting strategies could be applied to unionized government workers.  “A state appeals court in San Francisco ruled in a

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Public unions prevail as split Supreme Court sinks Friedrichs suit

A landmark California case against state teachers unions’ mandatory dues collection fell victim to the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s absence from the Supreme Court — salvaging “a long-standing rule that requires about half of the nation’s teachers, transit workers and

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Pensions initiative pulled

The landmark effort to take public pension reform straight to the people of California has been withdrawn from ballot consideration. “Beleaguered by fundraising doubts and attacks from organized labor, two former California officials said Monday they are backing off plans

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CA schools pass weakened assessments

Californians troubled by the public school drive toward statewide standardized testing now face a reformed — but weaker — system of assessment. Two separate policy changes fueled the about-face. At the federal level, Congress turned its back on No Child Left Behind,

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Restive Democrats cautioned on budget surplus

A new report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office prepared the ground for fresh political combat in Sacramento over what to do with California’s budgetary surplus. Although “much of the predicted surpluses” could be skimmed off “for serious emergencies,” the San Francisco Chronicle

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Key divides vex CA Democrats

As the dominant political party of California, Democrats have begun to fall victim to one of the more humbling rules of power: When your team has few tough battles to fight, it often turns on itself. From politics to economics and

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Officials silent on whistleblower’s allegations of “false statements” in union, farm dispute

The California agency in charge of defending farmworkers has declined to comment on a whistleblower’s allegation of insider wrongdoing, citing an ongoing internal investigation. The whistleblower alleged earlier this year that the agency’s office of General Counsel made misleading and

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CA unions brace for SCOTUS hearing on dues

Faced with the greatest legal challenge to their core source of revenue, California unions have braced for defeat and scrambled for alternatives. Some time after its new term begins this month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Friedrichs v.

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CA wrestles with minimum wage domino effect

Forging ahead with plans to take minimum wages to new highs, California’s San Francisco Bay Area has touched off tit-for-tat increases, deepening fears that the region’s high cost of living has become a business-killer. A growing dilemma “Berkeley’s City Council approved

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