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Back to homepageRelief for government, not taxpayers
Commentary By STEVEN GREENHUT A state appeals court this afternoon upheld Alameda Superior Court Judge Steven Brick’s halting of the governor’s furlough program for state employees. The state has a massive budget problem, yet apparently it’s just too awful to
Read MoreCorrea introduces pay disclosure act
AUGUST 12, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT State Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, released language today from his Taxpayer Right to Know Act — aimed at improving public access to information about the salaries and perks enjoyed by the state’s government
Read MoreWill California repudiate its debt?
AUGUST 12, 2010 By JOHN SEILER California’s government soon could be paying its bills with IOUs, Controller John Chang announced this week. And a new report found that Californians’ personal income dropped 2.5 percent in 2009, the first decline since World
Read MoreSacto's grimy light rail system
Steven Greenhut: I had to leave a car in the shop this week, so I got initiated into Sacramento’s light-rail experience on the Regional Transit line from Folsom to downtown. No doubt, it was useful to have an alternative means
Read MoreSunshine would prevent more Bells
AUGUST 11, 2010 By MICHAEL BARNHART Bell is one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation, including nearly $800,000 annually to the city manager. When citizens do
Read MoreShould state hike park fees?
AUG. 11, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Even with recent hefty park fee hikes, a battle between supporters of state funded parks and anti-tax groups resumed in the Legislature yesterday, over an upcoming ballot initiative that would add $18 to every
Read MoreBerkeley DNA plan draws ethics concerns
AUGUST 11, 2010 By LAURA SUCHESKI Two professors from UC Berkeley testified before the Assembly Committee on Higher Education Tuesday, answering some questions about their controversial “Bring Your Genes to Cal” freshmen orientation project, but spurring new questions into the
Read MoreArnold's gas-guzzlers
John Seiler: Did you know there’s a museum in das Vaterland that boasts Arnold’s gas-guzzling Mercedes S600? That’s the huge, 12-cylinder job that drinks gas like a boozer guzzles cheap vodka and drives faster than one of Werner von Braun’s
Read MoreToo "Stupid" To Purchase For The State?
Katy Grimes: Some of the state’s school districts haven’t exactly been the best purchasers of products or services, according to Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate. De La Torre has authored AB 635 to address state’s bidding system for
Read MoreNo accounting for rail's mystery workers
AUG. 10, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO The proposed California High-Speed Rail project is a monumental undertaking in terms of money, personnel, time and effort. The state’s own estimates say the whole system – which includes 800 miles of bullet train
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