Farm workers win right to vote on UFW decertification… sort of

UPDATE: Nov. 1, 2013: Late yesterday Visalia ALRB Regional Director Silas Shawver announced his decision to block the decertification election at Gerawan Farming. The workers have asked twice for an election. Both times Shawver sided with the UFW and against the workers,

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CA not enjoying TX-sized boom in revenues from oil

  California increased its revenues last year by $8 billion a year, through passing the Proposition 30 and Proposition 39 tax increases. Texas has added even more to its revenues, but did so a different way. The fracking boom added

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Disability groups deliver petitions to Goodwill

  Disability advocacy groups throughout the country are planning a sizeable delivery to Goodwill Industries today. But, instead of secondhand clothing or gently-used goods, the disability rights groups will be dropping off thousands of signed petitions from citizens who are

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Obamacare: This is going to hurt

Ouch! That’s the cry of someone trying to sign up for the Affordable Care Act, usually called Obamacare. Health insurance cancellation notices have gone out to millions of  Americans. Many cannot get insurance at all. And for many who can,

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Sequester cuts likely to remain in place

This week, for the first time since the end of the government shutdown, budget talks between Democrats and Republicans began. The aim of the negotiations is to avert another government shutdown when temporary funding runs out January 15 and to

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The entitlement society Halloween

Perhaps because of my Gaelic Irish and Welsh heritage, I’ve always loved Halloween. Traditions from the old Celtic countries Wales, Brittany, Ireland, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man, influenced today’s Halloween customs. But today’s Halloween is a wee bit different

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In reform showdown, who does Obama administration target? Disabled CA students

During the budget theater of recent months, the Obama administration’s ruthless determination to make cuts hurt the public was on display over and over again. Cancel a beloved air show that actually makes money? Sure. Deny death benefits to famiiles

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Some CA Republicans move Left on immigration

While several California Republican congressmen have reiterated previous support for comprehensive immigration reform in recent days, it is still unlikely that the House will take up a bill on the matter anytime this year. A few days ago, Rep. Jeff

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Enviro CA: Green for thee, but not for me

California has gone green: mandatory recycling, plastic bags bans, hybrid and electric cars, wind and solar energy, and the state has gone paperless… well, not entirely paperless. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly said he discovered something this week: the Capitol is not

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Lawsuit could bring ‘social justice’ to adult-first K-12 school districts

The left in California has been slow to understand that having a state government devoted to the interests of the adult employees in public education instead of to students should be a social justice issue, given that most struggling students

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