September 2014 | Page 7 of 10

Archive

Controller’s website opens local governments’ books

State Controller John Chiang continues to deliver on his promise of government transparency. The state’s chief financial officer announced Monday a new open-data website that provides Californians with more than a decade’s worth of financial data for local governments. The

Assemblywoman Grove raises union power issue

Dave Roberts September 11, 2014

Did a Democratic legislator take labor union money in exchange for a union-sponsored bill? That possibility was raised on the Assembly floor Aug. 28 by Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, in connection with a bill authored by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez,

Chart shows government healthcare takeover

John Seiler September 11, 2014

This chart shows how the U.S. government took over healthcare from the private sector — sharply reducing our control over our own health. And it began long before Obamacare/Covered California, which will increase the takeover even more. Even if you somehow

Unions bank on CA for new gains

James Poulos September 11, 2014

Across the country, union membership has long been in fairly steep decline. After a series of recent reverses, including a failed attempt to pass national minimum wage legislation in Washington, D.C., union leaders shifted to a state-by-state, city-by-city approach to advancing their

Missing from CA’s economic ‘comeback’: Los Angeles

Chris Reed September 11, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown’s daily push to depict California as being in a sharp rebound from the 2007-2009 economic meltdown ignores the fact that the recession never went away in a majority of the state’s 58 counties, especially those in inland

Arnold returns for ‘climate change’ confab

John Seiler September 10, 2014

While restarting his acting career and going through numerous personal crises, Arnold Schwarzenegger has avoided reminding people he was the governor for seven disastrous years. He returned to Sacramento this week to sponsor a confab on what he once called “global

Labor-backed bill may force union on farm workers

Dave Roberts September 10, 2014

Democratic state legislators passed a bill that could result in thousands of Fresno farm workers paying dues to a union that they may not support and abiding by a labor contract that they might not want. Senate Bill 25, authored

CSU fee addiction shows value of Props 13, 26, 62, 218

Chris Reed September 10, 2014

The newsrooms of California appear to have collectively decided that the state props that make raising taxes and fees more difficult for elected officials — starting with 13, 26, 62 and 218 — are irrational. This is regularly reflected in the

Wins and losses in latest CA gun control battles

James Poulos September 10, 2014

Gun control laws in the state of California have entered into a period of flux. Despite a reputation for exceptionally strict gun measures, the regulatory landscape has become a mixed bag. Advocates of tighter restrictions and advocates of looser ones have

Sacramento unplugs Brown battery plan

Wayne Lusvardi September 9, 2014

At its Sept. 4 meeting, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District deferred deploying batteries along its electric grid in compliance with Assembly Bill 2514 of 2010. The reason: energy storage was not economically feasible. (See p. 93 and p. 143 of the Board