February 2015 | Page 3 of 11

Archive

Hospital sale hobbles Harris

Pressured by labor unions and their political allies, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has made her first big political gamble as a candidate to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2016. Urged to intervene in a hot-blooded dispute over the fate of six

They gave an election in L.A. and almost nobody came

Joel Fox February 23, 2015

It seems Los Angeles County is testing the old philosophical question: What if they gave an election and nobody came? The most populous county in the state had the lowest percentage turnout in last November’s election. While 42 percent

Port strife ends — but damage was done

John Seiler February 23, 2015

As mentioned in a Feb. 14 blog, the West Coast dock strife wasn’t likely to last long because of the new competition from Gulf Coast and Mexican ports. So now a new contract has been reached with dock workers. Yet any shipping

Covered CA signups fall short of goal

James Poulos February 23, 2015

Amid a shifting, uncertain health care landscape, Covered California’s latest round of enrollments fell short of administrators’ goals. In a reflection of larger uncertainties nationwide, the Golden State’s Obamacare exchange missed its mark due to factors ranging from bureaucratic glitches

Cartoon: Teacher strike

CalWatchdog Staff February 23, 2015

‘Wet reckless’ perp Sen. Hueso gets tax-funded car

John Seiler February 23, 2015

Last December, state Sen. Ben Hueso pleaded guilty to driving “wet and reckless” and received probation. Now he’s being gifted a new car — paid for by taxpayers. As CalWatchdog.com reported last Aug. 25: “State Senator Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, was arrested

A helmet law for bicyclers?

John Seiler February 22, 2015

No question wearing a helmet makes bicycle riding safer, much as for motorcycles. But how much of a Nanny State do Californians want? Motorcycles go much faster, usually are in traffic and are driven by licensed adults. Bicycles are driven

Stadium gambit: Chargers coverage downbeat, Raiders more skeptical

Chris Reed February 21, 2015

The Chargers and Raiders’ plan to move to Carson and share a privately funded $1.7 billion stadium has hit like a bombshell in the teams’ home bases. It is sinking in that California’s second- and third-largest metropolitan areas seem on

CA manufacturing rises — a little

John Seiler February 21, 2015

California’s hard-hit manufacturing sector is coming back, although not as much as the rest of the country. The Great Recession sliced off 18.5 percent of state manufacturing jobs. After that, from 2011 to 2014, “manufacturing employment has hovered around 12.5 million,”

Medi-Cal woes leave CA hurting

James Poulos February 20, 2015

A victim of its own success, California’s popular Medi-Cal program has rapidly swelled to a large enough size to malfunction. It’s known as Medicaid in the rest of the country and provides medical care to poor people. Mounting woes — from applicant