March 2015 | Page 2 of 12 | CalWatchdog.com

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$Brown’s fracking defense sparks green fury$

Brown’s fracking defense sparks green fury

Gov. Jerry Brown’s nationally televised defense of fracking’s safety last Sunday on “Meet the Press” is making waves among state environmentalists and inspiring fury from liberal bloggers. Here’s the Bakersfield Californian’s account: Brown launched a no-nonsense defense of hydraulic fracturing

Four bills could wrap charter schools in red tape

John Seiler March 29, 2015

Since their introduction in California 23 years ago, charter schools have grown like kudzu. According to the California Charter Schools Association, the state now boasts 1,184 charter schools, teaching an estimated 547,800 students. Charters are public schools that generally work

Exaggerations make CA drought seem worse than it is

James Poulos March 28, 2015

Faced with fears of a permanent climate crisis, commentators monitoring California’s drought have been inadvertently led to spread erroneous claims about its severity. Although the state’s thirst for water has reached crisis levels, careful observers have made some gains in pointing out some of the

Tax break could help quake-proof buildings

John Seiler March 28, 2015

Governments use tax breaks to encourage activity. In California, that includes driving electric vehicles and making movies. Now a 30 percent tax break might be given to those retrofitting older buildings to make them quake-proof. Assembly Bill 428 is by

Studies show tradeoffs on health vs. environment

Wayne Lusvardi March 27, 2015

Two new studies show cleaning the environment to improve health is about tradeoffs. One study is on clean-air regulations, the other on diesel truck exhausts. The studies give policymakers more information on the choices they will be making. The first

Detroit sends CA another bankruptcy warning

John Seiler March 27, 2015

The Stockton and San Bernardino bankruptcies in 2012 were the largest for cities in American history — until Detroit in 2013. State laws and situations differ. But there’s a new warning from Detroit for California’s municipal governments, especially as bankruptcy courts

CA city bankruptcies unnerving bond industry

Chris Reed March 27, 2015

The fallout from municipal bankruptcies in Stockton and San Bernardino continues to play out in unexpected ways, with old presumptions that most significant creditors would be treated similarly falling to the way side. This week, Franklin Templeton filed vigorous objections

CA campaign reporting threshold could double

John March 27, 2015

It could soon be harder to follow the money in California politics. A state lawmaker wants to double the reporting threshold for political campaigns in California — allowing major donors to contribute more money and campaigns to spend more money

Deal to send rice water to SoCal could dry up before summer

Wayne Lusvardi March 26, 2015

The Sacramento Bee recently reported it’s a done deal to transfer water from Central Valley rice farmers to Southern California. The transfer would alleviate curtailments of urban water allocations. But if California does not provide the full allocation to the owners

CA prisoner population down, guard pay up

John Seiler March 26, 2015

Federal court orders forced California to cut its number of prisoners. That resulted in Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011 “realignment” program, which mainly shifted prisoners to local jails. Yet overall state prison-guard compensation is up sharply. Reported the San Diego U-T: Overtime