March 2015 | Page 3 of 12 | CalWatchdog.com

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CA’s automated cars ready to roll

With remarkable speed, California’s top technologists have reached a breakthrough point in their development of automated cars. Automated vehicles from seven companies have hit Golden State freeways, with more to come. Dramatizing the developments, one firm’s team of engineers and scientists

Why “June gloom” is now less common in Socal

Chris Reed March 25, 2015

Foggy conditions from late spring to late summer used to be so common in coastal Southern California that they had their own sobriquet: “June gloom.” Fog-related traffic accidents and deaths were fairly common on the Pacific Coast Highway. The weather

CA officials move to vaporize e-cigs

James Poulos March 25, 2015

With public opinion in flux and anti-tobacco activists on edge, the California Department of Public Health has rolled out “Wake Up,” a slick new ad campaign to discourage the use of e-cigarettes, or “vapes.” Recently, CDPH pronounced e-cigs a threat to public

CA leads nation in job creation — Should CalChamber ‘job killer’ list receive credit?

Joel Fox March 25, 2015

While surveys of business executives still rank California as one of the worst places to do business, the record on job creation has been bright in the Golden State over the last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

Looks like Gov. Brown isn’t running for president

John Seiler March 25, 2015

With Gov. Jerry Brown, you never really know. But it looks like he really isn’t running for president. Of course, in his three charges at the Oval Office — in 1976, 1980 and 1992 — he started late, surged to

Brown’s drought battle heats up Sacramento

James Poulos March 25, 2015

Running out of water, California officials have decided to open the taps on another resource: money. Joined by leading legislators, Gov. Jerry Brown has announced a fresh round of relief proposals totaling some $1 billion. Not all the funding was targeted to short-term relief, however,

NFL heavy hitters meet in AZ; continue momentum toward L.A. franchise

James Poulos March 24, 2015

At a high-profile Phoenix, Ariz., gathering this week, NFL heavyweights sat down to smooth out the road toward a two-franchise deal in Los Angeles. Numerous competing and conflicting agendas have made life more difficult for the teams, owners, cities and league officials involved

CA boosts film subsidies while Michigan could cut them

John Seiler March 24, 2015

Last September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a $330 million film subsidy bill to help Hollywood fend off subsidies from other states. He said, “Today, we remind the world that the Golden State is the home of the silver screen. This bill

Housing report by Legislative Analyst raises affordability questions

Wayne Lusvardi March 24, 2015

The California Legislative Analyst’s new report on housing costs puts numbers to what housing-hunters know on the ground: affordable housing in the state’s coastal areas is scarce and getting scarcer. But the report itself raises new questions. According to the

Study: Vast CA solar power possible using existing infrastructure

Chris Reed March 24, 2015

A new study for Nature Climate Central journal says California could have abundant solar power to meet all of its needs — and without building huge fields of solar arrays like the Tonopah facility by Interstate 15 near the Nevada