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SCOTUS decision rolls back EPA authority
On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s restriction of power plants’ emissions of mercury and other air pollutants in a 5-4 vote. The premise of Michigan v. EPA was whether the agency could refuse to consider
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CalSTRS pension fix harder on taxpayers than UC fix
In the newly enacted 2015-16 state budget, the University of California has agreed to major pension changes, building on revisions already made under Gov. Jerry Brown since 2011. This account is from the Sacramento Bee: As part of an arrangement
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When Anthony Kennedy was a ‘bashful’ CA lobbyist
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of last week’s historic Supreme Court decision making gay marriage the law of the land, is a Californian through and through. Here’s part of his official court bio: Kennedy was born in Sacramento, California, on
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SCOTUS affirms power of initiative in redistricting case
The people can serve as legislators. In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court declared that an initiative by the voters to create a commission in Arizona to draw congressional districts was constitutional. California established a similar commission in
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HBO’s “True Detective” mines CA politics for its plot
The second season of HBO’s highly popular “True Detective” series is set in a beat-up industrial Los Angeles County suburb and is inspired by two California political controversies/scandals. The Hit & Run blog has some key details: … Vince Vaughn
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Supreme Court ruling appears to help Vergara plaintiffs
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that Texas programs implementing the federal Fair Housing Act have had a discriminatory “disparate impact” on minorities — even if there is no evidence of intent to discriminate in the execution of
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SCOTUS spares CA raisin farmer
At least one closely split Supreme Court decision seems likely to meet widespread acclaim this term. A 5-4 majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, sided with a California raisin grower challenging a New Deal law that had enabled government agriculture regulators to
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CA incentives reel back film and TV production
Hollywood could soon reclaim its once-shaky status as America’s production headquarters. After a near panic touched off by a nationwide spending spree on state incentives for film and television production, programs around the country have begun scaling back or shutting down altogether, leaving California
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Initiative filing fee hike moves closer to approval
A proposal to make it more expensive to file a ballot measure in California is moving closer to becoming law, worrying both liberal and conservative groups that frequently utilize the initiative process. Democratic Assemblymen Evan Low of Campbell and Richard Bloom of Santa Monica have
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Legislation to prevent port shutdowns passes U.S. Senate committee
Although the nine-month labor dispute affecting 29 West Coast ports has officially come to a close, multiple industries in the U.S. are still reeling from the effect of the slowdown. Port gridlock along the West Coast left many exporters, manufacturers
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