January 2016 | Page 3 of 6 | CalWatchdog.com

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Brown: State of the State is fiscal restraint

With a cautiously optimistic tone, Gov. Jerry Brown preached prudence on Thursday morning during his annual State of the State address. The speech — courteous in its brevity, clocking in at under 20 minutes — touted accomplishments and initiatives, like

More corruption emerges in southeast L.A. County

Chris Reed January 21, 2016

Yet another small city in southeastern Los Angeles County has found itself the focus of a corruption investigation. Thanks to a councilman named Valentin Amezquita, a Huntington Park scandal was uncovered in which a towing firm was allegedly allowed to

Proposed bill seeks to recoup costs of special elections

Matt Fleming January 20, 2016

An assemblyman will soon introduce legislation aimed at curbing the cost to taxpayers when a legislator retires from their position early, forcing a special election — but it may stop short of recouping costs in other instances. The bill would require legislators —

CA drought: Officials ease rules again

Chris Reed January 19, 2016

Nearly a year ago, when Gov. Jerry Brown announced a mandatory 25 percent reduction in state water use, it looked like Californians were in for a long era of constant conservation demands, even with anticipation of winter El Nino storms. Brown’s

CA seeks drought relief from mountains to desert

James Poulos January 19, 2016

This season’s heavy El Niño rains haven’t brought clarity to California’s competing drought plans, which now range from increasing water collection infrastructure to siphoning ancient reserves locked beneath the Mojave desert. Stepping up water collection has emerged as a priority

New LAUSD chief avoids district’s grim fiscal picture

Chris Reed January 18, 2016

Michelle King was promoted to superintendent of the massive Los Angeles Unified School District last week and has since spoken about her hopes for educational improvements, her interest in single-sex schools and her doubts about philanthropist Eli Broad’s goal of

Legislature plans to close entrance to public, provide lobbyists special access

John January 18, 2016

Though it brands itself as “the people’s house,” the California State Capitol will soon become less accessible to the public, while continuing to provide lobbyists with “special access.” Beginning February 1, the California state Legislature intends to convert its east entrance

Once-undocumented claim half of new CD drivers licenses

James Poulos January 17, 2016

Roiled by immigration fears on both sides, California supplied drivers licenses to big numbers of the otherwise undocumented, further sharpening the statewide debate. “California issued more than a half-million driver’s licenses under a new law granting the identifying documents to

Sen. Huff: People are sick of partisan politics

Matt Fleming January 16, 2016

2016 started with a bit of a bipartisan bump with Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León and former Senate Republican leader Bob Huff at center stage. When the Senate reconvened two weeks ago, de León of Los Angeles and other

CA Supreme Court clears Citizens United challenge

James Poulos January 15, 2016

Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case cheered a ruling by the California Supreme Court, which cleared the way for a ballot measure that would express support for an end to the campaign finance regime the nation’s