Senate Republican policy priorities aim to make Golden State more affordable

Senate Republicans packaged their best policy proposals on Tuesday, a series of bills aimed at helping veterans, seniors, homeowners and renters as well as parents and students.  Jean Fuller, the Senate Republican leader, pointed to California’s high rents, high poverty rate and

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – April 26

Senate candidates debate, EPA gets sued, affordable housing, another smoking ban, plus hot mic, “No Trump” signs and civil asset forfeiture abuse Happy Tuesday! Five candidates for U.S. Senate debated last night in an event that did little to Democratic Attorney

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – April 25

DV allegations don’t knock chairman off perch, Moody’s down on CA, GOP money dries up, trouble for BART, debate tonight for five of 34 Senate candidates. Good morning! Happy Monday. It looks like the lawmaker who is currently under a

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Legislature challenges legality of Brown’s greenhouse gas emissions order

When Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order a year ago this week establishing even more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the action won broad applause from Democrats who support his aggressive agenda targeting climate change.

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Will backlash imperil $3.5 billion BART bond?

Three years after union strikes that infuriated hundreds of thousands of commuters, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system finds itself facing sharp new criticism over its management and budgeting practices. This backlash could make it difficult for BART to win

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Lawmaker accused of domestic violence to stay in Assembly leadership

Assemblyman Roger Hernández, who last week was placed under a temporary restraining order from his wife, will not be stripped of his committee chairmanship, Speaker Anthony Rendon said on Friday, despite pressure from the influential leaders of the women’s caucus. In a statement to CalWatchdog,

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – April 22, 2016

Education division widening. Guns, gasses and high-speed rail   By CALWATCHDOG STAFF Good morning and happy Friday! Last week’s ruling by an appeals court that overturned the Vergara decision — which upended teacher tenure laws in the state — has

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Persistent CA education gaps fuels conflict

Caught amid shifting standards, court challenges and retrenching combatants on both sides of social and political divides, California’s education system has found itself burdened by persistent gaps in student and teacher performance — a state of affairs fueling the very

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – April 21, 2016

Economic outlook grim, reality not as bad. Plus minimum wage, pensions and taxes. Good morning. A new report on the economic forecasts and past performances of the states casts a grim view of California’s outlook, but shows past performance has

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CA wage hike shock waves begin

  Confronted with an impending hike to $15 in the California minimum wage, businesses, labor advocates and political analysts have all begun to shift strategies and tactics. Given current trends, the combined impact could be a smaller, more unionized workforce — that

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