Farmworker overtime bill to get second chance soon

After a staged, 24-hour hunger strike, proponents of a bill to increase overtime pay for farmworkers announced on Wednesday the once-dead measure will be on the Senate floor next week.  The hunger strike was designed link the legislators’ sacrifice of

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Los Angeles County plagued by local corruption

California doesn’t have nearly the reputation of, say, New Jersey or Maryland when it comes to a history of public corruption. Studies that measure corruption with metrics tend to give most corrupt honors to less populated, poorer southern states like

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – August 17

California gets low “freedom” score Water restrictions practically gone for the rest of the year Some felons may soon vote Assemblyman gets oil lobbyist to write official documents Some legislators launch one-day hunger strike  Good morning! Happy hump day. As

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Recall campaign against CA judge mounts

  Facing a never-before-seen push to oust him because of a ruling, a California judge has become the focus of a political maelstrom centered around the politics of rape, gender and the rule of law.  After giving a lenient sentence to

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New analysis ranks California nearly last in liberty

When it comes to liberty, California is one of the most restrictive states on its citizens, according to a new study. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, in its “Freedom in the 50 States” report divided liberty into three categories: personal,

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CalWatchdog Morning Read – August 16

Bill curbing abuses of “policing for profit” clears major hurdle Another state agency is flaunting CA environmental laws Fresno the new Flint? Trump is now the nominee of two parties Brown proposes cap and trade in climate change bill  Good

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Civil libertarians and police embrace asset-forfeiture compromise

SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly on Monday approved one of the most significant civil-liberties reforms of the legislative session. Remarkably, the bill – to put limits on the controversial practice of civil asset forfeiture by police agencies – had no

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Fresno water contamination has residents on edge

When it comes to tainted water supplies, is Fresno another Flint, Michigan? The evidence is worrisome enough that authorities in California’s fifth-largest city have brought in outside experts to take a close look while overhauling city water practices. Problems were

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Another state agency flaunting California’s environmental laws

The Department of Water Resources has been drilling for weeks in Yolo County without permits required by state law designed to protect against ground water contamination, under the belief its activities are exempt. Like other counties’ battles with Caltrans over the

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Elon Musk slams CA air board over credits for zero-emissions vehicles

  Stiffed, as he sees it, by bureaucratic incompetence, Elon Musk took the California Air Resources Board to task for the way it handles zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) credits — at a moment when Musk’s plans for success require a huge leap forward

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