July 2017 | CalWatchdog.com

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Wells Fargo faces massive new scandal

Wells Fargo’s hopes that a $142 million June settlement of a class-action lawsuit over its agents creating up to 2.1 million unwanted checking, savings and credit-card accounts from 2011 to 2015 would end the iconic California company’s headaches have been

State Democrats’ internal rift persists

Chris Reed July 26, 2017

The tension between the progressive “Berniecrat” wing and the mainstream liberal wing of the California Democratic Party appears likely to resonate for years to come. That’s the clear takeaway from Bay Area political organizer’s Kimberly Ellis’ vow to keep contesting

Democrats and Republicans see different solutions to California housing crisis

Steven Greenhut July 26, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Before the recent legislative recess, California Democratic leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown announced their intention to tackle one of the state’s biggest crises: housing affordability. It’s the rare instance where virtually everyone in the Capitol at least is

GOP lawmakers bet bullet train bad news will continue

Chris Reed July 24, 2017

Will news about the California bullet train’s cost overruns and missed construction deadlines remain the norm for years to come? Or will the state’s $64 billion project find a groove and make considerable progress in coming years? These are the

School districts struggling despite huge funding increase

Chris Reed July 21, 2017

California’s funding of education has gone from $50.4 billion in the fiscal year that ended in 2012 to $74.5 billion for the current fiscal year – a nearly 50 percent increase that’s far above the less than 9 percent increase in

Local governments in no mood for CalPERS’ happy talk

Chris Reed July 20, 2017

Last week’s announcement by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System that it had strong 11.2 percent returns on its investment portfolio in 2016-2017 after terrible returns the two preceding years prompted ebullience from the pension giant’s supporters. Sacramento Democratic insider

GOP legislators unlikely to pay price for cap-and-trade vote

Steven Greenhut July 18, 2017

SACRAMENTO – As the California Legislature approached a late-night Monday vote to extend the state’s climate-change-fighting cap-and-trade system, the Capitol buzz focused on Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks. The Democratic assemblywoman was absent because of a long-standing family commitment, thus

Tenure reform bill abruptly withdrawn in win for teachers union

Chris Reed July 17, 2017

The clout of the California Teachers Association was on full display last week when a bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, to reform a tenure law that can give lifetime job protections to teachers 18 months into their careers

CA Legislature seeks data on race, sexual orientation of lobbyists

Steven Greenhut July 17, 2017

SACRAMENTO – A letter late last month from the state Legislature’s six special-interest caucuses asking California lobbying firms to provide legislators with detailed demographic data has sparked debate and controversy within the Capitol and media. The Sacramento Bee reported last week

Democrats again outspend GOP in California primary races

James Poulos July 11, 2017

While maintaining a marked edge in legislative representation across the state, California Democrats notched a different but familiar distinction against Republicans in the 2016 election cycle, new data showed. Consistent with the results of previous races since the implementation