California cities struggle with implications of homeless ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear an appeal of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal ruling limiting when homeless people can be arrested in California and eight other Western states has left lawmakers who want a crackdown

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Prospects of PG&E Takeover in 2020

The June 30, 2020, deadline for Pacific Gas & Electric to emerge from bankruptcy if the giant utility wants to be eligible for a $21 billion wildfire relief fund set up by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature earlier this

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Are tech firms favored on concealed weapon permits in Santa Clara County?

Allegations that Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and some of her top brass traded concealed weapons permits to a private company protecting top Facebook officials in return for a large campaign donation have dogged Smith since July and August,

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New round of DMV ‘motor voter’ errors reported

One of Gavin Newsom’s first acts after taking office as governor in January was to create a “DMV Reinvention Strike Team” to improve the performance of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. This came after one of the worst years

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Survey illustrates UC’s reliance on tuition of foreign students

A survey of 2,800 U.S. colleges prepared by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. State Department underscores once again how much the budget of the University of California relies on high tuition and fees paid by foreign students.

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CalPERS, CalSTRS try to apply vague Newsom order to investment decisions

California agencies are trying to figure out the implications of a vague executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September that orders many policy decisions to be made with the need to “mitigate climate change” kept in mind. A

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Pundits hammer Democrats after Trump tax law thrown out

Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow Democratic lawmakers have expressed no contrition for their failed attempt to force President Donald Trump to release five years of tax returns to gain access to the California ballot in the 2020 general election. The

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University of California looks likely to drop SAT, ACT requirement

Leaders of the University of California system appear strongly inclined to drop the requirement that applicants to UC campuses take the SAT or ACT test, heeding the argument that it hurts the chances of Latino and African-American students to be

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Former San Francisco DA taking on L.A. DA in battle over criminal justice reform

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s race is shaping up as the highest-profile 2020 local election in the nation with a criminal justice reform crusader resigning as San Francisco’s DA so he can run against the Los Angeles DA who

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