Posts From Chris Reed
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Honeymoon between Santa Clara and 49ers now distant history
In 2010, when Santa Clara voters approved creating a city-run stadium authority to build an NFL stadium to attract the San Francisco 49ers, politicians patted themselves on the back for getting things done and luring a storied franchise 45 miles
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Interior secretary sets Sept. 1 deadline for new Central Valley water policies
The long-expected showdown between the Trump administration and the state of California over water, farmers and the Central Valley appears to be imminent. On. Aug. 17, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a memorandum declaring his staff had 15 days to
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State Supreme Court ruling could make local ballot initiatives more difficult
A recent unanimous ruling by the California Supreme Court (pictured) that may force the city of San Diego to retroactively create pensions for non-police employees hired since the start of 2013 isn’t just bad news for pension reformers. It also
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DMV wait times increase 50% year over year
It’s back to the bad old days of being both a punching bag and a punchline for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. In the final decades of the 20th century, the state DMV was scorned for its bureaucratic sluggishness
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San Francisco leaders seem overwhelmed by homeless crisis
On June 30, 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom won national headlines when he announced his “Ten Year Plan to Abolish Chronic Homelessness.” Newsom said he wanted a “dramatic shift” from reactive policies used to deal with those without shelter who
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PUC tries to put San Onofre nuclear plant scandal behind it
One of the more embarrassing scandals in the history of the California Public Utilities Commission appears to have finally concluded with a settlement on how to pay for the costs of shuttering the broken San Onofre nuclear plant – one that’s
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Is state Legislature hampering CalPERS, CalSTRS?
The California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System recently announced that they had exceeded their investment goals by at least 1 percentage point in fiscal 2017-18, with CalPERS citing annual gains of 8.6 percent and
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Is state’s biggest new reservoir project already in trouble?
The California Water Commission’s recent approval of nearly $2.7 billion in funding for new water conservation projects was the most dramatic move to promote storage of rainfall and melting snow in the state in decades. Such projects have been opposed
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Gov. Brown again surprises with veto on campus sex misconduct bill
Responding to deep concerns about sexual violence at California’s college campuses, the state Legislature unanimously passed two bills in recent weeks. But Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed one of the measures, the second straight year he has surprised advocates of a
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University of California finances shakier than cut in tuition implies
Last week, University of California President Janet Napolitano (pictured) and UC regents generated positive headlines with their decision to reduce tuition for in-state students – the first cut since 1999-2000 – as well as their success in getting a 4 percent funding hike from
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