Posts From James Poulos
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CA lawsuit challenges cash bail
The procedure of charging and posting cash bail has prompted a historic lawsuit out of San Francisco. Evidence has been mounting for years that the bail system places the poor in an untenable position when they are arrested. As the
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Education debt debate heats up
With the start of a new year, a fresh array of political, economic and legal developments promise to sharpen California’s ongoing debate over the costs and consequences of its current education system. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, one of
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Gun sales continue statewide climb
California’s experience with gun control and gun sales has created an ironic situation with significant implications for policy: Tighter regulations have increased along with firearms purchases. The phenomenon cuts both for and against the prevailing party platforms on the political Left
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Potential L.A. NFL teams still in limbo
The NFL’s ungainly effort to determine the fate of three potential Los Angeles teams will drag on into 2016. A mid-January meeting in Houston will give owners their next opportunity to opt for or against the competing relocation plans, which would
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Sinking CA land to cost billions
California’s struggling infrastructure faced the daunting prospect of too little water underground and too much falling from the sky. “Four years of drought and heavy reliance on pumping of groundwater have made the land sink faster than ever up and down
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Obama plans Asia summit in CA desert
Allied nations have begun to RSVP to President Obama’s next big summit, hosted in California next year. “During an Asian tour last month, Obama invited leaders from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the Sunnylands resort in Rancho
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Drug prices latest CA ballot battle
Responding to a growing sense of alarm among state officials and the general public, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has secured approval for a ballot initiative that would coercively reduce the cost of prescription drugs. The California Drug Price Relief Act,
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Uneasy balancing act for CA economy
California headed into 2016 with a stabilizing economy that nonetheless left many residents uneasy. On the work front, the year finished out with weaker, but not alarming, numbers. “California employers added just 5,500 jobs in November, according to federal data —
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Two bills transform CA parole system
California officials are preparing to implement the state’s latest steps toward a transformed parole system for incarcerated youths. The changes were spearheaded by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, who led two bills through closely fought battles in Sacramento. Senate Bill 261
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CA stares down tough water storage task
California officials have found their drought difficulties are compounded by an ironic new challenge: too much rainwater to store. Despite decades spent puzzling over the tall order of improving the state’s massive network of waterways, “those who need water the
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