Posts From James Poulos
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Asset forfeiture reform draws bipartisan buzz
Amid growing national concern over the practice of so-called civil asset forfeiture, bipartisan support has swelled in California to reform the practice, with a new bill poised to add Assembly to Senate approval. An emerging consensus Asset forfeiture, wherein law enforcement retains
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Anti-smoking bills falter in Sacramento
A surprise switch to a bill that would tightly regulate vaping has caused its sponsor to repudiate the legislation. State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, had advanced SB140 confidently, riding a wave of anti-smoking activism that sought to treat vapes, or e-cigs, the
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CA drought spawns regulatory struggles
As Californians are left reeling from an ever-worsening drought, state and federal regulators struggle to recast the rules surrounding water use — and the infrastructure designed to deliver it. Party politics In conversations with the New York Times, analysts warned that the drought’s lasting effects
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CA housing becomes political football
To borrow one metaphor, California’s housing market has become a double-edged sword, reminiscent of the bonanza days before the 2008 economic crisis. That’s why, to borrow another, it has also become a political football. With residents increasingly priced out of the state’s coastal metropolises, politicians
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Shooting returns CA to center of immigration fight
A slaying in San Francisco has sparked a national furor over its status as a so-called “sanctuary city” for unlawfully present immigrants. In an area popular with tourists, a five-time deportee named Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez shot Kathryn Steinle as she walked
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CA tech doubles down on driverless cars
Despite a spate of media attention surrounding a narrowly missed collision between two self-driving prototype vehicles, California companies fielding driverless cars forged ahead, insisting that the developing technology was safe and getting safer. An unexpected trial Both cars in the incident “were equipped with similar
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Dem split stalls right-to-die bill
Under pressure from powerful faith-based constituencies, Southern California Democrats serving in the Assembly have broken rank with their party and halted its so-called “right-to-die bill,” which cleared the Senate early last month. Unanticipated opposition “The state Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday postponed
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CA expands health entitlements
As California included some unlawful immigrants in Medi-Cal, its version of the Medicaid program, a new study suggested that, nationwide, that population is holding down the costs of health entitlements. The findings promised to sharpen the debate over immigration reform and its connection to
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Brown signs vax bill, drawing lawsuit vow
As Gov. Jerry Brown signed a tough new vaccination bill into law, its vociferous opponents — who had fought the measure tooth and nail — vowed to sue the state and rally voters against it. Senate Bill 277 “requires almost all California schoolchildren
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CA GOP flexes Sacramento muscle on road repairs
In a move that handed Sacramento Republicans a sudden share of power, state legislators finally turned their attention to California’s deteriorating infrastructure. In recent years, California’s roadways have fallen into what analysts often agree is terrible shape. “Our streets and highways are in horrible
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