Posts From James Poulos
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CA recycled water scheme a tough sell
Looking for an edge in coping with California’s drought, officials around the state have embarked on a public relations campaign for recycled drinking water. Proponents of the new push hoped to capitalize on the bad publicity hitting the bottled water industry, where
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CA cops could get more mental illness training
A recent pair of LAPD confrontations ending in death gave new life to a pair of state Senate bills that would increase mental illness training for California police. Introduced last year, Senate Bill 11, the first, has begun to gather steam as
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Brown debuts big budget revision
Gov. Jerry Brown has unveiled the highly-anticipated revision to his annual state budget, teeing up final spending negotiations in Sacramento — largely with his fellow Democrats. Despite a resurgence in California’s fiscal fortunes, including tax receipts some $2 billion in
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Self-driving cars hit PR bump on CA roads
Google admitted that its self-driving cars had racked up some dings on California’s streets, prompting a flurry of interest and caution among analysts closely watching the tech giant’s foray onto American roads. Reported NBC News: “Four of the nearly 50 self-driving
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Tiered price ruling rocks CA water districts
A recent court ruling’s effects on water pricing have upset California’s already tenuous balance between cost and availability. As CalWatchdog.com reported last month, “the 4th District Court of Appeal struck down San Juan Capistrano’s tiered water fee plan because it violated Prop. 218’s restriction
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Obesity rates flout L.A. fast food freeze
Faced with damning independent assessments seven years on, a groundbreaking Los Angeles ordinance designed to fight so-called “food deserts” has been overwhelmed by criticism that transcends political lines. The USDA has defined food deserts as “urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access
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Rand Paul debuts Silicon Valley office
After much talk and anticipation, Rand Paul’s presidential campaign has settled on the office space from where he hopes to strike gold with Silicon Valley. Paul “faced a high-energy, high-tech crowd in San Francisco Saturday,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “But
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CA kickstarts Musk’s new battery empire
With now-customary flair, Tesla chief Elon Musk announced his company’s latest foray — this time, into residential and commercial battery power storage. Aiming high The Los Angeles Times reported that “Musk introduced a new line of residential and commercial batteries [recently] in
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CA lawmakers taking on Bitcoin
A bill bringing statewide regulations to Bitcoin and other digital currencies has cleared its first hurdle in Sacramento. AB1326, introduced by Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino, received a majority vote in the Banking and Finance Committee. Crafting regulation According to Inside
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All eyes on CA police bodycam policy
Body cameras for police officers have reached the forefront of California’s legislative agenda. After a spate of enforcement scandals that raised the ire of many in Los Angeles, bodycams began to catch on as a policy measure that could shield police from wrongful litigation and protect citizens
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