Posts From James Poulos
Back to homepage
East Bay runoff race splits CA Dems
Facing a key special election in the 7th Senate District, California Democrats have been drawn into an intraparty conflict with a high profile and higher stakes. In the wake of a tight first-round vote, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord — the runner up
Read More
Mandated vaccination bill advances
After a surprisingly fierce challenge from anti-vaccine advocates, Sacramento legislators worried about the language of the landmark new vaccination bill have succeeded in crafting a passable draft. As CalWatchdog reported previously, supporters of SB 277 discovered that its original wording
Read More
Officials eye statewide marijuana regs
With marijuana legalization initiatives looming, Sacramento has turned its attention to standardizing regulations covering the popular decriminalized drug. Competing alternatives Legislators have advanced two different proposals, differing largely in how much regulatory control they leave to local government. The plan put forward by Assemblyman
Read More
Caltrans greenlights bike lane expansion
Bending to legislative prodding from Sacramento, California’s transportation bureaucracy has moved ahead with statewide plans to standardize and expand the Golden State’s bike lanes. Despite persistent criticism from bike-friendly advocacy groups like the Green Lane Project, Caltrans opted against such sweeping measures.
Read More
CA legislation, lawsuits shake up immigration law
A series of political and policy moves have dramatically unsettled immigration law in California, both at the state and federal level. Legislation developed in Sacramento, in the wake of President Obama’s executive actions shielding many from deportation, would grant expansive new rights to unlawful
Read More
Utah coal controversy hits CA Bay Area
Hard up for a sizable market, Utah’s coal producers have inked a big new deal to use Oakland’s deep-water port to ship their product to Asia. “Terminal Logistics will start building the $250 million Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal at
Read More
Sacramento eyes new Uber regulations
As the world’s leading driver service faced continued litigation, California lawmakers set out to constrain Uber further. Whereas some previous regulatory efforts were interpreted as attacks on consumer choice, however, one bill now under consideration in Sacramento has promised to increase consumer privacy. Determining data control
Read More
Brown orders new emissions cuts
At a high-powered leadership gathering in Los Angeles, Gov. Jerry Brown detailed plans, laid out in a new executive order, aimed at slashing California’s carbon emissions to new lows. The 18th annual Milken Institute Global Conference gave Brown an intellectual
Read More
Venice Beach proposal roils topless debate
Inspired by a recent resurgence in partial nudity as a women’s rights issue, the Venice Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles recommended that topless sunbathing be permitted. In decades past, fully nude beachgoing had been tolerated. In a 12-2 vote, the VNC
Read More
CA GOP aims for demographic rebound
Convinced that expanding voter appeal is a make-or-break proposition, leading California Republicans have begun to pivot toward a broad-based demographic strategy meant to rebuild from the ground up. In recent weeks, both the state party and the GOP’s minority caucus in Sacramento
Read More