Posts From James Poulos
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CA regulations hatch legal food fights
Have you noticed egg prices going up as much as 40 cents a dozen? Look to California voters. In 2008, they passed Proposition 2, which mandated more comfortable hatching quarters for chickens. Because of the cost to farmers of expanding chicken
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Referendum threat ties CA bag ban in knots
California’s tug-of-war over the legality of single-use plastic bags will get another twist in 2015. Thanks to a determined signature collection campaign mounted by industry opponents, a referendum putting the ban to a vote now seems certain to land on state ballots in 2016.
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CA small biz hit with health care hikes
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Proposition 45 on the Nov. 4 ballot would have given the California insurance commissioner the power to limit health-insurance rate increases. It lost. Opponents, including officials at Covered California, assured voters adequate price controls
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Buzz returns for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop
Silicon Valley impresario Elon Musk’s Hyperloop transportation concept is back in the news. With a price tag that seemed daunting, especially when Musk warned he lacked the time to pursue the project, when it was advanced a year ago Hyperloop achieved little
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CA lobbyists celebrate banner year
It’s got a bad reputation, even in some parts of Washington, D.C. But lobbying is a way of life in California, where the practice shows no signs of letting up. In a string of news events and reports, the many
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De Leon rebuked for scrapping oversight office
In a curious action, new state California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, has scrapped the government oversight office created by his predecessor, former Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. The move has swiftly earned de Leon a fresh round of criticism.
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Low turnout in 2014, high initiative count in 2016
Elections have consequences. Ironically, California’s abysmal election turnout this November has teed up a veritable flood of ballot initiatives for 2016. Because the signature threshold for qualifying initiatives is pegged to the number of Californians who cast votes in the previous
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GOP can’t find bridge for troubled water bill
The fate of a bipartisan drought bill passed Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives is as cloudy as California skies in recent days. The bill was crafted by GOP congressmen with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., although she opposed the final version.
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CA bans wildlife hunting contests
Wile E. Coyote is smirking. Despite a robust and thriving population, coyotes have just received an unprecedented degree of legal protection from the Golden State. Bringing a longstanding rural tradition to an end, the California Fish and Game Commission cracked
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Pelosi pressed for change by Hill Dems
After a punishing election season, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has begun to face an unusual kind of opposition within her own party. By traditional measures, her status remains high and her position secure. Yet she has attracted frustration
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