Posts From James Poulos
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Minimum wage activists set sights on L.A.
The concerted push for higher minimum wages in California has spread from the East Bay to Los Angeles. On the heels of a recently approved $15 minimum wage in Seattle, advocates for dramatically increased hourly wages sensed an opportunity to select
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A look at CA’s mixed-bag teacher firing reform
In some respects, it’s now easier to fire teachers in California. In others, it’s more complicated. That’s the verdict on AB 215, the version of several different firing reform bills that cleared the Legislature and received Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature
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CA, feds struggle with — and spar over — pot regulation
As California muddles ahead with its disorganized decriminalization of marijuana, local and federal lawmakers are adopting distinctly different approaches to the prospect of pot-related crime. City councils are apt to worry about different kinds of drug crime than Congress. But the
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LA and SF dogfight over transport visions
In San Francisco, a bus project over a decade in the making finally receives its massive environmental impact report. In Los Angeles, the mayor announces his first executive directive, launching a “Great Streets” program. It’s a tale of two cities
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CA economic ranking renews debate
For those who put a lot of stock in statistics, it’s a good month for California. The Golden State has returned to take its former position among the world’s largest economies. World Bank calculations show California — if it were considered a country —
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CA protests derail migrant transfers
Recent days have seen the immigration issue intensify. At Murrieta’s Border Patrol station, protestors repelled a convoy of Department of Homeland Security buses carrying detained migrants who illegally crossed the U.S. border into Texas. Instead of dropping off 140 detainees every 72
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CA legislators threaten Uber, Lyft
A new bill will determine whether California remains the world leader in innovative technology — or starts to block progress. Assembly Bill 2293, by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, would severely limit the ability of startup companies to use social networking technology
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Supreme Court sticks Brown with county jails
States’ rights won’t save Gov. Jerry Brown from getting involved in California’s county jails. Despite a forceful argument that federalism relieved the state of the added responsibilities, the U.S. Supreme Court persisted in making life more difficult for Brown. The justices refused to
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CA to reverse food glove law
Say goodbye to California’s ban on bare hands for food and drink handlers. Set to be enforced beginning July 1, the measure — passed just this March — would have required all bar and restaurant employees who prepared meals or beverages to
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East Bay proposal reignites minimum wage fight
When a handful of corporations conspires to fix wages, they face legal action. But for several cities in the San Francisco East Bay area, the idea of a concerted effort to set pay has a newfound appeal. Rather than taking
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