Blog
Back to homepageDebate: Kashkari notes Obama administration knocks state tunnel plan
In response to first question about Brown’s big lead in polls, Kashkari brushes it off and attacks Brown’s love of the bullet train and says water and education should be the priority instead. Brown sticks to the California comeback theme.
Read MoreDebate: Brown lays ‘CA comeback’ meme on thick early
In Jerry Brown’s opening statement, he depicts a happy California that has largely left behind the problems he inherited in 2010. He says California has recovered all the jobs it has lost during the Great Recession, but doesn’t mention these
Read MoreLive-blogging Brown/Kashkari debate
CalWatchdog.com will be live-blogging throughout the gubernatorial debate tonight, between Gov. Jerry Brown and challenger Neel Kashkari. The debate kicks off at 7 p.m. Stay tuned…
Read More
L.A. restaurants make plain there’s no such thing as a free lunch
Is it a passive-aggressive way for independent businesses to let customers know about the cost of government regulation? Or just a trick that allows those businesses to charge more than they normally would without prompting grousing from their customers? Whatever
Read More
CA Democrats’ ritual: Passing doomed gun laws to media cheers
House Republicans face fire from many quarters for the dozens of times they have voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the critics sometimes aren’t just the usual partisan soldiers. Plenty of editorial boards are incensed by this tactic. They say
Read More
Teacher compensation database undercuts CTA claims
The Transparency California group’s database of school district compensation undercuts teacher unions’ claims that teacher pay scales are ungenerous and capped at unfairly low levels. When very generous health benefits and good pension benefits are factored in, that doesn’t look
Read More
Legislature should have heeded Brit regulators on plastic bags
Dubious bills often get passed on the final night of the state legislative session, and 2014 was no exception: A measure to make California the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags. SB270 passed despite fierce opposition
Read More
AG’s low-key Vergara appeal has damage-control vibe
Without fanfare, Attorney General Kamala Harris appealed the Vergara decision throwing out state teacher tenure and job-protection laws late Friday at the direction of Gov. Jerry Brown and with the encouragement of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. Unlike
Read More
Torlakson says real problem is low teacher pay, not tenure
This was predictable: Friday’s announcement that state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson wanted an appeal of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu’s ruling that teacher tenure laws are unconstitutional because they funnel the worst teachers to struggling schools
Read More
Bill would end Medi-Cal asset seizures
“Nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes” is an old saying. California also has seizures after death. Now, the California Legislature just passed a bill to limit the seizure of the estates of Medi-Cal recipients. The Mercury-News reported:
Read More